John is placed in Eastpointe. John is excited about the city’s emphasis on the importance of authentic public and private collaboration to build trust, improve transparency, and engage with an intergenerational range of local assets who contribute to Eastpointe’s sustainable change.

John has been involved with various grassroots project initiatives at the neighborhood-scale in Detroit, each uniquely expanding his capacity of understanding around the emotional interconnectedness between people and their cherished sense of community. Working alongside residents in Detroit’s East Davison Village neighborhood to transform a vacant property into a vibrant community hub was influential in his holistic approach to public interest design. John’s involvement with this year-long project was collaborative, iterative, and inclusive of resident voices around how this space could programmatically fulfill the needs of residents. John served as the lead design facilitator and outreach coordinator throughout each phase of this collaborative project.

John is planning to work alongside a diverse range of disciplines that contribute to a city’s evolving master plan, by becoming actively involved in the co-planning processes surrounding both small and large-scale sustainable development. John was awarded the Stephen Vogel Graduate Award for exhibiting excellence in thinking about and understanding the urban and built environment issues surrounding the city of Detroit. John holds a bachelor’s degree in architectural studies from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and a master’s degree in community development from the University of Detroit Mercy.