Our Team

Cali Williams

FOUNDER

Cali is the founder of Kyanite Partners. She is a bridge-builder, strategic advisor and urban planner.

Underpinning her nearly two decades of practice in the non-profit, public and private sectors are a commitment to collaboration, transparency and the development of creative and meaningful processes to support leaders and communities to thrive. Her work encompasses multiple scales from downtown recovery plans to transit-oriented development master plans to major infrastructure and resiliency projects across the United States and Australia.

She gained expertise in economic development, neighborhood planning, and real estate development through her eleven years in leadership positions at the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), where she was a Senior Vice President and the Director of the Sunnyside Yard Master Plan. She received a Bachelor of Science from Cornell and a Master in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Saritha Ramakrishna

SENIOR ASSOCIATE

Saritha Ramakrishna is an urban planner, writer and researcher, with expertise in climate resilience, environmental justice, and infrastructure finance.

In addition to providing technical policy and data analysis, she has also supported strategic communications projects. Narrative writing and reporting of hers has appeared in the New Republic, Orion Magazine, Literary Hub and other publications.

She holds a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) from Arizona State University and a Master's in City Planning (M.C.P.) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Alana Lopez Barro Rivera

ANALYST

Alana is a policy researcher, who is shaped by living and working around the world. 

Alana is committed to pursuing a career in urban planning, driven by her desire to make a positive impact on cities and open and green spaces. Alana has worked in Berlin, Germany; Williamstown, MA; and San Pedro Garza Garcia, Mexico. Alana has experience facilitating participatory budgeting projects, conducting energy efficiency research, and drafting policy memoranda for government officials across Latin America. Her experiences living and working in different cities around the world have shaped the way she thinks about and relates to urban spaces. She received a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from Williams College.

Lewis Sprague

ANALYST

Lewis is a project manager, writer, and researcher with a growing expertise in sustainability and renewable energy.

His interest in sustainability was born out of studying and touring some of the last remaining natural gas and coal plants in Colorado. These experiences introduced him to the complexities of a transition to a renewable grid, including questions of health, equity and environmental justice. Lewis completed a thesis where he administered a stated preference study focused on electric vehicles. He remains interested in electric vehicle infrastructure, Virtual Power Plants, community-owned solar, and grid integration in the United States as well as sustainable economic development as a whole. He highly values relationship-building, equitable outcomes, and fighting the good fight against climate change.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Economics at Colorado College.

Rana Amirtahmasebi

ADVISOR

Rana is an urban policy expert and an architect with two decades of international experience.

She is a multi-lingual urban planner, architect, and artist with twenty years of direct experience leading planning, cultural/arts policies, and economic development projects in cities around the world. She has developed projects in the aftermath of devastating wars and natural disasters around the world and is interested in devising growth and recovery strategies for cities post-Covid. Rana has worked with large institutions such as Multi-Lateral Development Banks, UN agencies, Cities Alliance, UNESCO and smaller organizations that work on local issues. Rana holds Master’s degrees in city planning and architectural studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master’s of architecture from Azad University in her hometown of Tehran, Iran.

Christine Curella

ADVISOR

Christine designs policy, business, and financial models that build community wealth and power.

Christine has worked with policymakers, investors, community-based organizations, business leaders, and labor unions to develop and implement bold strategies for economic inclusion. Christine spent nearly a decade in senior positions in New York City, where she designed and led initiatives to grow diverse businesses, improve job quality, and invest in underserved communities. She led strategic planning initiatives at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, supported scaling of community-based and direct service organizations, and contributed to accountability efforts at the World Bank. She is a graduate of Hunter College and received her Masters in City Planning from MIT. She is a Fellow of the Just Economy Institute and Aspen Institute's Economic Opportunity Program and a Board Member of the Democracy at Work Institute.