Gracen creates educational tools and experiences that help regular people build places and livelihoods that fill them with pride. She is a co-founder and Director of Design with the Incremental Development Alliance, a non-profit that trains locals to construct or repair the essentials of a strong neighbourhood. Before that, Gracen designed and managed the Summer Institute, an entrepreneurship accelerator for place-based businesses. Gracen received her Master's in Planning, Growth, and Regeneration from the University of Cambridge in 2013. She has been writing for Strong Towns for many years.