Baïna-Lyssa Jean was born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haïti. In 2010, she  moved to New Jersey, USA. The two months navigating the world as a refugee opened Jean’s eye to sustainability and urbanism. Jean decided to pursue an architectural education and received a Bachelor of Architecture from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Since graduating, Jean has been working for an architectural firm in New Jersey, where she is exposed to planning, design, sustainability and construction administration in the educational sector. Jean is also an active member of the New Jersey National Organization of Minority Architects (NJNOMA), studying to complete the ARE and pursuing a graduate level education