This series of three presentations, curated by Juanli Carrion, is opening the conversation about how different professionals working in the field of Creative Community Development approach their practices. Artists, curators, administrators, and stakeholders will present their work with communities to spark dialogues about processes, successes, challenges, failures, innovation and best practices. A Conversation with Andrew Harris and Ryan Westphal from Hester Street about Creative Skills for Community Development. Hester Street is an urban planning, design and development nonprofit that works to ensure that neighborhoods are shaped by the people who live in them. We offer planning, design and community development technical assistance to community-based organizations, government and other agencies. Our goal is equitable, sustainable and resilient neighborhoods and cities. Andrew Harris is currently a project manager at Hester Street. He previously worked at Dattner Architects in their housing studio, BKSK Architects working on commercial and residential projects, and FSI Architecture focusing on restoration and preservation projects. Additionally, Andrew is the CMO of ComXnwealth, an economic empowerment app that allows individuals to locate businesses that align with their values and spend intentionally. Andrew holds a Master of Architecture from Pratt Institute and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. He was awarded a 2020 Urban Design Forefront Fellowship from the Urban Design Forum to Focus on the use of local public Climate Investment funding to support MWBEs. Ryan Westphal is a Project Manager at Hester Street, supporting their community design and engagement work. Recently he has developed tools and strategies to gather community health priorities with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and he’s supported community outreach with the Brooklyn Public Library as they renovate their Central Branch. Ryan holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, and an MFA in Transdisciplinary Design from Parsons where he facilitated workshops to envision the radical futures of urban commons, designed games for the National Gallery of Denmark and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and researched the role of design in collective worldbuilding.
New York City, NY; NYC