Adriana
Colón Adorno

Photos by Adriana Colón Adorno

Environmental Scientist
& Sustainability Planner

Yale University

Bachelor of Science, Environmental Studies
Focus: Biodiversity & Conservation; Wetlands

Georgia Institute of Technology

Master of City & Regional Planning
Focus: Affordable Housing & Community Development

Climate Action
Urban Planning
Resilience
Conservation

I have professionally specialized in restoration ecology and sustainable urban development, with a particular interest in the intersection of affordable housing and clean energy.

I also have ample experience in team and project management at both non-profits and corporate organizations, technical writing and research, grant writing, community engagement, and resilience planning.

My professional interests include but are not limited to: Equitable urban planning, Affordable housing, Environmental conservation, Wetlands restoration, Renewable energy, Clean hydrogen, Regenerative forestry, Agroforestry, Biochar, Dark Sky preservation.

Key Roles

2023 - 2025

New Buildings Institute, Project Manager. Raised over $3 million in funding for sustainability and resilience initiatives through grants and contracts won.

2021 - 2023

HNTB Corporation, Environmental Planner.
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Subject Matter Expert.

2021 - 2022

Georgia Tech College of Design, Graduate Research Assistant.

2016 - 2019

Yale College Environmental Studies Program, Research Assistant.

Key Skills

Supervisory Experience

5 years

Project & Budget Management

4 years

Grant Writing & Management

3 years

Research & Technical Writing

9 years

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

6 years

Ecological Surveying

6 years

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

3 years

Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)

2 years

Independent Research

Leveraging Clean Energy Production to Create Climate-Resilient Affordable Housing in San Juan, Puerto Rico (2023)
Georgia Institute of Technology, School of City and Regional Planning.

This paper explores the research question: How can clean energy production be coupled with climate-resilient urban design to create holistically affordable housing in San Juan, Puerto Rico? The goal of this paper is to outline a replicable and scalable model for an affordable housing development in SJ that can serve as a framework to be utilized by both municipal planning bodies and community groups.

Analyzing Changes in Puerto Rican Mangroves and Local Conditions to Identify Restoration Opportunities (2020)
Yale School of the Environment. Published in Tropical Resources: The Bulletin of the Yale Tropical Resources Institute, Volume 39.

Mangrove forests are extremely valuable to Puerto Rico (PR) and its residents. However, mangroves are one of the most endangered ecosystems of PR and account for less than 1% of the archipelago’s area. Mangroves are generally quite resilient and re-establish themselves once proper ecological conditions are restored. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify the areas on the main island of PR that have the potential to meet the ecological requirements of mangrove development and target these areas for restoration. The primary objective of this study is to recommend specific interventions for target areas of mangroves in PR. Based on the disturbed state of the majority of mangrove swamps observed in this study, mangrove conservation in PR would benefit from more active and deliberate monitoring and management. This report is valuable because of the focused and novel surveys conducted that can inform cost-effective interventions that have a high probability of success at increasing the area and health of mangrove forests in PR.