Students

Jamie Arnau, (she/her), Nelson\Nygaard

Jamie is a recent graduate of the Master of Urban and Regional Planning program at PSU where she specialized in urban design. She is passionate about public space design, equity, and improving walking and transit experiences for all. She is a Transportation Planning Associate at Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, supporting the firm's nationally recognized work in multimodal planning, demand management, and active transportation. Before pursuing a career in urban planning, she worked in her hometown of Los Angeles as a marketing manager in the hospitality, entertainment, and non-profit sectors. Outside of work, she enjoys singing karaoke and daydreaming about train rides in France and Japan. Add her on LinkedIn!

Summer Cook, (she/her), Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning, Portland State University

Summer hails from Bellingham, WA and Chicago, IL, though feels the most at home in the Pacific Northwest. She is currently a second-year student in PSU's Master of Urban and Regional Planning program. She is passionate about proliferating walkable, bikeable, inclusive, environmentally sustainable, and human-scale cities in the western United States. Alongside school, she serves as a Research Assistant at Community Environmental Services (a waste management consultancy at PSU) which works towards zero-waste systems in the Portland metro area. Summer also enjoys working on and riding bikes, bird watching, reading, and learning new food recipes from around the world. Right now, her favorite food is grapefruit.

elese daniel, (she/her), Cincy Red Bike

elese is the Engagement Manager for Red Bike, the nonprofit bikeshare system serving Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. She has worked in the micromobility field for the past 6 years, in both non-profit and for-profit bikeshare, prioritizing equity and inclusion. Red Bike is a 2020-2023 Better Bikeshare Partnership Living Lab City and elese is a 2023 NACTO Transportation Justice Fellow. Outside of the office, you can find her on the bike polo court or with her head in a book of poems. Learn more about Red Bike at www.cincyredbike.org or see what elese is up to creatively at www.elesed.com.

Miguel Gelin Ferreira, (he/him), 1st year Masters of Urban and Regional Planning, Portland State University

Hey there! I'm Miguel, a Brazilian guy in the second year of my Masters in Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) at PSU. I started off being all about the environment, but now I've broadened my horizons to include economic and social sustainability too. In fact, I'm even getting a certificate in sustainability at the same time! I'm a curious soul who's totally into different cultures, exploring new cuisines, learning languages, jamming to music, and soaking up all the cultural activities and museum visits I can get. Oh, and did I mention that I'm absolutely into biking? Since I was a kid, I've been pedaling my way through life, exploring new cities and getting to know their hidden nooks and crannies. Fun fact: I once had a little accident in Bogota, Colombia, that left my bike useless. No worries, though, because I called for help, and this awesome dude showed up riding another bike and his trusty four-legged sidekick. He strapped my busted bike to his back, and off they went, cruising through the city like superheroes.

Meg Grzybowski, (she/her), Masters of Urban and Regional Planning, Portland State University

Meg is a recent graduate of the Urban and Regional Planning Graduate Program at Portland State University with a focus on economic development, emergency management and land use for climate resilience. She currently works as a data and planning intern with the Puget Sound Regional Council analyzing household travel data, climate equity indicators, and regional housing needs. Meg also used to be a full-animal butcher, pastry cook, and oyster shucker so she's looking forward to exploring new foods! 

Melissa Kostelecky, (she/her), Transportation Certificate, Portland State University

Melissa recently earned a Master of Science in Environmental Policy and Management from the University of Denver and is now pursuing the Transportation Certificate at PSU. A German-English translator of nearly 20 years, Melissa's recent career shift came about following the 2020 wildfires in Portland and a desire to work toward climate solutions. She is especially interested in reducing automobile dependence and encouraging active and public transportation to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Melissa is also an avid photographer, traveler, volleyball player and mother of two.

