FOUNDER

Matthew Claudel has a PhD in Advanced Urbanism from MIT, where his work focused on urban experimentation as it relates to civic value. He is the co-author of Open Source Architecture (Thames & Hudson) and The City of Tomorrow (Yale University Press), and has peer reviewed journal articles and fiction primarily related to technology, art, cities, and innovation. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Matthew was the Strategic Design Lead for Curative, a company that scaled rapidly to deliver tests and vaccines across the country. He was a Futures Fellow at the Purpose Foundation in 2021, and a Juror for the Canadian Federal Smart Cities Challenge in 2018. Matthew co-founded MIT’s designX program in 2016, where he was the Head of Civic Innovation and an instructor for four years. He was a Visiting Assistant Professor at University of Michigan’s Taubman School of Architecture, and is an Affiliate Faculty Member of Portland State University's Geography Department.

Mora Orensanz is an urban designer at Field States, where she is passionate about exploring the potential of design, from services to technologies, as a powerful tool for driving social and environmental impact in cities. Mora is co-founder of La Firme, a startup focused on improving housing quality for low and middle-income families in Peru through mortgage access and technical assistance. She has worked in large and small scale urban design projects in the US and Argentina, and most recently collaborated on a book titled The Equitably Resilient City: Solidarities and Struggles in the Face of Climate Crisis (Lamb & Vale, 2024), where she conducted in depth research and developed the visual strategy for the book. She studied Architecture at UNLP, Argentina, and holds a Master's in City Planning from MIT.

Bryan is an architect, strategic designer, and technologist. He is the Faculty Director of the Urban Technology program at University of Michigan. He writes regularly on the topic of design, including the book Design for Social Innovation: Case Studies from Around the World published by Routledge in 2021. He is the cofounder of architecture and strategic design studio Dash Marshall. Bryan serves on the board of directors for Public Policy Lab in New York City and lives in Detroit, MI. He has a MArch from Harvard Graduate School of Architecture.

Kim Smith Claudel is an artist and designer in Portland Oregon. Her art practice intersects painting, sculpture, and performance while using a variety of natural, discarded, and technological media—often created within limitations or rule sets. Her work has recently been shown in Japan, Sweden, and across the US. She is a member of WAVE Contemporary artist collective as well as Carnation Contemporary Gallery. Her graphic design work spans illustration, brand identity, book design, and UI/UX design. She received an MS in Media Arts and Sciences from the MIT Media Lab, where she was a Learning Innovation Fellow. Her research in early childhood education led her to found the company Learning Beautiful, where she designs educational toys and experiences. She holds an MFA from the School of Visual Arts.