Sam Holleran

Is an artist, designer, and writer. Sam was CUP’s Communications Coordinator from 2011 to 2014. He attended the the Cooper Union where he was the recipient of the Herb Lubalin Fellowship for Typography and the Benjamin Menschel Fellowship for Creative Inquiry. Sam has worked extensively in printmaking; his fields of interest include: photogravure, letterpress, Ukiyo-e, and silkscreen.

Valeria Mogilevich

Valeria is a visual storyteller who creates tools for participation in collaboration with social justice organizations. She also consults with cultural institutions, education non-profits, and others on community engagement and youth education. Valeria was formerly the Deputy Director of CUP, where over the course of eight years she created popular education tools with community-based organizations and developed curricula to help public high school students change the way the see their own neighborhoods. She has shared her thoughts on project-based learning, collaboration, and design for social impact at places like the New Museum, the Cooper-Hewitt, Pratt Institute, and institutions from Indianapolis to Rotterdam. Valeria holds a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University in Modern Culture and Media.

Students from Voters Rule

CUP and CUP teaching artist Nontsikelelo Mutiti worked with students from the Bronx High School for the Visual Arts on a project to decode voter eligibility rules and design a take-away to make politics more accessible to other students. Those students were Diana Aguirre, Dyreek Brathwaite, Charles Brown, De Sean Brunson, Karim Christopher, Anthony Denor, Celines Flores, Malcolm Jackson, Devin Lopez, Kassandra Luyando, Quinton Negron, Miguel Peralta, Emani Prioleau, Argzon Qosaj, Albert Rica, Ashley Rios, Jasmine Stackhouse, and Jurgen Tafaj.

Community Voices Heard

Community Voices Heard (CVH) is a membership-based community group that works to engage low-income families in organizing campaigns to influence policy that affects their families and their communities. CVH was started in 1994 by women on public assistance who wanted to fight to have their voices included in the national debate on welfare reform. CVH places priority on leadership development, policy education, direct action, participatory research and community outreach to build the tools necessary to engage community members and win on policy issues. CVH is currently working with CUP on the Public Housing Participation MPP.

Christine Gaspar

Christine is the Executive Director of CUP. She has over fifteen years of experience in community design. Prior to joining CUP, she was Assistant Director of the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio in Biloxi, Mississippi, where she provided architectural design and city planning services to low-income communities recovering from Hurricane Katrina. In 2012, she was identified as one of the “Public Interest Design 100.” She holds Masters in Architecture and in City Planning from MIT, and a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University.

She’s been a CUP fan since 2001, and a staff member since 2009.

Jeff Lai

Jeff Lai is a creative director and graphic designer. He started his studio, Office of Jeff in 2004 and works with clients in every industry across a broad range of media including print, motion, and digital. He has taught at the Rhode Island School of Design and Pratt Institute. Office of Jeff worked on What is Affordable Housing?, Bodega Down Bronx, Making Policy Public, and the Zoning toolkit with CUP.

Mark Torrey

Mark Torrey was a Community Education Program Manager for CUP, working on Making Policy Public and the Envisioning Development Toolkits. Previously he spent a good long while working as an Information Technology Specialist (computer guy) at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, but then decided to firm up his understanding of cities by getting a Masters in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University. He wears his pants in the Highwater fashion, which most of the CUP staff find to be ridiculous, but it keeps his pants from getting caught in the bike chain.

He was a CUP staff member 2011-2020.

Christine Gaspar

Christine is the Executive Director of CUP. She has over fifteen years of experience in community design. Prior to joining CUP, she was Assistant Director of the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio in Biloxi, Mississippi, where she provided architectural design and city planning services to low-income communities recovering from Hurricane Katrina. In 2012, she was identified as one of the “Public Interest Design 100.” She holds Masters in Architecture and in City Planning from MIT, and a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University.

She’s been a CUP fan since 2001, and a staff member since 2009.

