Maya Couto

Maya received her B.A. in public policy from UMass Amherst and the Commonwealth Honors College. She is passionate about the intersection between community, wellbeing, and sustainability within the built environment. Her interdisciplinary interests lead her to developing skills in policy memo writing, qualitative and quantitative research, GIS, and design.

While studying abroad in Copenhagen, she built a deeper understanding of the influence of design on our daily lives, particularly, access to reliable and efficient transportation. Further, the importance of planning that puts people and our environment at the forefront. Maya returned to the U.S. and pursued an internship with the Community Engagement Department at MAPC. This experience strengthened her knowledge about how to intentionally include people from all backgrounds and experiences in the planning process.

Tying together her interests of wellbeing and transportation, her senior thesis focused on the influence of various modes of transportation on commuter subjective wellbeing. She found great insight on the influence of transportation infrastructure on experiences and willingness to use various modes of transportation.

Maya is excited to continue her interests in transportation and public engagement with SRPEDD.