Urban Planning ‘92 alumnus Marc Norman was recently named a Harvard Graduate School of Design Loeb Fellow. This highly prestigious fellowship, comprised of top professionals in design, entails a year-long opportunity to study and work on projects through Harvard GSD and MIT.

“I started interning at Skid Row Housing Trust while still a student at UCLA which exposed me to the ways planning skills could be applied to address the affordable housing crisis,” says Norman. “The skills and knowledge gained at both places prepared me for interesting positions at Local Initiatives Support Corporation, private consulting, Deutsche Bank and academia. [Urban] Planning really set up a wealth of opportunities and experiences.”

After graduating from UCLA Luskin, Norman worked in the field of community development and finance for over 15 years, focusing his efforts on economic development, employment opportunities, and affordable housing for the community. Norman is now the director of UPSTATE, a Center for Design Research and Real Estate at Syracuse University School of Architecture, and teaches courses on real estate and policy at the school.

As a Loeb Fellow, Norman plans to examine finance and design practices in order to identify the best approach to funding equitable and progressive urban development. The culmination of his research will come with the launching of the Design Innovation Fund in spring 2015.