Dima Boulad, a designer and problem solver moved by positive impact with more than 14 years of experience. Dima is currently the Head of Design Research for the Dubai Design Lab, which is part of Dubai Future Foundation. Prior to that role she led the Design Research Team also at the Dubai Design Lab. She also worked as Innovation Design Manager for EY and has worked on multiple projects as an independent design consultant. The projects she worked on includes design research for the International Refugee Committee on Information Flow, working with Doctors without Borders in Beirut and being an OpenIDEO community Fellow. She has a Masters in Multimedia and Project Management from IESA in Paris and a Bachelor in Graphic Design from the American University in Beirut.

In this episode, Dima reflects on her journey and how her deep interest in design research led her to explore human-centered and participatory design. She emphasizes the importance of truly catering to people's needs and creating meaningful and impactful experiences.She discusses her current work at the Dubai Design Lab, their approach and how their work informs governance and policy making. Last, she talks to the changing role of the designer and what it means for design education.

To learn more about Dima's work, follow her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dimaboulad/?originalSubdomain=ae

and check her website:  https://www.dimaboulad.com/

Credits:

Conception, host and production: Anne-Laure Fayard

Sound design & Post-production: Claudio Silva

Music & Art Work: Guilhem Tamisier

Meena is a social innovation consultant and design strategist tackling complex social challenges through human-centered design and community engagement dedicated to tackling complex social challenges through human-centered design and community engagement.

With a background in social anthropology and design, she has worked across diverse settings, from urban slums to corporate boardrooms. Previously, Meena spent eight years at IDEO, where she led community engagement for OpenIDEO and advised IDEO U’s initiatives. Her expertise lies in fostering collaboration, equity, and innovation to drive meaningful change. Born in Aotearoa New Zealand with Indian ancestry, she brings a global perspective to her work in social impact.

Meena was the Spring Social Innovator in Residence with the ERA Chair in Social Innovation and the DESIS Lab at NOVA SBE.
Follow Meena on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meanestindian/?originalSubdomain=nz

and on Subtack: https://randomspecific.substack.com/

Credits:

Host: Anne-Laure Fayard

Post-production: Claudio Silva

Music & Art Work: Guilhem Tamisier

Recorded at the Fidelidade Creative Studio, Nova SBE

Adriana Valdez Young is a design researcher with more than 15 years of leading design research that focuses on centering the experiences of historically excluded and underrepresented people for startups, government, non-profits, and corporate clients. . She advises inclusive research at SOUR, a global design studio with the mission to address social and urban problems, servers as associate chair of the MFA of Interaction design at the School of Visual Arts, and writes about inclusive design for UX Magazine. Prior to that she led research and strategy at Stae, a platform for cities to manage civic data and new mobilities. She was the head of consumer research at littleBits, a STEAM platform for kids and educators to invent their own technology. And most recently, shecrafted community experiences at 3X3 and shaped communications, business development, and the urban design practice at Openbox. Adriana holds a BA in History from Brown University and an MSc in City Design and Social Science fromthe London School of Economics.

In this episode, Adriana reflects on her journey as "an accidental designer" - breaking and entering design. She talks about how her early passion for understanding context, her curiosity and her un-satisfaction with the status quo led her to design for social change. She reflects on co-creation and inclusive design, reminding us that all design should be inclusive.

To learn more about Adriana's work, follow her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valdezyoung/

and check her website:  https://www.welikeresearch.com/

You can also read her reflections on Medium: https://adrianavyoung.medium.com/

Credits:

Conception, host and production: Anne-Laure Fayard

Sound design & Post-production: Claudio Silva

Music & Art Work: Guilhem Tamisier

Tales of the Field is a podcast series which gives voice to social activists and social innovators who work in and with their communities to create social impact and sustainable change. They share with us their work in the field - where they  tackle complex social issues and aim to create sustainable change and social impact. At its core, their work is human-centered, systemic and always informed by a deep understanding of the context and people’s lives.

In this episode, we talked with Carlos Mendes Gonçalves, the founder and CEO of Case Mendes Gonçalves, a family business in Portugal. Casa Mendes Gonçalves’ commitment to sustainability inspires the company’s effort to transform the food system and create a model for a new way to work and live together within our communities and nature. Carlos tells us about Vila Feliz Cidade, a regenerative agriculture project that aims to integrate the economic dimension with social and environmental responsibility. 

To read more about sustainability at Casa MG and about Vila Feliz Cidade: https://www.casamg.pt/en/sustainability/

Co-conception and Voice: Melchior Tamisier-Fayard

Co-conception: Anne-Laure Fayard

Interview in Portuguese by Rita Nascimento

Quotes in English read by Claudio Silva

Sound design, Music and Post-production: Guilhem Tamisier

Artwork: Jyoti Tamisier-Fayard

Robert Fabricant is Co-Founder of Dalberg Design, where he brings human-centered design and systems thinking to clients looking for creative approaches to breakthrough innovation and expanded collaborations in social impact and community engagement. He leads an extremely diverse team with studios in Dakar, Mexico City, Mumbai, Nairobi and New York, leveraging Dalberg’s global footprint and capabilities. Much of his portfolio is focused on public health, serving as the lead design partner to USAID’s Global Health Bureau. A born and raised New Yorker, Robert began his career at a local criminal justice non-profit focused on New York State court reform where he worked at both a grassroots and policy level to drive positive change in the lives of New Yorkers.

