Micaela Lipman is a PhD student at the University at Buffalo with expertise in anti-adultism, feminist planning and food system planning. Lipman works in academia to explore creative solutions where adolescent programming, food policy, social justice, and community organizing meet. Micaela pursues innovative methodologies that cross the quantitative-qualitative divide. Lipman serves as a Teaching Assistant while completing her doctorate. Her students give her rave reviews and regularly comment on their appreciation for the time Micaela takes to connect and provide guidance. While not teaching, writing, or in class, Micaela works as the Program Co-Coordinator of the High Road Fellowship Program at Cornell University. As Program Co-Coordinator, Micaela supervises Cornell undergraduates during their summer placements at internships in Buffalo, New York and provides Fellows with trainings, seminars, and group programming focused on listening to community needs and developing research and organizing skills. Prior to moving to Buffalo, New York, Micaela was a Research Analyst at the Urban Institute in Washington, DC. There she worked on impact evaluations, systematic literature reviews, and community planning processes. At the Urban Institute, Micaela developed a reputation for excelling at community engaged methods and interdisciplinary work. Prior to her work at the Urban Institute, Micaela lived in Pichincha, Ecuador learning to farm and serving as the International Program Director at a regional agro-ecological school. In her free time, Micaela enjoys making art, specifically ceramics, acrylic paint collages, and fiber arts. Micaela also enjoys building community at her housing co-op by gardening with neighbors and playing board games with friends.
Lipman is interested in promoting intersectional research that stretches across boundaries and disciplines in the spirit of collective liberation. Micaela is interested in bringing oft under-emphasized sub-disciplines into the folds of mainstream planning scholarship. For example, food, by any means, is a basic necessity. However, food systems planning operates within a liminal planning space (though interest in the sub-field is growing in recent years). Another example of a sub-discipline of research Micaela is engaged in is planning with adolescents. Adolescents are an important population, and their needs differ from younger youth and older adults. However, planning for adolescents is rarely discussed within scholarly or practical planning circles. In addition to being motivated by under-studied research topics, Lipman is also inspired by using innovative research methods that bridge the quantitative-qualitative divide and explore new ways of incorporating community voices. Micaela engages in research which is community-led, partnership-driven, and impact-motivated.
Bachelor’s of Science from Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Development Sociology. Graduated in 2015.
Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from University at Buffalo, College of Architecture and Planning. Graduated in 2021.
1) Lipman and Caton Campbell. (Expected 2022). Codification and Inclusivity of Landmark Urban Agriculture Initiatives in Madison and Dane County, Wisconsin. In S. Raja, B. Born, M. Caton Campbell, A. Morales, & A. Judelsohn (Eds.), Planning for Urban Agriculture in the United States: Future Directions for A New Ethic in City Building. Springer. (Forthcoming)
2) Galvez, Martha M., Megan Thompson, Micaela F. Lipman, Susan J. Popkin, and Elaine Waxman. "Exploring Teen Food Insecurity in Portland, Oregon." (2018)
3) Aron, Laudan, Mary Bogle, Mychal Cohen, and Micaela Lipman. "Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery: Toward a 10-Year Plan for Improving Mental Health and Wellness in Tulsa." (2018).
4) Lynch, Mathew, Nan Marie Astone, Juan Collazos, Micaela Lipman, and Sino Esthappan. "Arches transformative mentoring program: An Implementation and Impact Evaluation in New York City, New York City.” (2018)
