OUR TEAM
The Making of Corona Plaza film team, from right to left: Benazir Baig, Daniela Fernandez Lopez, Lukas Kernke, Mae Francke Rojo, and Miodrag Mitrašinović. New York City, April 2024.
CURRENT RESEARCHERS
Miodrag Mitrašinović is the Coordinator and Lead Researcher. Miodrag is an architect, urbanist, author, and Professor of Urbanism and Architecture at Parsons School of Design, The New School university in New York City. Among other titles, he is the editor of Architecture and the Public World: Kenneth Frampton (Bloomsbury, 2024), co-editor of Public Space Reader (with Vikas Mehta, Routledge, 2022) and Emerging Public Realm of the Greater Bay Area: Approaches to Public Space in a Chinese Megaregion (with Timothy Jachna, Routledge, 2021), and editor of Concurrent Urbanities: Designing Infrastructures of Inclusion (Routledge, 2016). Miodrag’s scholarly work focuses on two parallel and complementary lines of inquiry. First, on the role designing plays as an agent of social and political change, and as catalyst for critical urban transformations; his work argues for the centrality of designing in the conceptualization, production, and representation of democratic and participatory public realm. Secondly, Miodrag’s work also focuses on the infrastructural dimensions of public space specifically at the intersections of infrastructure, territory, network governance and community organizing.
For publications and full bio, follow this LINK.
Audrey Smith is a graduate student currently pursuing Master of Architecture at Parsons School of Design, The New School. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Miami University, with a focus in Interior Design and Arts Management. Her work explores the intersection of architecture, human behavior, and social dynamics that shape how we experience space. Her academic and creative practice investigates how architecture can support human cognition, emotional well-being, and community engagement through intentional, research-driven design.
Delaney Connor is a student of cities and their inhabitants. She is originally from Seattle and completed her undergraduate schooling in New Orleans, where she developed a deep interest in creative resistance and community resilience. Delaney spent her years since graduating in Bozeman, Montana where she worked in positions addressing homelessness and legal reform. She is pursuing a Masters Degree to explore her ever-evolving research interests which presently include solidarity infrastructure, political subjectivity, and block associations. Outside of her studies, Delaney enjoys cooking large pots of soup and experiencing NYC from atop her bicycle.
Molly (Hanzi) Meng is a designer, urbanist, and dancer whose work explores embodied time in urban public spaces. Currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Design and Urban Ecologies at Parsons School of Design, The New School, Hanzi is developing a theory of groove—a relational timekeeping framework that centers time in the production of urban public space. Drawing from improvised jazz music and vernacular jazz dance, her research positions relational timekeeping as a method for strengthening the social fabric and creating space for plurality, negotiation, and mutual becoming. Holding a BDes in Industrial Design from the University of Washington, she believes in design’s capability and obligation to engage people, address structural challenges, and contribute to just, democratic urban environments.
Benazir Baig is a digital content producer at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where she leads multimedia storytelling and produces The World Unpacked podcast. Previously, she worked at the German Marshall Fund, creating videos and campaigns that brought global policy issues to broader audiences. She has over six years of experience in multimedia production, and has contributed to high-profile projects for industry leaders such as Netflix, Sony Pictures, and National Geographic. Her expertise spans across directing, producing, and editing, with a strong focus on narrative storytelling and digital strategy. Benazir holds a Master’s degree in Media Studies from The New School, with a specialization in non-fiction storytelling.
Follow this LINK to learn more about Benazir’s work.
Lukas Kernke is a researcher, designer, and data analyst based in Brooklyn, New York. He holds a BA in Philosophy from Hampshire College and MS in Design and Urban Ecologies from Parsons School of Design, The New School.
Mae Francke Rojo is an ethnographer, community organizer, and designer specialized in participatory action research and strategic design. She has an extensive background in grassroots organizing and community engagement. She is currently a New York-based advocacy strategist and coalition builder working at the Transportation Alternatives. Her work sits at the intersection of community organizing and policy advocacy; developing grassroots campaigns, influencing policy, and building power for communities. Mae has comprehensive experience in the private and public sector, and strong skills in data analysis, visual storytelling, and critical cartography. She holds MS in Design and Urban Ecologies from Parsons School of Design, The New School.
