Aly is a Design Researcher, Facilitator, Team Leader, Urbanist, and Storyteller. She is passionate about cities, people, social justice, and inclusive design—and gets extra lit up at the intersection of all four.

Aly is a curious minded dot-connector who uses human-centered design strategies to help teams ideate and build solutions.

For 8 years, Aly ran the UX Research and Support department at Timehop, a beloved app opened by millions of users every day.

Along the way, she felt a pull to pursue more mission driven work and followed her interest in cities towards a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning where she studied Housing and Qualitative Research.

While researching for her graduate studio project, Aly was approached to work on a design research project with a friend of a friend. This project allowed Aly to leverage her skills as a UX researcher, CX lead, and team leader while simultaneously learning the foundations of human-certered design.

She would go on to be a Founding Member of a new agency called Sharehold, an innovation consultancy specializing in design research and insights strategy. While working to build Sharehold, she developed a special interest in workshop facilitation and is especially gratified by guiding clients towards meaningful “aha!” moments.

Most recently, Aly has joined the BlackSpace Urbanist collective as a Project Partner where she leads participants through design charrettes rooted in the BlackSpace manifesto. 

She learned (basically) everything she knows about facilitation from her stint as a karaoke DJ on the Jersey Shore, where she perfected a version of “Born to Run” that brings the house down every time.