Work with thought leaders and academic experts from Temple University

Madlen Simon AIA is an experienced architect, researcher, educator, and scholar in the area of design - design thinking, design education, design of buildings, and the application of design to issues such as sustainability and community health. Professor Simon graduated from Princeton University with Bachelors and Masters degrees in Architecture. Professor Simon began her academic career in 1991, after 14 years practicing architecture in two world-renowned architecture firms, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Edward Larrabee Barnes Associates, as well as leading her own firm, Simon Design. Simon's broad experience in design practice ranges in scale from corporate campus master planning to product design, with a particular focus on residential architecture. At the University of Maryland, she is Professor in the School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. Professor Simon’s research and teaching centers on design thinking, the iterative process of integrating human experience into problem solving and finding innovative approaches to support how people use and interact with their environment. She has led dozens of community-based master planning and design projects funded by communities and non-profit organizations, and undertaken with graduate students and faculty colleagues, bridge between teaching, research, and practice, including “A New Vision for Midtown” for the College Park City-University Partnership and “Glen Echo Park Master Plan” for the Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture. She was co-Principal Investigator on WaterShed, the University of Maryland's first prize-winning entry into the Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon 2011. In 2015, Simon established ARCH601 *Topical Studio: Bridging the Gap*, a Global Classrooms Initiative course in collaboration with Al-Nahrain University in Baghdad, which was awarded *Architect Magazine’s* Studio Prize in 2019. Her recent research, in collaboration with Assistant Professor Ming Hu, combines an immersive virtual environment (VR) and electroencephalogram (EEG) as a promising tool to evaluate alternative options during the early design stage of a project. This work is funded by an AIA Upjohn Research Initiative Grant.

Elizabeth Groff is a professor of Geography and Criminology at Temple University. She holds a PhD in Geography from the University of Maryland, College Park (2006), and MA degrees in both Geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1994) and Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland, College Park (2005). Her expertise combines detailed analysis of physical landscapes, geographical research, geographic information systems analysis, and popular culture. Her research interests include urban security and crime mapping, the social and economic aspects of urban development, the socio-political dynamics of aging and changing metropolitan regions, and the intersections of race, gender, and place. She has published numerous articles and has presented at various conferences throughout the country.

statistics, research design, parenting,

Anne Walsh is a social psychologist with a passion for understanding human behavior and its impact on society. She received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Temple University in 2024, where she conducted research on the intersection of social identity, discrimination, and well-being. Prior to her doctoral studies, she earned her M.S. in Experimental Psychology from Saint Joseph's University in 2015. Throughout her academic career, Dr. Walsh has been actively involved in research, teaching, and mentoring. She has worked as a Research Assistant at Temple University, where she contributed to various studies examining social cognition and prejudice. She also served as an Adjunct Instructor in the Psychology department at Temple, teaching undergraduate courses on social psychology and research methods. Additionally, Dr. Walsh has taught as a Visiting Instructor at Bryn Mawr College, where she designed and taught a course on the psychology of gender. Dr. Walsh's research interests revolve around understanding the psychological processes underlying social issues such as discrimination, inequality, and social identity. She is particularly interested in exploring how these factors influence individuals' well-being and relationships with others. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national conferences. In addition to her academic pursuits, Dr. Walsh is dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion in higher education. She has been involved in various initiatives and organizations focused on creating a more equitable and inclusive campus environment. Overall, Dr. Walsh is a dedicated scholar and educator who is committed to using her knowledge and skills to make a positive impact on individuals and society as a whole. She looks forward to continuing her research and teaching in the field of social psychology and inspiring the next generation of psychologists.

Organizational transformation (start ups, growth, turnaround and M&A), Executive coaching and leadership development, human capital strategy, diversity and inclusion