Who we are

Co-Founder/Executive Director

Leslie Davol has over 30 years of experience working in the cultural sector, including serving as Assistant Vice President for memorial, cultural, and civic programs for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation following September 11, and in various project management roles at the New-York Historical Society. In addition, Leslie has served as a juror and organizer of public art competitions, nonprofit board member, and public member on the New York State Board for Architecture. (Leslie via LinkedIn)

Co-Founder/Director

Prior to co-founding Street Lab, Sam Davol was an attorney with the Legal Aid Society in New York City, working on public interest class action litigation, community legal services, and service innovations using technology. For over 30 years, Sam has also been a professional musician and member of The Magnetic Fields. (Sam via LinkedIn)

Design Lead

Hannah Berkin-Harper has worked as an industrial designer and educator for over 15 years. She was a Senior Designer in Karim Rashid’s studio, creating furniture, products, and interiors for clients all over the world. In 2016, she founded her own studio and began working on projects focused on public space, active design, and environmental sustainability. She has collaborated with Street Lab since 2019, most recently joining the team as Design Lead. Hannah teaches undergraduate and graduate courses at Pratt Institute in the Industrial Design and Interior Design departments. She also conducts research on community participatory design processes and co-design methods. She has an AB in Studio Art from Vassar College and an MID from Pratt Institute.

Communications Lead

Seung-a Han  is invested in uncovering the non-neutrality of public space and the possibilities imagined by everyday people who use it. Having past experiences in art, architecture, and education, she was most recently a 2023 Design Justice as Practice Fellow at the Center for Urban Pedagogy. Seung-a holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from University of Massachusetts Amherst, with a focus on public and socially-engaged art. Her creative practice involves photography, illustration, writing, and translation.

Program Lead

Mitzi Jo Gordon is passionate about building human connections through creativity. She has worked at the intersection of community engagement and public art in the Tampa Bay area during the past 20 years, serving non-profit organizations, independent artist teams, museums, and collective studios. She is founder and curator of the Carmada art car showcase, and served on the team that opened the newly constructed Dali Museum in 2011. Mitzi recently completed a two-year traveling art project called SPACEcraft, sharing free creative activities in shipping container studios across Pinellas County, Florida. She holds a BA in Journalism from New York University, and drove her own bookmobile for nearly a decade.

Program Manager

Niri Halperin believes that our built environment should be formed to serve us and that by engaging with the spaces around us, we can shape and transform them. Niri has held various roles in non-profit organizations and B Corps, working behind the scenes and on the ground. She was born and raised in Brooklyn and holds a BA in Anthropology from Brandeis University. Niri loves to ride her bike, make collages, and know what phase the moon is in.

Project Manager

Jim Lammers is an urban planning practitioner and educator focused on the intersection of participatory planning praxes and public space activation across New York City. A kid at heart, he is passionate about designing for play and centering children as design agents within the cityscape. At Street Lab, Jim is focused on the expansion of Street Lab’s partnership with NYC Department of Transportation to help community groups create new Open Streets and public spaces in underserved neighborhoods. He brings experience as Street Lab Program Staff (’22-’23) as well as a background working as a structural engineer. Originally hailing from San Antonio, Texas, Jim received his MS in Urban Planning at Columbia University and a BS in Structural Engineering from Swarthmore College.

Program Coordinator

Juan Pablo Caicedo Torres is an interdisciplinary artist and educator committed to art in public spaces and socially engaged projects. His work often involves using nomad and portable methods to facilitate collaboration among local communities. His artistic practices crosses various mediums, including visual and performance art and installation. He holds a Master’s degree in Arts Politics from New York University and a BFA from the National University of Colombia.

Program Intern

Emma Adelman is excited by the prospect of constantly reinventing public space to make it more accessible and more relevant to its inhabitants. She loves to be wherever other people are, and she believes strongly in play as a vehicle for connection. She was raised in Brooklyn and is pursuing a BA in the Growth and Structure of Cities at Bryn Mawr College. She’s a fan of cheap food, playgrounds, and night walks.

Program Intern

Wali Shaikh is a human centered designer and urbanist based out of LA where he is pursuing a BA in Sustainability in the Built Environment at Claremont McKenna College. Wali is interested in the intersection of design and policy and how both can be utilized to create happier, healthier, sustainable and equitable cities for all people. Wali believes in the power of co-creating and place making with communities, and how small scale solutions can lead to long term change through tactical urbanism. In his free time you can catch Wali doing street photography, reading at the Jefferson Market Library, or exploring new places with friends.

Moving Services

NYC Department of Transportation

Program Staff 2011-2023