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.
Your Truth, Your Rights
Public Access Design
What the Cell?
Urban Investigations
Swept Up
Urban Investigations
Share, Where?
Urban Investigations
TGNC-NYC
Public Access Design
A Bet on Debt
City Studies
Former Staff
Clara Amenyo
Clara was the Program Manager for CUP’s Public Access Design program from 2012 to 2014. Before coming to CUP, she ... moreClara Amenyo
Clara was the Program Manager for CUP’s Public Access Design program from 2012 to 2014. Before coming to CUP, she worked in Structured Credit for Barclays Capital. Clara has a Bachelor of the Arts from the University of Pennsylvania.
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Analiese Barnes-Classen
Analiese is CUP’s Development Coordinator. She was born and raised in Roxbury and now lives in Brooklyn. Prior to ... moreAnaliese Barnes-Classen
Analiese is CUP’s Development Coordinator. She was born and raised in Roxbury and now lives in Brooklyn. Prior to joining CUP, she managed arts education programs at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Before that role, she worked in development and programming at various nonprofits in the Boston area, including OneGoal Massachusetts and the Boston Women’s Workforce Council. She holds a BA from Providence College in Public and Community Service Studies. Outside of work, she enjoys tending to her houseplants, playing Breath of the Wild, and taking long walks (seriously.)
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Ana Beirne
Ana Beirne is CUP’s Summer 2021 intern. Ana was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and studies Human Environmental ... moreAna Beirne
Ana Beirne is CUP’s Summer 2021 intern. Ana was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and studies Human Environmental Geography at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. She is passionate about envisioning social change through artistic creativity, urban farming, and community-nurtured networks of care. In her spare time, you can find Ana making zines, riding the train, writing letters to friends, and playing with her bunny Momo.
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Hanna Blankenship
Hanna Blankenship is CUP’s Summer 2021 intern. Hanna is originally from Vermont and studies Law and Marketing at ... moreHanna Blankenship
Hanna Blankenship is CUP’s Summer 2021 intern. Hanna is originally from Vermont and studies Law and Marketing at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. She’s interested in helping marginalized communities navigate the systems that hope to keep them silenced by amplifying their voices and needs. Utilizing both of her areas of studies, Hanna aspires to be someone who makes meaningful change in the communities around her. In her free time she enjoys reading, growing her collection of houseplants, and thrifting. She is very excited to be learning from for CUP as an intern this summer!
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Elijah Bobo
Elijah Bobo was the 2019 CUP Fellow for Change in Design. He is from Flint, Michigan and is a recent graduate from Eastern ... moreElijah Bobo
Elijah Bobo was the 2019 CUP Fellow for Change in Design. He is from Flint, Michigan and is a recent graduate from Eastern Michigan University with a BFA in Graphic Design. With his time at Eastern he worked for many on-campus organizations such as the Center for Diversity and Community Involvement, the Undergraduate Research Symposium, and the School of Art and Design, organizations that use their platforms to promote inclusivity, research, and culture. Elijah wants to take what he has learned about critical thinking and creative problem solving to apply them to issues that are impacting the communities where he grew up, and where he has recently relocated, New York City.
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Alex Cabana
Alex is a designer and arts educator. Since receiving her BA in Architecture from UC Berkeley, she has continued to seek ... moreAlex Cabana
Alex is a designer and arts educator. Since receiving her BA in Architecture from UC Berkeley, she has continued to seek opportunities that allow her to integrate her background in education, architecture, dance, art, and culture to engage deeply in embodied modes of learning, knowing, and making. At CUP, she is so excited to support programming that aligns with her experience in community-based education and interest in the built environment. Specifically, she hopes to learn more about CUP’s methods for facilitating meaningful connections between designers, the public, and other policy stakeholders.
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Pema Domingo-Barker
Pema was CUP’s Program Assistant for youth education programs. She previously worked at the Queens Museum and was a ... morePema Domingo-Barker
Pema was CUP’s Program Assistant for youth education programs. She previously worked at the Queens Museum and was a Public Allies New York fellow. Pema grew up in Bangkok and went on to study art at the University of Washington and the University of the Arts London.
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Ingrid Haftel
Ingrid was the Community Education Program Director for CUP. Before CUP, she was Curator of Exhibitions at the Chicago ... moreIngrid 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.
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Codi Haigney
Codi was CUP’s 2018-2019 Public Ally. She holds a BA in Feminist & Gender Studies from Colorado College. She ... moreCodi Haigney
Codi was CUP’s 2018-2019 Public Ally. She holds a BA in Feminist & Gender Studies from Colorado College. She is excited to learn more about design as a tool for social change and community development. Codi interned and continues to work with the Parole Preparation Project, an organization that provides advocacy and direct support to currently and formerly incarcerated people and seeks to transform the parole release process in New York State.
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Christy Herbes
Christy is CUP’s Youth Education Program Director. Before CUP, she worked at Brooklyn Community Arts & Media ... moreChristy Herbes
Christy is CUP’s Youth Education Program Director. Before CUP, she worked at Brooklyn Community Arts & Media High School, a small public school dedicated to empowering youth through an art, media, and technology-enriched curriculum. There, she was a founding staff member and the Art Department Chair. During her 9 years as a classroom educator, Christy worked with youth to use art as a critical thinking tool, engaging them with local and global issues. Christy holds a Masters in Art Education from NYU and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Guilford College.
