Andrea Roberts,PhD is a graduate of the Community & Regional Planning and Historic Preservation Programs at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research explores African & African American diaspora, history, and heritage through the lens of community development, regional planning, & historic preservation. In partnership with Freedom Colony descendants, she documents settlement "creation" stories and contemporary challenges to place preservation in ex-slave settlements through The Texas Freedom Colonies Project. She performs engaged research on African American grassroots placemaking, historic preservation, and cooperative movements, to identify innovative practices as well as contributions to planning history and theory. Andrea brings to her research more than 15 years’ experience in public finance, housing, community and economic development, and nonprofit management. Andrea holds a MA in Governmental Administration and Public Finance from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Political Science and Women’s Studies from Vassar College. She has served on the City of Austin Historic Landmark Commission. FELLOWSHIPS & AWARDS Diversity Scholarship Award, National Trust for Historic Preservation (2015) Sustainable Cities Doctoral Fellow, The University of Texas at Austin (2012 –14) RESEARCH Founder, Texas Freedom Colonies Project, The University of Texas at Austin (2014–Present) Founder & Project Manager, 5th Street Neighborhood Plan and Market Study, Center for Sustainable Development at The University of Texas at Austin. (2012–14) Research Assistant, Austin Historical Survey Wiki Project, The University of Texas at Austin. (2011–12) PUBLICATIONS Minner, J., Holleran, H., Roberts, A. & Conrad, J. "Capturing Volunteered Historical Information: Lessons from Development of a Local Government Crowdsourcing Tool." International Journal of E-Planning Research (IJEPR) 4, no. 1: 19-41 (2015) “Black Bodies, Difficult Memories: An Exploration of African American Human & Spatial Agency in Ft. Bend County, Texas.” Association of Critical Heritage Studies Conference, University of Gothenburg. Gothenburg, Sweden (2012)