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 incoming cohort of 2024 Loeb Fellows are:
Catherine Buell
Former Director, Amazon Housing Equity Fund / Washington, DC, USA
Akeem Dixon
Founder and CEO, The Intersect / Philadelphia, PA, USA
Henry Grabar
Staff Writer, Slate / Paris, France and New York, NY, USA
Mavis Gragg
CEO, HeirShares / Durham, NC, USA
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, MA, USA
Joseph Zeal-Henry
Co-Founder, SOUND ADVICE and Capital Development Manager, Greater London Authority / London, UK 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. 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,” says Sarah M. Whiting, Dean and Josep Lluís Sert Professor of Architecture at the GSD.
“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,” observes 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.
After their year of Harvard GSD residence, Loeb Fellowship alumni join a powerful worldwide network of over 450 lifelong Loeb Fellows. Many are recognized leaders, like Theaster Gates LF ’11, Toni Griffin LF ’98, Alessandro Petti LF ’17, Emmanuel Pratt LF ’17, Ana María Durán Calisto LF ’11, Stephanie Hankey LF ’22, Michael Uwemedimo LF ’22, Jordan Weber LF ’22, and Mpho Matsipa LF ’22, all of whom are represented at the Venice Biennale Architettura 2023. Tau Tavengwa LF ’18 is on the Biennale Jury, and incoming Loeb Fellow Joseph Zeal-Henry is a Co-Curator of the British Pavilion 2023.
The Loeb Fellowship continues its collaboration with the ArtLab at Harvard University to welcome Joseph Zeal-Henry as its 2024 Loeb/ArtLab Fellow. Zeal-Henry will have access to studio space and will be able to engage with the ArtLab community and its intellectual resources and networks. As the third Loeb/ArtLab Fellow, he joins past Artist Fellows Jordan Weber LF ’22 and Dario Calmese LF ’23.
ArtLab Director Bree Edwards says, “I am excited to have Joseph Zeal-Henry join us as he investigates how arts and culture are central to urban planning and policy. Joseph’s cross-sector research, storytelling, and the innovative ways he brings people together align with the mission of ArtLab.”
The Loeb Fellowship traces its roots to the late 1960s, when John L. Loeb directed a Harvard GSD campaign based on the theme of “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.
John L. and Frances Loeb endowed the Loeb Fellowship as part of their gift to the “Crisis” campaign. They worked closely with William A. Doebele, the Frank Backus Williams Professor of Urban Planning and Design (now Emeritus), the program’s founding Curator, who guided the program from the Class of 1971 until 1998, and shaped an experience that has had a powerful impact on generations of urban, rural, and environmental practitioners.