Experience

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  entelechy

  • Founder, Holistic Designer

    • Aug 2021 - Present

    entelechy is my creative expression playpen. Within it, I act as a doula for individuals and groups in returning to right relation with their creative life force through reconnection with nature. I also help people bring their environments into energetic coherence through a space design process that focuses on listening to the land and the essence of the individual.

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  Freelance, self-employed

  • Design Researcher / Service Designer

    • Apr 2018 - Aug 2021

    Independent consultant running innovation and design research / service design processes for impact organizations globally. Learn more at: www.alexandraalden.comNotable projects include:- Facilitating an innovation process with Glovo to codesign projects with impact with their migrant couriers- UNDP Turkey: Facilitated a foresight and design research process to inform the design of the SDG Impact Accelerator, a systemic innovation accelerator scaling innovation globally.- International Rescue Committee: Led a research and innovation process to redesign their curriculum to reduce violence against children in refugee schools in Tanzania- Population Services International: Led a youth-driven innovation process around family planning for adolescents that went from foundational research to MVPs. - ACT in Africa: Designed and managed a 6-month long design research training program for local Zimbabweans.

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  Acumen

  • Acumen Spain Fellow

    • Jan 2020 - Dec 2020

    Selected as an Acumen Spain fellow, where they’re building a pipeline of leaders who understand what it takes to create change in our complex, interconnected world. The Fellows Program is a one-year leadership development program designed to connect and cultivate a pipeline of social changemakers who are committed to tackling poverty and injustice in their communities.

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  SINGA Barcelona

  • Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

  • Director

    • Aug 2018 - Aug 2020
    • Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Founded SINGA Spain in 2018 an innovative non-profit that drives social cohesion between migrants and locals through entrepreneurship and creativity. I built out the organization including driving partnerships, building a team and brand and creating award winning refugee entrepreneur support programs based on design and innovation.

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  fuseproject

  • San Francisco, CA

  • Strategist

    • Oct 2017 - Apr 2018
    • San Francisco, CA

    - Strategy and startup consulting on the SPRING Accelerator, an accelerator working with growth-oriented businesses on innovations that can transform the lives of adolescent girls aged 10-19 living across East Africa and South Asia. Learn more: www.springaccelerator.org- Working directly with clients, fellow strategists, and designers to establish relevant and inspiring context that sets the stage for and fuels brand, product, experience, and business design- Ensuring that user needs and motivations are kept top of mind for clients and designers throughout the design process- Organizing, conducting, analyzing, and synthesizing primary and secondary research on a global scale into actionable insights

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  World Food Programme

  • Munich Area, Germany

  • Innovation Consultant

    • Sep 2016 - Oct 2017
    • Munich Area, Germany

    - The Innovation Accelerator in Munich supports WFP’s ability to identify and develop new innovation ideas as well as to take innovative approaches to scale. It combines lean startup and human-centered design approaches with field innovation experience to accelerate innovations for zero hunger. - Co-led the strategy for the 'Building Blocks' project, one of the world's first deployments of blockchain technology in a production environment. Delivered aid to 10K refugees in Jordan via a blockchain based ledger record.

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  IDEO

  • San Francisco Bay Area

  • Global Impact and Outreach Strategist - OpenIDEO

    • Feb 2015 - May 2016
    • San Francisco Bay Area

    • Lead curriculum strategy and project planning for Sephora’s first weeklong beauty social entrepreneurship accelerator, which has received over 70 applications from across North America, Mexico and Brazil for only 10 spots. • Led the conceptualization, design and implementation of the Path to Pitching initiative which had over 150 teams interested, of which six were selected to pitch. Five of the six ideas moved forward with the accelerators.• Created a network of high profile social impact accelerators who became mentors and participated in the final pitch. • Developed a toolkit for entrepreneurs globally to develop their idea using human centered design, which has been utilized by over 15 ideas teams in the current challenge.Global Outreach Coordinator – Amplify • Led the training of four community leaders in Kakuma refugee camp. Supported them through the facilitation of two workshops that resulting in eight ideas that were chosen as Top Ideas and pitched to UNHCR. • Organized a summit around refugee education and human-centered design in Kampala, Uganda with over 40 organizations including UNHCR and UNESCO in attendance. • On-boarded, trained and managed four In-Country Community Managers in DFID priority countries including Ethiopia, Pakistan, Kenya and Uganda.

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  Community Enterprise Solutions

  • Guatemala

  • Field Leader

    • Jan 2014 - Aug 2014
    • Guatemala

    Community Enterprise Solutions is social enterprise focusing on the intersection of access and empowerment. Their mode enables local entrepreneurs to give rural communities access to products such as water filters and clean burning stoves. • Developed a B2B sales strategy for micro-entrepreneurs that was scaled across the country. • Led a team of ten through the design research including shop-alongs and learn by doing to produce a catalogue and set of games and activities the micro-entrepreneurs are now using in the sales settings. • Built and field prototyped solutions in live sales settings. • Project managed promotional strategy overhaul including comprehensive budgets, milestones and deliverables for a ten-person team.

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  Humanitravels

  • San Francisco Bay Area

  • Co Founder

    • Sep 2010 - Dec 2012
    • San Francisco Bay Area

    Social enterprise focused on the creation of empathy and shared value through cross cultural service learning trips with NGOs in Guatemala and Peru.• Sold over 50 student trips in our first year. • Developed business concept and took it through development, financial forecasting, fundraising, launch and into a fully operations business in less than one year. Gathered feedback consistently and iterated on model. • Setup a network of over 40 international suppliers including NGOs, transport companies, accommodation providers and language schools. Worked in Guatemala and Peru to formalize these relationships.