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Photo: Isabel Benares}

Sofia Gulaid is a Kenyan-Somali and American urban designer and artist based in Los Angeles.

Currently working at HERE, Sofia has experience in urban design and active transportation planning in Boston and Seattle. She came to urban design by way of metal sculpture, refugee services & the environment. Sofia holds a:

• Master in City Planning & certificate in Urban Design from MIT, and;
  
• B.A. in Environmental Studies from Yale University.
  

Sofia primarily uses sculpture and cartography to explore spatial histories. Her process centers on listening, collective imagining, and material exploration rather than pursuing a fixed outcome.

Her work has been featured by the City of Redmond, Where Are The Black Designers, the Data Feminism Lab, and in various books and academic articles.