Work Experience
Co-Director of Secretariat, Aug 2023 - Present
Public Management Research Association (PMRA), University of Kansas
Government Policy Advisor and Wind Energy Specialist, Summer 2023
Steelhead Americas, Vestas, United States
Description: Wind and solar projects are proliferating in the Midwestern United States, and many communities in Kansas have embraced the shift toward sustainable energy technology. Yet because of entrenched values around land use and increasing polarization around issues of impact in communities, a grass-roots⎯and pseudo-grassroots⎯style resistance has emerged in many rural communities. We, therefore, propose a case study in Osage County, Kansas, where a two-year wind energy project recently stalled after a moratorium on all sustainable energy projects was passed by the Osage County Board of Commissioners. Osage County is a perfect setting for a research and community engagement project to analyze the impacts of renewable energy on the local landscape, economy, and community and to understand how value conflicts might be resolved in light of the communities’ needs and visions for its future.
Project Manager: Sara Taliaferro
Graduate Research Assistant, Jun 2021 - May 2023
Institute for Policy & Social Research, University of Kansas, United States
Assistant to Dr. Rachel M. Krause
Project: Dealing with disruption: Investigating the micro-level underpinnings of city response to the climate crisis
Activities: Data collection, survey instrument development, survey modeling in Qualtrics, managing dissemination of surveys, building and analyzing statistical models, writing conference papers and journal papers, presenting at conferences, conducting systematic literature reviews, newspaper archival search, developing websites, network data collection, developing interview instruments, conducting interviews
Member, Sep 2022 - Present
Sustainability Advisory Board, City of Lawrence, Kansas, United States
Summer Fellow, May 2022 - Aug 2022
KU Center for Undergraduate Research, University of Kansas, United States
Assisting with the Emerging Scholars program, engaging minority & low-income undergraduate students with research
Intern, Jun 2020 - Apr 2021
EnTech Engineering PC, NYC, United States
Assisting BIM Team
Graduate Assistant, Jun 2019 - May 2020
Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States
Developing climate action plans
Performing building energy analysis; wastewater treatment plant analysis; GHG emissions, and solar analysis
Energy code support
Conducting investigations of energy use in buildings and construction types
Co-founder, CEO, Jul 2017 - Aug 2019
Paydar Andish Sayan Company (LLC), Tehran, Iran
Projects:
Collaboration with the Organization for Development, Renovation, and Equipping Schools of Iran to develop a sustainable building assessment system for schools.
Collaboration with Iran Insurance Company to develop building assessment models to determine insurance rates for buildings with various risk levels.
Negotiation with the Road, Housing & Urban Development Research Center, Ministry of Road & Urban Development, Iran, and HQE, the French certification, to develop a national rating system for sustainable buildings in Iran.
Architect, Assistant Construction Superintendent, Apr 2016 - Aug 2018
Kanisavaran Architectural Group, Tehran, Iran
Projects:
Lomenz Restaurant/ Construction Document Preparation
Shila Chain Restaurant, Tirajeh Branch/ Interior Design, Construction
Shila Chain Restaurant, Palizi Branch/ Interior Design, Construction
Architect, Assistant Construction Superintendent, May 2014 - Jun 2015
Tajang Ista Architectural Group, Tehran, Iran
Projects:
Buon Cibo Italian Restaurant/ Interior Design, Construction
Douran Group Managers` Offices/ Interior Design, Construction
Carpet City/ Food Court Interior and Furniture Design
Nirou Trans Company`s Booth, Tehran International Exhibition/ Design and Construction