Daniela Fernández López is an architect working at the intersection of landscape, urbanism, and social justice. She earned her degree in Architecture from the University of the Republic (FADU-Udelar) in Montevideo, Uruguay and received the National Planning Award in 2018. In 2024, she completed MS in Design and Urban Ecologies at Parsons School of Design, supported by the Fulbright Program. Her practice focuses on community engagement, ecological awareness, and activism through design. Her multidisciplinary approach emphasizes bottom-up strategies, collective narratives, and community-led initiatives to foster discussions on urban futures and ecological justice. She is currently teaching public space design, history of architecture, and urbanism at the University of the Republic and the Catholic University of Uruguay. Her multidisciplinary approach emphasizes bottom-up strategies, collective narratives, and community-led initiatives that inspire dialogue on inclusive urban futures and ecological justice.
Tori Gruber is a Los Angeles–based urban researcher and landscape designer who explores how public spaces shape—and are shaped by—everyday life. She holds an MS degree in Design and Urban Ecologies from Parsons School of Design, and her writing has appeared in Urban Omnibus and the Narcotic City Archive. As a member of TAAG SFV, a community of artists, architects, and designers re-imagining the urban realm of the greater San Fernando Valley, she engages questions of place, belonging, and collective imagination. The Making of Corona Plaza connects her interest in how collective stewardship and public space can recreate community practices and shared meaning. When not working, she tends to her unruly canyon garden with her dog, Souki.
Gracia Goh is a designer and urban researcher. Using design as a process of change, she creates public spaces and initiatives that are inclusive, vibrant, and sustainable. Over the years, she has co-designed a flexible library-community space in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, advocated for Community Land Trusts in New York City, developed an award-winning transitional housing proposal for single-parent households, and explored the politicization of public spaces in Singapore. Gracia holds an MS degree in Design and Urban Ecologies from Parsons School of Design, The New School. She currently works at the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in Singapore. Learn more about Gracia’s projects at graciagoh.com.
Sara Devic is an urbanist, architect, and urban researcher. She holds degrees in Architecture from the University of Belgrade, Serbia, and MS degree in Design and Urban Ecologies from Parsons School of Design, The New School. She currently works as a Development Manager at Phipps International. She previously worked at El Puente and at WXY Architecture + Urban design.
Anze Zadel is an interdisciplinary urban designer, scholar-practitioner and urban policy strategist. He holds degrees in Architecture from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, MS in Design and Urban Ecologies from Parsons School of Design, and a PhD in Public and Urban Policy, both from The New School. He has more than ten years of experience working on issues related to social justice, affordable housing development, and urban policy advocacy. His projects include designing an urban pedagogy practice in a low-income community in Medellin, Colombia and founding one of the first green schools in Lagos, Nigeria. He is currently Teaching Fellow and Programme Director of Disability, Design and Innovation LUL at Loughborough University in London, United Kingdom.
Jennifer Simonton is a designer, photographer and writer based in Minneapolis and currently working at Architecture Plus Information (A+I) as the Manager of Marketing and Communications. She holds a Master of Architecture from Parsons School of Design, The New School and Masters of Theological Studies from the Divinity School at Duke University.
Na Fu is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the China Initiative and the Watson School of International and Public Affairs, at Brown University. She completed her Ph.D. in Politics at The New School. Her ethnographic research examines the political economy of networked production from mass production to mass customization in the Pearl River Delta Region of China.
Blake Roberts is a designer, community organizer, urbanist and an art director with more than ten years of experience in urban studies, human centered design, and visual communication. After obtaining his BFA in Graphic Design at the Columbus College of Art and Design, he completed his MA degree in Theories of Urban Practice from Parsons School of Design, The New School. His professional experiences include Pandiscio Green in New York, International Rescue Committee, and more. He currently lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Emily Bowe is a designer, cartographer, and researcher with interests in maps, urban infrastructure, and community data practices. She graduated from Parsons School of Design at The New School with an MS in Design and Urban Ecologies and from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Morehead-Cain Scholar with a BS in Environmental Science and Geography. She is currently an Assistant Director of the Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library.
Roberta Werthein is a graphic design and urban planer. She holds degrees in Graphic Design at the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina and MS degree in Design and Urban Ecologies from Parsons School of Design, The New School. Today, I bring that same energy to the worlds of entrepreneurship, investment, and cultural transformation. She currently works at Roca Group, where she leads initiatives across deep tech, sports, media, and entertainment. She is also the co-founder of Apollo Society.