Design Justice Studio (DJS)

Celine Ta ’17 leads the innovation arm of Frontline Justice, a national nonprofit tackling the justice gap by scaling the field of community justice work. “Similar to the community health worker model that I first learned about in DJS, community justice workers are people who help their fellow community members with quick, right-sized legal assistance. 

“Olin teaches you how engineering can—and should be—collaborative and interdisciplinary,” says Ta. “But DJS opened a window into collaboration with an even wider ecosystem than what I thought of as interdisciplinary; I saw my classmates learn from community organizers and scuba divers and air quality modelers. The possibilities for how to apply our skills were vast.”

Anisha Patil Nakagawa ’19 is the Manager of Community Research at the Conservation Law Foundation in Boston, MA. There, she is guided by the same lessons she learned as a DJS student. “I really enjoy co-design work with residents. They are the people closest to the problems,” she says. “We are equal researchers.” 

She expands on the importance of involving the community in designing solutions—something she learned from DJS. “Climate change is happening. Already, front line communities are bearing the brunt of it. My job is to support the decisions and priorities for people most impacted. I want to support communities’ self-determination.” 

“When people get what they need, it makes a positive difference. I like feeling like I’m doing something that matters. I’m really happy where I am now—that started at DJS.” 

 

Tehya Stockman ’19 is an Air Policy and Programs Specialist in Adams County, Colorado. Her work relies on listening to community members, finding common ground, and humility—understanding that “you don’t get buy-in from being the smartest person in the room. You need to become an expert in everyone’s experiences,” she explains. 

Stockman recalls a conversation with an interviewer that helped solidify her decision to pursue a non-corporate career path after graduation. “During the interview I was talking about DJS and the guy said, ‘your face lights up so much when you talk about this. I want you to feel just as excited and passionate about what you do.’” This ultimately led her to pursue more impactful work in local government. 

“DJS brought out my desire to make sure the work I’m doing is meaningful and impactful, and helps people in a participatory rather than exclusionary way, she says.”