In this episode, Robert reflects on his journey from his work in criminal justice advocacy to becoming a systems designer  with a focus on public health systems and social innovation. He talks about the importance of collaboration and taking a long-term horizon to make positive social change. As he critically reflects on his practice, he stresses the importance of thinking about power dynamics when doing design work with under-resourced communities in the USA and in the Global South.

To learn more about Robert's work, follow him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertfabricant/

and check his website:  https://www.fabricant.design/

To learn more about Dalberg Design: https://www.dalbergdesign.com/

Credits:

Conception, host and production: Anne-Laure Fayard

Sound design & Post-production: Claudio Silva

Music & Art Work: Guilhem Tamisier

Engin Ayaz, a transdisciplinary designer and strategist with a background in architecture, systems thinking, and interaction design. He is the co-founder of ATÖLYE, a design and innovation consultancy, which amplifies the impact of purpose-driven leaders by transforming people, places and experiences through the power of communities.

Engin received a dual degree in Architectural Design and Engineering from Stanford University, and a master's degree in Interactive Design and Media Arts from Tisch School of Arts, ITP of New York University.

His work has been exhibited worldwide and

Follow Engin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/enginayaz/

Learn more about Atölye: https://atolye.io/

Victor Udoewa is Service Design Lead  for the CDC (centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Prior to this role, Victor was Chief Technology Officer, Chief experience Officer and Service Design Lead at NASA. Prior to NASA, Victor served as the Director of Strategy at 18F, a civic consultancy for the federal government inside the federal government. Previously, as a Global Education Instructional Designer and Training Development Specialist at Google, he designed

To learn more about Victor's work, follow him on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/udoewa/

You can also read some of his academic papers:

Credits:

Conception, host and production: Anne-Laure Fayard

Sound design & Post-production: Claudio Silva

Music & Art Work: Guilhem Tamisier

Rachael Dietkus is a social worker-designer. Her practice, research, and writing at the intersections of social work values, trauma-responsive principles, and care-focused design research methods. Rachael is the founder of Social Workers Who Design and an active member of the Design

To learn more about Rachael's work, follow her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachaeldietkuslcsw/

and check the Social Workers Who Design website: ⁠https://www.socialworkerswho.design⁠

To learn more about the topics we discussed:

'Trauma-Informed Care: A Sociocultural Perspective' / ⁠⁠https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK207195/⁠⁠

Social Work Futures Lab / ⁠⁠https://www.socialworkfutureslab.org⁠⁠

Racism Untaught / ⁠https://racismuntaught.com⁠

Some of the references Rachael's made in the podcast:

Credits:

Conception, host and production: Anne-Laure Fayard

Sound design & Post-production: Claudio Silva

Music & Art Work: Guilhem Tamisier

João Brites is an entrepreneur, breakdancer, and agroforester who has lived in Portugal, Mexico, United States, Brazil and Spain (his current home). Currently, João is Director of Growth & Innovation at HowGood, a SaaS platform that helps companies measure, improve, and communicate their social and environmental impact. Prior to HowGood, João worked as Global Director of Sustainable Development at AB InBev and co-founded initiatives like Movimento Transformers, the Amazon Summer School, and Carbono Biodiverso. João is the recipient of Nova’s Impactful Alumni Award, the Do Something Ambassador Award, and was at age 19 one of the world’s youngest participants at the WEF in Davos through the Global Changemakers Program. João holds a M.S. in Economics and a CEMS Masters in International Management from Nova SBE

João was the Spring 2024 Social Innovator in Residence with the ERA Chair in Social Innovation and the DESIS Lab at NOVA SBE.

Follow João on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrbrites/

Conception, host and production: Anne-Laure Fayard

Sound design & Post-production: Claudio Silva

Music: Guilhem Tamisier

Art work: Guilhem Tamisier

The Podcast was recorded and produced in the Fidelidade Creative Studio @ Nova SBE

Tales of the Field is a podcast series which gives voice to social activists and social innovators who work in and with their communities to create social impact and sustainable change. They share with us their work in the field - where they  tackle complex social issues and aim to create sustainable change and social impact. At its core, their work is human-centered, systemic and always informed by a deep understanding of the context and people’s lives.

In this episode, we talked with Gilbert Nkpeniyeng, who after working as a program officer with Amplio Network, is currently doing his MPhil in Development Studies at Cambridge University (UK). Gilbert passionately believes that access to knowledge can change people's lives. He shares his personal experience with the Amplio Talking Book, an audio device designed for users with low literacy, he encountered while in primary school. He also tells about a project he implemented with women producing shea butter in Northern Ghana highlighting how all community members were involved.

To read more about Amplio Network: https://www.amplio.org/

Follow Gilbert Nkpeniyeng: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilbert-nkpeniyeng-1648a017a/

Co-conception and Voice: Melchior Tamisier-Fayard

Co-conception: Anne-Laure Fayard

Sound design, Music and Post-production: Guilhem Tamisier

Artwork: Jyoti Tamisier-Fayard

Recording done at Fidelidade Creative Studio at Nova SBE

Thanks to Amplio Network Ghana team for sharing some of the audio sources used for the sound design of this episode.