Columbia GSAPP's Teonna N. Cooksey on Changing Atmospheres and Creating Opportunities
By Julia Gamolina
Teonna Cooksey attends Columbia University as a dual degree student in the Master of Architecture and Urban Planning Programs. Her work explores the intersection of housing, resiliency, community organizing, and health equity and is synonymous with healing and empowerment. For years, Ms. Cooksey has studied the correlation between housing segregation and the variables that lead to foreclosure and eviction. Her work as a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, a WiscAMP STEM Scholar, and an Undergraduate Research Fellow has been published in various academic journals and provided the foundation for an initiative she calls the Women’s Empowerment Network (WEN). Inspired by stories of Black women who are single mothers struggling to sustain their livelihoods after being evicted, WEN housing aims to empower them to connect, own, and build wealth. It operates as an adaptive reuse design strategy that transforms vacant duplexes into a series of compartmentalized, shared spaces. WEN's goal is to create a model of planning and housing and replicate it in other cities.
She aims to start a practice emphasizing research and design innovation and specializing in urban development. Her priority is to leverage the power of storytelling to influence the relationship between opportunity, spatial organization, and representation. Cooksey develops strategies to design homes that are harder to lose—equipped with better technology, safety precautions, and cultural sensitivities. Her designs analyze a buildings' performance and examine architecture's influence on human behavior. Her compositions strive to generate wealth within communities of color while telling the truth about the realities within those communities, whatever that may be.
Tell me about your foundational years — where you grew up, what you liked to do, some of your most memorable experiences, etc.
I grew up on the north side of Milwaukee but attended school on the east side of Milwaukee. Taking the bus to and from both sides of the city taught me about segregation and the vast difference in economic opportunities and wealth. I remember how the city was organized by race and separated by a series of highways or business corridors that would separate neighborhoods by race. Nonetheless, as a child, I loved to compete. I was involved in various sports, I did plays, I played instruments and danced. I was in various science and math clubs, and I was also in the school choir. In hindsight, I’ve always balanced a lot of different interests.
Why did you decide to study architecture? How did you choose where you studied architecture?
I decided to study architecture because I was always interested in how buildings were put together. When I was younger, I used to sit at our living room window and draw the neighborhood -- over and over again. Eventually, my dad got me some architectural digest books and I cut out images and made collages. Over time I started to read what the architects envisioned and what their methods were. I thought it was like art that people could live in, and I wanted to create too. I chose UW-Milwaukee as a sort of default that turned out to be an amazing opportunity. I had not done a lot of work to choose an undergraduate school, but I was extremely intentional about where I wanted to go for graduate school. I decided based on who I wanted to work with and learn from based on what was being produced at the institutions by students and faculty alike.
By Teonna Cooksey
What was the favorite project you worked on in school? The favorite paper you wrote? Favorite extracurricular?
My favorite project was definitely The Women’s Empowerment Network from my Environmental Justice Studio at UW-Milwaukee. It’s something that I am still pushing to transform into a business today. My favorite paper is my Economics for Planners final paper from Columbia’s Urban Planning program. That class was very challenging in the beginning, but by the end, I realized how much I love economics because I understand it. I received a perfect score on my final and that was cool. My favorite extracurricular is anything related to NOMA — whether it be NOMAS or WiscoNOMA, I’ve always enjoyed organizing under that umbrella. I met amazing people and great connections by working with people from all over the country.
What are some of the initiatives you’ve focused on in school, and why?
I focused on organizing minority advancement and empowerment in school. I felt the importance for myself and others around me. There is a plethora of boxes society has established that don’t align with my vision for myself. It has prompted me to learn how to be an advocate and use my voice to change my atmosphere.
“There is a plethora of boxes society has established that don’t align with my vision for myself. It has prompted me to learn how to be an advocate and use my voice to change my atmosphere.”
When searching for internships and jobs, what are you looking for?
I am looking for a job that pays like I have bills because I do and this student debt is not a joke. Other than that, I am looking to appreciate what you produce and the kinds of conversations I can engage in with you. I am looking for whether or not I am able to grow unique skillsets. I want to know if you will allow me to explore other parts of your business. I am going through this process that has already been laid out, but at the end of the day, I want to form my own business businesses. I need to be able to acquire specific skills that will enable me to accomplish that.
What’s important to you? What inspires you?
Being able to connect with people past a surface level. I love feeling something when I speak and when I do. It gives my work depth and that is important to me. I am inspired by resilience and strategy. When I surpass a hard time or see people pushing through the pain that life can bring sometimes — it inspires me to see the other side of that pain because I think it’s all necessary for growth.
By Teonna Cooksey, Angela Keele, and Han Qin.
By Teonna Cooksey
What do you hope to do in your career?
I hope to find a balance between architecture and planning and all of the different interests that I have. I want to make my work connected and not so segregated by creating opportunities in the intersections and voids within the fields I am a part of. Ultimately, I want a support system — a team of people who share the same vision and values and continue to build great projects that help other people do what they need to do.
Who do you look up to?
I look up to my mentors - people who have advised me and been patient with me throughout my journey - those who provided opportunities and connected me with other people while showing me something new. Some of my mentors include Dr. Arijit Sen, Anique from the WiscAMP STEM Scholars program, Dr. Otieno, Michael Ford, Marion Clendenen Acosta, Taruna Grupa. I look up to my friends who continuously establish new boundaries for themselves and others. I also look up to my family — my parents and grandparents, specifically.
“I want to make my work connected and not so segregated by creating opportunities in the intersections and voids within the fields I am a part of.”
What are you excited about right now?
I’m excited that I feel motivated right now. I was lacking motivation for months and it was difficult, as was the transition from Milwaukee to New York. I was attending Columbia and I had a lot of great opportunities but I didn’t feel like I appreciated them. It was hard for me to want to do work which was weird because I had worked hard to get to this point. Thankfully, I’m in a different headspace and I’m glad that I did enough during that period to push me forward.
Finally, what advice would you give to those in high school now, choosing their field of study?
Connect to people if you think you’re interested - form a relationship. Find people who can let you know what to expect and help you create a roadmap that works for you. Focus on your mental health and set boundaries — don’t compromise those things. One of the best pieces of advice if “the way you want to finish is the way you need to start.” I live by that rule.