Hi. I’m Ashley Cortez, but call me Tez.

I’m an experienced civic technology project lead and service design committed to building community-centered services, equitable digital experiences, and people-driven systems that create lasting change in government.

Currently, I work as a Staff Service Design with Code for America.

My route towards understanding impact in each phase of my career phase has unconsciously led me away from and back toward local government, stewarding community voice, and pushing for community–advocated processes within government. My career path has curiously moved through many large systems. I’m moved by my desire to understand where I might personally best create impact through mission-driven work.

  • Community based service + advocacy

    Before moving to NYC, I lived in Oakland, CA and Gainesville, Fl, working in advocacy, social service referral and navigation, case management and counseling skills in my community, for trauma-informed case management and sexual/domestic violence advocacy.

    • Seneca Center for Children and Family

    • Meridian Behavioral Health

    • Alachua County Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center

  • socially charged design + technology + storytelling projects

    Prior to working with the Mayor’s Office, I graduated with a Masters Degree from New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP), a graduate program housed in the Tisch School of the Arts that explores the intersection of design, art, and technology.

  • October 2017–Present

    We’ll explore my key projects, skills, and outcomes of the work I’ve done through three distinct phases of my journey as an unconventional, yet essential, designer. By exploring my journey to becoming a designer in this way, I hope to emphasize my distinct and foundational experience in direct service work and lived experience, leads to a much more rich, nuanced, and insightful work and exploration of the social design space.

    In this current phase, I’m exploring how I might expand my understanding of social impact while continuing to think locally. I explore this through a digital product, service design, and community centered lens within the City of New York’s Mayors Office for Economic Opportunity. As an office we collectively aim to use innovative methods of technology, data, design, impact funding, and program evaluation to address and alleviate pain points for those who use public benefits and services.

    Key Projects

Outside of work, I enjoy creating art and experiences through various mediums, like lighting design, electronic music and light installation, speculative design, and more. The medium I’m currently working in is the more analog world of pottery and ceramics.