Charisma Acey

Charisma Acey, is an assistant professor of City and Regional Planning in the Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture and holds a joint appointment with the Kirwan Institute. Charisma's background includes extensive work, research and travel to countries in West Africa, southern Africa and Central America. Her research focuses on international community development, poverty alleviation and human-environment interactions at multiple scales in urban areas of developing countries. Most recently, she has completed an article for publication (forthcoming) in Gender and Development, "Gender and Community Mobilization for Urban Water Infrastructure Investment in Southern Nigeria," and is working to publish the findings from her doctoral dissertation, which investigated inequity in household access to potable water in rapidly urbanizing areas of Nigeria. Charisma teaches classes in international development, GIS, and social equity. She earned her B.A in English and Pan African Studies from California State University, Northridge, and went on to earn both a Master's degree in Public Policy and Ph.D. in Urban Planning from the School of Public Affairs at the University of California, Los Angeles.