3X3 - Key Persons
Adriana leads the community building and learning efforts at 3×3. She brings more than a decade of experience teaching design research and leading projects that focus on centering the voices and lived experiences of marginalized peoples and communities. Adriana is currently on the teaching faculty in the graduate program for interaction design at the School of Visual Arts and she previously served as an assistant professor at the Parsons School of Design graduate program in strategic design and management. She holds a BA in history from Brown University and an MSc in city design and social science from the London School of Economics.
Job Titles:
- Architect
- Head of Community
Amanda is an architect and advocate advising the community building and learning efforts at 3×3. She focuses on community-centered design to co-create futures that are strategic, regenerative, and equitable. After 17 years of leading corporate innovation, she recently branched out to dedicate herself to the inclusive practices of social innovation.
Amanda holds degrees in Architecture from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, was mentored as a transdisciplinary designer by Bruce Mau, and founded the innovation consulting practice at Gensler. She serves as Chair of the Advisory Council at WIN: Women in Innovation, a member of the Board of Directors at AIANY: American Institute of Architects, and is a faculty at SVA in the Design for Social Innovation program. Born and raised in NYC, she lives in Brooklyn with her husband and twin 13-year-old daughters. She strongly believes in big ideas that are made as a result of radical collaboration, co-opetition, and creativity.
Andrea is focused on making positive social and civic change through design at 3×3. She uses frameworks such as community-centered design, equity-centered design, and co-creation methods to better serve communities that have been marginalized and economically disadvantaged, locally and globally. Before transitioning into social design, her professional work experience includes 15 years of designing for small design studios and large corporate retailers. For ten of those years, she worked as an independent consultant managing international design projects alongside artisan communities helping to empower and provide market access for their designs. Projects ranged from working on-site in rural towns in Central and South America to working on project initiatives with international government agencies. Andrea holds an MFA in design for social innovation from the School of Visual Arts, and a BFA in product design from Parsons School of Design, The New School.
Christopher is currently a researcher at 3×3 working on the Community Development Usership Survey in partnership with NYC Parks. He is from the Bronx, New York, and is a senior at Lehman College majoring in chemistry. Christopher has a strong relationship with his community in the Bronx and hopes to become a high school science teacher for New York City public schools. Previously, he worked as a student counselor and advisor with the Bronx Institute at Lehman College. This organization provides an equitable and exemplary education for Bronx students from K-20 through accessible, high-quality programs. When he's not working, Christopher is outside skateboarding, playing volleyball with former teammates at Lehman, or spending time with family and friends.
Job Titles:
- Web Development Associate
Devon Bussell is a recent graduate of New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Studies, where she pursued an interdisciplinary plan of study which covered art history, literature, cultural theory, and aesthetic philosophy. For the past six or so years she has worked on a contract basis as a designer and web developer for arts organizations in both Dallas and New York City. Currently, she works as a studio assistant at smartassdesign in DUMBO. She also does design work on a freelance and contract basis: Most recently she was named a finalist in a competition to rebrand the National Archives Foundation in Washington, D.C..
Evan is passionate about making cities more equitable, sustainable, and resilient places that directly cater to the needs of their communities. Evan conducted field research with 3×3 for the Little Roady Autonomous Shuttle Pilot in Providence, Rhode Island. He has worked in the Providence community through the public schools, where he tutored elementary schoolers while also interning with the nonprofit education Inspiring Minds to develop their capacity through online presence and grant writing. Originally from Oak Park, Illinois, Evan has a passion for architecture, loves to bike, and spends the majority of his days listening to music. He holds a BA in Urban Studies and History from Brown University where he won the Academic Excellence in Urban Studies Award.
Job Titles:
- Program and Research Strategist
Isabella is focused on making positive social and civic change through design at 3×3. She fuses elements from many disciplines with design, including research, strategy, policy, and coaching. Her work has crossed humanitarian, economic, governmental, and social spheres, and she has worked to co-create spaces, programs, and processes that promote inclusion, engagement, and authenticity. Prior to 3×3, she was an independent consultant, a program manager at the UN Trust Fund to End Gender-Based Violence, a co-founder of the New York Digital Diplomacy Chapter, and she served as a spokeswoman and special advisor for international development at the Austrian Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs. Isabella holds an MS in strategic sesign from Parsons School of Design, The New School and an MA (Magistra FH) in economic sciences from the University of Applied Sciences St. Poelten.
