Who we are

Street Lab is run by seven full-time staff and 30+ part-time staff during our busiest months.

Board of Directors

Jane Sujen Bock, Angella Brown, Willard Donham, Jared Eigerman, Laura Fleder, Ken Gordon, Judith Hilton, Morgan A. Jones, Zara Mannan

Co-Founder/Executive Director

Uni Ozone Park 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 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.

Fabrication

Bancroft Design, Jaywalk Studio

Moving Services

NYC Department of Transportation

Program Staff 2011-2023

2021-07-16-175944_w120st_malcolmxblvd-mtmorrisparkw-2

2021-07-16-175806_w120st_malcolmxblvd-mtmorrisparkw

2021-06-12-132706_vanderbiltave_bergenst-stmarksave

24_2017-12-02_172417_skillmanave_43rdst_1080px

49_2018-09-16-121459_sdrpark_hesterst_1080px

47_2018-09-16-112307_sdrpark_hesterst_1080px

41_2018-07-19-152657_butlerhouses_nycha_1080px

2019-07-08-142628_castlehillhouses-nycha

43_2018-07-31-141615_foresthouses_nycha_1080px

The Uni portable reading room in NYC Parks.

2019-08-01-124849_queensbridgehouses_nycha-2

The Uni portable reading room at White Park, East Harlem.

The Uni portable reading room on Rutgers St, Two Bridges, NYC.

28_2018-05-20-155115_mottst_worthst_chinatown-2_1080px

30_2018-06-10-154514_bedfordave_metropolitanave-n12st_1080px

The Uni EXPLORE cart at Sara D Roosevelt Park in NYC Chinatown.

34_2018-06-23-121413_woodsideave_60st-63st-2_1080px

36_2018-06-24-155949_amsterdamave_w139st-w141st_1080px

44_2018-08-01-125557_madisonsqpark_1080px

32_2018-06-17-134445_pitkinave_straussst_1080px

Program Staff Alumni

Leah Kaplan (’16-’18), Joeyee Yan (’16-’18), Courtney Menard (’18), Sarah Shahata (’18), Stephanie Yee (’14-’17), Egypt Calier (’16-’17), Fay Ku (’17), Mira Etingof (’17), Luyi Wang (’17), Christian Guinanzaca (’16), Rossana Iturbide (’16), Ester Shmulyian (’16), Stephen Wrenn (’16), Daniyar Irgaliyev (’16), Mecca Norfleet (’16), Anthony Lopez (’16), Jean Li Spencer (’16), Michael Gibson (’13-’16), Shamel Rountree (’16), Adynah Irene Johnson (’15), Leigh Hurwitz (’13-’15), Emily Jacobson (’14-’15), Marco Cunqueiro (’15), Jorey Greenland (’15), Greig Roselli (’15), Susan Coyne (’15), Genevieve Irwin (’15), Rasheed Lucas (’14), Tiffany Lin (’14), Alyssa Pintar (’14), Amelia Carver (’13), Nelson DeJesus (’13), Peter Zweifel (’13)

Program Collaborators and Visiting Experts

HYPOTHEkids (’17-18), Washington Square Park Eco Projects (’16-18), Rica Takashima/Aliens in NY (’17), Robert Berkman/Better Living through Mathematics (’13), Andrew Collins (’13)

Volunteers

Emilia Andrade (’15), Lisa Archigian (’16), Chanyuan Bao (’17-’18), Kelly Marie Blanchat (’12-14), William Brockett (’13), Jane Bock (’17-’18), Michelle Bowen (’18), Jamie Burns (’14), Milani Chatterjilen (’18), Evan Chen (’16), Sofia Chelo (’16), Nathanael Cho (’16), Liana Chow (’17-’18), MD Choudhury (’17-’18), Lindsey Danis (’11), Eleanor Davol (’13), Malcolm Davol (’13), Andy Deck (’15), Fatou Diorme (’18), Meghan Dowell (’11-’13), Cathrine Fahmy (’18), Lisa Gomez (’15-16), Kenneth Gordon (’13), Magdalena Gordon (’13), Jorey Greenland (’16), Chelsea Gunn (’11), Nadine Hibbert (’14-’16), Leigh Hurwitz (’12-’16), Emily Jacobson (’12-’16), Allie Janvey (’12), Adynah Irene Johnson (’14), Gloria Lau (’15-18), Marilyn Kahn (’12), Amit Karan (’13), Madeline Kelly (’11), Grace Ko (’16), Victoria Kuhr (’14-’16), Angela Kyle (’13-’14), Kaijie Liao (’17-’18), Tiffany Lin (’14-’15), Natalia Lopez (’13), Steven Lowinger (’18), Dylan Levene (’18), Kelleen Maluski (’12-’16), Daniel Mascola (’15), Sara McCabe (’16), Alexandra McClure (’15-16), Molly McInerny (’11), Nicholas Modugno (’18), Luis Aguilar Moreno (’14), Sara Muche (’18), Diana Narvaez (’14), Pascale Nijhof (’13-’14), Jennifer Nix (’13-’14), Christine O’Heron (’12), Yukie Ohta (’11), Tiffany Minh Peterson (’15-’16), Jessica Pierce (’14), Katherine Plater (’13), Gabriella Radujko (’12), Anna Robinson (’12-’13), Liz Ropers (’14), Greig Roselli (’15-’18), Sitara Sawh (’17-’18), Lisa Savcak (’14-’15), Helen Schubert (’11), Juhi Singhal (’13), Phillíp Solér (’14), Michelle Solis (’16), May Tongnok (’15-’16), Antonio Upia (’18), Constance Vidor (’14), Albert Wang (’17-18), Xavier Williams (’13-14), Whitney Wong (’15), Stephanie Yee (’12-’18), Lauren Zavaglia (’18), Jie Zhao (’15), Patrick Zheng (’16-’18)

Teams from: Wolff Olins, George Jackson Academy, Avenues: The World School, Riley’s Way Foundation Youth Advisory Council, The Garden School

Pro bono

Max Dietshe (annual report ’15), Breauna Hagan (volunteer plan ’15), Stroock, Stroock & Lavan LLP (legal ’15), Angela Khermouch (photography ’15), Lawyers Alliance for New York (legal ’14), Maureen Naff (pitch deck creation ’13), Shannon Tomai, Apex Law (legal ’12)

Design

Joana Torres (sign kiosk ’16), Höweler + Yoon Architecture, LLP, with Prof. J. Meejin Yoon of MIT (Uni carts, tower, benches ’11-16, with Eric Höweler, Meejin Yoon, Parker Lee, Ryan Murphy, Thena Tak, James Coleman, David Costanza, Jeremy Jih, and Alexander William Marshall)

Fabrication

Bancroft Design, Jaywalk Studio, Beartown, Höweler + Yoon Architecture, LLP (with Jeremy Jih, David Costanza, Alexander William Marshall, Kelly Shaw, Sung Woo Jang, Max Wong, Joanna Rodriguez-Noyola, James Coleman, Cyrus Dochow, Parker Lee, and Thena Tak)

Drivers/Installers

Mike Gibson (’14-’17), Red Hook on the Road

Past Advisory Panel Members

Stacy Abramson, Ariana Austin, Polly Carpenter, Aimee Good, Nate Hill, Eric Höweler, Leigh Hurwitz, Fred Kent, Gloria Lau, Tiffany Lin, Bill Middleton, Jennifer Polshek, Richard Reyes-Gavilan, Rachel Urkowitz, Meejin Yoon