Aly is a Design Researcher, Facilitator, Urbanist, and Storyteller. She worked in tech for 10+ years, developing a career in UX Research and User Support before transitioning to focus on Human-Centered Design.

For 8 years, she 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 decided to follow 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 at an agency run by a friend of a friend. This fateful project would be the spark that ignited an ongoing passion for Human-Centered Design. After the success of that research, 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 brainstorms and design thinking workshops rooted in the BlackSpace manifesto. 

She’s passionate about people, cities, social justice, and inclusive design—and gets extra lit up at the intersection of all four.

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.