Christina Grace, Project Director, Living City Brooklyn Gowanus
Christina is leading Living City Brooklyn Gowanus during its critical first year as we demonstrate that cities can become radically more resource efficient, innovative and culturally vibrant, one block at a time. She has been championing a more sustainable and fair food system for over a decade. Christina created the NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets’ Urban Food Systems Program. She has been instrumental in passing local and federal food policy, building programs to connect New York farmers with NYC markets, launching successful urban farm businesses, and developing NYC’s Garden to Cafe and Grow to Learn school garden programs. In addition, Christina has 15 years of marketing management experience. She co-founded New Territories Research, a marketing and market research consultancy. Prior to launching her own business Christina was Director of Marketing at the information firms, AMR Research (Gartner Group) and First Call Corporation (Thomson Reuters). She received a B.A. in Political Science from Boston College and a Certificate in Culinary Arts from Boston University. She founded the Buckman Portland Farmers Market in 2003 in Portland, OR. She is raising her two daughters in Brooklyn’s Gowanus/Carroll Gardens neighborhood.
Current Interns
Brodrick Spencer
Shane McCabe
Former Team Members
Vanessa Meer, M.E.M., LEED AP
Vanessa Meer works to create a more socially and environmentally responsible society, leveraging her interdisciplinary background in earth and environmental sciences, environmental law, and public participation to direct work at LCB. Vanessa has expertise in coastal environments, green building (including LEED, LID strategies, and Brownfield redevelopment), and sustainable business practices. Vanessa’s experience includes environmental and geotechnical engineering and project management at the multidisciplinary engineering firm, YU & Associates, where she worked on remediation/redevelopment projects in Chelsea, parking facilities for the New Yankee Stadium, and the NJ Turnpike Widening Project Exits 6-9. She has trained professionals for their LEED AP and Green Associate exams and does independent consulting. Vanessa is also an adjunct professor at Berkeley College in Manhattan – where she teaches environmental conservation – and an associate at Green Drinks NYC – where she organizes social networking events for environmental professionals. She has an undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University with honors in earth and environment science and a masters degree from Duke University in environmental management.
David Krieger, Community Director
David Krieger was formerly the Managing Director of the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation where he drove strategic urban revitalization initiatives for the several hundred-acre Gowanus Canal region of Brooklyn. Leveraging the twin engines of creative culture and sustainability, David is piloting new methodologies for urban regeneration in the midst of one of the country’s most complex Superfund cleanup projects. Specifically, David has worked to create a regenerative buildings, energy and ecology corridor within Gowanus. In addition, David has worked on both rural and urban revitalization projects in upstate New York, Dubai and in India with International Management Group on a 450 acre, Olympics grade sports academy and education complex in Hyderabad. David graduated from University of Pennsylvania, Cum Laude with a degree in comparative literature. In 2011 David was awarded the Urban Land Institute’s Young Leaders Scholarship Award in recognition of his efforts in the community in Gowanus.
Anna Kramer, Energy Intern
Anna Kramer is an Energy Intern for Living City Brooklyn Gowanus. During the academic year, Anna studies civil engineering at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. In the spring of 2011, Anna worked to build a small residence made entirely out of trash to help Haiti rebuild after the devastating earthquake. She has also worked at The Cooper Union Summer Civil Engineering Research Internship Program. In her volunteer efforts, she worked with the Museum of the City of New York to design and implement a community garden in East Harlem. Anna is fascinated with the concepts of efficiency and what constitutes sustainability and hopes to work with the design of “Green” living spaces in the future. She is thrilled to be working with Living City Brooklyn Gowanus.
Ben Cole, Legal Intern
Ben will serve as a multi-purpose in-house legal researcher for Living City Brooklyn. Next fall Ben will be starting his third year at New York University School of Law. Ben is involved with the Unemployment Action Center, where he represents terminated employees in unemployment compensation hearings. He also serves as a staff editor on the Journal of Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law at NYU. Ben has experience in the area of nonprofit community development, having worked for Westchester Residential Opportunities as a surveyor of building accessibility for disabled tenants in multifamily residences. In his spare time, Ben plays piano and picks up trash in his Upper West Side neighborhood.
