Mariela Alfonzo

CEO + Founder

State of Place

Bridging the worlds of academia, practice, and entrepreneurship, Dr. Mariela Alfonzo is an internationally-renowned thought-leader and speaker, with 20+ years of experience on the nexus between urban design, behavior, and the quadruple-bottom line. For over two decades, her work has focused on quantifying how the micro-scale aspects of the built environment affect our behaviors, perceptions and decisions, and in turn, how these impact health, broadly defined to include physical, social, environmental, and fiscal health. In addition to being the Founder and CEO of State of Place, an AI-driven, urban design data and predictive analytics software startup, in 2014, Dr. Alfonzo was named one of Urban Land Institute's 40 under 40 best young land use professionals around the globe; is a New Cities Foundation Placemaking Fellow; is a Fulbright Scholar; and a Research Professor at NYU Tandon's School of Engineering. She holds a Ph.D. in urban planning from UC Irvine, as well as a Masters in Urban Planning, and a BA from University of Miami in psychology and architecture. 

Mariela Alfonzo

CEO + Founder

State of Place

Bridging the worlds of academia, practice, and entrepreneurship, Dr. Mariela Alfonzo is an internationally-renowned thought-leader and speaker, with 20+ years of experience on the nexus between urban design, behavior, and the quadruple-bottom line. For over two decades, her work has focused on quantifying how the micro-scale aspects of the built environment affect our behaviors, perceptions and decisions, and in turn, how these impact health, broadly defined to include physical, social, environmental, and fiscal health. In addition to being the Founder and CEO of State of Place, an AI-driven, urban design data and predictive analytics software startup, in 2014, Dr. Alfonzo was named one of Urban Land Institute's 40 under 40 best young land use professionals around the globe; is a New Cities Foundation Placemaking Fellow; is a Fulbright Scholar; and a Research Professor at NYU Tandon's School of Engineering. She holds a Ph.D. in urban planning from UC Irvine, as well as a Masters in Urban Planning, and a BA from University of Miami in psychology and architecture.