Rand is a first year Ph.D. student in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Michigan with a research focus on planning practices in cities in conflict and post-conflict. She is interested in understanding how urban space in contested cities is shaped and developed by non-state actors that
operate within political and sectarian milieus and how that affects the livelihoods of disenfranchised communities.
Prior to embarking on her Ph.D., Rand worked as a Researcher at the American University of Beirut working on a research project that aimed at questioning how the urban dimensions of cities affect refugee’s livelihood and the subsequent meaning of work to them. Specifically, she explored how cities
are shaped, and how the different policies implemented at the national level hinder or expedite the chances of refugees, especially women, to participate in the workforce.
Rand completed her undergraduate degree in Architecture at the Lebanese American University (2018) and a Master in Community and Regional Planning with a focus on post-disaster recovery at The University of Texas at Austin (2022).