Teska is excited to welcome intern, Ali Begazo to our team of planners and placemakers! Prior to joining Teska, Ali worked as a Housing Advocate for the Austin Tenants Council in Austin, Texas and served as a Community Affairs Intern for the Illinois Housing Development Authority in Chicago, Illinois.
A recent grad and past teaching assistant, Ali serves as a Board Member on the Latinx Planning Organization for Development, Education, and Regeneration (LPODER) and is fluent in Spanish, spreadsheets, ESRI, and data mapping. She received her Bachelors in Hispanic Studies and History from McGill University in Montreal and completed her Masters in Urban Planning and Policy with a focus on community development and housing advocacy from University of Illinois at Chicago.
What else? Read on!
Questions + Answers
Where did you grow up? Where are you living now?
I grew up in Westchester, NY, and now I live in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago. I made a few stops along the way and lived in Montreal, Quebec and Austin, Texas for a couple years before settling here in Chicago.
How did you stumble into / upon urban planning?
I found out about planning in my last semester of undergrad and wanted to know more. Then I worked in tenant advocacy for a few years, and that got me into the world of housing and city planning issues. I never looked back!
What’s your favorite part of planning?
I love hearing from communities and figuring out creative solutions to planning issues. I also love to make maps and help find patterns in data through mapping.
Any hobbies / interests?
I collect postcards! Every new place I go I try and grab a postcard to add to the collection. I’m also a huge fan of documentaries (especially true crime), and have gotten really into paint by numbers during COVID/quarantine.
How would your friends describe you in three words…
The meme queen™
Favorite food, go!
Any Peruvian food! Lomo saltado and yuca a la huancaina are my favorites.