Sheila Hakimipour, Principal

Sheila Hakimipour is the principal and founder of Urban Diversity Design.  She has near 20 years of experience in architecture and urban design fields and has worked for more than a decade in different communities of the Central Valley.  Sheila’s work is focused on making cities a better place to live for all, especially the youth. She believes that sensitive, responsive community engagement and planning can create thriving pedestrian-oriented environments, conserve natural and cultural resources, honor the complexity of the existing context, and maintain the character and history of the place. A core value for her practice remains reversing the paradigm of sprawl through sustainable and innovative design.

In addition to her work as an urban designer, Sheila is engaged with multiple community organizations that embrace local residents’ leadership to create sustainable positive social and environmental changes in the San Joaquin Valley communities. Sheila holds a Master degree in Urban Design from University of California, Berkeley, and a Master degree in Architecture from Azad University of Tehran.

Karl Gurney, Independent Contractor

Karl Gurney serves as an independent contractor with UDD and helps with Spanish-language interpretation, outreach programming, popups, report preparation, and a variety of technical supports to the organization. He earned a Bachelor’s in Environmental Science with a focus on City & Regional Planning from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and holds a Master’s Degree in Theology from Fresno Pacific University. In addition to his work with UDD, Karl is a community educator/organizer, and lay Catholic theologian.