Staff

yittazel@uic.edu; 312-996-6674

Mr. Zelalem has been with the UIC Voorhees Center since 1996 – first as Senior Planner, and as Co-Director since 2004. Prior to that, he worked as Director of Housing Policy Analysis at the Chicago Rehab Network. He also worked for over half a dozen years as Director of Property Development and Executive Director of several CDCs in Chicago. An expert in affordable housing finance and public housing, Yittayih has extensive experience in real estate development and housing finance and policy.  Yittayih was also professor of law at the Addis Ababa University Law School in Ethiopia and currently teaches development financing courses. Mr. Zelalem has law degrees from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia and the Yale Law School, as well as a Masters Degree in Urban Development.

Pronouns: He/him

Jasmine Gunn, an alum of both the Voorhees Center and the MUPP program, is joining the UIC Voorhees Center as the Janet L. Smith Practitioner in Residence, assuming the role for a one-year period between August 16, 2025, and August 16, 2026. A professional deeply rooted in community development and housing policy, Jasmine is dedicated to advancing equitable urban development through a combination of public, nonprofit, and academic roles. As City Planner V for the City of Chicago, she led the award-winning comprehensive development plan for the $5.3 billion Red Line Extension Transit Supportive Development plan.

Pronouns: She/her

cmcoste2@uic.edu

Claire is a Master of Urban Planning and Policy graduate at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). She is interested in environmental planning, sustainability, affordable housing, and GIS. Prior to coming to UIC, Claire worked at the environmental nonprofit Delta Institute, in a role focused on research, mapping, and data analysis. She has also previously worked at a community development financial institution. Claire holds bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Environmental Studies from the University of Chicago and attained her LEED Green Associate credential in 2021.

Pronouns: She/her

Colin is a Master of Public Policy graduate with a focus in public health.  After growing up in Naperville, Illinois he went on to study political science at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, graduating in 2022. Before enrolling at CUPPA, he interned for the Jefferson Educational Society, a community think tank in Erie, Pennsylvania. Under the supervision of Dr. Allyson Holbrook, he recently conducted research on modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors for mood disorders. Colin’s main interest is exploring planning and policy levers which facilitate the health and prosperity of all community members.

Elizabeth is a Master of Urban Planning and Policy student at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Prior to UIC, she worked as a research analyst in the Urban Institute’s Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center. Elizabeth graduated from Macalester College with a BA in political science, a concentration in urban studies, and minors in statistics and psychology. Her research interests include housing justice, spatial planning, and neighborhood change.

Pronouns: She/her

lholm11@uic.edu

Lauren is currently completing a Masters of Urban Planning and Policy specializing in Community Development at University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Before UIC, Lauren worked as a Software Consultant within the Environment, Health & Safety, and Sustainability department at Arcadis. Lauren received her BA from Oberlin College with majors in Environmental Studies and Geology. Through her studies and research, she hopes to follow her passions in affordable housing, sustainable and equitable development, and community informed change.

Pronouns: She/her

Nooshin is a research assistant with an interest in economic development, transportation planning, and statistical and geospatial analytics, with a focus on socio-environmental considerations. She earned her Master of Urban Planning and Policy in 2023 and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at UIC. Her research centers on equitable access to opportunities and the influence of urban spatial structures and socio-economic factors on this access. She is passionate about applying data-driven insights to create more inclusive and sustainable urban environments.

Pronouns: She/her

Joshua Drucker’s interests center around the processes of regional economic development and transformation, seeking to understand phenomena of growth, decline, and adjustment to design policies to achieve and sustain positive economic outcomes. His research focuses on three main areas: external factors that determine business and economic performance, innovation & entrepreneurship, and economic analysis for practitioners. Joshua has been working with the Voorhees Center for many years providing expertise and playing an important role in the conduct of ‘Economic Impact Analysis’, most notably for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration – NASA.

April is an Associate Professor in the Department of Urban Planning and Policy at the University of Illinois Chicago. As a community-engaged scholar-practitioner, her work examines place-based, neighborhood-level affordable housing strategies that seek to embed racial equity and reparations in spatial plans and policies, highlighting inclusive planning processes that aim to improve communities of color. April collaborated with the Voorhees Center to update the ‘Gentrification Index’ and to conduct the ‘Chicago Plan for Transformation (PFT) and Choice at Year 25’ study that reviews the Plan For Transformation process and implications.

Nebiyou Tilahun’s research focuses on travel behavior, transport equity and accessibility, and the safety and equity implications of automated traffic enforcement. To align policy and planning decisions with user preferences, his work examines how people value different attributes of travel and the built environment, and how social networks influence travel behavior. Nebiyou has collaborated with the Voorhees Center on the ‘Advancing the Green Economy in the Transportation and Logistics (T&L) Sector of Northeast Illinois’ study that examines three distinct areas: electric vehicles and charging infrastructure; warehousing & logistics; and transit vehicle electrification.