Alumni in the Community

Patricia Swann, M.S. City and Regional Planning '79, is a senior program officer at the New York Community Trust in Manhattan, where her grant making responsibilities cover the areas of community development, civic affairs, and technical assistance. Following the attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, she and her colleagues helped to staff the September 11 Fund, which was housed at the Trust. "The intense work in connection with the Fund was an outlet that helped me get through those dark days," she recalls.

Swann also serves as a board member of Brooklyn Workforce Innovations, a job training affiliate of the Fifth Avenue Committee. She previously directed economic development programs in Red Hook and in Manhattan, and served on the staff of the Manhattan Borough President's Office under Borough President David Dinkins. "Growing a family, making roots in Brooklyn, doing important work-all these things have happened since my time at Pratt," she says.

"My fondest memories of Pratt," Swann adds, "are the studio projects, working in marathon sessions into the early hours of the morning at Higgins Hall with a team of students, a plate of pizza, and lots of coffee." She found particular benefit in hearing students' presentations and getting feedback from professors and invited guests.