Kristina Hill, Education Committee Chair

Kristina Hill is an associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Professor Hill studies urban ecology and hydrology in relationship to physical design and social justice issues. Her primary area of work is in adapting urban districts and shorezones to the new challenges associated with climate change.

In the past, she helped to develop new ideas for urban water system design that support salmon health in the Pacific Northwest. Her involvement as a citizen in urban system advocacy led her to serve as the head of a transit agency in Seattle, after helping to found that agency as a volunteer board member.

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, she became a member of the Dutch-American engineering and design team that developed New Orleans water management strategy. She continues to collaborate internationally to understand the potential for designs to help protect coastal communities as sea levels rise. Full Bio.

Ben Metcalf, Practice Director

Ben Metcalf is the Managing Director of the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley where he leads both the expansion and deepening of Terner Center’s work solving housing affordability challenges through policy, practice and innovations. In 2015, Ben was appointed by former Governor Jerry Brown to lead California’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), a role he held until 2019. During his tenure at the State, Ben played an instrumental role in the passage and implementation of the 2017 Housing Package and oversaw the Department during a period of significant expansion of the state’s financial and regulatory reach into housing and land use matters. In addition, he served on the board of directors of the California Housing Partnership Corporation, the California Housing Finance Agency, and was the founding chair of the State of California’s Homelessness Coordinating and Finance Council. Prior to joining HCD, Ben worked in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C., including as an appointee of President Obama in the role of Deputy Assistant Secretary overseeing HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing Programs. Full Bio.

Christopher Calott, AIA, ULI, LF '12, Capstone Director

Christopher Calott, AIA is an award-winning architect, urban designer, academic and real estate developer.  He is the inaugural Lalanne Chair in Real Estate Development, Architecture & Urbanism at UC Berkeley, and the founding Faculty Director of a new Master of Real Estate Development + Design Program, which he launched in 2018. He is also currently the Vice Chair of the Master of Urban Design Program, where he instructs on urban design practice, theory, and large scale urban redevelopment. Previously, he was the Director of the Master of Sustainable Real Estate Development Program at Tulane University, where he developed a curriculum in “regenerative development”, working in post-Katrina New Orleans, and throughout the United States. His academic focus and applied research investigates the agency and role that design can play in the creation of more vibrant and socially equitable urban places, often through a critical understanding of development practices and their impact on social, economic and urban form. Calott has pursued significant research in the areas of urbanism, affordable housing, informal settlements and sustainability through competitions, community-based projects and published work tied to teaching appointments at numerous Universities throughout the United States, Mexico and Latin America. And, his longstanding work and research on informal urbanization patterns and social justice issues at the US - Mexico Borderlands culminated in FRONTERA / BORDER: 7th Concurso Internacional ARQUINE, an international design competition and Congress convened in Mexico City. He has continued his research and writing on informal settlement communities, also working in Mumbai, India, and while at Berkeley recently investigating fringe settlements in Cairo, Egypt through a National Science Foundation grant. Full Bio.

Greg Morrow, Director

Greg Morrow is Director of the Nancy and Douglas Abbey MRED+D Program. He is trained as an architect, city planner, and urban designer, with experience in real estate development and environmental policy.

He joined CED from Pepperdine University's Graziadio Business School where he served as Executive Director of the Institute of Real Estate, Academic Director of the Master in Science of Real Estate program, and Sands Executive Professor in Real Estate. Previously, he was the Richard Parker Professor in Metropolitan Growth & Change at the University of Calgary, a joint appointment in the Haskayne School of Business and School of Architecture, Planning & Landscape. He has practiced in architecture, city planning, and real estate development.

His research interests and teaching is in the areas of real estate development, housing, metropolitan growth, and sustainable community development. He has served on the Calgary Planning Commission, LA County Homeless Initiative (Measure H) Citizens Oversight Advisory Board, and ULI LA Leadership Council. He has a Ph.D. from UCLA in urban planning, an urban design certificate and masters in city planning and architecture from MIT, and undergraduate and professional architecture degrees from McGill University. Full Bio.

Sabrina Lazarus, Director of Student Services

Sabrina joins the Abbey MRED+D after five years serving as an Associate Director at the Columbia Business School in New York, working closely with Executive and Full-Time MBA applicants around the world. Having returned to her native Bay Area, she has most recently been the Interim Director of Graduate Enrollment Management at the University of San Francisco's School of Nursing and Health Professions. Before temporarily decamping to the East Coast and finding her professional home in higher education, Sabrina was a freelance theatrical stage manager, often working just down the street from campus at Berkeley Rep, Aurora Theatre, or Berkeley Playhouse. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Northwestern's Medill School and a master's degree in American Studies from Columbia University. Full Bio.

Paul Curcio, Director of Career Development + Industry Outreach

Paul D. Curcio is an accomplished urban designer, educator, and consultant with more than 30 years of success in urban systems, transportation, and real estate development.  His professional pursuits have focused on Universities, Fortune 100 companies, government agencies, and businesses that enable transformative civic impact.

As an award-winning urban planner and designer, he has held land development and urban design leadership positions with the City of San Diego, the State of Oregon, Disney Development Company, and MBT Associates.  He’s managed centers and executive education for the UCLA Anderson School, the UCLA School of Public Affairs, and the Urban Innovations Group. He currently serves on the LA METRO Office of Extraordinary Innovation advisory board, where he helps transform legacy value delivery systems to enable digital age value propositions. Full Bio.

Angie Solis, Program Assistant/Scheduler

Angie Solis is the Program Administrative Assistant and Scheduler with the Institute of Urban & Regional Development (IURD) in the College of Environmental Design. She provides support for administrative services and general operations and is responsible for academic course scheduling and course/curriculum management for the Abbey Master of Real Estate Development + Design (MRED+D), Master of Urban Design (MUD), and Sustainable Environmental Design (SED) programs. Angie has a BA in Sociology with an emphasis in Education from UC Berkeley and plans to obtain her masters in Counseling with a focus in Higher Education. As a first generation Latinx Queer Woman, Angie is passionate about self-advocacy and reproductive health and hopes to inspire her community. Angie loves to travel and explore visual and performing arts in every aspect.