Sori leverages data-driven insights to transform real estate and affordable housing visions into actionable strategies that build stronger, more equitable communities.

Based in HR&A’s New York office, she combines thorough analytical skills with deep policy awareness to lead housing market and real estate analyses for clients nationwide. Utilizing analytical tools such as Python, Excel, and ArcGIS, she provides clients with clear, actionable insights into local market dynamics, development feasibility, and strategic policy recommendations.

Prior to joining HR&A, Sori worked with the Public Space Unit at the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT), supporting the evaluation and expansion of the Open Streets program citywide. She co-developed a data-driven evaluation tool to identify priority investment areas for pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure and collaborated with local stakeholders to optimize resource allocation.

Sori holds a Bachelor of Arts in Geography Education from Ewha Womans University in South Korea and a Master of Urban Planning, with a concentration in Urban Analytics, from Columbia University GSAPP.

Based in HR&A’s New York office, Matthew’s work centers on the intersection of economic development policy, real estate strategy, parks and open space planning, and political transition support for clients across the country.

Since joining HR&A, he has led and supported the allocation of more than $20 million in grant funding for quality of life and downtown revitalization through New York State’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative and New York Forward programs. Matthew’s economic development work includes advising the City of Boston’s Mayor’s Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion on a multi-year economic development planning effort and developing a strategic plan for the Bronx Economic Development Corporation to guide its next phase of organizational growth. He has also helped shape programming, funding, and governance strategies for the reimagining of Pennsylvania Avenue between the U.S. Capitol and the White House, and supported the design and implementation of a national challenge to scale clean energy retrofits in low- and moderate-income housing markets.

Additional project work includes evaluating financial strategies and redevelopment options for large-scale food distribution centers in New York City and Washington, DC; assessing energy assistance programs for low-income and energy-burdened households in Washington State; supporting a national initiative coordinating cross-sector networks responding to humanitarian and political crises; and analyzing city parks department operations to inform maintenance best practices.

Matthew brings with him prior work experience advising business improvement districts, providing economic policy consulting for municipalities, conducting policy research with community development financial institutions, and in both public and private commercial real estate development.

Matthew holds a Master of City Planning and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania, where he collaborated on a climate resilience plan for St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands and contributed to a growth strategy for Philadelphia’s first commercial land trust.

Becca leads place-based initiatives that expand economic opportunity and social mobility in communities across the country.

Before joining HR&A, Becca built an independent consulting practice, advising and managing programs for social impact organizations such as New America, Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, and the NYC Tech Talent Pipeline. Her work included developing resources to help mayors design more equitable civic engagement practices, culminating in the City Leader Guide on Civic Engagement for Bloomberg Harvard. She also led strategic and community partnerships for Civic Hall, a first-of-its-kind hub that opened in 2024 to expand access to tech training for New Yorkers.

Earlier in her career, Becca served in the Obama Administration in roles at the White House, the Executive Office of the President, and the U.S. Department of State, including a rotation at the U.S. Mission to the OECD in Paris. She led the design and execution of public and intergovernmental engagement strategies to advance the President’s international economic agenda. Becca began her political career working on then-Senator Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.

She holds a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University and dual BAs from the University of Maryland. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and amazing daughter.

Publications:

City Leader Guide on Civic Engagement Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership

Empowering Kips Bay Future Workforce

Regional Workplace Scenario Planning Study which received the American Planning Association National Capital Area Chapter Award 

Pathways to Inclusion: Tech Equity in DC

 NYC Tech Opportunity Gap Report

As an analyst in our New York office, Anna is passionate about equitable economic development, affordable housing, and urban resilience.

Before joining HR&A, Anna worked as a Program Associate at the Center for NYC Neighborhoods, where she assisted low- and middle- income homeowners across New York. She was previously an intern at Sam Schwartz Transportation Consultants and a Princeton in Asia Fellow in Phang Nga, Thailand, where she taught English at a public high school.

Anna received a B.A. in Urban Studies from Brown University. Her senior capstone project analyzed rental housing ownership in Providence, RI, in service to a local community-based organization. As a researcher with Brown’s Climate and Development Lab, Anna attended the 2017 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 23).

Kas works to develop policies and strategies that uplift and protect marginalized groups’ histories, cultures, and communities. She advises clients across sectors on harnessing the power of preservation for economic and community development, sustainability, housing affordability, and representation.

Kas works on issues of history, culture, and equity across disciplines – from planning and policy development for local government, to equity audits of monuments and memorials, to tools to mitigate cultural displacement for large-scale real estate developments. Kas leads all projects with a focus on people, working closely with stakeholders from grassroots community leaders to elected officials. She has extensive experience collaborating with local government staff to develop strategic plans focused on creating equitable outcomes for both government employees and the diverse communities they work in. Recent examples include Los Angeles County Planning’s latest strategic plan, a Historic and Cultural Preservation Strategy for the City of Dallas, and an Equity Audit of Monuments and Memorials for the San Francisco Arts Commission.

Throughout her training and experience, Kas has collaborated with community organizers, planners, real estate developers, designers, policymakers, community-based organizations, and philanthropists, and enjoys bringing everyone to the table and translating across sectors and disciplines to build support for important initiatives.

