Meet the Team

Rachael Schaefer

Concentrations in Housing, Community, & Economic Development

Rachael was born and raised in Waterloo. She is ecstatic about the opportunity to work in her hometown. She is a strong believer in the field of planning's ability to shape positive change. She looks forward to learning from and working with the community as the project progresses.

Mark McLaughlin

Concentration in Transportation

Originally from Sioux Falls, SD, Mark enjoys living in eastern Iowa. While bicycling through Church Row for the first time, its diversity of residents and businesses showed what a dynamic neighborhood it is. Community engagement is important to Mark and he is looking forward to talking, meeting, and helping craft the community’s vision into a tangible plan.

Leon Begay

Concentration in Housing & Community Development

Leon a Church Row resident and he is also in his second year in the master’s program in urban and regional planning at the University of Iowa. Leon was born and raised in Tuba City, Arizona on the Navajo reservation. His background is in civil engineering. Leon moved to the Midwest with his partner and they are now Church Row residents. He is excited to be a part of the planning team working within his own neighborhood in Waterloo. Leon looks forward to meeting more of his neighbors.

Francis Menezes

Concentrations in Housing & Community Development; Economic Development; Transportation

Francis grew up in the Iowa City metropolitan area and studied at the University of Iowa, for his undergraduate education, and graduate school. He previously studied and worked in Economics in the Washington, D.C. area in the past. In his visits to Waterloo, he had an opportunity to see Church Row and meet members of the community. He looks forward to working with the residents of the Church Row Neighborhood, and the City of Waterloo.

Ben Davison

Concentrations in Housing & Community Development; Land Use & Environmental Planning

Ben was born and raised in Iowa and is a second-year master’s student in the Urban and Regional Planning program at the University of Iowa. He has worked for a handful of community-based non-profits in the past, but to be able to work directly with the City of Waterloo and the Church Row Neighborhood on behalf of the Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities is a new and exciting experience for him. Ben looks forward to seeing this project develop with the input and guidance of this great community.