Sulin Carling advises public and private sector clients on creating vibrant downtowns, flourishing commercial corridors, and dynamic employment hubs. She crafts economic development, real estate, and public policy strategies to foster innovation in cities.

Sulin works with clients across the country to balance private sector and community interests while advancing ambitious economic and community development initiatives. Her work includes supporting commercial corridors and small businesses in a shifting retail landscape, creating vibrant and inclusive local and regional employment hubs, planning for the future of urban industrial areas, and grounding local economic development in food systems and policy.

Sulin recently led an interdisciplinary team to create a Master Plan for Pike Place Market – the iconic public market in Seattle. The resulting Master Plan is grounded in the curation of authentic food and retail offerings that will reattract a local audience, with strategies for greater financial sustainability, increased presence of farmers, support for inclusive local entrepreneurship, and physical investments. Her other work at the intersection of food and economic development includes a study of strategies for creating affordable grocery stores in low-income and gentrifying neighborhoods on behalf of a New York City-based food advocacy not-for-profit; and a redevelopment plan for a major publicly owned produce wholesale market in a major metropolitan area.

Sulin is HR&A’s leader in industrial policy and development. On behalf of the City of New York, Sulin facilitated an Industrial Working Group – comprised of businesses, advocates, and policy experts – to redefine the sectors’ needs and opportunities.  Sulin has also crafted strategies for growing 21^st century industry for the Newmarket neighborhood in Boston and for Attleboro, MA.

Sulin helps small businesses and retail corridors adapt in the face of economic change. On behalf of Welcome to Chinatown, a not-for-profit organization focused on supporting entrepreneurs in Manhattan’s Chinatown, Sulin directed the Chinatown Impact Study, which assessed neighborhood small business’ challenges and identified interventions to support recovery. She is now working with Welcome to Chinatown design a business incubator and develop succession planning strategies. Further, Sulin is currently working with the Atlanta BeltLine Initiative on developing commercial affordability strategies to support Black and brown businesses around the transformative multi-use BeltLine trail.

Sulin helps clients plan for the changing face of downtowns. For the National Landing Business Improvement District, Sulin led creation of a Market Impact Study with strategies for accelerating growth of an innovation district in downtown Arlington, Virginia anchored by AmazonHQ2, Virginia Tech, and $4B in infrastructure investments. Sulin led development of an economic benefits case for the Fifth Avenue Association’s plan to transform Fifth Avenue into a world-class, pedestrian-focused corridor – announced by the Adams Administration in 2022 – to anchor the revitalization of Midtown Manhattan.

Sulin re-joined HR&A in 2020 after serving as Senior Economic Development Planner in the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP), where she led the North Brooklyn Industry & Innovation Plan, the most comprehensive study of an industrial area conducted by DCP in decades, and a comprehensive study of the future of retail and storefront vacancy trends.

Sulin holds a Master in Urban Planning from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago.

Giacomo advises governments, businesses, and large institutions on harnessing technology and innovation to create thriving economies and cities.

His expertise spans ecosystem development, tech product deployment and iteration, policy and strategy advisory, impact analysis, and public-private partnerships across industries like robotics, artificial intelligence, fintech, mobility, semiconductors, and digital services. Additionally, Giacomo supports economic growth through workforce development initiatives, public bank business planning, and real estate advisory.  

Some highlights of his innovation work include securing a $63 million U.S. Economic Development Administration grant to position Southwestern Pennsylvania as a global leader in robotics and autonomy; leading user testing and iteration for a financial technology app that improved gig workers’ access to unemployment benefits; developing data-sharing strategies for mobility companies, enabling collaboration among public, private, and nonprofit partners; and preparing innovation strategies and impact analyses for startup accelerators like URBAN-X in New York City and institutions like Cornell Tech and Carnegie Mellon University. 

Giacomo’s economic development and real estate portfolio includes managing a leading research university’s successful due diligence, negotiations, and long-term lease for a block-size campus in Manhattan; crafting business, financial, and governance models for public banking initiatives like California’s proposed CalAccount and San Francisco’s municipal bank, which aim to increase financial inclusion and capital access for affordable housing, small businesses, and climate infrastructure; and advising the New York Blood Center, Centre Pompidou Jersey City Museum, and New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island state governments on a variety of real estate development, workforce, and digital equity projects. 

Before joining HR&A, Giacomo spearheaded technology strategies at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Technology Services and Security, helping to scale the Digital Service team, launch the new state website, Mass.gov, and reimagine the Commonwealth’s delivery of unemployment and workforce services. Giacomo also previously served as an Urban Fellow in the New York City government.  

Giacomo has a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Harvard University and a dual Master of Public Administration and Public Policy from the London School of Economics (U.K.) and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (Singapore). His work has been published in TechCrunch, Gizmodo, NextCity, Foreign Policy, and in academic journals.  

Amelia builds frameworks and strategies to improve government systems and combat disenfranchisement.

Primarily through HR&A’s Digital Opportunity practice, Amelia’s work has focused on advising government partners to improve public access to and use of technology, via improvements in civic tech, expansion of broadband infrastructure and developing digital equity policy. Prior to joining HR&A, Amelia managed editorial and podcasting content for Archinect, an online architecture and urbanism publication,  and reported as a freelancer for Bloomberg’s CityLab, Curbed.com, Places Journal, and Hyperallergic, covering topics from street vending policy to art in transit stations.

Her graduate school work focused on the intersection of scientific and urban planning methodologies, including presenting at the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture conference (2018) and thesis research on public health and neighborhood planning, conducted in partnership with an epidemiological study on brain health at Massachusetts General Hospital (2019). She has also supported research on municipal managed retreat policy while an associate at the Consensus Building Institute, a non-profit dispute resolution and mediation firm.

