I grew up in the exurbs of southern Florida where branching curvilinear roads, gated cookie-cutter housing communities and retail chains were built on top of wetlands. We had family meals mostly at our family’s round, wicker table and occasionally at the Cracker Barrel somewhere around where I-95 crosses the Saint Lucie River, a waterway which would become nationally known for blooming cyanobacteria slime due to toxic discharges from Lake Okeechobee. The setting of my childhood led me to question the American Dream and designers’ role in it. After moving to New Orleans in 2000, I became interested in how we can design for a justice- and equity-centered built environment. I’m an architect at Colloqate, a multidisciplinary Design Justice practice focused on expanding community access to - and building power through - the design of social, civic, and cultural spaces. Our mission is to intentionally organize, advocate, and design spaces of racial, social and cultural equity.