ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

OUR EXTERNAL ADVISORY GROUP

guides the UDesign Justice Initiative with strategic insight, accountability, and cross-sector expertise, ensuring our work remains community-centered, justice-aligned, and grounded in diverse lived and professional perspectives.

DR. MARIE CECILE KOTYK

Founding Director Leads the initiative’s vision, research agenda, partnerships, governance, and long-term strategy.

MATTHEW PARKER

Founding Director Leads the initiative’s vision, research agenda, partnerships, governance, and long-term strategy.

PROJECT BASED TEAM

At the heart of UDJI’s day-to-day work is a dedicated group of emerging designers and planners who help bring our projects to life through logistics, design, facilitation, and careful documentation. They contribute leadership in: Research support and synthesis Communications, visual design, and storytelling Workshop and event facilitation Data analysis and documentation Logistics coordination and community engagement Graduate-level research development and design justice inquiry They strengthen UDJI’s ability to deliver community engaged work that is thoughtful, accessible, and grounded in justice-centered practice.

Our Working Groups are action-driven

teams that translate UDJI’s vision into on-the-ground impact, bringing together academics, researchers, community partners, practitioners, students, and lived/living experience collaborators to co-design and deliver tangible change.

At the core of UDJI are the community members and people with lived and living experience

whose insight, leadership, and wisdom guide every decision we make.

• Co-define priorities and challenges
• Shape research questions and areas of inquiry
• Lead and co-facilitate design and engagement activities
• Validate solutions, prototypes, and recommendations
• Ensure cultural, contextual, and experiential accuracy
• Anchor our work in justice, care, and community reality