Career

Current

Social Designer, Systems + Research Strategist
Freelance Consultant
since 2022 Oct
Partnerships include: Brooklyn Public Library - Outreach Services, Einhorn Collaborative, FLOX Studio, ReBORN FARMS, ReBORN Community Alliance

Career Coach + Mentor
Freelance
Ongoing since 2024
Primarily supporting individuals looking to start or pivot into careers that offer deeper social purpose, working individuals seeking support navigating their existing jobs; and social change leaders working towards building diverse, community- and climate-minded, safe, and supportive teams. If you are interested in having a conversation, please email me at mari.nakano@gmail.com

Social E Lab Coach
Stanford University, Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford ( d.school ) and Graduate School of Business (GSB)
Recurring, since Summer 2023

Faculty + Graduate Thesis Advisor + Thesis Year Coordinator
School of Visual Arts, MFA Design for Social Innovation
since 2018 Sept
Course Instructor for: Disruptive Design: Research + Insights (SIG-5160A); Thesis II: Research, Writing, and Presentation (SIG-6190); Thesis III: Implementation (SIG-6940)

Previous Roles

Designer in Residence: “Show Love Through Food”
School of Visual Arts, MFA Design for Social Innovation
Jan - May 2024

Design Director, Service Design Studio
NYC Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity
2018 Apr-2022 Oct

Deputy Design Director, Service Design Studio
NYC Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity
2017 Aug-2018 Apr

Design & People Interaction Lead
UNICEF Innovation
2013-2017

Exhibition Designer and Design Director, Too Young to Wed
United Nations Population Fund and VII Photo Agency
2012 October

Exhibition Designer and Creative Director, Women are the Fabric
United Nations Population Fund
2012 March

Innovation Specialist
PepsiCo with Design Continuum
2010 Sep-Dec

Freelance Designer
See partial list below under Past Clients & Collaborations
since 2005

Youth Services Coordinator
Little Tokyo Service Center
2002-2005

Advisor

Board of Directors
Outer Seed Shadow
since Nov 2023

Board of Advisors
Civic Service Design Graduate Minor
Parsons, The New School
since 2019

Chair, Board of Directors
Aozora Community Foundation
2016-2022

Fellowship Mentor
Designmatters
2015-2017

Other Experience

Volunteer
Heart of Dinner
since early 2024

Volunteer
Friends of Smokey (Phil Rizzuto Park - Queens, NY)
since 2023

Weaving Apprentice and Instructor
Loop of the Loom
2011-2013

Contributing Writer
Rafu Shimpo
2004-2014

Conversations + Workshops

Common Civics, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
Participant in Common Civics, conversations with artists, scholars, policy makers, public sector agencies, and community activists to advance the civic role of MoMA.
2024 October

Designing Nourishment, Nourishing Design (Afterthought + MFA Design for Social Innovation, School of Visual Arts)
Panelist
2024 May

Participation and the Ethics of Collaboration
Assembly Panelist - hosted by the Transdisciplinary Design Program, The New School
2023 September

Public Service Design Conference (Skylight)
Keynote Workshop Facilitator
Focus: Stakeholder Mapping
Keynote Video
2023 April

Reimagining the Design Critique (Afterthought + MFA Design for Social Innovation, School of Visual Arts)
Facilitator + Event Organizer + Guest Critic
2023 March

Co-Creation, Lived Experiences, The Politics Of Caring. How do we get it right? (Afterthought + MFA Design for Social Innovation, School of Visual Arts)
Panelist
2022 November

Design in Government - Impact for All, Ireland
Keynote Speaker
Keynote Video | Article
2022 October

Parsons School of Design, The New School - Executive Education
Course: Innovation Fast Track - From Vision to Delivery; Instructor: Jen van der Meer and Mariana Amatullo, PhD
Guest lecturer
2022 October

Power to the Public: Tackling DesignOps
Speaker - hosted by New America
2022 May

Designed by Community: Shifting Towards Community Innovation
Speaker - hosted by GARE (Government Alliance for Racial Equity)
2022 April

How can we practice the future of community-engaged design now?
Panelist - hosted by Center for Urban Pedagogy
2021 June

Building Together: What Great Designers Do Differently
Speaker - hosted by FLOX Studio
2021 March

Empathy in Equity-Centered Work
Speaker - hosted by Possibility Project
2021 March

Parsons School of Design, The New School
Course: Design Innovation + Leadership; Instructor: Mariana Amatullo, PhD
Guest lecturer
2021 March

MIT, Social Entrepreneurship course
Course: How to Change the World; Instructor: Rajesh Anandan
Guest lecturer
2021 March

Trust by Design - Instagram Live Conversation Series
Guest Speaker - hosted by Design Trust for Public Space
2020 August

What is community-engaged design during — and after — COVID?
Panelist - hosted by Center for Urban Pedagogy
2020 July

NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
Course: Design Thinking: A Creative Approach to Problem Solving and Creating Social Impact; Instructor: Esther Y. Kang
Guest lecturer
2020 June

Possibilities for Thought and Action: DESIS Lab's 10th Anniversary
Assembly Panelist - hosted by DESIS Lab at The New School
2020 February

