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.

Malaya is an interdisciplinary designer and artist. She is passionate about bringing positive change into people's lives and the environment through design. Malaya brings a multicultural perspective to the design process, having studied language and culture in China and urban design in Denmark, and grown up between cultures as a Filipina Scottish American. She earned a BFA in Product Design and minors in Landscape Architecture and Chinese from the University of Oregon. Her capstone project focused on the intersection of industrial design, urban design, and sociology by designing a concept for a flexible system of structures and temporary public art installations aimed at inviting conversation and connecting people with their community on a spatial and interpersonal level.

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.

Emi Day is an architect, strategist, and founder of Studio Emelia, a neighborhood placemaking firm rooted in social impact, climate action, and community resilience. Working across civic, technology, and education sectors, Emi brings a user experience mindset to the built environment. She leads thoughtful, inclusive processes that span systems, spaces, and storytelling to shape more connected, human-centered cities. Emi is a licensed architect in Oregon and a member of the American Institute of Architects. She studied Design & Environmental Analysis at Cornell University and holds concurrent master’s degrees in Architecture and Education from the University of Oregon.

Nick Hodge is an architectural and urban designer passionate about creating housing, active transportation networks, and public spaces that strengthen community life. He has contributed to projects ranging from speculative research installations such as Production Potential at the 2025 Venice Biennale to design studies on the future of advanced manufacturing in U.S. cities. Nick earned a BA in Architecture from the University of Kentucky and a Master of Architecture from the University of Oregon, where his terminal project reimagined Portland’s public right-of-way as a multifunctional platform for housing and infrastructure.

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.

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.