THERESA HYUNA HWANG

Theresa is a community-engaged architect, educator, and facilitator. She has spent over 15 years focused on equitable cultural and community development across the United States. She is the founder of Department of Places, a participatory architecture practice based on occupied Tongva Land (Los Angeles, CA). Additionally, she directs Design Futures Forum, a national anti-racist design education initiative. She is a certified trauma-informed and non-violent communication parenting educator and a dedicated mindfulness practitioner in the Plum Village tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. Theresa was the former Director of Community Design and Planning at the Skid Row Housing Trust, a non-profit supportive housing organization where she was the Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellow from 2009-2012. She received her Master of Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design (2007) and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and Art History from the Johns Hopkins University (2001). She is a licensed architect in California.

LIZ OGBU

A designer, urbanist, and spatial justice activist, Liz is a global expert on engaging and transforming unjust urban environments. From designing shelters for immigrant day laborers in the U.S. to a water and health social enterprise for low-income Kenyans, Liz has a long history of working with communities in need to leverage the power of design to catalyze community healing and foster environments that support people’s capacity to thrive. She is Founder and Principal of Studio O, a multidisciplinary design consultancy that works at the intersection of racial and spatial justice. In addition to her practice, Liz has held academic appointments at several institutions including at UC Berkeley, Stanford’s d.school, and the University of Virginia. She also previously served as the Droga Architect-in-Residence in Australia, investigating urban marginalized populations and community development practices in the country. 

Liz has written for and been profiled in publications such as The New York Times, Bloomberg (formerly The Atlantic) CityLab, and the Journal of Urban Design.  Her projects have been featured in museum exhibitions and received numerous design awards globally. Her honors include IDEO.org Global Fellow, TEDWomen Speaker, Aspen Ideas Scholar, Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council, and one of Public Interest Design’s Top 100. She earned architecture degrees from Wellesley College and Harvard University.