International Design in Government Day at Code for America Summit
Keynote Speaker + Session Speaker - Building a Design Culture
Video | Written version
2019 May

READ Global
Workshop Trainer + Facilitator (Bangkok, Thailand)
2019 May

Design for Health
Convening guest - Nio far Dakar (Dakar, Senegal)
2019 April

Designmatters Mini Residency at ArtCenter College of Design
Workshop - Civil Servant + Civic Design
2019 February

Social Impact Studio
Speaker - From the Field
2018 November

Designit
Panelist - The Case for Inclusivity
2018 October

Better World by Design Conference
Conference Speaker - Civic Design in Action
2018 September

NextGen Network Multi-Bank Forum
Panelist - Workforce of the Future
2018 September

DigitalGov Webinar
Co-Presenter - Civic Service Design Tools + Tactics (video recording)
2018 July

National Association for Welfare and Statistics (NAWRS) Virtual Conference
Co-Presenter - Human Centered Design for Social Programs (video recording)
2018 July

Parsons School of Design, The New School
Course: Strategic Design and Management; Instructor: Norah Maki
Co-Lecturer on storytelling and business pitching
2018 April

School of Visual Arts, Design for Social Innovation Global Lecture Series
Co-Presenter on NYC Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity, Service Design Studio
2018 March

Buzzfeed, Design Club
Presenter on NYC Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity, Service Design Studio
2018 March

School of Visual Arts, Interaction Design MFA Program
Speaker - An Evening with Mari Nakano
2017 October

Parsons, The New School
Course: Managing Innovation in the Media; Instructor: Charles Warner
Co-Presenter on UNICEF Innovation, communications and real-time data
2017 March

Princeton Social Innovation Conference
Panelist on UNICEF Innovation and designing for social impact
2017 February 24

Carnegie Mellon University
Course: Interaction Design, Masters; Instructor: Austin Lee
Lecturer on UNICEF Innovation and designing for social impact
2016

Design for Social Impact
NPR Studios, Washington D.C.
Panelist on career pathways for designers in social impact
2016 September 28

Just Innovate: Collaborate 4 Social Impact (C4SI)
Design Impact Hub - Geneva, Switzerland
Presenter on UNICEF Innovation + Workshop Facilitator on Human-Centered Design
2016 September 24

LEAP 2: Value of Design Symposium
Participant (invite only)
2016 April 9-12

Wesleyan University
Course: Human-Centered Design for Social Change; Instructor: Ric Grefe
Lecturer on UNICEF Innovation and designing for social impact
2017 & 2016

In Media

HEAR, EAT, HOME
a documentary film by Hsuan Yu Pan
Interviewee
Work in progress

What does it mean to ‘queer’ design?
by Sloan Leo for Fast Company
Contributing thought partner + quoted in article
2024 April

Fellowship Panel: Shifting Away from Practitioner Centered Toward Community-Led
Authored by Elysa Smigleski, Service Design Network, New York Chapter
Presentation turned blog post
2021 June

Leading the Field: Mari Nakano - A conversation with the Design Director of the NYC Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity
by Code for America
Interviewee
2021 May

Power to the Public: The Promise of Public Interest Technology
by Tara Dawson McGuiness and Hana Schank
Quoted in book
2021 April

Empathy for Change
by Amy J. Wilson
Interviewee for book and case study
2020 July

Government was designed intentionally or not. That means it can be redesigned.
Blog version of Keynote at International Design in Government Day at Code for America Summit
2019 May

Big Lessons from the Big Apple: The LA i-team reflects on the NYC’s Service Design Studio
by Diamond James, LA i-team for Designmatters at ArtCenter College of Design
2019 March

In New York City, a new model for bringing design to the public sector
OpEd - Apolitical (co-written with Caroline Bauer)
2019 March

We were looking for a team who was design-ready and hungry to try something new
by Emma Coleman, The Commons
Interviewee
2018

Past Clients/Collaborations

Education

Certificate of Completion, Next Economy MBA
LIFT Next Economy
Cohort IX, 2023

Pathways to Farming Retreat Participant
Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming and GrowNYC
June 9-10, 2023

M.F.A., Media Design Program
ArtCenter College of Design
2009

B.A., Asian American Studies w. Minor in Political Science
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
2002

University of California Education Abroad Program (EAP)
International Christian University and Tsukuba University, Japan
Japanese and International Studies
2000-2001

Notables

Core77 Juror
Core77 Design Awards
Category: Design for Social Impact
2023

Young Innovator Alumni Award
ArtCenter College of Design
2015

Media Design Program Scholarship Recipient
Summer 2009, Spring 2009, Summer 2008

AIGA 365/30 Competition Winner
Print/Promotion Category
They Give Birth to Life, poster design
2009

Designmatters Fellow
United Nations Population Fund
2008

Interests

Interests + Explorations

Growing food, Herbalism, Weaving, Stitching (Sashiko, Embroidery), Natural dye

Bucket List

Writing a cookbook, Stewarding a small farm or microforest, Learning ukulele and archery