Janice focuses on bringing stakeholders together to problem-solve for community challenges and innovation initiatives at 3×3. She applies mixed methods research, service design, policy analysis, and facilitation in the fields of civic innovation, community, and international development. Prior to 3×3, Janice worked as a consultant in social innovation programs for UNICEF, the International Rescue Committee, a tech startup in Myanmar, and other international organizations including the Council of Foreign Relations and the Millennium Villages Project. She has years of experience designing and evaluating social programs in education nongovernmental and community social services organizations. Janice's work and writing have been featured in the World Policy Journal and the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies Academic Space. She holds an MPA in development practice from Columbia University and a BA in religion from Austin College.
Jeremie is a multimedia designer with a focus on using research to meet the core values of communities in need through 3×3. Through design, Jeremie hopes to promote and establish equitable opportunities and experiences for marginalized communities and provide them a voice through design mediums. With knowledge in branding, advertising, UX, and UI, Jeremie understands the importance of approaching users through a human-centered design lens providing empathy to users. Jeremie has a Bachelor of Arts in Design with a concentration in interaction design from CUNY Queens College.
Job Titles:
- Bilingual Engagement Designer
Jinyi Li is a bilingual Engagement Designer at 3×3, focusing on facilitating stakeholder engagement, qualitative research, public outreach, and creating visual communications. With a background in communications design, service design, and stakeholder engagement, she is passionate about system thinking and using communication and design strategies to develop more inclusive and accessible services and products. Jingyi has worked as a brand designer for multiple agencies working as a mediator between the strategy and design department. She has also worked with the Red Hook Justice Center and the Red Hook Initiative to address the housing and maintenance issues in Red Hook Public Houses. She and her team utilized a systems-thinking approach to propose a repair- focused training system specific for NYCHA residents, which offers a path to care for basic housing issues in a faster and safer way and also fill the gap due to neglect by the New York City Housing Authority. Jinyi is a second-year student of the Transdisciplinary Program at the New School and a Bachelor of Arts in Art Design and Brand Advertising Design from Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, China. She is fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, and English.
Job Titles:
- Designer
- Bilingual Engagement Designer
Judy Chen is a bilingual Engagement Designer at 3×3, focusing on facilitating stakeholder engagement, qualitative research, public outreach, and developing products and services. With a background in local economic development, service design, and landscape architecture, she is passionate about understanding complex social issues, promoting the value of design, and translating them into accessible services for communities. Prior to 3×3, Judy was a Social Design Fellow at the Neighborhood Design Center where she designed and developed a more connected and responsive food system network for Baltimore City Office of Sustainability to ensure food access during the time of crisis. She has also worked as a designer and placemaker at Juye design group in Taiwan for local revitalization efforts in collaboration with Cultural Bureau Affairs. Judy holds a Master of Arts in Social Design from Maryland Institute of Art and a Bachelor in Landscape Architecture from Tunghai University, Taiwan. She is fluent in Mandarin and English.
Keyana is a civic practitioner with over three years of demonstrated success in community engagement and event planning, fueled by a passion for capacity building. She possesses skills in grassroots community engagement and outreach, and she is dedicated to capacity building and empowerment. Her areas of interest include improving economic mobility in under-resourced communities, public space planning, and creative placemaking. Keyana is a recent graduate of Temple University, where she majored in global studies with a concentration in cultures and completed a minor in community development.
Lillian is a Researcher working with 3×3 on the Community Development Usership Survey, in partnership with NYC Parks. She is an educator and organizer with a 7-year long commitment to education equity, focusing upon improving education outcomes for low-income students and imparting feelings of ownership and empowerment to her students. She is excited to use her skills in curriculum design and community engagement in a research capacity to support this study. With this background and her love of public spaces and nature, Lillian is interested in how families and individuals interact with public spaces and each other, how these spaces foster a sense of belonging, and how green spaces support mental health and well-being. Lillian holds a bachelor's degree from Kenyon College in Political Science with a focus on human rights and comparative politics and a minor in Spanish. When she's not out in the field, you can find her crocheting, watching old movies or trying to eat her way through New York City.
