Susmita Rishi (2024-2026)

Susmita Rishi is an Associate Professor of Regional & Community Planning at Kansas State University’s College of Architecture, Planning and Design. As an engaged urban scholar, Dr. Rishi believes that in order to create a more sustainable present and future, we must understand and cater to the needs of all members of our society. At its core, this understanding is framed by her research and scholarship at the intersection of urban design, informality, social production of home, and southern theory. Her research is deeply rooted in the principles of spatial justice, emphasizing the need to bring marginalized voices to the forefront of urban design and planning. Dr. Rishi serves as the KState LARCP Technical Assistance for Brownfields Fellows (2024-2027) and in January 2024, Dr. Rishi (along with Dr. Janquiera and Prof. Gibson) received the inaugural APDesign Faculty Engagement Champions award. She was awarded the Graduate Faculty Mentor Award 2024 by the Graduate School, Kansas State University in recognition of her exceptional mentorship. She received her Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Urban Design and Planning from the University of Washington, Seattle and her Master of Architecture from Pennsylvania State University, State College.

Contact: srishi@ksu.edu

Shruti Syal (2025-2027)

Shruti Syal is a social-ecological systems researcher with over 15 years of multidisciplinary research experience in India, Oman, Canada, and the United States. She is an Assistant Professor in Urban and Regional Studies and Planning at VCU's School of Government and Public Affairs, and connected with global research groups like South Asian Urban Climates, the International Association for the Study of the Commons, and the International Water Association.

Her current research centers on large-scale network mapping and analysis in two domains: (1) water, sanitation, hygiene (WaSH) and nature‑based solutions in Delhi’s stormwater drain‑adjacent informal settlements, and (2) green infrastructure and social-ecological capital for urban resilience in Richmond, Virginia. These projects synthesize fragmented institutional, spatial, and organizational datasets into interactive system maps that make complex governance challenges legible to scholars, practitioners, and communities.

Shruti’s scholarship and teaching draw on planning, geography, and environmental science to treat cities as integrated human–environment systems, with a particular focus on climate justice and infrastructure inequality.

As GPEIG Co‑Chair, she is leading Project BRidGE, an emerging international network map designed to strengthen global collaboration and mentorship among planning educators and early‑career scholars. 

Contact: syals@vcu.edu