Ashley Lopez, (she/her), Project Manager, City of Portland Bureau of Transportation

Ashley was born and raised in Norwalk, CA (Los Angeles County) and moved to Portland, OR in 2016. She graduated from Cal State University of Fullerton with a Bachelor Degree in Sociology and a Minor Degree in Environmental Biology. She has been working for the City of Portland for the past 5 years in various roles. She is currently a project manager for the Bureau of Transportation in the Quick Build program where she delivers projects improving biking and walking conditions for Portlanders. In her free time, she enjoys biking, shooting film photography, drawing, and renting movies from Movie Madness.

Holly Querin, (she/her), Master of Urban and Regional Planning, Portland State University

Holly is going into her second year of PSU's Master of Urban and Regional Planning program. She is interested in transportation planning and community engagement and is particularly passionate about biking and walking as a way to bring together her interests in sustainability, equity, and public health. She has a background in sociology and works as a proofreader for Grammarly and as a crossfit coach. She will be interning with Metro over the summer. 

Courtney Shannon, (she/her), volunteer with Portland-NET, PSU alum

Courtney is a GIS analyst and cartographer with a background in ecology and environmental chemistry. She is enrolled in this course to learn more about the design and the motivations of non-vehicle means of transportation, hoping to apply these lessons to organizing transportation during and after natural disasters. She currently works as a map designer for a local electric utility and has also published an ecological study modeling the black oystercatcher population in Oregon. Her hobbies include painting, urban sketching, tabletop gaming, knitting, and crocheting.

Tyler Smith, (he/they), Masters of Urban and Regional Planning, Portland State University

Tyler is a Masters of Urban & Regional Planning student with interests in community engagement, active transportation, public space, and GIS. His studies are influenced from his time living abroad in Taiwan and South Korea where he was exposed to innovative urban landscapes starkly different from the American suburban context he was brought up in. Tyler aspires to develop sustainable, human-centric cities harmoniously balanced with the natural environment.  This Summer he will be interning with Saint John's Center for Opportunity supporting equitable community development.

Caleb Susuras, (He/Him), Masters of Urban and Regional Planning, Portland State University

Caleb is in interested in planning for cities that include strong active and sustainable transportation systems for people of all races, incomes, ages and abilities. He currently is working at PBOT on their Public Realm and Street Activation team designing urban street plazas. He graduates from PSU in the summer of 2023 and will be looking for full-time work as a transportation planner.

Mouhamad Taha, (He/Him), Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science,  Portland State University

Mouhamad is a civil engineering student with focus on transportation and traffic engineering. He graduates from PSU this summer of 2023 with a bachelor's degree and he's currently in the B+M program and he's looking to finish his higher education in transportation engineering. He recently finished an internship with PBOT with the Intelligent Transportation System group in the signals and street light division as an engineering trainee, through his internship he gained a valuable experience in traffic engineering with a real-world projects and studies that took place in Portland. Projects involved in: SE 82nd Ave ITS Project ,  Division Transit Project and Better Naito Communication Project.

Sierra Willems, (she/her), Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning, Portland State University

Sierra is a master of urban and regional planning student focused on public and active transportation planning and GIS. Her goal is to work toward expanding access to dependable public transportation and safe bike and pedestrian routes in urban communities. Outside of school Sierra enjoys sewing, knitting, camping, hiking, and riding her bike.

Elizabeth Yates, (she/her), Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science, Portland State University

Elizabeth is a dedicated master's student in civil engineering, specializing in pedestrian and cyclist safety. Through a transportation justice perspective, her primary objective is to enhance safety measures for the most vulnerable road users. Elizabeth is determined to promote a heightened perception of safety, aiming to encourage risk-averse demographics to embrace active transportation modes. Beyond her academic pursuits and research endeavors, Elizabeth indulges in her passions for taking her meds on time, pinning things on Pinterest that she'll never get around to actually doing, pinning things on Pinterest about how to learn things in order to avoid actually learning how to do the thing, avidly following queer podcasts, and insulting the intelligence of her golden retriever. She also finds joy in dancing to K-pop.