Loeb Fellowship at Harvard GSD announces incoming class of 2024
(Rows, left to right) Catherine Buell, Akeem Dixon, Henry Grabar, Mavis Gragg, Maria-Mercedes Jaramillo Garcés, Adi Kumar, Line Ramstad, Kannan Thiruvengadam, and Joseph Zeal-Henry.
The Loeb Fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) has chosen the 2024 Class of Loeb Fellows: nine innovators, problem solvers, visionaries, and practitioners who lead the charge for social justice and transformative change. They work in fields as diverse as post-disaster support, cultural infrastructure, land ownership reform, and climate justice.
Every academic year, the Loeb Fellowship at Harvard GSD welcomes a new cohort of gifted mid-career professionals. They arrive from diverse backgrounds but share a passion and common purpose: to strengthen their abilities to advance equity and achieve positive social outcomes. During their 10-month residency, Loeb Fellows immerse themselves in a rich academic environment, auditing courses at Harvard and MIT, exchanging insights, and expanding professional networks. They also engage with Harvard GSD students and faculty, participate as speakers and panelists at public events, and convene workshops and other activities that encourage knowledge sharing and creation. Throughout, Loeb Fellows consider how they might refocus their careers and broaden the impact of their work.
The 2024 Loeb Fellows
Catherine Buell Former director, Amazon Housing Equity Fund / Washington, D.C.
Akeem Dixon Founder and CEO, The Intersect / Philadelphia
Henry Grabar Staff writer, Slate / Paris and New York, New York
Mavis Gragg CEO, HeirShares / Durham, North Carolina
Maria-Mercedes Jaramillo Garcés Secretary of planning, city of Bogotá / Bogotá, Colombia
Adi Kumar Executive director, Ndifuna Ukwazi / Cape Town, South Africa
Line Ramstad Founder and director, Gyaw Gyaw / Vormsund, Norway
Kannan Thiruvengadam Director, Eastie Farm, Inc. / Boston
Joseph Zeal-Henry Co-Founder, Sound Advice and capital development manager, Greater London Authority / London, 2024 Loeb/ArtLab Fellow
“Every year, Loeb Fellows add a special, irreplaceable energy to the GSD community. They come from all over the world, bringing with them such rich and varied experiences and an ambitious optimism that opens our eyes to what’s possible. says Sarah M. Whiting, GSD dean and Josep Lluís Sert Professor of Architecture. “At the GSD, we are incredibly fortunate to count them among us, and I can’t wait to welcome next year’s class in Cambridge.”
“When the Selection Committee makes its decision in the spring, we already know these individuals are highly accomplished and show great promise for growing their influence,” says Loeb Fellowship Curator John Peterson. “Our work is to recognize the opportunity this educational experience presents for and the catalyzing effect being within the cohort has on their potential.” Peterson is an architect, activist, and curator of the Loeb Fellowship program.
The Loeb Fellowship traces its roots to the late 1960s, when John L. Loeb directed a Harvard GSD campaign based on the theme “Crisis.” Loeb saw the American city in disarray and believed Harvard could help. He imagined bringing promising innovators of the built and natural environment to Harvard GSD for a year, challenging them to do more and do better, convinced they would return to their work with new ideas and energy.
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