NNEKA
SOBERS

NNEKA
SOBERS

+

Public
Technology

City
Innovation

About Nneka

Nneka (she/hers) is an urban designer and civic technologist who strives to help citymakers leverage technology to increase public good. By combining urban planning, design research, and product development, she adopts a human-centered approach to create digital tools that make urban systems more accessible, inclusive, and equitable. Nneka specializes in transforming urban innovation and design research into data-driven product visions and strategies, specifically tailored for the unique context of public technology development.

Currently, Nneka spearheads product and program development at the Jacobs Urban Tech Hub @ Cornell Tech. Prior to her time at Cornell Tech, Nneka was a product manager at NYC Planning Labs, as well as co-founded a civic tech startup.

Nneka holds a Master of City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a concentration in City Design (‘18) and Bachelor of Arts in Urban Planning, with a minor in Landscape Architecture from Virginia Tech (‘14).

News + Work

Learn more about what projects, speaking engagements, and writing Nneka has been up to!

❋ Pro Tip: Did you know you can filter or sort the items in the table below using tags? Just select the "filter" or "sort" buttons below ↴

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/ AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY SYSTEMS / AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY SYSTEMS / AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY SYSTEMS / AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY SYSTEMS / AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY SYSTEMS
/ AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY SYSTEMS / AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY SYSTEMS / AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY SYSTEMS / AUTONOUS COMMUNITY SYSTEMS / AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY SYSTEMS
/ Autonomous community systems
/ CIRCULAR WASTE ECONOMY / CIRCULAR WASTE ECONOMY / CIRCULAR WASTE ECONOMY / CIRCULAR WASTE ECONOMY / CIRCULAR WASTE ECONOMY / CIRCULAR WASTE ECONOMY
/ GUYANA 2018 / GUYANA 2018 / GUYANA 2018 / GUYANA 2018 / GUYANA 2018 / Guyana 2018
/ CIRCULAR WASTE ECONOMY
/ POPULATION FACTFINDER / POPULATION FACTFINDER / POPULATION FACTFINDER / POPULATION FACTFINDER / population finderfinder
/ NEW YORK 2021 / NEW YORK 2021 / NEW YORK 2021 / NEW YORK 2021 / NEW YORK 2021
/ POPULATION FACTFINDER
Experience
Research + Program Manager
Jacobs Urban Tech Hub @ Cornell Tech
2021
-
Present
Product Management Lead
NYC Planning Labs
2020
-
2021
Design Research Lead
WeWork
2019
-
2020
Co-Founder + CEO
Swappl
2017
-
2019
Research Assistant
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
2016
-
2018
Visiting Cities Consultant
Buro Happold
2017
Program Manager
University of Virginia
2015
-
2016
RECOGNITION
Imagineer Fellow
Afrotechtopia
2020
Speaker
The Design Museum's Design Research for Change Symposium
2019
Goss Fellow
MIT Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship
2018
Recipient
MIT's School of Architecture + Planning Outstanding Thesis Award
2018
Recipient
MIT FinTech Startup Award for Social Impact
2017
Recipient
Architect Magazine Studio Prize
2017
EDUCATION
Master's in City Planning
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
2018
Bachelor of Arts in Urban Planning
Virginia Tech
2014
SKILLS
Research + Strategy
UX Research •
Workshop Facilitation •
Strategic Planning •
Product Management
Agile Methods •
Product Roadmaps •
KPI Analysis •
Product Design
Rapid Prototyping •
Wireframing •
Service Blueprinting •

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