Stefan Chavez-Norgaard is a Teaching Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the Korbel School's Douglas and Mary Scrivner Institute of Public Policy. He teaches courses related to urban planning, public policy analysis, ethics, and policy writing, as well as an applied lab-based course on housing policy. Chavez-Norgaard's research lies at the intersection of procedural justice and urban development, with an eye toward equity. Specific areas of focus include urban planning history and theory, local-government and planning law, and mixed-methods research focused on planning practice and urban governance in the related but distinct late-liberal contexts of South Africa and the United States. Stefan is passionate about participatory democracy and how cities' public/private arrangements affect equitable urban development. His dissertation examined areas of apartheid-era forced relocation in South Africa and how master plans have been implemented and repurposed in these geographies by residents and planners. His forthcoming research will explore possibilities for equitable, democratic urban development in Denver.

Chavez-Norgaard received his PhD in Urban Planning from the Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation in 2024. He also holds a Master in Public Policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and Urban Studies from Stanford University, with interdisciplinary honors in Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. He is an active member of several professional associations, including the American Association of Geographers (AAG); American Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP); Urban Affairs Association (UAA); and Society for American City and Regional Planning History (SACRPH).