Karp Strategies welcomes Juli Schroeger, our new Graduate Associate!

Q: Juli, welcome to Karp Strategies! Tell me a little about your background and work.

A: Thank you! I’m currently working on my Master’s of Environment Management at Duke University. Previously I was primarily focused on doing education work with the Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability & Equity and at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. I have a B.A. in marine biology and have always had a strong connection for the ocean, which fueled me to study marine biology and my passion for teaching it!

Q: What projects are you most excited to work on at Karp Strategies?

A: I’m most excited to work on projects related to offshore wind and coastal resilience. These two topics have been the center of my focus in graduate school. I really like how Karp Strategies have brought planning concepts into the offshore wind space that have been more human-focused, like the stakeholder engagement and workforce development components. Many of my friends in graduate school have focused on topics like animal-related impacts, but I really am most curious about the human side of offshore wind development.

Q: Tell me a fun fact about yourself!

A: I lived in a houseboat in Rockaway for a few summers while I worked in Jamaica Bay and loved it. I’m also a scuba instructor and lived in Bonaire and Curaçao (Dutch Carribean islands) for one year after college. It was there I developed my love of teaching and spreading my love for the ocean.

Reflections from the NYATEP Housing: American Dream to Hardship Panel

As a part of the Change Makers Series, NYATEP hosted a panel last week titled “Housing: American Dream to Hardship.” Rebecca Karp, CEO of Karp Strategies, moderated the panel of distinguished housing and planning policy leaders: Laura Buxbaum, SVP of Public Policy and Resource Development at CEI; Denise Scott, Executive Vice President of Programs at LISC; and Clyde Higgs, President & CEO at Atlanta Beltline.

The discussion focused on the importance of interconnected policies for housing, transportation, childcare, health, and job stability. Panelists emphasized the need for a coordinated approach to housing in the context of urban and rural communities where residents are unable to maintain jobs, and therefore housing, without adequate transportation and childcare. For example, a holistic approach to creating a healthier, more walkable Atlanta includes an anti-displacement fund to ensure that existing residents can benefit from project investments. Another theme that panelists touched on was the importance of a nationwide housing policy, particularly as COVID-19 continues to exacerbate the current housing crisis. Denise Scott underscored this point, “Local and state governments are not a substitute for what the federal government needs to do.”

The panel closed with a call for increased dialogue between workforce development specialists and housing authorities and developers, and an appropriate description of the interdisciplinary nature of economic prosperity.

CoreNet NYC: Plugged In: Big Data & Its Impact on Public Policy

As part of their Plugged In series, CoreNet NYC recently hosted “Big Data & Its Impact on Public Policy”. The event, moderated by Karp Strategies Director Ali Sutherland-Brown, featured guest speaker Sarah Williams, Associate Professor of Technology and Urban Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) discussing her new book Data Action: Using Data for Public Good. From methodologies of scraping social media to analyze ghost cities in China and their potential applications in other contexts to the useful role of qualitative data and local knowledge, Sarah shows how big data can be used for good when applied in ethical and responsible ways. The event ended with seven Data Action Principles: (1) Do No Harm, (2) Build Teams, (3) Change Power Dynamics, (4) Expose Hidden Systems, (5) Ground-Truth, (6) Share Data, and ending with (7) Creating Your Ethical Standards while remembering data are people.