Kelsey Zlevor

With a background in creative writing, environmental science, and urban planning, Kelsey is a spatial strategist and design researcher at the convergence of planning policy, climate justice, and social change. Kelsey is the keeper of Mental Landscapes, an on-going body of independent trauma-informed research and scholarship that centers psychological disability in park and public space design. She was named the Fall 2023 Artist-in-Residence at Allerton Park and Retreat Center, where she facilitated Mental Landscapes workshops with participants ages 23 to 93 over the course of three weeks. Based in Chicago, she holds a master’s of Community and Regional Planning from the University of Oregon and a B.A. in Environmental Science from the University of Iowa.