Lucas is a Program Strategist at 3×3. His work focuses at the municipal level on topics such as institutional modernization, training, and improvement of public services in a collaborative way. Aside from 3×3, Lucas teaches at Parsons's Strategic Design and Management program and is a research fellow at the Brazilian National School of Public Administration. He is a civic designer, researcher, and instructor with five years of experience in public innovation and civic design. Lucas was one of the founding members of the São Paulo City Hall Government Innovation Lab, where he served as Research Director. He has collaborated with the UNDP, Metropolis Network, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and the Brazilian Government. Lucas holds a bachelor's degree in International Relations from the University of São Paulo and an MFA in Transdisciplinary Design and Design of Civic Services (Minor) from The New School - Parsons School of Design.
Maisha is currently a researcher at 3×3 working on the Community Development Usership Survey in partnership with NYC Parks. She is excited to work alongside experienced researchers, utilize the skills and knowledge she has learned as a student, and engage in hands-on fieldwork. When she's not out in the field, you can typically find her in a bookstore, stalking the new releases and romance section, thrifting for new clothes, and hanging out with her friends. Maisha is a senior at Lehman College majoring in Sociology and hopes to become a Sociology professor at a prestigious university.
Job Titles:
- Communication Designer
- Engagement Designer and Researcher
Maria Paula is an Engagement and Communication Designer at 3×3, where she combines the power of participatory design principles and evidence-based research to create transformative, human-centered models that prioritize innovation and inclusivity. With a natural aptitude for navigating complex challenges, Maria enjoys crafting solutions that go beyond mere aesthetics, placing a strong emphasis on practicality and real-world impact. At the core of her creative practice, Maria is committed to embodying essential values such as equity, empathy, and global interconnectedness to empower individuals and communities. Her dedication to community-centered design leads her to actively engage with end-users and stakeholders, recognizing their invaluable insights as integral to the creative process. Through a collaborative approach, she fosters a sense of ownership, ensuring that each solution is thoughtfully tailored to meet the unique needs of those it serves. Maria's background includes experience in architecture, healthcare, education, and working with vulnerable communities in low-income settings. She has worked with people with terminal illnesses, immigrants, children, and hard-of-hearing individuals, all of which have driven her curiosity in exploring the realms of visual and non-verbal communication, inspiring her to become a Sign-Language student. Her eagerness to learn and embrace diverse forms of expression enables her to connect with individuals through various channels on a deeper level. Maria holds a Bachelor's degree in Interior Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design and a Master's in Transdisciplinary Design with a minor in Civic Service Design from The New School - Parsons School of Design.
Job Titles:
- Principal, Director of Strategy and Outreach
Megan oversees 3×3's creative planning work, focusing on practical applications of systems thinking to develop design strategies for urban needs. Prior to 3×3, Megan specialized in design research for development programs internationally at organizations such as Reboot, the Earth Institute's Center for Sustainable Urban Development, and ARCHIVE for clients including the World Bank, UNEPS, UNOPS, and Internews. With an interest in community and capacity building in challenging contexts, Megan has lectured at IIT Institute for Design, Columbia University, Barnard College, and the Johns Hopkins University Program in Latin American Studies. Her work and writing has been featured in GOOD, Public Interest Design, and DWELL magazine. Megan holds an MS in urban planning from Columbia University where she received the Planning Challenge award for her thesis on technological innovation in post-disaster Haiti; she also holds BS in architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Patience is a senior at Brown University double concentrating in Africana Studies and Public Policy. She is from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, not far at all from Providence. On campus, she is a student manager at the call center as well as the student clerk at the Advancement office and the secretary of Shades of Brown, Brown's multicultural and multiethnic acapella group. Her interests include fitness and arts and crafts. She is passionate about social justice and restoration for historically marginalized communities. Patience is conducting field research with 3×3 for the Little Roady Autonomous Shuttle Pilot in Providence, Rhode Island.