Amelia has a Bachelor of Arts in Rhetoric with Honors from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Masters of City Planning from MIT.

Jenna serves as a real estate and economic advisor to municipalities, institutions, and developers, applying her expertise across multiple types of urban development, including housing, transit-oriented projects, and institutional initiatives.

With a deep understanding of real estate finance, urban planning, economic development, and land value capture, she helps clients navigate complex development challenges.Her strong quantitative background supports the delivery of real estate projects through market analyses, financial modeling, funding and financing plans, public-private partnerships, and economic and fiscal impact studies. Across Southern California and the nation, she assists municipalities with policy decisions related to real estate and housing, advises public and institutional clients on large mixed-use developments, and works with transit agencies to craft policies that promote equitable community outcomes.

Prior to joining HR&A, Jenna worked for a consortium of USC’s Spatial Sciences Institute, Studio One Eleven, and Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative to identify and analyze potential sites in LA County for affordable housing and open space joint development for the Los Angeles Regional Open Space and Housing Collaborative. She defined criteria for site identification, assembled and created relevant datasets to analyze a variety of relevant factors, and published customizable web applications to share findings. She has also worked for Retail Design Collaborative/Studio One Eleven and for the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.

Jenna received a Bachelor of Science in GeoDesign with a minor in Real Estate Finance from the University of Southern California.

Ashley draws on her multidisciplinary and international background to provide research and analytical work across a wide variety of urban projects at HR&A.

Prior to joining HR&A, Ashley developed growth strategies at a food-tech startup in New York City. She was previously an intern at Jones Lang LaSalle Investment Management in Hong Kong and a summer fellow at The Municipal Art Society of New York, where she conducted a wayfinding study on South Street Seaport.

Ashley graduated from Brown University with a bachelor’s degree in urban studies. Her senior honors thesis explored the intersection of preservation, development and resiliency at South Street Seaport. During her time at Brown, Ashley also traveled to São Paulo, Brazil, Cape Town, South Africa, and Ahmedabad, India with the International Honors Program studying the socio-economic landscapes of the built environment.

Michelle plays a key role in optimizing operations and ensuring seamless support for HR&A’s leadership and initiatives.

Michelle Castaneda provides direct support to HR&A Partners, Andrea and Judy. She handles heavy calendar management, oversees travel bookings, and creates itineraries for trips. Michelle coordinates with external stakeholders, tracks budgets, and manages onboarding new hire training scheduling and ad-hoc requests for the Inclusive Cities Practice and Studio 1. Additionally, she has supported major projects with the LA County and All-In-Allegheny, and actively contributes to the Equity Learners Lab core team. Michelle also leads training initiatives to enhance the efficiency and confidence of the administrative team, ensuring that partners receive the best possible support.

Claire provides research and analytical support for open space and real estate development projects.

Prior to joining HR&A, Claire worked for the Massachusetts Port Authority as part of the Real Estate Strategy and Policy Division, where she contributed to the creation of long-term strategies for the agency’s citywide properties and helped grow its public realm initiative. Previously, she worked for social impact real estate development firm Bastogne Development Partners and for the Center City District in Philadelphia.

Claire holds a Masters in Urban Planning from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Arts from Vassar College.

Daniel works with public and private sector clients to solve challenges impacting cities.

Daniel brings four years of professional business intelligence and market feasibility analysis to HR&A’s Washington, D.C. office. Prior to joining HR&A, Daniel was a Senior Associate/Technology Associate at RCLCO Real Estate Advisers. At RCLCO, he conducted market analyses and financial feasibility studies for proposed developments across the country. Daniel previously worked in analytics at Navy Federal Credit Union and managed political campaigns in Washington State.

Daniel holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from The George Washington University where he concentrated in finance. Outside of work, he serves as an elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in Dupont Circle.

Eri supports visionaries in government, advocacy, and philanthropy to make cities more resilient and equitable through strategic planning, policy, and inclusive community engagement.

Eri partners with leaders inside and outside government to drive policy change that improves the lives of marginalized communities. Her recent work includes building the case for universal rental assistance by quantifying the benefits of expanding access to housing vouchers for all eligible New Yorkers and supporting the Massachusetts Broadband Institute in developing a statewide plan to close the digital divide.

Eri brings deep expertise in inclusive stakeholder engagement. She has worked alongside community-based organizations in Baltimore, MD; Portland, OR; Oakland, CA; Harris County, TX; and Miami-Dade County, FL, to help local leaders articulate priorities backed by community data.

She also supports newly elected progressive leaders to govern from day one and harness the power of local government to advance racial equity and economic justice. Eri recently supported Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato on All In Allegheny, the largest and most inclusive community engagement initiative in county history, which helped shape the administration’s agenda across sustainability, housing, health, and civic infrastructure.

Eri helps public agencies respond to the climate crisis by developing operational strategies that center environmental justice. For LA Metro, she supported the development of an internal tool that enables departments across the agency to integrate climate resilience and equity into everyday decision-making.

Prior to joining HR&A, Eri served in the Zoning and Urban Design Divisions at the New York City Department of City Planning. There, she conducted modeling and urban design studies for Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency, a text amendment created in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy to build long-term resiliency in flood-prone neighborhoods.

Eri holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Tokyo and a master’s degree in urban planning from Columbia University. In 2024, she was selected as one of 40 national leaders for the Next City Vanguard. Eri serves on the City of Somerville’s Climate Action Commission.