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Jennifer Min Lee wins APA scholarship

Jennifer Min Lee (MUP’14) has won the American Planning Association’s 2013 Charles Abrams Scholarship. Abrams was a renowned urbanist and founder of the New York City Housing Authority, and students in planning programs where Abrams taught–Columbia, Harvard, MIT, the New School, and University of Pennsylvania–are eligible for the $2,000 award. “I’m really grateful to have received the scholarship, especially since I know that other highly qualified students applied as well,” said Lee. She is the first GSD student to win the Abrams Scholarship since Kristin Malia Garcia in 2002.

Lee, a southern California native, studied international relations at Wellesley College and graduated in 2012. She said her undergraduate studies sparked an interest urban development patterns. “I thought that urban planning could be an interesting micro-scale approach in framing the various environmental, political and social problems present in cities that I was interested in,” she said. Lee said her plans for after graduation are still forming, but she would like to work on housing issues.

As Ann Forsyth (professor of urban planning) explained, “It is a terrific honor for Jennifer and for Harvard. Charles Abrams was an important advocate for improving urban housing and chaired the New York State Commission Against Discrimination. Jennifer wants to promote social justice through planning so it is particularly apt that she has received an award in his honor.”

Learn more about the APA scholarships and fellowships.