Thaddeus Cooke

Thaddeus was a BCCP student in the I Heart East New York Urban Investigation.

Nayelly Escobar

Nayelly was a BCCP student in the I Heart East New York Urban Investigation.

Hatuey Ramos Fermín

Hatuey Ramos Fermín is an educator and multimedia artist who uses photography, video, installation, graphics, performance, intervention, maps, sounds, and social and curatorial practices to creatively investigate issues related to urban space. His work is informed by the documentary and the fine arts.

Prudence Katze

Prudence Katze arrived in New York from Memphis, TN in 2004. Since then, she has graduated from the Cooper Union, and has been working with projects that examine our urban ecology. She started working with CUP as an Education Intern in 2009 and has assisted Hatuey Ramos-Fermin with both the “I Heart East New York” and “Who Benefits from Community Benefits Agreements at the Kingsbridge Armory” Urban Investigations. Prudence also taught a workshop with students from the Resilience Advocacy Project, and produced the resulting book “The Road to Cash Assistance.”

John 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.  

Dionne Matthias

Dionne was a BCCP student in the I Heart East New York Urban Investigation.

Gavin Noble

Gavin was a BCCP student in the I Heart East New York Urban Investigation.

Rosten Woo

Rosten Woo is a cultural producer living in Los Angeles. He makes work that helps people understand complex systems and participate in group decision-making. He produces that work in partnership with local and national groups ranging from the American Human Development Project to the East Los Angeles Community Corporation. His work has been exhibited at the Cooper-Hewitt Design Triennial, the New Museum, the Venice Architecture Biennale, Netherlands Architectural Institute, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, on the internet, and in various public housing developments, tugboats, shopping malls, and parks in New York City and Los Angeles. His first book, “Street Value,” was published by Princeton Architectural Press in 2010. He is co-founder and former executive director of the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP). His website: www.wehavenoart.net

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 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.

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 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. 

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.

Christy 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.

Jenn Anne Williams

Jenn was CUP’s Youth Education Program Manager. With a strong belief that all youths deserve equitable access to the arts, Jenn has developed inclusive programs, published curriculum guides, and trained educators in how to use the arts as a tool for understanding, development, and social change with over 100 New York City public schools and community based organizations.  Jenn continues her pursuit of art as a tool for empowerment as a practicing artist, designer, educator, and administrator implementing high-quality, interdisciplinary art programs. You can follow her creative pursuits at artjawdesigns.com.

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 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. 

Clair Beltran

Clair Beltran is CUP’s Program Coordinator and is also a former intern. She is a recent graduate of Middlebury College where she studied Architecture and Geography. She is interested in the intersections between sociology and design and how different people experience space. Having spent the past 5 years in Vermont, she is excited and overwhelmed at being back in her hometown of New York City and relearning what it has to offer. 

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.

The New York Immigration Coalition

• The New York Immigrant Coalition (NYIC) aims to achieve a fairer and more just society that values the contributions of immigrants and extends opportunity to all. NYIC is made up of more than 150 member organizations serving New York’s low-income immigrant communities. Their work includes advancing more equitable policies, building immigrants’ political power, empowering immigrants through community education, and providing training and technical assistance to other community groups and advocates.