Rethinking Academic Futures

Meet and Greet for PhD students with Marisa Turesky MA’18 at 4pm in West Sibley room 106

Join us for a conversation with Marisa Turesky, founder of her own urban consulting firm and a passionate advocate for community-engaged research. Marisa will share her journey from academia to entrepreneurship, and how she transformed her research into real-world impact. Whether you’re curious about life beyond the PhD, dreaming of starting something of your own, or just want to hear how research can make a difference outside the university – this is for you.

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Locating Lesbian Lives — Holistic Housing in a Compassionate City

Talk with Alumna Marisa Turesky at 12:20pm in Milstein Hall Auditorium

More informtion: Marisa Turesky: Locating Lesbian Lives — Holistic Housing in a Compassionate City

Abstract

Aging-in-place is a widely shared goal among older adults in the United States, but the literature remains largely heteronormative and androcentric (Turesky, 2022). This research examines how older lesbians navigate their social and built environments across their lifespan. By applying a queer-feminist lens (Gorman-Murray, 2008, Isoke, 2011) to frameworks for aging in place (Bigonnesse & Chaudhury, 2020), Marisa Turesky demonstrates the gendered and queer pathways toward health justice and community development over time.

With spatial oral histories of lesbians aged 65 to 85 in Los Angeles County, Turesky examines the different ways in which older lesbians use their home communities to find care and connection amid heteronormative built and social environments. In particular, Turesky asks: does lesbian identity impact aging-in-place? If so, how? What can planners and policymakers learn from lesbians to create more equitable cities and neighborhoods for a diverse demographic of aging residents to stay in their home communities across the lifespan?

This lecture contributes to urban planning research that (a) addresses aging-in-place dynamics, (b) deepens our understanding of care practices and spatial justice, and (c) advances the liberation of a heterogeneous LGBTQ+ community. By highlighting lesbians’ relationships with home environments as they age, planners and policymakers can better understand infrastructures of care and connection in the face of ageism and hetero-patriarchy. These spatial oral histories demonstrate how neighborhoods, institutions, and cities can enhance access to spaces and services to improve safety and health among heterogeneous aging communities.

About the speaker

Marisa Turesky MA’18 is the Director of Research at Mockingbird Analytics, an equity-based consulting firm, and a Visiting Professor in Real Estate Law and Urban Planning at UC Berkeley. She is a community-based researcher and educator focused on advancing urban policies through racial and gender equity. She examines how identity and emotions shape people’s access to places and services across the lifespan. Marisa uses trauma-informed evaluation, community-based participatory action research, and qualitative methodologies to integrate social movement practices into urban planning. Her research has been published in top urban planning journals. In past projects, Marisa has worked with the Equity Research Institute, the ONE Gay & Lesbian National Archive Foundation, the American Planning Association, the LA Alliance for a New Economy, and the Restorative Justice Institute of Maine. She holds a Ph.D. in Urban Planning & Development from the University of Southern California and a Master of City and Regional Planning from Cornell University. She enjoys biking with her wife and puppy, especially when the ride ends with french fries.

Support for the event

This event is funded by a Careers Beyond Academia faculty grant designed to bring in speakers from beyond academia.

Mini-grants are awarded on a rolling basis to faculty in the humanities and social sciences who collaborate across disciplines to create an experiential activity that includes alumni speakers. Careers Beyond Academia staff guide and encourage graduate students and postdocs to collaborate with faculty to help create the events.

Bring greater recognition of the career opportunities and skills needed to be successful in a career outside a professorial position. Intended for pre- and postdoctoral scholars to engage with alumni and others who have transitioned to many diverse career paths.

The grants are for interactive sessions involving Cornell PhD alumni and other professionals to inform Cornell PhD students and postdocs about careers outside the professoriate and the skills they will need to be successful in these careers. We are happy to brainstorm ideas with you to help create the most impactful activities.