About
Helping create equitable cities through inclusive design.
303 Bond Street
Brooklyn, NY 11232
212 924 7000
Drop us a line: vai@vanalen.org
Press inquiries: press@vanalen.org
Our Mission
Van Alen Institute helps create equitable cities through community-led inclusive design. In an equitable city, communities are engaged in the conception and creation of their built environment, regardless of income or personal circumstances. Community-driven decision-making builds resilience, social infrastructure, and ultimately, more just cities.
How We Work
We partner with leaders of historically disinvested communities to support their immediate needs and long term visions with our network, knowledge, and resources. We shape diverse interdisciplinary teams, build cross-sector public/private coalitions, and invest our own funds to support neighborhood priorities. By centering community in everything we do, our inclusive design method responds to the urgent need for social justice in citymaking.
For 129 years, our purposeful community engagement, convening capacity, and global network have produced profound transformations in the public realm of New York City and beyond. With an interdisciplinary approach to design, the Van Alen team has backgrounds in architecture, arts and culture, community organizing, preservation, and public policy.
Who We Are
Staff
Diana Araujo
Senior Project Manager, Programs
Andrew Brown
Director of Programs
Pratik Dubey
Strategic Partnerships Associate
Annie Ferreira
Strategic Partnerships Manager
Scott Kelly
Communications and Graphic Design Associate
Alisha Kim Levin
Director of Communications
Deborah Marton
Executive Director
Kate Overbeck
Director of Strategic Partnerships
Ren Reese
Managing Director
Board
Carla Swickerath
Partner, Studio Libeskind
Jared Della Valle
CEO & Founder, Alloy
Jenn Gustetic
Innovation and Technology Executive
Hana Kassem
Principal, KPF
Raymond Quinn
Principal, Arup
Michael Bednark
CEO, Bednark Studio Inc.
Robert Bernstein
Partner, Holland & Knight
Mark Gardner
Principal, Jaklitsch / Gardner Architects
Mark Johnson
President, Civitas
Casey Jones
Director of Civic Projects, Perkins&Will
Latoya Kamdang
Visiting Associate Professor, Pratt Institute
May Lee
Partner, The Seelig Group
Sandy Lee
Principal, Eight Seven Capital
Nnenna Lynch
Founder, Xylem Projects
Daniel Maldonado
DPR Construction
V. Mitch McEwen
Principal, Atelier Office
Katie Swenson
Senior Principal, MASS Design Group
Carol E. Rosenthal
Partner, Real Estate, Fried Frank
Kia Weatherspoon
Founder, Determined by Design
Allison Freedman Weisberg
Principal, Round Peg
Byron Bell
Byron Bell Architects & Planners
Council
Carl Bäckstrand
Partner & Vice President, White
Alfredo Caraballo
Partner, Allies and Morrison
Daniel Elsea
Director, Allies and Morrison
Mark Johnson
President, Civitas
Monica von Schmalensee
CEO, White
Steven Baumgartner
Director, Baumgartner Urban Systems Strategy
Jonas Edblad
Partner, Wingårdhs Arkitektkontor
Denzil Gallagher
Principal, BuroHappold Engineering
Tyler McIntyre
Partner, Design and Construction, Fairstead
Nat Oppenheimer
Executive Vice President/Principal, Silman
Chris Reed
Founding Director, Stoss Landscape Urbanism
Carol E. Rosenthal
Partner, Real Estate, Fried Frank
Benjamin G. Saxe
Executive Director, Studio Saxe
S. Bry Sarté
Founder, Sherwood Design Engineers
Susanna Sirefman
President, Dovetail Design Strategists
Gary Sorge
Vice President, Director of Landscape Architecture, Stantec
Kishore Varanasi
Director of Urban Design, CBT
Erik Verboon
Principal, Managing Director, Walter P Moore
Amy Whitesides
Director, Stoss Landscape Urbanism
Barbara Wilks
Principal and Founder, W Architecture and Landscape Architecture
Gert Wingårdh
Founder, Wingårdhs Arkitektkontor
Our History
1894 – 1955
Society for Beaux-Arts Architecture
We started with a commitment to accessible design education, founded in the aesthetics of the Beaux-Arts era.
1956 – 1995
National Institute for Architectural Education
Over time, we expanded beyond a particular style, and came to understand the power of design professionals to do good in the world.
1996 – 2019
Van Alen Institute: Projects in Public Places
With a belief that design can transform cities, landscapes, and regions to improve people’s lives, we developed research, public programs, and design competitions.
2020 – present
Van Alen Institute, today
We help create equitable cities through inclusive design. Community-driven decision-making builds resilience, social infrastructure, and more just cities.