3×3 Event: Community-Centered Design 101

Topic: Regenerative Governance

Join 3×3 for a lively gathering around the challenges, myths, and joys of practicing community-centered design.

We’ve created this recurring gathering space for emerging and established practitioners to connect, learn, and support each other in their use of community-centered design. We welcome all professional backgrounds and experience levels — no prior training or knowledge of community-centered design needed!

Takeaways

Learn more about the core values and applications of community-centered design and hold space for discussion, story- and skill-sharing, and networking! You will walk away with:

An understanding of the lineage and evolution of community-centered design in practice;
A set of core mindsets and values that you can apply to your community-centered practice;
Exposure to fellow practitioners to share challenges, resources, and inspiration;
Pathways to deepen and evolve your practice through more advanced training opportunities and other resources.

Format

This online event will be a combination of a CC101 overview and a guest speaker presentation, followed by an open discussion. A custom Zoom link will be sent to your inbox once you are registered and approved.

Speakers

Alexandra Payne is a food systems and development strategist with Amplify Consulting with over 15 years of experience advancing equity-centered solutions across philanthropy, public policy, and community-led development. With a background in urban and regional planning, policy, and community cohesion, she has led place-based initiatives that increase multi-stakeholder partnerships, strengthen local governance and more build resilient, inclusive systems. Her work focuses on regenerative food systems transition, values-based public procurement, and the intersection of food and health across the urban-rural spectrum, with a strong emphasis on community capacity building, peer learning networks, and locally driven implementation across both U.S. cities and global regions.

Megan Marini is a founding partner at 3×3, a community-centered design studio, where she leads work focused on civic infrastructure, public engagement and governance, and resilient systems. With more than 15 years of experience, she has worked with public institutions, nonprofits, and international organizations—including the City of New York, the United Nations, and the World Bank—to collaborate with communities on policy, program design, and initiatives that strengthen social resilience and community well-being.

Facilitator

Thomas Bond is an engagement and communications designer at 3×3 and an advocate for social change who believes that all people are designers in their own right. With a deep commitment to community engagement, Thomas prioritizes working alongside communities to foster mutual aid, shared knowledge, and empowerment.

About 3×3

Drawing from over a decade of experience developing methods that center communities in design, policy, and planning decisions, this event is part of a larger learning series for teams to integrate critical reflection and collaboration into their everyday work.

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