Job Titles:
- Director of Development
- Principal
Priyanka focuses on urban planning, local economic development, placemaking, cultural programming, and community engagement. She brings 14+ years of experience working with state and city agencies and community-based organizations to develop and implement tools that better serve low-income neighborhoods and marginalized populations and create transformational impact. She has worked in various global settings, including New York City, New Delhi, Rio de Janeiro, and Istanbul. She is a fellow at Urban Design Forum and was invited to be part of the community engagement working group for the 21 Visions for 2021 initiative, a bold environment agenda for New York City's next leadership. Priyanka also serves as the Diversity and Inclusion Committee chair at the American Institute of Architects. She is an adjunct faculty member at Pratt Institute, where she teaches transformative design. Priyanka has visited and taught at several institutions, including The New School, Columbia University, Ansal University, and Asian University for Women. She has spoken at the Kyoorius Designyatra, Hindsight Conference, and Reinventing Dharavi conferences. Priyanka wrote about innovative and scalable working solutions for Delhi's urban poverty for URB.im, a Dallant Networks and Ford Foundation project. She holds an MS in urban planning from Columbia University, where she won the Kinne Grant for research, and she holds a BArch from the Sushant School of Art and Architecture.
Rose Carrillo is a senior at Brown University concentrating in Urban Studies. She is interested in conceptualizing and solving urban equity issues that relate to access to public space and transit. During her semester abroad in Copenhagen, she studied human-centered design and tactical urbanism. At Brown, Rose has contributed to a research project studying intraurban change, residential segregation, and other social phenomena in major cities led by Professor John Logan. Rose's passion for increasing participation in the democratic process has led her to volunteer with the nonprofit HeadCount in Boston, where she registers voters at the concerts of partnered artists. She has previously interned for the City of Milwaukee's Office of the Mayor and with play:groundNYC, a New York City based nonprofit promoting adventure play and youth's right to the city. Originally from Wisconsin, Rose enjoys attending music festivals, trail running, and eating tamales. Rose is conducting field research with 3×3 for the Little Roady Autonomous Shuttle Pilot in Providence, Rhode Island.
Safaa is a researcher at 3×3 working on the Community Development Usership Survey in partnership with NYC Parks. She is a senior at Lehman College, majoring in anthropology, biology, and chemistry. She is passionate about community research and data collection. Her previous work experience includes an internship at a nursing home in Kingsbridge, Bronx. She has also served as a counselor for a summer youth program focused on high school students.
Sakura is a researcher at 3×3 working on the Community Development Usership Survey in partnership with NYC Parks. She is a New York native and undergraduate student at the City College of New York majoring in International Studies and Political Science. She is a student advocate who loves to learn and contribute to meaningful change in her community.
Sami is a community-centered design enthusiast who, prior to joining 3×3, worked on developing a collaborative decision-making governance structure to assist in the creation of a Resilience Hub in Northampton, Massachusetts. For the past 9 years, Sami has served as a program manager in a wide range of social service and public health roles, often in site management or direct care positions, troubleshooting the connection between participants and systemic non-profit service failures. She has worked in harm reduction clinics, residential campuses with youth, and extensively with people experiencing houselessness in Western Massachusetts. She continues her advocacy on the board of Independent Housing Solutions, a non-profit organization investing in projects that help people with complex medical needs transition from houselessness to a supportive home. While relatively new to Brooklyn, she joined 3×3 with the hope of utilizing her passion for connecting with strangers to uplift the sanctity of common spaces in New York public parks. Sami holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College in the Study of Women and Gender and Government, with a concentration in Community Engagement and Social Change. Currently, she is pursuing her MSW at Hunter College's Silberman School.
Job Titles:
- Engagement and Communications Designer
Sarah is a multi-disciplinary designer and storyteller with a background in architectural design and urban planning, with a keen interest in engaging social equity through design. At 3×3, she is focused on creating visual communications, facilitating qualitative research, and conducting public outreach. Prior to 3×3, Sarah worked as a graduate researcher on various research teams such as Carehaus and the MIT Civic Data Design Lab supporting the Living Data Hubs project based in her home country, Kenya. She has also developed graphic material for Boston Indicators, BlackSpace, and Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI). Sarah holds an MCP in Community and Regional Planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.Arch from Virginia Tech.
