Theresa Hyuna Hwang is a community-engaged architect and founder of Department of Places, a participatory design and community engagement practice based in Los Angeles, CA. She has spent over 13 years focused on equitable cultural and community development. She was the former Director of Community Design and Planning at the Skid Row Housing Trust, a non-profit permanent supportive housing organization where she was the Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellow from 2009-2012. She received her Master of Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and Art History from the Johns Hopkins University.
From September 2016 - June 2018, Asian Arts Initiative created People:Power:Place, a cultural plan for Chinatown North/Callowhill, engaging 700+ individuals at 20+ community events during a community-led cultural planning process that captured 20+ recommendations for neighborhood improvements from neighbors seeking equitable change in their neighborhood.
