University of Maryland, College Park

Valerie Sherry has been a University Innovation Fellow at the University of Maryland since November 2013, where she is pursuing a Masters degree in Architecture. Her thesis research involves designing informal networks for learning spaces and explores how spatial agency might promote discovery, learning, and play in the public realm. Might there be strategies in which space may enhance or support educational inquiry and interaction? How might we expand our concept of learning spaces within community constructs so that urban learning spaces might be thought of as a network of entry points to education and economic mobility for marginalized populations? As a fellow, Valerie works with university administrations, fellow students, as well as local, regional, and global partners using a system’s thinking approach to design learning experiences and spaces that empower stakeholders to engage in lateral thinking and implementation of their ideas.