Meena is a social innovation consultant and design strategist tackling complex social challenges through human-centered design and community engagement dedicated to tackling complex social challenges through human-centered design and community engagement. With a background in social anthropology and design, she has worked across diverse settings, from urban slums to corporate boardrooms. Previously, Meena spent eight years at IDEO, where she led community engagement for OpenIDEO and advised IDEO U’s initiatives. Her expertise lies in fostering collaboration, equity, and innovation to drive meaningful change. Born in Aotearoa New Zealand with Indian ancestry, she brings a global perspective to her work in social impact.Meena was the Spring Social Innovator in Residence with the ERA Chair in Social Innovation and the DESIS Lab at NOVA SBE.Follow Meena on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meanestindian/?originalSubdomain=nzand on Subtack: https://randomspecific.substack.com/Credits:Host: Anne-Laure FayardPost-production: Claudio SilvaMusic & Art Work: Guilhem TamisierRecorded at the Fidelidade Creative Studio, Nova SBE
--------
37:49
Entering and Breaking Design
Adriana Valdez Young is a design researcher with more than 15 years of leading design research that focuses on centering the experiences of historically excluded and underrepresented people for startups, government, non-profits, and corporate clients. . She advises inclusive research at SOUR, a global design studio with the mission to address social and urban problems, servers as associate chair of the MFA of Interaction design at the School of Visual Arts, and writes about inclusive design for UX Magazine. Prior to that she led research and strategy at Stae, a platform for cities to manage civic data and new mobilities. She was the head of consumer research at littleBits, a STEAM platform for kids and educators to invent their own technology. And most recently, shecrafted community experiences at 3X3 and shaped communications, business development, and the urban design practice at Openbox. Adriana holds a BA in History from Brown University and an MSc in City Design and Social Science fromthe London School of Economics.In this episode, Adriana reflects on her journey as "an accidental designer" - breaking and entering design. She talks about how her early passion for understanding context, her curiosity and her un-satisfaction with the status quo led her to design for social change. She reflects on co-creation and inclusive design, reminding us that all design should be inclusive.To learn more about Adriana's work, follow her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valdezyoung/and check her website: https://www.welikeresearch.com/You can also read her reflections on Medium: https://adrianavyoung.medium.com/Credits:Conception, host and production: Anne-Laure FayardSound design & Post-production: Claudio SilvaMusic & Art Work: Guilhem Tamisier
--------
30:21
Tales of the Field: Vila Feliz Cidade by Carlos Mendes Gonçalves
Tales of the Field is a podcast series which gives voice to social activists and social innovators who work in and with their communities to create social impact and sustainable change. They share with us their work in the field - where they tackle complex social issues and aim to create sustainable change and social impact. At its core, their work is human-centered, systemic and always informed by a deep understanding of the context and people’s lives.
In this episode, we talked with Carlos Mendes Gonçalves, the founder and CEO of Case Mendes Gonçalves, a family business in Portugal. Casa Mendes Gonçalves’ commitment to sustainability inspires the company’s effort to transform the food system and create a model for a new way to work and live together within our communities and nature. Carlos tells us about Vila Feliz Cidade, a regenerative agriculture project that aims to integrate the economic dimension with social and environmental responsibility.
To read more about sustainability at Casa MG and about Vila Feliz Cidade: https://www.casamg.pt/en/sustainability/
Co-conception and Voice: Melchior Tamisier-Fayard
Co-conception: Anne-Laure Fayard
Interview in Portuguese by Rita Nascimento
Quotes in English read by Claudio Silva
Sound design, Music and Post-production: Guilhem Tamisier
Artwork: Jyoti Tamisier-Fayard
--------
9:40
Human-centered design and systems thinking for social impact and community engagement.
Robert Fabricant is Co-Founder of Dalberg Design, where he brings human-centered design and systems thinking to clients looking for creative approaches to breakthrough innovation and expanded collaborations in social impact and community engagement. He leads an extremely diverse team with studios in Dakar, Mexico City, Mumbai, Nairobi and New York, leveraging Dalberg’s global footprint and capabilities. Much of his portfolio is focused on public health, serving as the lead design partner to USAID’s Global Health Bureau. A born and raised New Yorker, Robert began his career at a local criminal justice non-profit focused on New York State court reform where he worked at both a grassroots and policy level to drive positive change in the lives of New Yorkers.In this episode, Robert reflects on his journey from his work in criminal justice advocacy to becoming a systems designer with a focus on public health systems and social innovation. He talks about the importance of collaboration and taking a long-term horizon to make positive social change. As he critically reflects on his practice, he stresses the importance of thinking about power dynamics when doing design work with under-resourced communities in the USA and in the Global South.To learn more about Robert's work, follow him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertfabricant/and check his website: https://www.fabricant.design/To learn more about Dalberg Design: https://www.dalbergdesign.com/Credits:Conception, host and production: Anne-Laure FayardSound design & Post-production: Claudio SilvaMusic & Art Work: Guilhem Tamisier
--------
37:20
Social Innovator in Residence: Engin Ayaz
Engin Ayaz, a transdisciplinary designer and strategist with a background in architecture, systems thinking, and interaction design. He is the co-founder of ATÖLYE, a design and innovation consultancy, which amplifies the impact of purpose-driven leaders by transforming people, places and experiences through the power of communities.
Engin received a dual degree in Architectural Design and Engineering from Stanford University, and a master's degree in Interactive Design and Media Arts from Tisch School of Arts, ITP of New York University.
His work has been exhibited worldwide and
received awards from Core77, Architizer, Arkitera, World Architecture Community, and Good Magazine, among others.
Engin was the Fall 2024 Social Innovator in Residence with the ERA Chair in Social Innovation and the DESIS Lab at NOVA SBE.
Follow Engin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/enginayaz/
Learn more about Atölye: https://atolye.io/
The Design Thinking Roundtable is a collaboration between the DESIS Lab and the ERA Chair in Social Innovation at NOVA SBE with the Design Lab @ NYU MakerSpace. Originally conceived by Harshita Nedunuri and Anne-Laure Fayard, then co-created with Priyanka Vora. Since Fall 20219, it is conceived and produced by AL Fayard. Audio production and sound design (in various episodes): Guilhem Tamisier; Blake Rook; John Klima; Claudio Silva. Covert Art: Guilhem Tamisier
Portugal