Welcome the 2023 Building the Future Grantees
YPI is excited to announce the recipients of the 2023 YPI Building the Future Grant: Gina Park and Rodrigo Salas Pretelt. The Building The Future Grant is an award open to both undergraduate and graduate students, and was created to support greater diversity within our organization and the infrastructure industry.
Yeonkyeong Gina Park
Yeonkyeong Gina Park is pursuing a Ph. D. in Regional Science at Cornell University, specializing in urban planning and environmental economics of sustainable transportation policy. Gina’s research focuses on transportation and environmental health in energy transition as well as infrastructure policy for justice. Gina hopes to become a professor and discover innovative solutions for transportation infrastructure to create a better future for all. In her free time, she enjoys running, hiking, and actively engages with local organizations such as the Clean Water Action and the New Jersey Environmental Alliance.
Rodrigo Salas Pretelt
Rodrigo Salas Pretelt is pursuing a Masters of Public Administration (MPA) with a concentration in Energy and Environment at Columbia University in the City of New York. Rodrigo is a Colombian lawyer from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogota. He has had diverse professional experiences in the public and private sectors in his country. Prior to starting his studies at Columbia University, he served as Advisor to the President of the Colombian government agency leading the development of transportation Public Private Partnerships, which are being constructed with the purpose to reduce the infrastructure gap between urban and rural areas. Rodrigo is planning to use the grant amount to cover part of his second year studies of his master’s degree at Columbia University, which will finish in May 2024.
YPI is proud to offer this year’s grant in memoriam of Sarah Schick. Sarah sadly passed away early this year in a cycling accident. She was a valued and respected member of the global project finance, energy, and infrastructure industry over the past 15 years, most recently serving as the Head of P3 for North America at Macquarie. Sarah is lovingly remembered by her husband and two daughters. As a strong advocate for women in infrastructure and YPI and valued leader of our infrastructure community, Sarah has left a lasting impact on us all. We are honored to award this year’s YPI Building the Future Grant in her memory.