JORI BERCIER

Creating radical community spaces and care for BIPOC and Queer individuals

Certificates:

• Gender and Sexuality
• Historic Preservation

Focus in trauma-based design, sense of place, and positive distraction within the built environment

Thesis: Sense of Place as Positive Distraction

Interest in historic preservation, design details, and sense of place

Thesis advisor to students within the Design for Human Health program.

Explored how urban spaces create or limit belonging for diverse communities, with emphasis on LGBTQ+ and BIPOC experiences in cities.

Introduction to urban development patterns across global contexts.

Foundational course in urban planning principles and practices.

Graduate-level course examining the design and planning of urban spaces.

Graduate course in community development theory and practice.

• Social and Political Theory (Amy VanLauwe)
• Critical Reading and Research 1 (Amy VanLauwe)
• Studio Guest Critic (Amy VanLauwe)

• Teacher's Assistant Workshops
• Spatial Histories of the Holocaust (Scott Harrison, Ph.D.)
• Histories of LGBTQ Activism, 1880-present (Scott Harrison, Ph.D.)
• Thesis Research and Development (Joshua White)
• 'The Body Keeps the Score,' Narrating and Designing for Trauma and its aftermaths

Providing guidance and feedback on academic writing and portfolio development for architecture students.

PatchWork brings people together to help each other thrive. We mend gaps in traditional support systems by connecting service providers, resource sharers, and community members. #PatchItUp

Providing administrative support for historic preservation initiatives in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle.

Assisted customers and staff with the appraisal and pricing of materials from Seattle historic homes, including exterior doors, flooring and lumber, door knobs, hardware and so much more.

Between creating delicious coffee orders and assisting customers, I maintained book orders and suggested stock options for the retail floor.

Board Member for a Research Collective on the University of Washington Campus that promotes interdisciplinary solutions and results with an antiracist, pro queer lens.

Bought Alexander Books, a 30-year-old establishment with a deep sense of place that was threatening to close. I acted as Co-owner, with the goals of trying to revitalize community and create a positive distraction for residents of Lafayette, LA.

For many years, I have operated this small company that has enabled me to grow my storytelling abilities via digital and print media.

Traveled around the world, bringing tourists to beautiful locations.

"Own Your Story: Building a Brand That Speaks Before You Do"
Discover how crafting a cohesive personal narrative boosts interview confidence and creates a professional presence that resonates long after you leave the room.

"Stories as Data: Qualitative Methods for Authentic Research"
Explore how qualitative approaches reveal patterns and insights in human experience that numbers alone cannot capture.

"Intersectionality in the Built Environment: Design for Overlapping Identities and Needs"
Explore how designing for intersectionality creates more caring and responsive environments for people navigating multiple identities and needs.

"Sanctuary in the Stacks: Bookstores as Architectures of Trans Belonging"

• LGBTQ+ Affinity Workshop
• Community Building and Cultural Care Workshop

"MEET ME ON MY FRONT PORCH: From Gradu to Gumbo: The Roots of Authentic Connection"

"Next Generation Of Senior Residents Expects More Out Of Their Lighting"

"Next Generation Of Senior Residents Expects More Out Of Their Lighting"

Master's thesis examining how sense of place can serve as a therapeutic intervention in healthcare environments.

Representing graduate student workers in labor negotiations and workplace disputes.

Contributing to DEI initiatives and policy development in the College of Built Environments.

Helped to build several homes in Lafayette, Louisiana, through the Habitat for Humanity program.

Arranged 2023 BE Symposium including graphic creation, web design, advertisement plan, speaker arrangement and more.

Festival of Words is a partner of Alexander Books. It strives to inspire creative expression and a higher level of literacy for residents of St. Landry Parish and throughout Acadiana; the collective will contribute to the advancement of artists as well as the community.

Designed and built with other members of my class the MODESTEhouse, a tiny home then gifted to a victim of the historic 2016 South Louisiana floods.

Pods created from shipping containers that teach traditional skills in poverty conditions.