Victoria Vele, Social Media & Water Research Intern
Victoria Vele is interning for Living City Brooklyn Gowanus as a Social Media and Water Research Intern. A recent graduate from Franklin & Marshall College, Victoria earned a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Fine Arts with a focus in photography. As an undergraduate, Victoria’s interest revolved around creating urban green spaces and sustainable buildings as a way to promote public health within a community. She studied abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark and traveled to universities in Estonia and Finland to examine issues related to the environment and public health. Victoria worked with faculty members, community officials, and the Office of the President at F&M to develop a green building plan and recommendations for the Wohlsen Center at Franklin & Marshall College. She is excited to join the Living City Gowanus team and work to improve the Borough where she was born.
Kristen Schlarb, Water and Community Intern
Kristen is working with Living City Brooklyn Gowanus to help find sustainable, efficient and viable solutions to our city’s water issues. She is passionate about the environment, but just as passionate about ensuring the long-term well being of the people within these communities. Kristen is currently pursuing a European double-degree Masters of Science in Environmental Science-Water Resources and Environmental Management. She just finished an amazing first year in Vienna, Austria and is looking forward to begin an exciting year in Copenhagen, Denmark in the fall. Kristen has studied and done field research in Costa Rica and Belize, where she worked with people to improve their communities environmentally, socially and economically. She is a firm believer that one aspect cannot exist without the others. Kristen is enthusiastic about the projects LCB is involved with and is eager to do what she can to help Gowanus be all that it can be!
Rich Greene, Urban Planning and Community Outreach Intern
Rich Greene is a native New Yorker from Park Slope, Brooklyn. While growing up in the city, he has witnessed several neighborhood transformations and has a unique understanding of how key stakeholders can make an impact on sustainable urban development for our future. With an undergraduate degree from Tufts University, he has worked with both public and private organizations to address challenges affecting international relations, the environment and consumers worldwide. Over the past decade, he has also utilized his skills as a premier DJ talent and creative marketer to help some of the world’s most influential brands stay in the lead. Rich is currently pursuing his Masters of Public Administration at Columbia University (School of International & Public Affairs) and a new member of our team here at Living City Block. He will help to introduce sustainable practices and work with LCB communities to develop innovative methods for growth. With a strong vision, strategic thinking and warm personality, he intends to participate in the transformation of neighborhoods around the globe.
Eliza Bruce, Urban Agriculture Intern
Eliza is one of Living City Block’s Urban Agriculture interns. She has spent the last two years at the University of Maryland studying Architecture, where she volunteered weekly as a “Terp for Change,” cleaning up litter and controlling invasive species in the campus parks. She has previously interned at a small architecture firm in the historic town of Tappan, New York, learning about design processes and helping out the office. However, due to a shift in academic interests, Eliza will be pursuing the rest of her degree at Cornell University to study Natural Resources, where she hopes to gain a more broad background while still focusing on sustainability. Her interest in urban agriculture stems from her passion for local food and the concept of diversifying urban landscapes. She is excited to be spending the summer at Living City Block!
Alexia Nazarian, Urban Agriculture InternAlexia is part of the dynamic duo Urban Agriculture Team. She is a rising junior at Wesleyan University, where she is earning her B.A. in Sociology and a Certificate in Writing. This past semester, she worked with a professor on the design and evaluation of a proposed mixed-income housing project in Meriden, CT. Her interest in social theory pushed her to think about urban issues, and she hopes to apply her studies in a community-engaging senior thesis project in Middletown, CT. Her passions include listening to and playing music. In her free time, she enjoys watching Planet Earth, playing ultimate frisbee, and riding horses.