Meet the Jury for Public Access Design!

To help choose the next round of Public Access Design collaborators, we're working with an outstanding jury of leaders in the fields of social justice and design! Meet our jurors below:

Clae Lu (they/them) is a queer, second generation Han Chinese American from Queens, NY (unceded territory of the Lenni-Lenape). They identify as an artist, designer, cultural worker, and Chinese zither (古筝) musician. Clara believes in the power of arts and grassroots activism to create spaces for conversation, reflection, and action.

Jen White-Johnson is an Afro-Latina disabled art activist, designer and educator whose visual work explores the intersection of content and caregiving with an emphasis on redesigning ableist visual culture. As an artist-educator with Graves disease and ADHD, her heart-centered and electric approach to disability advocacy bolsters these movements with invaluable currencies: powerful, dynamic art and media that all at once educates, bridges divergent worlds, and builds a future that mirrors her Autistic son’s experience. Jen has presented her activist work and collaborated with a number of brands and art spaces across print and digital such as Twitter, Target, Converse, and Apple. Her photography and design has been featured in The Washington Post, AfroPunk, CNN, Teen Vogue and is permanently archived in libraries The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Princeton University, and National Museum of Women in the Arts in DC. In 2021 she was listed as 20 Latino Artists to watch on Today.com Jen has an MFA in Graphic Design from The Maryland Institute College of Art. She was born in Washington D.C. and currently lives in Baltimore with her husband and 9 year old son.

Chris Fox is a social worker and organizer dedicated to the transformation of labor and the development of dignified, just and safe work. They are a worker-owner of Action OSH, an immigrant-led, occupational health and safety worker cooperative where they train and operationally consult with workers, worker organizations, and small businesses. In their free time they enjoy hanging out with their dog and being outside near trees and water.

Peter Kempner oversees Volunteers of Legal Service's (VOLS’) legal department and pro bono program. He joined VOLS as the Senior Law Project Director in May 2018 and moved into his current role as Legal Director in May 2019. He received his J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University in 2001 and was admitted to the New York State Bar in 2002. He received his B.A. in Political Science from the State University of New York College at Purchase in 1996 and he received an M.A. in Political Management from the Graduate School of Political Management at the George Washington University in 1998. He is admitted to practice in the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York and is accredited to practice by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Prior to working at VOLS he worked in Brooklyn Legal Services’ HIV Unit from 2001 until 2011 as a Senior Staff Attorney and Government Benefits Specialist. In May 2011, he helped found the Veterans Justice Project, an innovative general legal services practice focusing on veterans, active-duty military personnel and their families. In April 2015, Pete became the Director of the Veterans Justice Project and Deputy Director of the Housing Unit at Brooklyn Legal Services where he worked until 2018. He has been a member of the Military and Veterans Affairs Committee of The Association of the Bar of the City of New York since 2019, and served as a member of the Social Welfare Law Committee of The Association of the Bar of the City of New York from 2007 until 2013. Later he served as the Chairperson of the Committee from 2013 until 2016. He served on the Advisory Committee to the Brooklyn Veteran Treatment Court from 2012 until 2018. He is currently a member of the New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Veterans and previously served on the committee from 2013 until 2017. In 2022 he was appointed by the Chief Judge of the State of New York to serve on the Attorney Emeritus Advisory Council. He is also an Adjunct Clinical Professor at New York Law School where he created and has taught their Veterans Justice Clinic since 2015.