Who We Are: Research Assistants
Lily Gordon-Koven is a Master of Urban Planning Candidate at NYU 
Wagner, with a Environment, Infrastructure, and Transportation specialization. She holds a B.A. in Geography and Urban Studies from Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. While in Saint Paul, Lily worked on community engagement and safe streets projects surrounding the new Green Line Light Rail Corridor. Before coming to Wagner, Lily worked as a subsidized housing case manager and a Complete Streets Fellow at the National Complete Streets Coalition in Chicago. She is interested in equitable access to public transportation, pedestrian and bicycle safety and planning, and public space.
Jorge Hernandez is a Master of Urban Planning candidate (2016) at NYU Wagner, with a International Development
specialization.Jorge obtained his B.A. in Urban Studies and Planning from U.C. San Diego and during his undergraduate career has interned and volunteered with various organizations focused on environmental and equitable planning. He has also participated in various research programs, where he has investigated themes ranging from local community planning to Mexican migration and their associations with environmental, transportation, and economic variables. Jorge is interested in sustainable and equitable solutions to problems in developing countries. More specifically, he hopes to work with countries undergoing rapid urbanization to form innovating solutions to environmental and transportation issues.
Sam Levy is a Master of Urban Planning candidate (2016) at NYU Wagner, with a Housing and Economic Development specialization. He earned his B.A. in Anthropology from Grinnell College in Iowa in 2011 and spent the last three years working for Stanford University in their Land Use and Environmental Planning Department. While there, he also worked with the Stanford Law School and did a spatial-statistical analysis of county preparedness for California’s prison realignment (AB 109).
Daniel Rathman is a Master of Urban Planning (2015) candidate at NYU Wagner. He earned a B.A. in economics from Tufts University and did undergraduate research on the determinants of local television ratings in Major League Baseball. Daniel served as editor-in-chief of The Tufts Daily student-run newspaper in the spring of 2012, has previously interned at New England Sports Network, and is currently a writer and editor for Baseball Prospectus. He is interested in the ways professional sports facilities impact transportation in big cities, and in the applications of Geographic Information Systems. Daniel was born and raised in San Francisco.Emily Rhodes is a Master of Urban Planning Candidate at NYU 
Wagner specializing in Environment, Infrastructure and Transportation. Previously Emily served as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Outreach Supervisor at Met Council. In this position, she developed and oversaw a citywide program aimed at reducing the effects of food insecurity throughout New York City. She is interested in planning policies and practices that improve transportation systems and increase access to vital city resources. Emily holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Sociology with a concentration in Urban Affairs from Kalamazoo College in Michigan.
College of Arts and Science double majoring in journalism and metropolitan studies. Lauren has previously interned at the International Business Times, InStyle Czech Republic, and New York Daily News, and is currently interning at amNewYork. She is interested in writing about how city infrastructure affects the population. She grew up in Arkansas and Colorado.