Lindiwe is the Deputy Director of The Lab @ DC where she contributes to shaping thriving communities in which residents are happy, healthy, and well-resourced. To that end, she works to bridge the gap between research and action, ensuring that both evidence and empathy sit at the core of government decision-making. Working alongside community members and government staff, she tackles research questions that truly matter and designs processes that make life in the District fuller, more joyful, and more just.
Lindiwe’s career exploring the relationships between place, power, and infrastructure has taken many forms and spanned a range of sectors. Prior to joining The Lab, she was a Senior Researcher at the Urban Institute where she ran evaluative studies focused on transit service and program design, land use policy, public safety and enforcement, and co-led their Housing Justice Initiative. Her path has taken her from transit planning with the City of Boston to teaching at UPenn's Weitzman School of Design, from managing projects at the Detroit Land Bank Authority to consulting for a reparations field-building organization, transportation firm, and even an award-winning video game company. The thread connecting it all? Understanding how racial identity, social freedoms, access, and civic trust intersect to shape quality of life.
Lindiwe holds a Ph.D. in Regional and Urban Planning from the London School of Economics, a Masters in City Planning from MIT, and a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University. Published in top peer reviewed journals, her research on mobility and social cohesion has been cited by Departments of Transportation across the country in their program design efforts.
Off the clock, you'll find her biking through her neighborhood, taking in all the live music she can find, or full-belly laughing at one of the District’s stand-up comedy haunts.