Kate Slevin

1. Why did you choose Wagner for graduate school?

I was working at the New York City Parks Department and was attracted to the curriculum and the option of going to school part-time while keeping my full-time job.

2. How did being in New York impact your professional journey?

The energy and intelligence in New York is inspiring. Plus, being in a waterfront "city of islands" teaches you about resiliency, transportation, and how to deal with growth limits. 

3. Describe your current job. 

I manage the policy and planning work for a 120+ year-old nonprofit organization working for a more livable city. We do advocacy, public events, and programming related to urban planning and preservation issues in the city. Right now I am spending a lot of time working on the issue of supertall towers and fixing Penn Station. Both involve research, meetings with key stakeholders, and developing campaign strategies. We also have a great series of workshops, “Livable Neighborhood Program,” which teaches citizens the basics of urban planning, city government, and advocacy. I manage that program and teach many of those sessions.