Elizabeth is an action researcher, teacher, and regenerative designer who passionately collaborates with others to co-create ecologically sustainable and socially just communities. Elizabeth now serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University at Buffalo. Through the Champions for Change program of One Region Forward, she supports community leaders in developing awareness-based practices to advance regional regeneration. She also serves on the Board of the Western New York Environmental Alliance, a member-based organization committed to mobilizing collective action to ensure sustainable, thriving ecosystems and communities in Western New York.
Prior to moving to the Buffalo Niagara Region, Elizabeth called Austin, Texas home. As she completed her doctorate in Community and Regional Planning at the University of Texas, she became an active leader in her community. As Vice Chair of the Austin Housing Repair Coalition, she worked to improve the health and environmental performance of low-income housing through home repair. As a co-founder of The Festival Beach Food Forest, she helped establish the first fence-less, edible forest garden in a public park in Texas. She also served as a founding board member of EcoRise Youth Innovations, which now brings sustainable design and social innovation to schools world-wide.