Luis is a Latin American public design researcher and facilitator who helps governments and partner organizations translate complex public challenges into participatory strategies, learning processes, and actionable interventions. He holds a Ph.D. in Transition Design and is a convener of the Learning × Public Design International Network, the Designing Policy Network, and the Pluriversal Design SIG for the Design Research Society. He is a Senior Teaching Consultant Fellow for the Eberly Center, supporting emerging educators through the Future Faculty Program at Carnegie Mellon University.
He has worked for the Ecuadorian Corporation for the Development of Research and Academia (CEDIA) and the German Cooperation Agency GIZ, supporting two open innovation processes focused on sustainable urban mobility with national reach. In 2019, he was part of a multidisciplinary team that monitored and proposed solutions for a new public bike-sharing system in Cuenca, Ecuador. Lately, he has been part of the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI) through the Research Jam program. The program collaborates with community members, patients, care providers, and other researchers using people-centered design research to improve health research, services, and quality of life.
As a Fulbright scholar, Luis studied an MFA focused on Design Research and Strategy from Indiana University, Indianapolis, and has a BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Cuenca. While an undergraduate student, Luis was part of the university Honors Program, coordinated in collaboration with KULeuven, a multidisciplinary initiative that offered students dedicated training in scientific research approaches and methods.