Before joining HR&A, Kas was a Community Engagement Fellow with the City of Baltimore’s Office of Sustainability and a Special Assistant to the Executive Director of the Center for Community Investment at the Lincoln Institute for Land Policy. She has a lifetime of experience working and volunteering with community-based history museums in Dallas, Texas, Butte, Montana, and Baltimore, Maryland.

Kas holds a B.A. in Architecture and Urban Studies from Yale University and is currently pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Native American Studies from Montana State University. Kas is also a graduate of Downwinders at Risk’s community organizing college (taught by a leading Dallas environmental justice organization).

Kayla is at the forefront of creating equitable and just urban communities, working with a variety clients to develop policies and programs that support the country’s changing demographics. She supports HR&A’s Inclusive Cities practice, specializing in strategic planning and equitable governance.

Leveraging her journalism background, Kayla combines stakeholder engagement with research to develop plans that translate a client’s vision into actionable recommendations. She facilitates culture change across organizations, leading workshops and co-creating initiatives with clients in the public and nonprofit sectors. Recent work includes supporting Destination Crenshaw in developing a reparative framework to address longstanding displacement concerns in a historically Black community. Additionally, Kayla worked to develop a strategic plan for the City of West Lafayette that balances town-gown relationships with anticipated population growth. We also created an opportunity assessment framework for the City of Raleigh Museum to support expanded operations and long-term planning.

Prior to joining HR&A, Kayla conducted field interviews throughout the Midwest and traveled on a research grant to eastern Germany to study transnational socioeconomic policy implementation in declining industrial centers. Kayla also analyzed historical and economic trends of eminent domain and highway development in Dallas as an Engaged Learning Fellow at Southern Methodist University.

Kayley works across digital equity, food justice, community development, and more to help build cities that are more just. She’s passionate about designing systems, programs, and places that better serve communities of color and the working class.

As part of the Broadband and Digital Equity Team, she’s managed statewide public engagement programs and conducted extensive quantitative and qualitative analyses to help several State’s write their digital equity plans and funnel millions of federal dollars into the communities most impacted by the digital divide. She’s also helped design digital equity programs for public, private, and nonprofit actors across the country to better deliver broadband service, devices, and digital literacy training.

Kayley has also advised various clients on real estate market and development projects, with a focus on revitalizing neighborhoods, preserving housing and commercial affordability, and delivering new community spaces and facilities. She also works on food system projects and policy issues at HR&A, bringing experience working with the Sweet Water Foundation in the South Side of Chicago, where she practiced urban farming and urban ecology as a means of regenerative neighborhood development.

Kayley graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Urban Studies.

Tommy specializes in policy development, organizational and operational strategy, and systems transformation to create just and equitable cities.

Partnering with local governments, civic organizations, and philanthropies, Tommy designs bold strategies to address systemic challenges and deliver measurable outcomes. With experience working both within government and alongside external coalitions, Tommy creates actionable policy agendas that tackle critical urban issues such as housing, homelessness, public safety, and economic development.

Tommy has supported new leaders in Allegheny County and Dallas during executive transitions, helping craft 100-day agendas that leverage moments of change to enact transformative solutions rooted in community values. In parallel, Tommy brings deep expertise in supporting coalitions to align stakeholders, set strategic priorities, and drive measurable impact. In San Francisco and New Orleans, Tommy facilitated agenda-setting processes with labor unions, advocacy groups, and community organizations to develop plans that shape public discourse and influence governing agendas.

His work extends to transforming public sector structures and advancing equity through governance strategies. Tommy led the development of SACOG’s Engage, Empower, Implement Framework, fostering equitable partnerships between community-based organizations and local jurisdictions, and guided the creation of the Chicago’s New Arrivals Cabinet, charged with advancing compassionate integration of new residents. In Dallas, Tommy played a key role in the creation of the Community Development Unit to drive equitable real estate development, and in Oakland, crafted a roadmap to strengthen worker protections through the Department of Workplace and Employment Standards. In New York City, Tommy helped establish the first centralized civic engagement office, defining its mission and creating evaluation frameworks to enhance participation and accountability. Tommy’s work is driven by a belief in the transformative power of responsive and equitable governance to address systemic challenges, uplift communities, and create lasting change.

Tommy holds a Master’s in Urban Planning from New York University and a Bachelor’s in Construction Management from the University of Florida.

Marielle helps public and private sector clients create and sustain great places to live, work, and visit.

Based in HR&A’s North Carolina office, she conducts analysis for projects ranging in focus from urban resilience and environmental justice to market analysis and financial feasibility for development. She also supports parks, open spaces, and mixed-use developments with effective and ambitious operations, funding, partnership, and implementation strategies.

Her work draws on her background in community economic development. Prior to joining HR&A, Marielle was part of LISC’s national economic development team and helped restructure and grow LISC’s national program with Kiva, a crowdfunded microlending platform designed to expand access to capital for small businesses. She also supported the design and implementation of several LISC small business recovery funds at the beginning of the pandemic.

She holds a Masters in Community and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina, where she worked with NCGrowth and the Development Finance Initiative to advance equitable economic development projects across North Carolina. She received her Bachelor of Arts in History, with Sustainability and Urban Studies minors from the University of Michigan.