CUP’s core staff supports the organization from day to day, but CUP projects are designed and implemented by teams of artists, designers, educators, activists, and researchers.
Talking Trash: Throwing Out the Big Apple
Urban Investigations
From Shelter to Apartment
Making Policy Public
Work Forced
Public Access Design
Immigrants & NY
Making Policy Public
Pass It On!
Making Policy Public
Former Interns
Katie Lan
Katie is one of CUP’s 2018 summer interns. She is currently pursuing a BA at Stanford University in Urban Studies ... moreKatie Lan
Katie is one of CUP’s 2018 summer interns. She is currently pursuing a BA at Stanford University in Urban Studies with a concentration in Urban Society and Social Change as well as a minor in Earth Systems. Hailing from the Bay Area, she has an immense love for the diverse and dynamic communities she’s a part of and wants to learn more urban issues in order to gain critical tools to protect these communities from gentrification and displacement. She’s interested in issues of environmental justice and the intersection of art and activism. Beyond CUP and school, she’s out in the fields learning how to grow food, exploring issues of Asian American activism, and making art to reflect on her experiences. She’s excited to be at CUP and supporting work that gives her a sense of purpose in this wild and precious world!
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Matt Ledwidge
Matt was a CUP design Intern and a senior at the Cooper Union School of Art. He is excited about cities, mapping, ... moreMatt Ledwidge
Matt was a CUP design Intern and a senior at the Cooper Union School of Art. He is excited about cities, mapping, landscapes, archaeology, history and philosophy. He makes graphic design, public interventions, videos and images. He believes that art and design can change the way that people understand and experience their cities in unexpected ways. Originally from Toronto, Canada he enjoys going for underprepared hikes in the wilderness and biking around Brooklyn.
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Jade Levine
Jade Levine was CUP’s 2019 Summer Intern. She is a recent graduate of Barnard College, where she studied urban ... moreJade Levine
Jade Levine was CUP’s 2019 Summer Intern. She is a recent graduate of Barnard College, where she studied urban sociology and wrote her senior thesis on place-based activism in Manhattan’s Chinatown. She facilitates workshops and creates programs around the intersections of arts and activism with both Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls and the W.O.W. Project, and is working on making the perfect applesauce.
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Leslie McBeth
Leslie McBeth is an educator who doesn’t like classrooms. She spends most of her time as a high school teacher ... moreLeslie McBeth
Leslie McBeth is an educator who doesn’t like classrooms. She spends most of her time as a high school teacher in Toronto taking students out of the school building and into the community. Leslie coordinates the school’s Service Learning program, which sees 200 students volunteering in their community every week. As a member of the Radical Education Research Collective (RERC), Leslie exchanges ideas with educators who believe the future of learning will be radically different. In her former life in New York City, Leslie was an advocate for improving public space and civic engagement as part of the dynamic team at the Design Trust for Public Space.
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Ron Morrison
Ron Morrison is a curious amalgam: both amateur cartographer and print media enthusiast, June Jordan devotee and lover of ... moreRon Morrison
Ron Morrison is a curious amalgam: both amateur cartographer and print media enthusiast, June Jordan devotee and lover of lab coats. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign with a background in Chemistry, Psychology and Gender Studies. For the past four years he had been working in New Orleans creating popular education pedagogies using art and design to demystify processes of attaining and preserving housing. He believes that people should have full participatory access to shaping their cities and communities and sees design as a medium for creating knowledge and deconstructing discursive power paradigms. He is currently a graduate student in the Design and Urban Ecologies program at Parsons the New School for Design.
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Gileen Navarro
Gileen Navarro was CUP’s 2019 Fall Intern. She was born in Manila, Philippines and grew up in Long Beach, CA. Gileen ... moreGileen Navarro
Gileen Navarro was CUP’s 2019 Fall Intern. She was born in Manila, Philippines and grew up in Long Beach, CA. Gileen is a junior at Stanford University majoring in Product Design. This past summer, she worked as a Design Student Assistant for the Stanford Graduate School of Business Library and also collaborated with Bayani Art, a Pilipino arts organization in the Bay Area, to create a female-empowering shirt design. Gileen’s passion for creative expression and advocating for those who are under-represented fuels her interest in working at CUP, and she strives to learn the role that design thinking plays in social issues.
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Dori Nguyen
Dori was a graduate intern at CUP. She is pursuing her MCRP at the Bloustein School of Urban Planning and Public Policy at ... moreDori Nguyen
Dori was a graduate intern at CUP. She is pursuing her MCRP at the Bloustein School of Urban Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, studying community and international development, with particular emphasis on food systems, economics and informal settlements. She is currently scheming to make the world a better place.
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Mame Diarra Niang
Mame Diarra Niang is one of CUP’s summer 2018 interns. She is currently a junior at the International Community High ... moreMame Diarra Niang
Mame Diarra Niang is one of CUP’s summer 2018 interns. She is currently a junior at the International Community High School in the Bronx, where she will be learning English as an ESL student. Born and raised in Senegal, she came to the United States at the age of 11 years old. Mame is interested in law, business, administration of international studies, and a little bit of journalism. In her free time, Mame likes to lie down and watch Senegalese and Nigerian movies so she can learn life lessons and English. She also likes to go on trips with her school or other programs, and she enjoys laughing.
