Two of our graduate assistants, Katie Lee and Makenzie Mann, have earned master's degrees in urban and regional planning from the Virginia Tech School of Public and International Affairs! Katie and Makenzie began working for the Center for Economic and Community Engagement in August 2024. 

Katie Lee stands in front of fence at battlefield in New Market, VA
Katie Lee traveled to New Market, VA to survey visitors to battlefield sites as part of a CECE economic impact study. Photo by Julia Kell for Virginia Tech.

Katie Lee plans to move to Richmond, Virginia to start her career. During her time at CECE, she worked on projects focused on outdoor recreation and tourism, agriculture and food systems, impact evaluation, and innovation districts.

"My time as a graduate assistant with CECE has been both professionally challenging and rewarding," Lee said. "Through this role, I developed skills in qualitative and quantitative research, report writing, and project management. A particular highlight was contributing to the food systems resilience planning project with Virginia Cooperative Extension. I hope that my secondary data research and qualitative thematic analysis will continue to inform this important work as the project team moves forward. Above all, I am grateful to have worked alongside such a talented and supportive cohort of graduate assistants. The connections I've built through CECE are ones I intend to carry with me through my career."

Read more about Katie's work with CECE.

Makenzie Mann speaks about her project poster at conference.
At a poster session at the Engagement Scholarship Consortium conference, Makenzie Mann speaks about a project she worked on at CECE evaluating a rural early childhood education workforce development program. Photo by Diane Deffenbaugh.

Makenzie Mann has accepted a position in Washington D.C. With Mead & Hunt as a transportation planner. Across her time at the center, Mann worked on projects focused on early childhood education, housing, substance use disorder recovery, workforce development, and impact evaluation.

"I am deeply grateful for CECE's support throughout my graduate career and for all the wonderful connections and coworkers," Mann said. "I've truly enjoyed my time assisting in facilitations, mapmaking, and all my visits out to southwest Virginia for various projects. I am also grateful for the opportunity to present on some of my CECE work at the Engagement Scholarship Consortium conference in Roanoke this past October. I am excited to take these lessons up to my full-time career in planning this summer!" 

Read more about Makenzie's work with CECE.