Jason Fujikuni

Hello! I am a son, brother and friend. Vocationally, I am employed as an art director and brand-identity designer, and I serve as a youth ministry volunteer. Through my work, I explore how design can be used to bring people together and to encourage an exchange: of information, history, beliefs, emotion and vulnerability. I am a New York-based Angelino, who frequents the Hawaiian islands and is uncannily interested in Spam. 

www.jasonfujikuni.com

Naoki Fujita

Naoki Fujita has worked on “The Water Underground.”

Mari Fujita

Mari Fujita is trained as an architect. She is currently researching cultural and design practice in settlement-formation in disaster areas. As a founding member of SpaceAgency, Mari is also involved with projects that “make space for knowledge and discussion of architecture in the public realm”. Mari Fujita has worked on Building Codes.

Aamina Ganser

Aamina Ganser is a designer based in New York. Her work includes publications, branding and identities, environmental, posters and art direction for clients ranging from independent artists, to brands, urban & public spaces, publishers and educational institutions.

Aamina was raised in the suburbs of Orange County, and researched in Tanzania, Story Coached with The Moth’s Community Outreach program, led arts education workshops in museums and organized one of New York’s City’s largest art fairs at the Park Avenue Armory.

She received a BA in World Arts & Cultures from UCLA, and an MFA in Graphic Design from CalArts.

Leah Garlock

Leah Garlock is a visual and interactive designer with an insatiable curiosity for other cultures. In May 2016, she graduated from Syracuse University’s VPA Communications Design and Newhouse Photography programs. During her studies, Leah received a grant to explore the cross-cultural identities of Korean American Adoptees, producing a short documentary and multimedia exhibit from her research. She employs an empathy-driven design process where she’s had the opportunities to serve on a wide range of socially conscious design projects. In her free time, Leah can be found hiking the trails of the Adirondacks, fueling her love of coffee, traveling, and reading good books. 

Ro Garrido

Ro Garrido is a Youth Education Program Coordinator at CUP. Ro was born in Lima, Peru and grew up in Jackson Heights, Queens. Ro is a self-taught, multidisciplinary artist and educator whose work grapples with memory and intimacy. They work with mixed media, sculpture, fiber, archives, installation and community engagment. Ro’s work has been featured at the Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, Goddard College, and Flux Factory. Ro was a 2014 Create Change Fellow and 2016 Commissioned Artist with The Laundromat Project. Ro is currently a 2018-19 Engaging Artists Fellow at More Art and a 2019-20 Artist in Residence at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. Ro has a BA in Individualized Studies with a focus on Visual Art and Mental Health from Goddard College.

Isaac Gertman

Isaac Gertman is principal of The Independent Group (US), a multi­-disciplinary design practice that collaborates with diverse individuals, organizations, and commercial clients to create distinctive work that establishes meaningful, lasting connections with audiences. In addition, Isaac is among the full­time faculty at Maryland Institute College of Art and is the Design Fellow at The Wassaic Project, in New York. Isaac’s work has been recognized by the AIGA and Society of Publication Designers. Isaac earned an MFA at the Rhode Island School of Design and a BFA at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Students from Get Money

CUP and CUP teaching artist Becky Slogeris worked with students from College Now at Hostos on “Get Money”, a City Studies project on financial aid. Those students were: Atreyu Aguilar, Elizabeth Samaroo, Junisha Tavarez, Ebony Lowery, Oscar Przezdziecki, Qiqi Mei, Ashlee Kelly, Pei Jun, Amory Gregory, Suilong Luo, Tamera Imhiavan, Alexis Mcdowell, Sanasa Kaba, Dacia Duncan, Dahlia Hatab, Ava Bryan, and Destiny Serulle 

Rosa Gil

Rosa Gil was an intern at CUP in 2016. Rosa enjoys going to the library, morning walks to the park, spending time with her family, gaining new experiences, and learning about different aspects of society. Based on her interest in teaching and medicine, Rosa aspires to be a doctor. 

GOLES

GOLES is a neighborhood housing and preservation organization that has served the Lower East Side of Manhattan since 1977. Through our direct services, we serve over 2,000 families each year, and thousands more through our organizing and training and education work. We work locally, city-wide, and nationally with our allies to build solidarity and collective power to fight against the issues that oppress us and to create the world we want to see. GOLES has collaborated on Public Housing Television (PHTV) and the Affordable Housing Toolkit.

Priscilla Gonzalez

Priscilla González has over 10 years of experience working to build power among immigrant communities of color in NYC. Until 2012, she had the honor to serve as the Executive Director of Domestic Workers United, bringing the historic fight for the nation’s first Domestic Workers Bill of Rights to a close and successfully transitioning DWU into a full-fledged, independent organization. Recently, she joined another historic and high-profile campaign, working for real police reform inNYC. Priscilla is a graduate of Barnard College and the London School of Economics. She is the proud daughter of a fierce South American immigrant woman who taught her the values of justice and struggle.

Gabe Gordon

Gabe Gordon grew up far-sighted in Cleveland, Ohio. Fascinated by postal systems and mail objects, Gabe’s work and writing circulate around the art and politics of correspondence. As a Teaching Artist, Gabe has been lucky to work collaboratively on projects with children and teenagers of all ages across New York City, Western Massachusetts, and Detroit, Michigan. xxgg.work

Students from Grand Army Plaza

CUP and CUP teaching artist Cassie Thornton worked with students from College Now at Brooklyn College on an Urban Investigation about what it would take to make a big change on Grand Army Plaza. Those students were: Najilah Desravines, Rebecca Leger, Stephanie Camacho, Daniel Linton, Jessie Chen, Iseult Leger, Carolyn Henry-Williams, Khalila Blake, Lynn Dominick.

Joshua Graver

Joshua Graver is a Brooklyn-based graphic designer that focuses on art direction, branding, motion graphics, print and web design, soundtracking, and problem solving. He enjoys the company of family, friends, and house plants; and he is passionate about social and environmental justice. joshuagraver.com

Joshua was a 2013-2014 Public Access Design Fellow and worked on Shifty Business.

Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center

is the premier nonprofit industrial developer in New York City. Since its inception in 1992, GMDC has rehabilitated seven manufacturing buildings in Brooklyn for occupancy by small manufacturing enterprises, artisans and artists. GMDC currently owns and manages five of these properties, the newest among them being the recently completed redevelopment project at 1102 Atlantic Avenue. GMDC creates and sustains viable manufacturing sectors in urban neighborhoods through planning, developing, and managing real estate and offering other related services.