Stephanie is a researcher at 3×3 working on the Community Development Usership Survey in partnership with NYC Parks. As an early high school graduate, she is currently taking premed courses in order to prepare herself for medical school. During her spacetime, she volunteers at hospitals to connect with doctors and patients. She is passionate about helping other people, reading, and listening to music.
With a background in urban planning and graphic design, Susana brings a human-centered approach to designing strategies and products that better engage audiences and bridge gaps within urban development. As 3×3 Miami's Design Strategist, Susana has a deep appreciation for Miami and it's diverse communities and has worked on a range of local planning projects, from designing a toolkit for historic preservation redevelopment to facilitating workshops between community members and real estate developers. She holds an MS in Urban Planning from Columbia University and a BA in Fine Arts / Design and International Development Studies from The George Washington University. Susana Siman is currently a product designer at Urban4m, a tech company located in Miami, FL that creates apps and digital solutions that help people and business better understand context through urban and location analytics.
Thomas Bond is a researcher at 3×3 working on the Community Development Usership Survey in partnership with NYC Parks. He is from Bear, Delaware, and is currently pursuing a master's degree in Transdisciplinary Design at Parsons School of Design. His practice is around community development and engagement, through the practices and methods of care. He also believes in the idea that everyone is a designer, and he is interested in ways we can privilege other forms and ways of design, outside of just the academic or corporate definition of "design."
Job Titles:
- Director of Research and Operations
Troy leads design and strategy practices at 3×3 across a wide range of projects, from overseeing research design and evaluation to building internal systems. Troy is also a visiting instructor at Pratt Institute, a doctoral candidate in the environmental psychology program at The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, and a researcher affiliated with the Center for Human Environments at The Graduate Center. His research interests include human-environment relationships, largely in the contexts of sustainability initiatives and public spaces, as well as the application of social science research methods to architectural and urban design processes. Previously, he conducted research at the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions at Columbia University's Earth Institute, and he worked as a green building and policy advisor in the non-profit environmental sector. Troy is a LEED-Accredited Professional and holds a BS in psychology and political science from Santa Clara University and an MA from Columbia University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
Job Titles:
- Designer
- Bilingual Engagement Designer
Xiaofan Jiang is a Bilingual Engagement Designer at 3×3, focusing on facilitating stakeholder engagement, implementing design-led research and analysis, and providing language access in Chinese for the Chinatown Downtown Revitalization Initiative. Xiaofan is an MFA candidate for the Transdisciplinary Design Program at Parsons School of Design, where she uses design-led methods to construct frameworks for engagement and story-telling, uplift voices for marginalized communities, and amplify their visions for a more equitable future. Her interests lie at the intersection of decolonization, speculative futures, and community engagement using participatory approaches, which she values as a tool to challenge stigma, reclaim narratives, build relationships, and shift power structures. She also works as a UX research assistant at Parsons to design an online collaboration tool that empowers teachers and students to co-design and implement participatory assessment strategies for different learning environments. Her previous works are situated in UX design, design research, speculative design, and visual communication. Originally from China, she is obsessed with different cuisine across the country and traditional methods of care like herbs and massage.
Job Titles:
- Bilingual Engagement Designer and Researcher
Ying Tang is a Bilingual Engagement Designer and Researcher at 3×3. She is a multidisciplinary designer with a background in communication design and service design. Her practice lies in the intersections of activism, decolonization, and imagination, aiming to participate in design-led initiatives that make systems more empathic and caring. Ying's works include integrating human-centered design in international development initiatives as a design consultant at ThinkPlace, focusing on maternal and child healthcare. Designing within her communities, she has collaborated with social design studios, including InWithForward, where she conducted ethnographic research with Chinese-speaking immigrant elders to inform age-inclusive city initiatives. Ying holds an MFA in Transdisciplinary Design from Parsons School of Design and a BDes from Emily Carr University.