Career
Current
Designer in Residence
School of Visual Arts, Design for Social Innovation
Jan - May 2024 (in progress)
Designer + Systems Strategist
Freelance Consultant
since 2022 Oct
Currently partnering with FLOX Studio, ReBORN FARMS, ReBORN Community Alliance
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
Adjunct Faculty + Graduate Thesis Advisor
School of Visual Arts, Design for Social Innovation
since 2018 Sept
Career Coach + Mentor
Freelance (Uncertified)
Ongoing since 2024
Primarily supporting individuals looking to start or pivot into careers in the general field of social design; working individuals needing support navigating their existing job; and social design leaders/entrepreneurs working towards building safe and supportive teams. I’m just starting to highlight this as its own career service, so thank you for your patience as I continue to build this out. Please contact me if you’re interested in having a conversation: mari.nakano@gmail.com
Previous Roles
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
FLOX Studio
since 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
Weaving Apprentice and Instructor
Loop of the Loom
2011-2013
Contributing Writer
Rafu Shimpo
2004-2014
Conversations + Workshops
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, 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, 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, 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
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
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
Designing for Kids: Creating for Playing, Learning and Growing
by Krystina Castella, Routledge
Contributor
2018
City Champion: Mari Nakano
by Anja Laubscher, NYCxDESIGN
Interviewee
2018
ChangeLab: Conversations on Transformation and Creativity
Podcast interview by Lorne M. Buchman, ArtCenter President
2017 October
Celebrating 70 Years of Innovation at UNICEF through Design
Contributing writer, UNICEF Innovation
2017
Leap Dialogues: Career Pathways in Design for Social Innovation
by Designmatters at ArtCenter College of Design
Contributing writer - A Day in the Life of Mari Nakano
2016
UNICEF Innovation Team Spotlight: Mari Nakano
by UNICEF Innovation
Interviewee
2016
15 Years of Social Impact Design
by Designmatters at ArtCenter College of Design
2016
Mari Nakano wins the Young Innovator Alumni Award from Designmatters ArtCenter College of Design
by UNICEF
Interviewee
2015
Innovation by Design at UNICEF: An Ethnographic Case Study
by Mariana Amatullo, Case Western Reserve University
Interviewee
2015 February
When Passion Meets Design: My Path Toward Design for Social Change
by Designmatters at ArtCenter College of Design
2015
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
Dabblings
Weaving, Catering, Writing, Growing food
Bucket List
Homeopathy, Writing my cookbook, Archery, Illustration, Ukulele, Stewarding a small farm or microforest!