Keisha Maloney

Keisha Maloney holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and Critical Development Studies from the University of Toronto, and a Master’s in Global Urban Development and Planning from the University of Manchester. Her Master’s research in Medellín, Colombia focused on asset-based climate adaptation strategies for informal settlement dwellers and the participatory process underpinning the city's 'social urbanism' transformation. 

At UBC, she works with young adult learners to craft pathways through institutional complexity to support youth in advancing transformative change.

Keisha's research agenda advances our understanding of how planning praxis generates transformative shifts in society. She asks: What capabilities enable communities and planners to create transformative change using democratic processes? 

Her PhD research focuses on the training side of this challenge, to evaluate the impact of community-engaged learning in advancing transformative practitioners. Keisha is a primarily qualitative researcher whose extensive experience with interviews, focus groups, and ethnography is underpinned by methods and principles of community-engaged research. 

She is also in an active community-engaged research project with a local youth-led organization, which aims to co-design youth-centered modes of civic engagement.