Anna-Marie OpgenorthGraduate Studentshe/her/hers

I am a first-year PhD student in Civil Society & Community Research (CSCR). My research focuses on how beliefs profoundly embedded within Western culture shape our built environment, specifically urban housing. I am deeply curious about cities as complex living systems that make physical the beliefs of prevailing power structures and manifest a lived reality that perfectly expresses the systems from which they emerge. Inspired to develop a transdisciplinary practice, I engage with researchers across art/history, design, philosophy, sociology, geography, Indigenous studies, urban planning, real estate, and economics to locate leverage points from which participatory action facilitates systemic migration toward justice.

A core principle guiding my research is maintaining awareness that program outcomes cannot be fully anticipated. By uncoupling planned actions from predetermined outcomes, I seek to center individual and community needs and beliefs as the data that informs planned and processed actions.

As an executive-level professional with experience in the civic, private, and public sectors, I have had the privilege of engaging with the built environment in various roles influenced by diverse incentives. My professional practice has drawn from the spaces between historic preservation advocacy, real estate development, urban planning, public history, civic dialogue and discussion, regional transit, creative/community outreach, women’s advocacy, and nonprofit administration and consultation.

I have developed and executed impactful legacy events supporting community organizations and initiatives that continue to have relevance, from panel discussion series to educational, citywide programs drawing tens of thousands. My portfolio includes house and neighborhood histories, neighborhood charettes, policy position papers, neighborhood strategic plans, real estate impact reports, and white papers on innovation districts and creative placemaking.

I am thrilled to move forward braiding these interdisciplinary experiences and projects into my research within CSCR, at the School of Human Ecology, and in collaboration with fellow academics across campus and our global community.

Awards and Recognition

• Wisconsin Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies Paper Recognition Award, Co-Authored: Why climate change, environmental disasters, corporate accountability, democracy, and indigenous solidarity matter on global, national, and local scales.
• Cream of the Cream City Award, Co-recipient, Outstanding Contributions to Historic Preservation

Certifications

• Soliya Online Dialogue Facilitation
• Foundations of Mindful Leadership, Growing Minds
• Frank Zeidler Center for Public Discussion, Facilitator Certification
• Buildings, Landscapes, and Cultures Field School, UW–Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning
• Milwaukee I-Corps™️ Program, Lubar Entrepreneurship Center, UW–Milwaukee