Inclusive Growth Fellows Share Recommendations for Economic Development in New Haven

Students, faculty, and New Haven officials gathered at Evans Hall earlier this spring for a stakeholder meeting marking the conclusion of this year’s Inclusive Growth Fellowship, a program that pairs Yale SOM students with New Haven agencies to design economic development projects benefitting all local residents.

Created in 2024, the fellowship is SOM’s first contribution to the Center for Inclusive Growth, a historic partnership between Yale University and the City of New Haven that works to foster equitable development across the city. This year’s nine fellows, the second cohort to participate in the fellowship, worked with city officials in four groups to understand New Haven’s unique needs and make recommendations for improving infrastructure, housing, sustainability, and business practices within the city. During the final meeting, each group presented their recommendations and took questions from school and city leaders including SOM Dean Kerwin K. Charles and Justin Elicker ’10, the mayor of New Haven.

“The Inclusive Growth Fellowship embodies our mission of educating leaders for business and society,” said Charles. “This program allows students to put their skills to work in service of the city we all share, while learning from community members about how inclusive economic growth can happen.”

Each team brought a different analytical lens to the challenge they were tasked with addressing. Fellows Emily Harwell ’25 and Harmon Pardoe ’26, both MBA students, worked with Carlos Eyzaguirre, New Haven’s deputy economic development administrator, to examine the merits of building a convention center that could attract a diverse array of events to New Haven. Pardoe and Harwell analyzed existing venues in the region to identify gaps in the current market and determine what kind of event space would bring the most business to the city.

Anees Patwa ’26 and Peter Waggoner ’26, students in the MBA program, examined the housing landscape in New Haven, which, like many American cities, faces a severe deficit in affordable units. With mentorship from Laura Brown, executive director of the New Haven urban planning agency City Plan, Waggoner and Patwa analyzed historical zoning code variance requests and considered amendments that could facilitate housing development. They also discussed how New Haven could adopt best practices developed by comparable cities such as Providence and Albany. Taking questions from Brown and other stakeholders after the presentation, the fellows emphasized the importance of a city-wide zoning code overhaul to ensure that affordability and availability are addressed in tandem.

“We really hope that the work we’ve been doing will support the broader discussion that New Haven will have on zoning code reform,” Patwa said.

Building on the work of last year’s Inclusive Growth Fellows, MAM student Juan Ayma ’25 and MBA student Joo Chung ’26 developed a plan for New Haven to produce and adopt mass timber, a low-carbon alternative to construction staples like concrete and steel. The fellows applied a supply and demand lens to the challenge, demonstrating how the city can encourage adoption of mass timber while also ensuring an adequate supply of materials and qualified workers. Chung and Ayma explored perspectives from the public and private sectors by working with Mark Wilson, a manager of neighborhood and commercial development for New Haven’s Housing and Development Administration, and local developer Jeff Spiritos.

“This is a thing that can absolutely be a reality here in New Haven,” Chung said.

Fellows Hannah Hua ’26, Ron Coleman ’25, and Alex Eve ’25, all MBA students, were tasked with exploring the landscape of small businesses in New Haven that could be viable for small-scale entrepreneurship through acquisition. Working with Jesse Phillips, associate director of the Center for Inclusive Growth, the fellows spoke to local entrepreneurs about the challenges and opportunities that come with selling and purchasing small businesses. Their study recommended several next steps for the center’s exploration of entrepreneurship through acquisition and identified other related ways for the city to support small business owners. 

Edward Chiu ’25, the fellowship’s student program assistant, helped guide project teams throughout the semester and led planning and coordinating for the final presentations. He said that the role provided a tangible way to give back to New Haven.

“The Inclusive Growth Fellowship rightfully brings Yale closer to the community it calls home,” he said. “It’s an honor to support this work.”

The Yale SOM Inclusive Growth Fellowship is made possible thanks to generous support provided by the Amman Community Impact Fund.