Nicole McGrath
Urban Planner and Pedestrian Advocate in Austin, Texas
Originally from Miami, FL, USA, born to a Chilean mother and an American father, Nicole now lives in Austin, TX.
Nicole worked in academic publishing after graduating from the University of Florida (Go Gators!). However, it wasn't long until she got itchy feet and left everything behind to go to Australia, bartending her way around the country for a year. She followed that up with several months of backpacking through South East Asia as well as a stint working in Westland Tai Poutini National Park in New Zealand. She also spent 3 summer seasons and 1 winter season in McMurdo Station, Antarctica as an Air Transportation Specialist for the US Antarctic Program.
Now, Nicole is a graduate student in the Community and Regional Planning (CRP) program at UT Austin and a Graduate Research Assistant for Administration with the USDOT Tier 1 UTC: Cooperative Mobility for Competitive Megaregions (CM2). She is also Graduate School Fellow and President of the Community and Regional Planning Student Organization (CRPSO).
Her research interests focus on making public transit more accessible and making cities more active transportation friendly. When she's not working, she enjoys hiking, cycling, traveling, and watching Netflix with her husband and 2 cats.