Resume
Judy Huynh’s Resume
Urban planner studying flood risk and disaster spending
I’m an urban planner in New York City, from Toronto, with Vietnamese refugee roots. At Rebuild by Design, housed at NYU’s Institute for Public Knowledge, I take government data, like FEMA disaster declarations, federal relief spending and property records, and build maps and tools from it that a resident on a flooding block or a state lawmaker can pick up and use.
Education
I went back to school in 2022, after leading a restructuring through the pandemic at a Toronto water company. At NYU Wagner I focused on how cities prepare for disasters, on GIS and on urban design, and I graduated in 2024.
| Jan 2026-March 2026 | Magnet Theater Improv Level One with Christopher Bell, funded by NYU Wagner Adjunct Professional Development, New York, NY |
| Sept 2022-May 2024 | New York University, Robert F. Wagner Master of Urban Planning, New York, NY Took coursework in planning for disasters and in GIS and data visualization, and did a study abroad in London on extreme heat with the Greater London Authority. Graduated with a 3.8 GPA. |
| Sept 2009-Jun 2015 | University of Waterloo Bachelor of Environmental Studies, Urban Design Specialization, Waterloo, ON, Canada Trained in urban design, the part of planning that deals with the shape of streets, blocks and public space. On the side I designed graphics for the Planning Student Association and storyboarded the university’s lipdub video. |
Professional Experience
My first career was in Alberta and Ontario, onboarding workers at job sites, running an office for real estate agents and working for a water company. Since 2023 I’ve worked on transportation and climate risk in New York with city and regional agencies and at Rebuild by Design, and I’ve taught at NYU Wagner since January 2025.
| Jan 2025-Present | New York University, Robert F. Wagner Part-time Adjunct Professor, New York, NY Teach Hazard Mitigation, Risk Analysis and Mapping (URPL-GP 4640), a graduate course where students learn to map disaster risk with GIS and explain it clearly, and mentor students through their projects. Separately, teaching assistant for Urban Planning Methods and History and Theory of Planning, including the Fall 2026 lab for History and Theory. |
| March 2023-Present | Rebuild by Design Data & GIS Analyst, New York, NY Lead the data analysis and build the maps and web tools behind Rebuild’s research on flood risk and disaster money. Led the Atlas of Accountability (cited by more than 380 news outlets), NJ Underwater, Selling Flood Risk and Rainproof NYC. |
| Sept 2023-May 2024 | NYU Wagner Capstone, for NYC Department of Transportation Smart Curbs Project Manager, New York, NY Led a five-person NYU Wagner capstone team, working with NYC DOT and the Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District on how curb space is used on the Upper West Side. Wrote and designed the Curb Forward report. |
| Sept 2023-May 2024 | New York City Emergency Management John D. Solomon Fellow, Brooklyn, NY Helped update the 2024 NYC Hazard Mitigation Plan, which the city needs to stay eligible for FEMA mitigation funding, and was credited in the published 2024 NYC Risk Landscape. Built climategentrification.info, a web map of where climate risk overlaps with the risk of people being pushed out of their neighborhoods. |
| June 2023-Sept 2023 | Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Innovation Intern, New York, NY Made 3D renderings in Rhino and V-Ray of self-driving vehicles at Newark Airport, and an ArcGIS StoryMap, “Connector Technology at Port Authority”, presented to the Chief Development Officer. Also analyzed the agency’s electric bus fleet. |
| Jan 2023-Jun 2023 | Friends of the Underline Community Engagement Intern, Miami, FL (Remote) Supported community outreach for The Underline, a 10-mile, 120-acre park. Ran census and market analysis in GIS, made outreach templates and helped with Climate Champs, its environmental stewardship program. |
| Jan 2018-Jan 2022 | Nimbus Water Systems Inc. Business Development Manager, Toronto, ON, Canada Led the national bid and rollout for a Canada-wide expansion with Sobeys, one of Canada’s largest grocery chains, which contributed to $5M in revenue growth. Placed products in more than 600 stores on a six-month deadline, and led the operations restructuring during COVID, including closing a department that brought in a quarter of revenue and rebuilding the teams. |
| Nov 2014-Dec 2015 | Shaw Realty Group Office Manager, Cambridge, ON, Canada Ran marketing and advertising for five real estate agents, and worked with their lawyers, contractors, builders and lenders. |
| Jun 2012-Nov 2014 | Safway Group Onboarding Coordinator, Fort McMurray, AB, Canada Onboarded workers across several job sites, including their health and safety training and camp housing, and built SAP reports on staffing, turnover and retention. Also reworked the structure, policy and compliance rules for all contractors. |
Leadership and Fellowships
At NYU I was a peer mentor and chaired the Urban Planning Student Association. I have since become an Urban Design Forum fellow, joined the Urban Land Institute’s Young Leaders Group and mentor at Rebuild by Design and with the American Planning Association’s New York Metro Chapter.
