Creative Impact Fellow

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Summary
MICA’s Center for Creative Impact is seeking a graduate student to work as a fellow on a local, field-based, interdisciplinary project focused on increasing safe behaviors of drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists along Falls Road.

The Creative Impact Fellow will be part of an interdisciplinary team and participate in a real-world project, engaging with outside partners and community members in Baltimore. They will gain a better understanding of the pedestrian, cyclist, and driver safety issues, and specifically, apply the process of human-centered design to this effort.

Project Overview
Falls Road has suffered due to poor urban planning, disproportionately impacting poorer local neighborhoods. Specifically looking at the stretch of Falls Road from Chestnut Avenue down to the West Trenton Street Alley, according to census data and the Maryland Highway Safety Office (MHSO) ORIOLE traffic safety composite index, this area faces infrastructure and transportation challenges. Of the area’s 18.4K residents, 5.7K (31-33%) live below the poverty line and 13K (71%) are non-white. Additionally, this area recorded 6.4K injury crashes in a six-year period (2018-2023) and averaging 973 total stops each year. The Bike Baltimore counter (
https://streetsofbaltimore.com/counters
) installed in June 2024 by BDOT along Falls Road where it intersects with the Jones Falls Trail gives further insight into this heavily utilized thoroughfare: 31,310 counts (daily average of 153) of bicyclists, pedestrians, and scooters were documented for only in the second half of 2024 (June-December) – this included 62% bicyclists, 29% pedestrians, 9% scooters.
In collaboration with local neighborhood partners, and with support from the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) Highway Safety Office, the MICA Center for Creative Impact is facilitating the “Piloting local neighborhood-engaged interventions to increase safety of all road users on Falls Road” project. The project aims to increase safe behaviors of drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists along Falls Road by increasing access to public safety information (through local neighborhood engagement and improved safety signage and wayfinding) and by testing creative safety interventions that will ultimately prevent crashes and dangerous behaviors and incidents, and reduce safety risk factors.
Focusing on the heavily-trafficked but aging stretch of the historic Falls Road – from the intersection of Chestnut Avenue and Falls Road in the north down to the intersection of West Trenton Street Alley and Falls Road in the south, the project specifically concentrates on six varied sites along this corridor:
Trenton Street Alley & Falls Road Intersection
MICA ‘Park’ Crossing (between Howard St and North Ave bridges along Falls Road)
Baltimore Street Car Museum & CSX Bridge Underpass
W28th Street Bridge Underpass & MA & PA Railroad Roundhouse
Wyman Park Drive Underpass, Horseshoe Falls Crossing, & Jones Falls Trail Intersection
Jones Falls Mills Bend at Chestnut Avenue

Scope of Work
Starting in May 2026, the Creative Impact Fellow will work in a supporting role alongside Steffanie Espat, the Co-Design Lead, of MICA’s Center for Creative Impact, our MDOT collaborators, Neighborhood Partners, and other members of the project team to:
Utilize the human-centered design (HCD) process and HCD methods to learn about and document long and short-term traffic safety challenges along falls road and design interventions for road-user safety;
Use research findings to plan and facilitate ideation sessions;
Generate ideas to inform the development and testing of prototypes;
Develop prototypes and prototype testing plans, which may utilize qualitative research methods including but not limited to surveys, one-on-one and group interviews, observations, card sorting activities, etc.
Help plan and facilitate in-person and virtual project-related community and stakeholder-oriented events and site-specific workshops to test prototypes and gather feedback;
Help plan, facilitate, and participate in in-person and virtual planning meetings and shareback sessions; and
Engage with people, organizations, institutions, neighborhoods, events, etc. that are also working on road user, pedestrian, and bicycle safety, specifically along the Jones Falls and Falls Road.
The Creative Impact Fellow will work on these activities in varying degrees, depending on project timelines and needs.

*Human-centered design (HCD) is a collaborative, creative process dedicated to understanding people’s needs and designing interventions that better serve people’s needs. HCD supplements and enhances existing research and views problems through the perspective of the people directly impacted. HCD is informed by qualitative insights, positions lived experience as expertise, and involves people in every step of the design process, as co-creators and experts.

Timeline
Start date: June 1, 2026
End date: July 31, 2026 (with potential for extension)
The Creative Impact Fellow will work the equivalent of approximately one day per week for the duration of their fellowship, totalling a maximum of 125 hours over the spring semester. (MICA’s work day is equivalent to 7 hours/day).
The Fellow’s work schedule may vary week to week to accommodate their class schedule and commitments, as well as project-related meetings and deadlines. As a result, some weeks the Fellow may work more or less than 7 hours. The Fellow will track their hours worked (not to exceed the allotted 125 total) and will coordinate with their supervisor, Steffanie Espat, to allocate their time accordingly. At the beginning of the fellowship, the Fellow and their supervisor will come up with a work plan together.
Compensation
The Creative Impact Fellow will receive a stipend totalling $2,500 for the duration of their fellowship (equivalent to approximately $20/hour for 125 hours of work total). The stipend will be paid in equal, biweekly installments through student payroll.
Experience and Skills Required
The Creative Impact Fellow candidates must:
Have completed the Spring 2026 MICA-MDOT Falls Road Safety Practice-Based Studio Course or similar work
Have human-centered design or similar relevant experience
Have demonstrated experience and skills in working with and/or leading diverse teams and facilitating collaborative team work (both virtually and in person)
Work well with a variety of working styles and personalities
Demonstrate effective time management and is able to work on various projects and responsibilities simultaneously
Have excellent communication skills (verbal, written and visual), and be able to communicate in an efficient and timely manner

Be adept at using platforms such as Gmail, Slack, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams
Be self-motivated and unafraid to ask questions
Have excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
Be proficient at:
G Suite: Google drive, Gmail, Google docs, Sheets, etc.
Microsoft platforms: Word, Excel, Teams
Creative Impact Fellow candidates may also demonstrate the following skills, but are not required to:
Have proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop in particular)
Have proficiency with MURAL
Professional project management and coordination experience

Application Process Applications must contain the following: Letter of Interest (1 page maximum)—provide specific reasons or insights for your interest in the position. Resume/CV —provide any professional experience or activities relevant to the project and position (past and/or current). Work Sample— include 3-5 portfolio pieces that show your skills and experience in human-centered design, facilitation, and any other relevant skills. Summer and early Fall Schedule –incl