Milan brings a passion for social equity and community-driven design to her work as a Designer at PYATOK. Eager to study first-hand the ways in which design can address oppression and power dynamics, Milan moved to Oakland in 2018 inspired by the city's rich history of radical social activism. With an array of grassroots movements that address urban disinvestment in communities of color, Oakland is an exciting proving ground for designers interested in social equity. Working to reject the notion that social injustice is inevitable in city life and therefore cannot be challenged by design, Milan is a firm believer that designers can part of the solution by co-creating spaces with the neighborhoods they serve.

Hailing from Milwaukee, Milan received a Bachelor in Architectural Studies from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. UWM's Architecture school encourages its students to venture beyond campus bounds and engage in community based design in the city. Milan pursued graduate studies in Boston, receiving an M.Arch from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) School of Architecture. With a talent for writing, Milan produces short stories, comics, films, and animations that fall under the genres of surreal, absurd, and fantasy. Not afraid of a good challenge, Milan learned the Swedish language in order to better enjoy her favorite foreign films.