Rochelle Brahalla is a transportation planner at the NYC Department of Transportation. After graduating with a B.S. in Landscape Architecture from Cornell University, she moved south to Memphis, TN to create productive landscapes through urban agriculture. While collaborating with local communities to build 100+ public school gardens in Memphis, Rochelle observed how structural inequalities in the built environment perpetuated the disenfranchisement of Black and Latinx communities. She came to understand the crucial role of transportation in facilitating equitable and thriving cities, and moved to NYC to continue creating meaningful infrastructural change. Within City government, Rochelle collaborates with DOT colleagues and other City agencies to develop innovative strategies to calm traffic near schools. During weekends, Rochelle enjoys biking in Brooklyn and admiring street trees. As a biracial Mauritanian-American, Rochelle is interested in local and global identity politics, and finds joy in riding trains and buses alongside fellow New Yorkers.