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. 

Leigh Taylor

Leigh was CUP’s Development & Program Coordinator. She is a recent graduate from Bard College, where she studied Sociology with a focus on Gender & Labor. Following college, Leigh has worked for organizations invested in social justice education for young people, specifically youth from historically marginalized communities. She is involved in movements of justice for domestic workers, incarcerated folks, and young people of color. She is excited to work with CUP to create accessible tools for people from communities like hers.

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.

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.

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/

Lizania Cruz

Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Lizania Cruz is a New York-based designer working in fashion, advocacy, and the arts. She brings a decade of design experience to her current work at the branding studio Language Department. Her clients have included established brands, like Anthropologie, startups, and nonprofits, such as the American Cancer Society. Her work has been recognized by AIGA, the Type Directors Club, and Communication Arts. Lizania recently launched her own jewelry line called Bagavundas.

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.

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/

Lizania Cruz

Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Lizania Cruz is a New York-based designer working in fashion, advocacy, and the arts. She brings a decade of design experience to her current work at the branding studio Language Department. Her clients have included established brands, like Anthropologie, startups, and nonprofits, such as the American Cancer Society. Her work has been recognized by AIGA, the Type Directors Club, and Communication Arts. Lizania recently launched her own jewelry line called Bagavundas.

Oscar 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.

Yasmin Safdié

Yasmin Renée Safdié is the Director of Programs at CUP. She is a radical social worker, community organizer and educator. Her work is grounded in an anti-oppressive framework, which seeks to ensure that those most affected by social issues are centered in movements for justice. For over a decade, she has worked on a range of social justice issues including: ending mass incarceration, anti-racism, and gender justice. Yasmin has extensive experience designing and facilitating anti-oppressive trainings and leadership development programs. Prior to CUP, Yasmin was the Senior Manager of Organizing and Advocacy at the New York City Anti-Violence Project where she worked to end violence against the LGBTQ community. Yasmin is currently an Adjunct Lecturer at Columbia University School of Social Work and CUNY Hunter College. She is a member leader and Board Member at Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, where she co-founded the Mizrahi Caucus, which organizes Arab/Middle Eastern/North African/Central Asian Jews. She received her M.S. in Social Work from Columbia University and her B.A. in History and Anthropology from McGill University. In her free time Yasmin loves to do ceramics and dance. 

Fatima Abdul-Nabi

Fatima was born and raised in NYC and is interested in all things urban. When not working, she likes to explore and relax in different parks around the city. Fatima is completing her bachelors in urban studies at Barnard College and is teaching this fall’s class on disaster planning. 

Clara 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.

Benjamin Critton

Benjamin Critton is an American designer, art director, typographer, publisher, writer, editor and curator. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, where he makes graphic design from a studio in a neighborhood called Greenpoint. Before moving to New York, he attended the Yale School of Art. Before that, he went to Hamilton College. Before that, he went to William H. Hall High School. Before that, he went to King Philip Middle School. Before that, he went to Morley Elementary School. Before that, he went to Knight Hall Nursery School.

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.

BinHua Wang

BinHua Wang, student of Aviation high school located in Long Island City. His favorite hobby is to investigate the unknown and share with the public. In the summer of 2011, he signed up to participate with CUP to solve the puzzle behind electricity and how it’s created and sent to our cities. In process of doing that, BinHua was able to acquire the skill of interviewing as well as gathering useful information. The experience he had with CUP truly helped him become a better speaker during the presentation.