Violet Sulka/Hewes is a research assistant in the Climate and Communities practice area of the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center at the Urban Institute. They research the connection between our built and natural environments and approaches to climate mitigation and adaptation, with a particular interest in community-engaged methods and community-led research. Sulka/Hewes’s research experience is informed by their background in community engagement and organizing around migrant health, labor rights, and transformative justice.

Sulka/Hewes previously worked as a legal assistant and assistant to the chief counsel at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, supporting technical assistance for jurisdictions affirmatively furthering fair housing, case litigation under the Fair Housing Act, and strategies for advancing racial justice through impact litigation. While completing a BA in peace and justice studies with a minor in economics from Wellesley College, they assisted research at the Knapp Social Science Center at Wellesley and the Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.