Featured Experts

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  Carolyn Esswein

  Urban Planning, School of Architecture and Urban Planningcesswein@uwm.edu

  Esswein can speak about projects to create environmentally friendly playgrounds.

  

  Carolyn Esswein

  Urban Planning, School of Architecture and Urban Planningcesswein@uwm.edu

  Carolyn Esswein and her urban planning students are working to create more environmentally friendly playgrounds with Reflo and Milwaukee Public Schools. Each schoolyard redevelopment project is tailored to the needs of each school, often replacing asphalt with features like bioswales, rain gardens, and outdoor play areas and classrooms. Esswein can discuss how such changes can improve stormwater management while also promote play and learning. She also can talk about how the need for more outdoor gathering spaces during COVID might affect urban planning design after the pandemic.

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  Mark Gottlieb

  Institute for Physical Infrastructure & Transportationmarkgott@uwm.edu

  Gottlieb can discuss what President Biden’s transportation infrastructure proposal might mean for Wisconsin’s roads, bridges and transit systems. 

  

  Mark Gottlieb

  Institute for Physical Infrastructure & Transportationmarkgott@uwm.edu

  Mark Gottlieb says the American Society of Civil Engineers gave Wisconsin a grade of D+ for the condition of its roads and transit systems. Although details of the Biden administration’s transportation infrastructure plan are still unavailable, based on its size, Wisconsin’s slice will likely be substantial. Gottlieb can talk about infrastructure areas needing the most attention in Wisconsin, the need for a long-term, sustainable source of funding, the impact of transportation investment on the state’s economy, and ongoing collaborative research between UWM and WisDOT.

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  Kundan Kishor

  Economics, College of Letters & Sciencekishor@uwm.edu

  What’s a “housing bubble?” Kishor can explain the term and why prices of existing homes have increased during the pandemic.

  

  Kundan Kishor

  Economics, College of Letters & Sciencekishor@uwm.edu

  What’s a “housing bubble?” Economist Kundan Kishor can explain the term and talk about the future of the housing market both regionally and nationally. How and why can interest rates stay so low for so long? What are the long-term implications for the economy? Why have existing home sales risen during the pandemic? Kishor also can talk about stock market fluctuations and the national and international economic outlook.

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  Christopher Lawson

  Educational Psychology, School of Educationlawson2@uwm.edu

  Lawson can talk about how parents can help their children catch up on academics during the summer following pandemic-related challenges.

  

  Christopher Lawson

  Educational Psychology, School of Educationlawson2@uwm.edu

  Christopher Lawson’s work focuses on how children learn. He can offer guidance to parents looking to help their children maintain and increase their learning over the summer, especially if they’re concerned about whether they’ve lost ground doing virtual schooling during the pandemic. He can discuss the value of summer programs. Lawson teaches courses including human development through childhood and cognitive psychology. His research, which focuses on cognitive development from infancy to early childhood, explores a key question: how do children and others generalize in one context, like a classroom, to a new context.