Associate, Boston Resilience Leader, Arup; M.U.P., University of Michigan
An urban planner by trade, Wholey has built a career focused on preparing the built environment for the impacts of climate change. Wholey’s interest in climate resilience started while growing up in a coastal town prone to flooding and continued to grow through her research and studies on disaster recovery and community planning in her master’s program. While completing this degree, she interned for a nonprofit organization working on Superstorm Sandy recovery efforts in New York and then began her professional career with the New York Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery following graduation. This work provided Wholey with valuable insights into the unique challenges of post-disaster recovery efforts and the critical importance of protecting communities before disaster hits. She joined Arup in 2016, where she has worked on projects at all scales, from resilience design for buildings to climate risk and resilience assessments for major infrastructure owners, municipalities and large portfolios of buildings. Much of Wholey’s resilience planning and design work is grounded in social equity, seeking to center community voices in the planning and design process. She leads the Boston office’s sustainability, climate, resilience and environment team and is the global learning manager for Arup’s resilience skills network. Outside of work, Wholey spends time volunteering with organizations like Horizons for Homeless Children and Habitat for Humanity. She also enjoys spending time outdoors and traveling and hopes to visit the Patagonia region, Japan, Cambodia and Vietnam.
