{"id":50839,"date":"2025-12-15T04:05:34","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T10:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/?p=50839"},"modified":"2026-03-13T15:16:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T20:16:39","slug":"maria-daniela-castillo-at-the-corner-of-academia-and-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/maria-daniela-castillo-at-the-corner-of-academia-and-government\/","title":{"rendered":"At the Corner of Academia and Government"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"drop-cap\">In Boston\u2019s East Fenway neighborhood, a stretch of pavement in front of Whole Foods comes alive. Neighbors gather for line dancing, DIY art, and Del\u2019s lemonade. Picnic tables are positioned where Priuses once parked. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boston.gov\/departments\/transportation\/project\/new-edgerly-plaza\">New Edgerly Plaza<\/a> is a pedestrian haven in the middle of one of the nation\u2019s busiest cities. But the road to its adoption and installation was a long one: one that marries transportation needs, human health considerations, and climate solutions. Maria Daniela Castillo, a transportation planner with the City of Boston, was at the center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"gb-element-dd97372a commons-quote quote-left\" role=\"complementary\">\n<div class=\"gb-element-2979623f\">\n<span class=\"gb-shape gb-shape-08a4f953\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"img\"><svg data-name=\"Layer 2\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 96.58 80.22\"><path d=\"M2.2 74.25c14.47-8.81 26.43-21.08 26.43-35.24 0-4.4-1.57-8.18-5.35-9.75l-10.7 9.75C7.55 36.18 0 30.2 0 19.19 0 9.12 7.55 0 19.82 0 34.29 0 43.1 11.64 43.1 27.06c0 23.6-17.3 40.9-37.12 53.17l-3.77-5.98Zm53.49 0c14.47-8.81 26.43-21.08 26.43-35.24 0-4.4-1.57-8.18-5.35-9.75l-10.7 9.75c-5.03-2.83-12.58-8.81-12.58-19.82C53.49 9.12 61.04 0 73.31 0c14.47 0 23.28 11.64 23.28 27.06 0 23.6-17.3 40.9-37.12 53.17z\" fill=\"#c5050c\" data-name=\"Layer 1\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"gb-text gb-text-3f1a5369\"><strong>\u201cAir quality, noise, visual pollution, and all these things are part of the built environment.\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"gb-text gb-text-f74bf45a\">\u2013 Maria Daniela Castillo<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p>In less than a decade, Castillo has established herself as an expert at the intersection of human health, environmentalism, and transportation. Her journey starts in Bucaramanga, Colombia where, despite the tropical climate around her, she grew up with a fascination for glaciers and the poles. She also had a knack for sports \u2014 table tennis, to be exact, and backed by a varsity scholarship, she moved to the states to play at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lindenwood.edu\/\">Lindenwood University<\/a> in St. Charles, Missouri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During one winter break, she was offered a private coaching gig to a family in Madison. She\u2019d been contemplating transferring to a larger university, and with encouragement (and a ride) from the family, she met with Rob Beattie, codirector of the <a href=\"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/undergraduate\/community-environmental-scholars-program-cesp\/\">Community Environmental Scholars Program<\/a> at the Nelson Institute. \u201cFrom that point on, we bonded.\u201d Spring 2015 was Castillo\u2019s first semester as a Badger. Maximizing her time on campus, she double majored in both environmental studies and sciences (through the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences), participated in the Nelson Institute\u2019s Community Environmental Scholars Program, interned with the <a href=\"https:\/\/sustainability.wisc.edu\/student-intern-program\/\">Office of Sustainability<\/a>, and kept up her court skills while playing for the UW\u2019s table tennis team. She also enrolled in an air quality class taught by the Nelson Institute\u2019s Tracey Holloway. One class turned into five, and Holloway became Castillo\u2019s research advisor and lifelong mentor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-element-56227fd0\">\n<figure class=\"gb-element-e95f8153\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1081\" height=\"1081\" src=\"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-content\/uploads\/Castillo_Col-Width_1080x1080-2.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50992\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-content\/uploads\/Castillo_Col-Width_1080x1080-2.webp 1081w, https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-content\/uploads\/Castillo_Col-Width_1080x1080-2-600x600.webp 600w, https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-content\/uploads\/Castillo_Col-Width_1080x1080-2-300x300.webp 300w, https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-content\/uploads\/Castillo_Col-Width_1080x1080-2-768x768.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1081px) 100vw, 1081px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figcaption class=\"gb-text\">Castillo (left) celebrates with friends at the 2017 Commencement Ceremony. Photo courtesy of Maria Daniela Castillo<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Out of school, Castillo continued researching the intersections of humans and the environment; first at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/\">Boston University\u2019s School of Public Health<\/a> supporting a NASA <a href=\"https:\/\/haqast.org\/\">Health and Air Quality Applied Sciences Team<\/a>\u2013funded program; then at George Washington University\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/publichealth.gwu.edu\/\">Milken Institute of Public Health<\/a> where she first-authored two papers; and finally at Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she focused on air quality, equity, and community engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She\u2019d always had an interest in transportation, and now with a strong research background, she was ready to put the theoretical to practice. \u201cIn the government, you can <em>only<\/em> do the most realistic thing,\u201d she explains. \u201cI just wanted to put things on the ground. For the past two years, Castillo has led efforts to redesign some of Boston\u2019s major corridors to improve transportation \u2014 whether cars, buses, or bikes \u2014 as well as to boost community engagement and human health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-element-4e2c3d3d wide-full\">\n<figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"688\" src=\"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-content\/uploads\/Castillo_FullWidth_1920x1100-1200x688.