Mariela has over 20 years of expertise in the field of urban design and behavior research and over 17 years of entrepreneurship experience. As Founder and CEO, Dr. Alfonzo is responsible for crafting and implementing State of Place’s strategic vision and growth. She leads business development, marketing, and product development. Dr. Alfonzo, who developed the company’s core IP, also guides R&D and shapes how the company uses technology to address customer needs.

In 2014, Mariela was recognized as one of Urban Land Institute’s 40 under 40 best young land use professionals around the globe. In 2013, Dr. Alfonzo was awarded a Fulbright to examine walkability in China.

mariela@stateofplace.co

BOSTON, NYC, SHANGHAI

Michelle has over 17 years of experience working across non-profit, public, and private sectors in a variety of leadership roles in the U.S. and the UK. She uses design thinking to oversee customer development, product development, innovation, leadership, and management. Key former employers and clients include: City of Irvine, Forma Design, Design Council UK, and Technology Strategy Board/Innovate UK.

michelle@stateofplace.co

SAN DIEGO, CA

Kelliann recently earned her Ph.D. in urban planning AND handles our customer development, admin, and essentially anything else the business needs to stay organized and thrive. She’s passionate about equitable, sustainable development that can mitigate climate change and make places better for all!

kelliann@stateofplace.co

LAS VEGAS, NV

Kaustubh has 8 years of experience in computer science and engineering, focusing on AI, machine learning, and computer vision. Kaustubh applies his unique experience across software, hardware, and automation and his passion for Machine Learning and Deep Learning to create automated systems and products for State of Place, including the creation of visual machine learning models to automatically extract data on 100s of built environment features from digital images.

He holds a Masters of Science in Computer Engineering and a Bachelors of Engineering.in Computer Science.

kaustubh@stateofplace.co

SAN JOSE, CA

LINDA HEIDVOGEL, CONTENT MARKETING & AI INTERN

Linda Heidvogel began her internship with State of Place in July. As a previous Commercial Interior Designer, she has always been sensitive to how we navigate and experience place. Whether through the tactile finishes and wayfinding experienced inside a building or the exterior interconnection of buildings and spaces created through urban planning, she is always curious about what makes them tick or what makes these public places fall flat.