Bio
Ariel Kennan is a leader in service design, digital product development, and organizational strategy. As a Fellow at the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, she researches and advises on best practices for using design, data, and technology for improved social safety net outcomes. Ariel leads the Digital Benefits Network to support public interest practitioners working on the social safety net through generating insights, fostering collaboration, and sparking advocacy to advance the delivery of benefits and increase economic opportunity.
Ariel has worked in the private, nonprofit, and public sectors to drive change and deliver impactful solutions. Previously, she served in the New York City Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity where she founded the nation’s first municipal service design studio and managed a portfolio of best-in-class digital products to connect and deliver services. Most recently, she was the Director of Civic Innovation at Sidewalk Labs, where she led the strategy for inclusive participation in the social infrastructure of cities.
She holds a BFA in Integrated Design from Parsons School of Design. Originally from Arizona, she lives with her husband in Brooklyn, New York where she loves riding bikes, playing with her dog and cooking delicious meals.
Experience
Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
New York, NY and Washington DC · February 2021 - Current
Senior Fellow and Research Faculty
- Research and advocate for best practices for using design, data, and technology for improved social safety net program and policy outcomes. Topics include eligibility rules as code, accessible benefits information, integrated benefits, and American Rescue Plan investment.
- Set strategic vision and establish a new community of practice, the Digital Benefits Network, to support public interest practitioners working to deliver a more equitable safety net.
- Engage leaders with federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local governments and national safety net delivery and research organizations.
- Manage Digital Benefits Network team composed of a community manager, researcher, student analysts and a vendor team.
- Provide programmatic strategy for multi-million dollar philanthropic grant fundraising.
Sidewalk Labs was an urban innovation company working to make cities more sustainable and affordable for all.
Design Director · July 2020 - February 2021
- Served as design and product executive to advance new urban systems.
- Facilitated workshops with subject matter experts to develop business and product approaches.
- Conducted customer and competitor research and advanced product hypotheses through prototyping.
- Managed design and product contractors.
Director of Civic Innovation · May 2018 - June 2020
- Created the civic life strategy for the social infrastructure proposal for Sidewalk Toronto, a district plan for Toronto’s eastern waterfront.
- Defined physical spaces, digital services and programming to engage communities in decision making, relationship building, and interactions with local organizations and government.
- Developed partnerships with local organizations, government, and communities to bridge the digital divide, foster social cohesion, and inspire civic engagement and transparent decision making.
- Engaged executives in organizations and government to provide funding of pilot programs, such as inclusive usability testing through GRIT Toronto with Code for Canada.
- Led strategy, product development, and business planning for Collab, a new technology venture for inclusive participation in urban planning and development.
- Developed product concept and prototype, conducted customer and market research, hired contractors and staff, and delivered a scalable business plan including a proposed joint venture.
- Built capacity and advocated for service design and digital product development approaches to improve service delivery and advance equity and opportunity for all New Yorkers.
- Established and managed a team of designers, software developers, product managers and analysts, including founding the first municipal service design studio.
Led foundational service design projects to document and deliver service design methodologies, advise agency partners, and build a community of practice across government.
- Developed and managed strategy and delivery of a digital product portfolio, including redesign and redevelopment of legacy products and building new applications and services for delivering social services and connecting residents to public benefits.
- Led iterative design processes through deep public and stakeholder engagement.
- Introduced a design system, managed plain language and translated content through a centralized content management system, used a rules engine to standardize eligibility rules, and used APIs to publish to multiple sites and open data.
- Facilitated accessibility and privacy review, security compliance and deployment to cloud infrastructure.
- Championed a new master services contract to facilitate the procurement of professional services in service design, graphic and branding design, and user experience design.
- Oversaw grants and vendor contracts, including multi-million dollar budget management.
- Informed social services policy and legislation.
- Consulted on strategic initiatives and organizational approaches.
Code for America
San Francisco, CA · January 2013 - November 2013
Fellow
- Paired with the governments of Kansas City, Kansas and Missouri to build new civic software
applications and enhance technology policy, government innovation, and community organizing.
- Consulted city governments regarding digital innovation including open data policy and standards,
data portals, and technology best practices which led to new legislation being passed, creation
of innovation roles, and events within city hall.
ESI Design
New York, NY · January 2008 - December 2012
Interaction and Experience Designer, Design Lead
- Collaborated with and led creative teams in research, concept development, design, and software production for cultural and corporate clients.
- Oversaw software development teams through design, code development, testing, and launch.
- Conducted client pitches and presentations with principal designer.
- Created project deliverable documents, presentations, and production budgets.
Local Projects
New York, NY · September - December 2007
Intern
- Assisted in research, design, and production of museum-based projects.
- Participated in museum education activities and created a visitor guidebook.
Education
Parsons School of Design
New York, NY
Bachelor of Fine Arts in
Lorenzo de’Medici
Florence, Italy
Study Abroad
Advising & Community Building
Civic Design by Rosenfeld Media
Lead Curator, Civic Design Community & Conference
New York, NY · August 2012 - June 2013
Public Access Design Fellow
Year long series of conversations and mentorship with a group of designers focused on social and civic design.
Awards
Honorable Mentions: General Excellence; Social Good; Spaces, Places + Cities, 2018
Adobe Government Creativity Awards
Best Employee-Facing Campaign; Best Public Facing Campaign, 2018
NYC Technology Forum
Best External Application, 2017
New York Digital Government Summit
Best Application Serving the Public, 2017/
Tribeca Film Festival
Award for Transmedia, 2013
SXSW Interactive Awards
Kiosk and Installation Finalist, 2011; Educational Resource Finalist, 2009