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50990\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-content\/uploads\/Castillo_FullWidth_1920x1100-1200x688.webp 1200w, https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-content\/uploads\/Castillo_FullWidth_1920x1100-600x344.webp 600w, https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-content\/uploads\/Castillo_FullWidth_1920x1100-768x440.webp 768w, https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-content\/uploads\/Castillo_FullWidth_1920x1100-1536x880.webp 1536w, https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-content\/uploads\/Castillo_FullWidth_1920x1100.webp 1921w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figcaption class=\"gb-text\">Castillo was pivotal in the creation of Boston\u2019s New Edgerly Plaza.&nbsp;Photo courtesy of Maria Daniela Castillo<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI wasn&#8217;t aware until I started studying this, that air quality and noise and visual pollution and all these things are part of the built environment, and I think a lot of people don\u2019t see it like that,\u201d Castillo says. But people care about breathing clean air, they care about congestion on their commute to work, and they certainly care about having adequate parking. So, when it comes to making big changes \u2014 say, converting part of an avenue with a dozen parking spots into a pedestrian hangout \u2014 \u201cFraming these concerns is really important, and communicating with the general public is really important,\u201d she says. \u201cIt&#8217;s our role as people working on these [issues] to figure out how to make people care \u2026 Getting people to care is kind of like the reward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-text\">Timeline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sail Away<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While studying biochemistry at Lindenwood University, Castillo set sail for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.semesteratsea.org\/\">Semester at Sea<\/a> program. \u201cIt wasn&#8217;t until Semester at Sea that I started meeting people, not only from across the U.S., but also a lot of international students. I started seeing what their ambitions were,\u201d she remembers. That\u2019s when she started looking into transferring to a larger university. \u201cSemester at Sea helped me put myself out there \u2026 I just really, really wanted to challenge myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">More than Recycling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>From a young age, Castillo knew she wanted to study the environment. But what that looked like? \u201cI imagined that going into environmental stuff, I was going to do more recycling stuff,\u201d she explains. \u201cI started taking other classes and doing other things and discovering a lot more that was still related to the environment. It wasn&#8217;t just recycling.\u201d She hadn\u2019t lost her early interest in glaciers and the poles, and she was curious about the systems impacting them. She also wanted to learn about another system: transportation. \u201cMy grandfathers come from very small towns, and they migrated by foot, by mule back in the days like 100 years ago,\u201d she says. \u201cI was always a little bit interested in the transportation planning field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-element-d3f81770\">\n<figure><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"401\" height=\"551\" src=\"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/wp-content\/uploads\/Castillo_400x550.webp\" alt=\"Castillo hugs a teammate during the final game of the 2016 College Table Tennis Championships. Photo courtesy of Maria Daniela Castillo\" class=\"wp-image-51178\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Castillo hugs a teammate during the final game of the 2016 College Table Tennis Championships. Photo courtesy of Maria Daniela Castillo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">On the Court<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In grade school, Castillo and her classmates had to pick between four sports: soccer, basketball, volleyball, and table tennis. She\u2019d seen her dad play table tennis for fun, so that\u2019s what she picked. By the time she graduated high school, she\u2019d competed around the globe, including the World Table Tennis Championships \u2026 twice. When she was recruited by Lindenwood, they were one of the best collegiate teams in the U.S. Her first year on the UW\u2013Madison team, they were the divisional champs, regional champs, and came in second at nationals. (\u201cCoincidentally,\u201d she says humbly.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">New-Age Networking<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When COVID-19 shut down the world, Castillo headed back to Bucaramanga. She was working for George Washington University at the time, which she was able to continue remotely. She and her friends used the virtual landscape to their advantage, hosting their own workshops, conferences, and even podcast episodes. \u201cEveryone was doing things virtually, so they could invite people from all over. I was collaborating with a lot of my friends \u2026 people my age who were also hustling and teaming up to do these things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Best of Both Worlds<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s a common misconception in post-grad career planning: you either go the academia route, or you go the other way. Castillo\u2019s career arc offers a different take \u2014 that shifting between the two is a natural pairing. \u201cI still feel very connected to universities here. I like having that network and knowing who to reach out to in case we do need some research.\u201d She also connects with current students who are interested in transportation planning. This fall, she\u2019s collaborating with a city planning capstone class at Boston University, both acting as their \u201cclient\u201d and collaborating with the professor on a curriculum that helps both the students and the city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maria Daniela Castillo makes connections everywhere she goes: from cars and people to research and reality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":50981,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[59,44,32],"tags":[46,60],"post_template":[],"class_list":["post-50839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-climate","category-sustainability","tag-alumni-in-focus","tag-winter-2025"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - 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