Alumni Insights
Navigating Your Future at Taubman College

Diana Anda is an urban designer, educator, and architectural designer committed to advancing equity, resilience, and community-driven design. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture with a minor in Architecture History and Theory from Oklahoma State University, where she co-founded The Almighty S, an organization for women in design.

She earned her Master of Urban Design from the University of Michigan, along with a certification in research and teaching. Her graduate thesis examined resilience and community-led practices in Southwest Detroit through bilingual methods of engagement. During her studies, she was selected as a Yale Environmental Fellow and worked with We the People of Detroit to develop a green stormwater infrastructure demonstration site in 2023.

After graduating in December 2023, Diana began teaching the freshman design studio at the University of Texas at Arlington’s School of Architecture. In June 2024, she presented her graduate research on participatory urbanisms at the international Inflections Conference in Querétaro, Mexico.

In 2025, Diana joined Diverse Studio in Dallas, where she currently practices as part of a mission-driven design, interiors, and planning team. Her professional work focuses on community revitalization and adaptive reuse projects that strengthen social and cultural connections.

Across her academic, teaching, and professional experiences, Diana continues to bridge research and practice. Her work centers on design justice, community engagement, and sustainability—advancing the role of architecture and urban design in fostering dignity, belonging, and opportunity.

Jonny Hanna is an Iraqi-American licensed architect, trained urban designer, writer and teacher. He received his Master of Urban Design from the University of Michigan and his Master of Architecture from the Princeton School of Architecture where he also received a Graduate Certificate in Health and Health Policy from the School of Public and International Affairs.

Jonny is currently Adjunct Faculty at Lawrence Technological University where he teaches courses in Visual Communication, Design Studio, and was most recently Interim Coordinator of the M.Arch program Thesis course.

Jonny’s research is centered around the idea of “Re-indigenizing” architecture which seeks to center global indigenous building practices within our contemporary frameworks.

Jonny is also the founder of Hbb Design Collaborative, a Detroit based architecture design practice which focuses on the implementation of the academic research through housing, mixed use, commercial, and institutional design projects. Hbb Deco has completed work for many community based organizations as well as large scale developers. His work has further been supported by the Burning Man Global Arts Grant, the Miami Foundation, and the New York Foundation for the Arts.

Sonam Agarwal is a trained Urban Designer and a licensed Indian Architect. She was awarded a gold medal for her undergraduate degree in Architecture from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, where she focused her final dissertation and thesis on Architectural Psychology and the design of a Museum of Emotions. She holds a Master’s degree in Urban Design from the University of Michigan. While at Taubman College, Sonam worked extensively in Detroit through various electives and assistantships, including projects with the Detroit Story Lab and the Michigan-Mellon Project on the Egalitarian Metropolis.

Driven by her passion for using design as a tool to understand and uplift diverse communities, she joined Toole Design Group in 2024 after completing her graduate degree. At Toole Design, her work is multidisciplinary – spanning planning, data, design, and engineering. As one of the first Urban Designers in the Mid-Atlantic region for the firm, she has played a key role in bridging the gap between these disciplines to promote more integrated, people-centered solutions. With a focus on Multimodal Transportation Design, Safety Toolkits, and Active Transportation Plans, Sonam contributes to reshaping one of the most impactful elements of the public realm: The Streetscape.

She is actively involved in several architecture and design organizations in Pittsburgh, including AIA, NOMA, and YAF (Young Architects Forum), and is continually shaping her journey as a cross-cultural designer in the country.

Travis Crabtree is a landscape architect and urban designer based in Jackson, Mississippi. He is the founder of TREE Urban Design + Landscape Architecture Studio, established in 2020 as an interdisciplinary practice focused on creating resilient public spaces and green infrastructure systems.

TREE’s work primarily centers around post-industrial cities facing challenges of depopulation and divestment, where design can serve as a catalyst for new forms of urban life. Jackson, Mississippi has been a central testing ground for these ideas, offering opportunities to experiment with landscape urbanism approaches that integrate ecology, mobility, and public space. By reimagining the city’s landscapes as connective infrastructure, the firm aims to create places that spark economic reinvestment, strengthen cultural identity, and attract the next generation to live and work in the city rather than the suburbs.

TREE has emerged as a regional leader in design of public space, green infrastructure, complete street networks, parks and trail systems, and stormwater best management practices. From large-scale frameworks to detailed implementation plans, the firm’s approach emphasizes collaboration with public agencies, private partners, and community stakeholders to deliver projects that are visionary yet practical. By working directly with the Mayor’s office, state representatives, philanthropic organizations, and neighborhood groups, TREE is building stronger collaboration, creating more effective and community-driven outcomes. Crabtree is recognized as both a practitioner and civic leader, actively engaged in partnerships that bridge design innovation with economic development and cultural preservation. Through his work, he continues to demonstrate how landscape architecture and urban design can serve as powerful tools to connect people, places, and nature.

Donald is a Planner Manager, and the Urban Design Studio Lead in Houston Public Works. He is an AICP Planner and an Associate of the American Institute of Architects (assoc. AIA). He has worked around the country in both the public and private sectors. Originally from Ghana, he obtained his Bachelor’s and Post Graduate Degrees in Architecture from KNUST University. He later moved to the U.S. in 2005 and graduated from Taubman College, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 2008 with dual master’s degrees in urban design & urban planning. While in Ann Arbor he also obtained a Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies. He has been nicknamed ‘Donaldo da Vinci’ for his ability to combine art, design, science, and engineering within the built environment. He also uses his God-given skill as an artist and orator to bring clarity and simplicity to complex concepts to help engage multiple audiences.

Madeeha’s interests as an urban designer lie at the intersection of built environment, geopolitics and spatial mechanisms of territories. Hailing from Kashmir, Madeeha’s design sensibilities are influenced by ways in which our cities are invisibly colonized, thus reducing our right to them. She strongly believes in participatory design practices to promote resilience, equity, social justice and sustainability. She strives to empower urban design as a profession that breaks disciplinary silos and is central to an understanding of today’s world. Through multi-scalar mapping and design approaches, Madeeha aims to unpack the dynamic of constant flux that regions experience due to a multitude of internal and external factors, in the end to be tied to their place and communities.