Vanessa Leon, PhD Student

Vanessa Leon joined the Urban and Regional Planning and Design program in 2012 with primary interests in international planning and economic development. She obtained a Master of Urban Planning with a specialization in Economic Development and Housing Policy from New York University's Robert F. Wagner School of Public Studies. Her undergraduate studies were completed at Brandeis University where she double majored in African and African Studies and in American Studies with a double minor in Education Studies and in Social Justice and Social Policy.

As a Haitian American urban planner, Vanessa founded Pinchina Consulting in the wake of the 2010 Haiti earthquake to facilitate urban planning, community development and capacity building in developing countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. She is currently working with the University of Maryland University Center to model innovation networks in Maryland as part of a $500,000 U.S. Department of Commerce grant funded project.

Vanessa Leon
PhD Student
Urban Studies and Planning Program
School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation
University of Maryland