Susmita Rishi (2024-2026)

Susmita Rishi is an Associate Professor of Regional & Community Planning at Kansas State University’s College of Architecture, Planning and Design. As an engaged urban scholar, Dr. Rishi believes that in order to create a more sustainable present and future, we must understand and cater to the needs of all members of our society. At its core, this understanding is framed by her research and scholarship at the intersection of urban design, informality, social production of home, and southern theory. Her research is deeply rooted in the principles of spatial justice, emphasizing the need to bring marginalized voices to the forefront of urban design and planning. Dr. Rishi serves as the KState LARCP Technical Assistance for Brownfields Fellows (2024-2027) and in January 2024, Dr. Rishi (along with Dr. Janquiera and Prof. Gibson) received the inaugural APDesign Faculty Engagement Champions award. She was awarded the Graduate Faculty Mentor Award 2024 by the Graduate School, Kansas State University in recognition of her exceptional mentorship. She received her Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Urban Design and Planning from the University of Washington, Seattle and her Master of Architecture from Pennsylvania State University, State College.

Contact: srishi@ksu.edu

Alejandra Reyes (2023-2025)

Alejandra Reyes is Assistant Professor of Urban Planning and Public Policy at UC Irvine’s School of Social Ecology. Her research centers on questions of governance around housing policy, finance, production, and access – and highlights the critical influence of political and economic factors on housing and urban development.

Previously, she was the 2018-2019 Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance at University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. She received her B.A. in Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Community and Regional Planning at the University of Texas at Austin.

Contact: lreyesru@uci.edu