| July 2026 | The Peace Department and The Big WE Restorative Development Residency II, Memphis, TN One of 25 cross-sector leaders building a Framework for Restorative Development, which treats restoring historic landmarks and cultural spaces as a starting point for reviving the community around them. The first demonstration is the rebuilding of Historic Clayborn Temple in Memphis. |
| April 2026 | The Peace Department and The Big WE Restorative Development Residency I, Greenwich, CT |
| April 2026-Present | American Planning Association, New York Metro Chapter Mentor, New York, NY Mentor someone changing careers into planning, who is doing a master’s in urban planning and choosing which part of the field to specialize in. |
| Nov 2024-Present | Urban Land Institute Young Leaders Group Cohort Program, New York, NY |
| Dec 2023-Present | Urban Design Forum Fellow, New York, NY |
| May 2023-May 2024 | New York University, Robert F. Wagner Peer Mentor, New York, NY |
| May 2023-May 2024 | Urban Planning Student Association (NYU) Chair, New York, NY Ran 28 events as chair, including a workshop teaching classmates to lay out their planning reports in Adobe InDesign. The role earned the Robert Berne Award for Leadership at graduation. |
| Sept 2022-May 2023 | Urban Planning Student Association (NYU) First Year Representative, New York, NY |
| Jun 2019-Jun 2020 | Heart & Stroke Volunteer & Fundraiser, Toronto, ON, Canada |
| March 2018-Dec 2018 | Kids with Autism Canada Volunteer, Toronto, ON, Canada |
| Sept 2012-Jun 2013 | University of Waterloo Lipdub Video Storyboard Lead, Sponsorships, Waterloo, ON, Canada |
| Oct 2009-Dec 2013 | Planning Student Association (UW) Graphic Designer, Waterloo, ON, Canada |
Awards
| Oct 2024 | Urban Land Institute WLI Alice Connell Scholarship, New York, NY |
| May 2024 | New York University, Robert F. Wagner Robert Berne Award for Leadership, New York, NY |
Talks and panels
Where I have presented the research, in person and online.
| Sept 2026 | Swissnex, Climate Week NYC Panelist, “From Risk to Opportunity: How Capital Can Enable Climate Resilience”, New York, NY |
| June 2026 | West Virginia Rivers Coalition and Rebuild by Design Led the data session, West Virginia Flood Resiliency Workshop, Beckley, WV |
| June 2026 | Rutgers Climate Change Symposium Speaker, flood risk to New Jersey’s public assets |
| April 2026 | Adamah NY, Jewish Climate Summit Panelist, climate resiliency experts panel with New York Disaster Interfaith Services and Dayenu, Temple Shaaray Tefila, New York, NY |
| March 2026 | New Jersey Coastal & Climate Resilience Conference Panelist, “Navigating the Rules: Housing, Insurance, and Coastal Resilience”, Galloway, NJ |
| April 2025 | Urban Data Visualization Lab, University of Illinois Chicago Co-presenter, Maps for Climate virtual map workshop, Online |
| Nov 2024 | The New York Climate Exchange Presenter, Atlas of Accountability, Climate Solutions Summit, Governors Island, New York, NY |
| Sept 2024 | UConn Sea Grant and CLEAR Featured speaker, Climate Week webinar series, Online |