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Gisselle Hernández
Gisselle Hernández is a 21-year-old who is a proud queer Chicana that was born and raised in Little Village, ... moreGisselle Hernández
Gisselle Hernández is a 21-year-old who is a proud queer Chicana that was born and raised in Little Village, Chicago. She is currently studying at the Trinity/ La MaMa Program in NYC and is focusing on visual arts and social justice. Within her artistic work, themes of healing and growth are always prominent. As a daughter of immigrants, Gisselle’s goal in life is to give back to her communities by opening her own art programs that will provide resources for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and migrant youth to uplift them and give them the artistic means to heal. When searching for an internship, she found that CUP was the perfect fit for her as we use design and art to contribute to meaningful social change within marginalized by meeting their needs.
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Marisa Hetzler
Marisa is CUP’s 2021 Fellow for Change in Design. She is a recent graduate from the Fashion Institute of ... moreMarisa Hetzler
Marisa is CUP’s 2021 Fellow for Change in Design. She is a recent graduate from the Fashion Institute of Technology’s graphic design program. (She’s also a sagittarius, serial outfit repeater, Adventure Time fan, and candy wrapper collector). Outside of her school and freelance work, she also served as Creative Director at the Collegiate Association for Artists of Color. She loves how graphic design allows her to research complex topics like race, mental health and identity. Projects she enjoys the most are ones that allow her to learn a little more about the world, herself, and how we all interact with one another.
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Deja Holden
Deja was the Design Assistant at CUP. She received her BFA from Parsons School of Design in Communication Design and her BA ... moreDeja Holden
Deja was the Design Assistant at CUP. She received her BFA from Parsons School of Design in Communication Design and her BA from Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts in Political Science. She is interested in design as a tool for demystifing public policy, and its role as a vehicle for broader civic engagement.
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Sam Holleran
Is an artist, designer, and writer. Sam was CUP’s Communications Coordinator from 2011 to 2014. He attended the the ... moreSam 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.
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Fielding Hong
Fielding is a Youth Education Program Manager at CUP. He has over 10 years of experience as a youth educator working at the ... moreFielding Hong
Fielding is a Youth Education Program Manager at CUP. He has over 10 years of experience as a youth educator working at the intersections of history, the arts, and social justice. Fielding has worked as both a high school history teacher in Philadelphia and a museum educator in New York. He holds a B.A. in Film Studies from Wesleyan University, a teaching degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master’s in Culture and Gender Studies from Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea.
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Rajan Hoyle
Rajan Hoyle is a Project Manager (Contractor) at CUP. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Long Beach, California, Rajan is an ... moreRajan Hoyle
Rajan Hoyle is a Project Manager (Contractor) at CUP. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Long Beach, California, Rajan is an urbanist, a geographer and a multimedia storyteller. Rajan previously worked for the City of Long Beach where he wrote policy on digital inclusion, led community engagement and project managed creative placemaking initiatives. He has also directed a year-long participatory GIS mapping project with Garifuna youth in rural, coastal communities in Honduras. His research interests are at the intersection of spatial analysis, ethnography and participatory planning in marginalized communities. Rajan holds a BA in Urban Studies from UC Berkeley and is a Master in City Planning candidate at MIT.
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Rebecca John
Rebecca was CUP’s Development and Communications Assistant. She joins CUP after working with organizations building ... moreRebecca John
Rebecca was CUP’s Development and Communications Assistant. She joins CUP after working with organizations building the power of working-class, immigrant communities in New York City. She is interested in the ways art, culture, and design play a critical role in instigating social change by building people’s capacities to engage with social issues, organizations, and movements from an individual to a mass level. She takes inspiration from the legacy of artists like Gayle Asali Dickson, Emory Douglas, and Rini Templeton who produced art and graphics for Black Liberation and Latin American movements for liberation. She hopes to amplify CUP’s work creating tools that connect, inform, and activate communities impacted by systems of oppression to transform our world towards justice. In her free time, she is a creative writer, a pie-maker, an animal enthusiast, and a lover/collector of textiles from the Global South.
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Nick Johnson
Nick Johnson is a Brooklyn based Graphic Designer and former CUP Fellow for Change in Design. Originally from Detroit ... moreNick Johnson
Nick Johnson is a Brooklyn based Graphic Designer and former CUP Fellow for Change in Design. Originally from Detroit Michigan, Nick Studied at Western Michigan University where he received his BFA in Graphic Design. Nick moved to New York in pursuit of new skills, challenges, and experience in order to better prepare him for helping to solve complex problems in all capacities as both a designer and community member.
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John Mangin
John Mangin is a construction manager and housing litigator at Fair Share Housing, an affordable housing developer ... moreJohn Mangin
John Mangin is a construction manager and housing litigator at Fair Share Housing, an affordable housing developer that grew out of the Mount Laurel exclusionary housing cases in the 70’s and 80’s. He was formerly a homebuilder and continues to take building and furniture-making jobs out of his Philadelphia studio. He graduated from Yale Law School in 2008. He was one of three staff members at CUP from 2008 to 2010.
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Lize Mogel
Lize Mogel is an artist who works with the interstices between art and cultural geography. She has mapped public parks in ... moreLize Mogel
Lize Mogel is an artist who works with the interstices between art and cultural geography. She has mapped public parks in Los Angeles, future territorial disputes in the Arctic, and wastewater economies in NYC. She is co-editor of the book/map collection “An Atlas of Radical Cartography”. Her individual and collaborative work has been shown internationally including at the Sharjah and Pittsburgh Biennials, in “Greater New York” and “Experimental Geography”. She is also a grantwriter and development consultant, fundraising for art and social justice organizations for almost a decade. She has worked for CUP since August 2005.
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