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Oscar Nuñez
Oscar was a Community Education Program Manager at CUP. He is a graduate of the City and Regional Planning ... moreOscar Nuñez
Oscar was a Community Education Program Manager at CUP. He is a graduate of the City and Regional Planning Master’s Program at Pratt Institute with a concentration on Community Development. While completing his studies at Pratt, Oscar worked and interned in various local community organizations and groups, including CUP, on issues dealing with planning, design, and community education and engagement. Previously, he received a B.A. in Sociology and Latin American Studies from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Originally from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, he moved to Washington, D.C. at a young age. He is fluent in English, Spanish, and French and can give pretty good directions in Portuguese.
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Jonathan Palmer-Hoffman
Jonathan is an architect who worked on the Sewer in a Suitcase project; where he honed his tablesaw skills on a Red Hook ... moreJonathan Palmer-Hoffman
Jonathan is an architect who worked on the Sewer in a Suitcase project; where he honed his tablesaw skills on a Red Hook rooftop. After receiving a Master of Architecture degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design, Jonathan worked for architecture firms in New York and Shanghai. The next place is unknown…
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Kevin Park
Kevin Park was CUP’s spring 2015 intern. A junior at Hunter College, he is majoring in Asian American Studies and ... moreKevin Park
Kevin Park was CUP’s spring 2015 intern. A junior at Hunter College, he is majoring in Asian American Studies and Media Studies. Previously, he was an intern for CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities and Girls for Gender Equity. Currently, Kevin is on the Steering Committee of Gay Asian and Pacific Islander Men of NY. Born and raised in NYC, Kevin is passionate about all things related to social justice and community organizing. He loves working with video and is a self-proclaimed YouTube geek.
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Jazlyn Patricio-Archer
Jazlyn was the Communications Assistant at CUP, as well as a former intern. She studied Urban Studies and Education at ... moreJazlyn Patricio-Archer
Jazlyn was the Communications Assistant at CUP, as well as a former intern. She studied Urban Studies and Education at Stanford University. Prior to CUP, Jazlyn worked at the Diversity and First Generation Office at Stanford, where she developed a pedagogy and curriculum of diversity engagement and social justice dialogue strategies. In addition to her work at CUP, she studied at Farm School NYC working towards a certificate in Urban Agriculture.
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Zach Postone
Zach Postone is interested in neighborhood planning, community gardens, climate change politics, and technologies of the ... moreZach Postone
Zach Postone is interested in neighborhood planning, community gardens, climate change politics, and technologies of the future. He’s originally from Berkeley, CA, and studied Political Science and Art at Swarthmore College. As an intern at CUP, Zach was involved with several CUP projects, including “What the Cell?”, the Soda Census, and the Zoning Toolkit.
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Sarah Serpas
is a visually-driven person who also appreciates hard data and complicated concepts, so she was excited to work with CUP as ... moreSarah Serpas
is a visually-driven person who also appreciates hard data and complicated concepts, so she was excited to work with CUP as their summer 2013 intern. She is currently working on her masters in City and Regional Planning at Pratt Institute, and has a special affinity for maps, sewage, and manufacturers. A Texan by birth, she moved to the City five years ago to study Physics and Urban Design and Architecture Studies at NYU. She is always looking for opportunities to see new parts of the city, as well as recommendations for Mexican food.
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June Song
June Song was a senior Design major at City University New York Queens College who is interested in combining her passion ... moreJune Song
June Song was a senior Design major at City University New York Queens College who is interested in combining her passion for design with a desire to help people, particularly immigrants like herself, navigate confusing systems in the United States. She also holds an associate degree in Interior Design from Ducksung Women’s University in Seoul, South Korea. She is excited to work with CUP to help communities to use the power of design.
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Sada Spence
Sada was the Spring Intern at CUP. She is a Jamaican American art and design student at CUNY Hunter College. Sada’s ... moreSada Spence
Sada was the Spring Intern at CUP. She is a Jamaican American art and design student at CUNY Hunter College. Sada’s art practice revolves around identity, the urban environment, and how these can be changed in the future. She interviews black business owners for her project, Dark Neighborhood, and facilitates workshops and talks about reshaping the future of the black community. She will be doing a pilot residency in New Orleans with the Joan Mitchell Foundation this July and will be studying in South Korea the Fall 2018 semester.
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Angela Starita
Angela Starita is a graduate student, freelance writer and teacher. Her work has been published in The ... moreAngela Starita
Angela Starita is a graduate student, freelance writer and teacher. Her work has been published in The Architect’s Newspaper, Print, Metropolis, The New York Times, and other publications. She is interested in industrial architecture and the work of Lina Bo Bardi and other Brazilian modern architects. Angela was an intern at CUP.
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Elijah Thomas
Elijah Thomas is CUP’s Spring 2021 intern. He’s currently pursuing a BA in design at Queens College and hoping ... moreElijah Thomas
Elijah Thomas is CUP’s Spring 2021 intern. He’s currently pursuing a BA in design at Queens College and hoping to minor in Sociology. He grew up in Queens, and ever since he was a kid, he’s wanted to pursue something in art because of his love of cartoons and comics. He pursued graphic design after realizing how impactful a simple design can be. He hopes his work can someday touch the lives of many people on a daily basis, helping them in any way, whether it’s making them laugh or sharing new information.
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Whitney Thomas
Whitney is one of CUP’s Fall 2020 interns. She is from Chicago, IL and attends Stanford University where she majors ... moreWhitney Thomas
Whitney is one of CUP’s Fall 2020 interns. She is from Chicago, IL and attends Stanford University where she majors in Urban Studies with a concentration in Urban Society and Social Change. She’s interested in dismantling systems of inequality found in urban environments and aims to center marginalized voices and communities in her academic and professional careers. Whitney is excited to intern with CUP this fall!
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