Sabrina is the Director of Finance and Operations at Van Alen Institute, where she builds on the organization’s legacy while helping usher in a dynamic new chapter in its evolution. She is a multi-faceted operations management professional and a dedicated community and cultural worker. With expertise in nonprofit operations, human resources, finance, and development, she most recently served as Director of Operations at Culture Lab LIC, where she led staff development and organizational growth, expanded partnerships and foundational funding, and advanced long-term strategic planning and sustainability.
A proud New Yorker, Sabrina studied Political Science and Public Policy at SUNY New Paltz and Hunter College. She is passionate about bridging the arts and design with social impact and equitable economic development, with a deep commitment to her home city.
Hayley Eber (b. Johannesburg, South Africa) is the Executive Director of Van Alen Institute.
An architect, designer, and educator, Eber previously served as the Acting Dean of The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at The Cooper Union. In this role, she demonstrated exceptional leadership, driving significant advancements in diversity, student support, financial sustainability, and academic innovation. Notably, she spearheaded initiatives that resulted in the most diverse incoming class in the school’s history and chaired the Antiracist Task Force, leading to a revised History/Theory sequence that broadened the curriculum beyond Western canons. Her commitment to student well-being was evident in the development of a school-wide mentorship program and the establishment of new communication channels, fostering a more supportive and inclusive environment. Moreover, she forged partnerships with renowned institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Storefront for Art and Architecture and MoMA, enriching public engagement and interdisciplinary collaboration.
As Acting Dean, she expanded elective offerings, incorporating diverse histories, theories, and advanced computational methods, and developed a course for a school-based publication. She successfully led the school through the NAAB accreditation process, demonstrating meticulous attention to detail and a commitment to maintaining high academic standards. Additionally, she initiated community-building programs and a Career Fair, fostering a vibrant and supportive institutional culture.
Eber is the Principal of Studio Eber, an award-winning New York-based practice founded in 2008 (formerly EFGH). Studio Eber’s work spans buildings, interiors, objects, environments, and installations, consistently pushing the boundaries of architectural design. Her projects have been showcased in prestigious international exhibitions, including the Venice Architecture Biennale, Tallinn Architecture Biennale, Shanghai SUSAS, and the upcoming Triennale Milano.
She holds a Masters in Architecture from Princeton University School of Architecture, a Bachelors of Architecture from The Cooper Union, and a BAS from the University of Cape Town. She is a licensed architect in New York and has previously taught at Princeton University and Columbia University GSAPP.
As Program Manager at Van Alen, Joseph creates community-led design programs at Van Alen. Throughout his career, he’s focused on the intersection of design and community engagement, municipal land use, and the application of equitable practices in urban planning. He’s experienced in working alongside historically underrepresented communities toward design and engagement projects. Past projects include a civic center vision for a transit-rich area in Bellevue, WA; research meant to make businesses in Rochester, NY more accessible to residents with disabilities; and a community-led effort to build housing and public spaces meant to combat displacement in the Central District of Seattle, WA. He has also worked on public space activation, youth engagement, and affordable housing projects.
A New Yorker at heart, Joseph returned home to Brooklyn after working in the Seattle and San Francisco Bay Areas. Joseph earned his Master of Urban Planning from the University of Washington and a B.A. in Urban Studies from the University of Rochester.
Shiloah is an artist, researcher, and cultural worker with experience collaborating with marginalized communities to design and co-create projects, programs, and exhibitions grounded in using the arts as a tool for liberation, agency-activation, and community building. She designed curriculum and facilitated projects with the Madison Public Library, Play Africa, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
She worked as a researcher with the Billie Holiday Center for Liberation Arts at Johns Hopkins University, where she investigated the implications of digital redlining on cultural preservation in Black communities. She also created educational zines and a database of free digital and tech resources in the city of Baltimore to aid Baltimoreans in their pursuit of preserving their history. Previously, she was a Sherman Fairchild Foundation Fellow at The Phillips Collection, where she collaborated with community partners at their off-site location in Southeast DC, Phillips@THEARC, to support exhibitions and collaborate on creative storytelling and promotional materials.
Annie is Strategic Partnerships Manager at Van Alen Institute. In her role, Annie builds cross-sector partnerships that advance community-led design and support inclusive public space projects. Previously, she worked at CitySquash, a youth development program in the Bronx. Annie holds a B.A. in History from Wesleyan University.
As Director of Strategic Partnerships at Van Alen Institute, Kate Overbeck connects people committed to equitable citymaking with the resources needed to create more livable, healthy, and resilient neighborhoods for everyone. Prior to joining Van Alen, Kate held the position of Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships at 100 Resilient Cities, an initiative of the Rockefeller Foundation focused on helping cities survive and thrive in the face of the physical, social and environmental challenges of the 21st century. She brings extensive experience cultivating partnerships with corporations, foundations, governments and academic institutions to catalyze impact through program development, strategic initiatives, marketing communications and high profile convenings. Kate graduated from Boston University with a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology.
As Director of Communications, Alisha Kim Levin implements strategic multichannel communications plans that propel forward Van Alen Institute’s mission: to create equitable cities through inclusive design. She oversees all in-house communications channels, collaborates with external digital media producers, and fosters media relations to amplify the impact of Van Alen’s work. Alisha previously held the position of Manager, Global Communications at the Guggenheim Museum, where she led advertising, media relations, and digital media strategies for several of the Guggenheim’s major international and cross-cultural initiatives. She initially joined the museum as part of the project team for the BMW Guggenheim Lab — a multiyear project hosting public programming around architecture, design, and city life across three continents — which sparked a lasting interest in urban design and policy. Alisha graduated from New York University with a B.A. in Art History and English Literature.
As Van Alen’s Director of Programs, Andrew oversees programs that mobilize designers to address pressing challenges in communities. Andrew is a researcher trained in empirical analysis of programs and public policy and his work often explores how designers, city leaders, and communities can work together to create healthier, more prosperous neighborhoods. He has developed a wide range of programs: workshops that help U.S. mayors promote shared prosperity through urban design; tours that help people visualize and understand how built environments impact mental health and the brain; and public conversations about the ways design can promote more inclusive, equitable, and beautiful cities. Andrew received his Master of Public Administration from the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at New York University. He received his Bachelors in History from Williams College.
