Renee Kemp-Rotan is an urban designer, planner, and the CEO of studio|rotan, the civic design firm she established in 1988. She was formerly the director of grants and special projects in the mayor’s office in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. Renee was the first African American woman to graduate from Syracuse University, where she received her BA in Architecture before pursuing her MA in Urban/Regional Planning at Columbia University. She served as Competition Advisor to the Africatown International Design Idea Competition and Africatown Cultural Mile, which was first announced in 2018. While the competition ended in 2023, Renee continues to work with the community to understand the next steps needed to make these design proposals a reality.