ALEXANDRA POLLOCK
ABOUT
I am a Chicago native, a graduate of McGill University, and a current graduate student in the College of Urban Planning and Policy at UIC. I believe in an equitable, sustainable future for Chicago, and I look forward to a career in the development, planning, or design realm where I can contribute to that future.
EDUCATION
2021-2023E
University of Illinois - Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Master of Urban Planning; City Design Studio Manager
2016-2020
McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
Bachelor of Arts
Major: Urban Systems
Minors: Social Entrepreneurship and International Development
Jan-May 2019
Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
Exchange Semester
2012-2016
Walter Payton College Prep, Chicago, Illinois, USA
High School Diploma
Societies and Activities: President and Cofounder of Mock Trial, President of Habitat for Humanity, soccer team
EXPERIENCE
May 2022-August 2022
Michaels Development Company, Development Intern
Supported the affordable development team by preparing marketing and application materials, including pro formas, data visualization using Excel and GIS Pro, and development branding materials using Adobe Creative Suite.
August 2021-Present
UIC City Design, Studio Manager
Coordinated guest lectures and studio events. Led tutorial sessions on the planmaking process and producing a community profile. Completed all requirements for the Master of City Design program.
Jan 2020-Present
Avi Friedman Consultants, Urban Design Consultant
Researched best practices in urban design. Co-authored Fundamentals of Planning Cities for Healthy Living, which was published by Anthem Press in September 2022.
SKILLS
Adobe Creative Suite, ArcGis Pro, Copywriting, Microsoft Office, R-Studio, Rhino, Sketch Up, Wix.
VOLUNTEER WORK
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Schildershoeve City Farm, The Hague, Netherlands. Volunteer, March 2019-May 2019.
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International Development Studies Students' Association, Montreal, Quebec. Peer Tutor, September 2018-December 2018.
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Arts Undergraduate Society, Montreal, Quebec. Orientation Leader, August 2017; August 2018.
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Habitat for Humanity McGill, Montreal, Quebec. Local Outreach Coordinator, 2017-2018.
LANGUAGES
English (native), French (elementary proficiency), Spanish (limited working proficiency).
PASSION PROJECTS
In Fall 2019, I began work on an app called Neighbourly as part of an architecture course. I continued to work on the app in a Spring 2020 entrepreneurship class and on my own time throughout summer 2020. Neighbourly is a platform where small businesses can set up online storefronts displaying their inventory, even small businesses like corner stores that would not typically have an online presence. The app incentivizes local shopping by bringing the convenience of online shopping closer to home, thereby encouraging the formation of more sustainable communities.
INTERESTS
Running, woodworking, making playlists, horror movies, anything outdoors.
WORK
This project, completed for a graduate course in real estate finance, demonstrates my InDesign abilities and the intersection of my interests in planning, design and business.
With a team of students from the Urban Planning and City Design programs at UIC, I worked intensively over a four-week period to produce this urban design plan for McKinley Park. The planmaking process involved a series of community engagement events, including a formal charrette. As studio manager, I coordinated the project workflow, liaised between UIC students and local stakeholders, and produced the final plan document using Adobe InDesign.
This chapter is an excerpt from the book I co-authored, Fundamentals of Urban Design for Public Health, which will be published by Anthem in August 2022.
Along with several of my peers at UIC, I produced this neighborhood plan for Humboldt Park. As studio manager, I coordinated the workflow of nineteen students, presented the project to industry leaders, and created the final plan document using InDesign.
This project, completed for a 400-level management course in the Fall 2018 semester, demonstrates my academic background in social business and my Powerpoint and Adobe InDesign abilities.