Mark Torrey

Mark Torrey was a Community Education Program Manager for CUP, working on Making Policy Public and the Envisioning Development Toolkits. Previously he spent a good long while working as an Information Technology Specialist (computer guy) at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, but then decided to firm up his understanding of cities by getting a Masters in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University. He wears his pants in the Highwater fashion, which most of the CUP staff find to be ridiculous, but it keeps his pants from getting caught in the bike chain.

He was a CUP staff member 2011-2020.

Amanda Buck

Amanda Buck is a print and web designer from Ohio. Since graduating from Ohio State University with a degree in visual communication, she has been building a career as a designer working within the public realm. She’s worked with Project M as a co-founder, baker, event planner, and designer at PieLab, a community cafe in rural Alabama. She served as a Senior Designer in the Obama for America 2012 campaign. Other clients include the Baltimore Museum of Art, The Atlantic, GOOD, and IDEO. Amanda is pursuing her MFA in Graphic Design at Maryland Institute College of Art, where she also teaches.

Center for Family Life

Center for Family Life, a program of SCO Family of Services, is a neighborhood-based family and social services organization with deep roots in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Our mission is to promote positive outcomes for children, adults and families in Sunset Park through the provision of a comprehensive range of neighborhood-based family and social services. We partner with the community to provide access to resources and opportunities for personal growth and the development of interpersonal relationships that sustain and nurture families, support youth to develop into confident, capable adults and enrich the quality of life for neighborhood residents.

CUP worked with the Center for Family Life to create Plan for Your Child’s Future!, an illustrated workshop tool. This two-part tool, consisting of a poster and handout, explains the steps a parent can take to make a plan for their children in case they’re detained and deported. CUP also worked with CFL to make We Own It, a fold-out poster that breaks down how worker co-ops work.  https://sco.org/featured-programs/center-for-family-life/

Ingrid Haftel

Ingrid was the Community Education Program Director for CUP. Before CUP, she was Curator of Exhibitions at the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF), Chicago’s leading forum for the exchange of ideas on urban design. While at CAF, Ingrid developed major exhibitions that helped public audiences think critically about complex issues related to urban planning and architecture. Ingrid received her B.A. in English and Comparative History of Ideas from the University of Washington, and her M.A. in Humanities from the University of Chicago.

Jade Broomfield

Jade Broomfield is a graphic designer from Newark, New Jersey. She received her BFA in Graphic Design from West Virginia University and is currently an MFA candidate at the School of Visual Arts studying Design for Social Innovation. Jade loves opportunities that allow her to combine her passions for design and social justice. She is interested in working with underrepresented groups and minority youth in ways that promote education, self acceptance, and neighborhood safety. When she is not working, designing, or studying you can find her searching for an obscure meal in NYC or keeping up with the latest social media trend. 

Ingrid Haftel

Ingrid was the Community Education Program Director for CUP. Before CUP, she was Curator of Exhibitions at the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF), Chicago’s leading forum for the exchange of ideas on urban design. While at CAF, Ingrid developed major exhibitions that helped public audiences think critically about complex issues related to urban planning and architecture. Ingrid received her B.A. in English and Comparative History of Ideas from the University of Washington, and her M.A. in Humanities from the University of Chicago.

Aska Mukuti

Aska was CUP’s 2018 Fellow for Change in Design. After graduating from Boston University with a BFA in graphic design, she returned to her roots in the Bay Area to teach and tutor students through a local nonprofit. She loved creating individualized worksheets and activities to help engage her students and build their academic confidence. The experience augmented her interests in design as a tool for social impact, and it led her to move from California to New York to intern for IDEO.org as a Communications Designer. Aska is looking forward to combining her passions for design, teaching, and public service to foster community engagement and learn more about the local issues that affect New York’s diverse residents. As a directionally-challenged newbie to the city, she enjoys walking around to search for the best Caribbean and Jamaican food (the spicier, the better) in her new neighborhood of Crown Heights. askamukuti.com