Intersectional & Organizational Communication: Designing the Future of Work with United Nations NewWork

How do we co-create the future of work on a global scale? The NYU Intersectionality Lab spearheaded a landmark collaboration that brought academic research, student innovation, and global organizational transformation into a shared, impactful space. This 2024-2025 collaboration, emerging from last year's NYU SPS–United Nations “Innovation Day,” marked a powerful milestone in experiential learning, intercultural communication, organizational impact, and co-innovation.

At the heart of this initiative was the development of prototypes for a United Nations Inclusive Communications Toolkit for Organizational Culture Change, a dynamic suite of tools co-created by an interdisciplinary team of students, scholars, and faculty experts from the NYU School of Professional Studies. Designed to support the UN’s “Future of Work” and “UN 2.0” vision, the Toolkit introduces research-based, tech-enabled, and human-centered communication practices that empower intercultural collaboration and transformation across global teams.

"Experience a set of technological demos for ‘inclusivity in action’…this next generation of changemakers is not only designing tools but shaping culture,” stated the event invitation from the UN NewWork team, announcing the student showcase of their prototypes in an in-person visit to the United Nations Headquarters, reflecting the spirit of forward-thinking and co-creative learning embedded in this collaboration.

Through immersive design, original prototyping, and an applied lens, NYU SPS student

Scholars developed high-fidelity digital artifacts and communication tools across seven

core practice areas:

● Intersectionality

● Gender-Inclusive Language

● Human-Centered Storytelling

● Empathetic Communications

● Disability Inclusion

● Global English and Language Accessibility

● Multilingualism and Language Preservation

SPS Student Scholar Changemakers: Our deepest congratulations to the SPS graduate and

undergraduate student researchers and scholars who led this initiative with creativity and intercultural intelligence: Pietro Bonfante, Logan Burt, Ashley Chenery, Shannon Ganeshram, Namzey Gentso, Hollis Long, Ishmael Mondragon, Kathryn Scarberry-Rudzitis, and Gayoung Seo, Wayne Singh, and Ximan Xu.

Each student contributed original, actionable insights and prototypes that directly address organizational needs and UN mandates related to anti-racism, multilingualism, inclusive culture, and workforce transformation.

Faculty Leadership: Guided by NYU SPS faculty, Professor Raúl Sánchez, Director

of the NYU Intersectionality Lab, and Dr. Kristine Rodriguez Kerr, Academic Director of the MS in Professional Writing Program, this project demonstrates the transformative change that can occur by bridging "culture catalysts" across higher education and global workforce spheres. When we bridge theory and practice via the fusion of academic development and industry transformation, we create real-world impact and intersectional innovation.

Select Performance Metrics and Measurable Impact:

● 7 Digital Prototypes created by students and reviewed/approved by UN stakeholders

●100% of Student Scholars developed applied intercultural and intersectional communication solutions mapped to UN system needs

● Feedback Loop Established: Toolkit prototypes were presented to the UN in November 2024, with positive institutional reception and an invitation to continue the development of related initiatives in conjunction with a Teaching Advancement Grant Award in 2025

These outcomes underscore the Lab’s commitment to applied experiential learning

and intercultural collaboration as key drivers of inclusion in global organizations.

Teaching Advancement Grant Recognition Award: Advancing Inclusive Workplace Communication Through Applied Faculty-Student-Industry Research

This receipt of an NYU Teaching Advancement Grant (TAG) will make possible the development of custom AI-powered digital tools with UN NewWork for related future initiatives to strengthen inclusive communication across global organizations. The grant will also help pave the way for new related opportunities for a hands-on, interdisciplinary experience for future DAUS undergraduates, Applied Technology students, and MS in Professional Writing graduate mentors. By integrating real-world Impact with inclusive pedagogy, the grant affirms the importance of advancing innovation via faculty research, student engagement, and global workforce cultural change.

A Vision Forward: Co-Creating the Future of Work

The success of this faculty-student-workforce initiative serves as a model of how academia can meaningfully shape international practice and workforce development. This project underscores how intercultural collaboration, faculty-student-driven innovation, and partnerships can meaningfully catalyze and shape the future of work on an international scale, alongside the next generation of communication leaders.

" An upgraded United Nations that is fit for a new era and can offer more

relevant, system-wide, multilateral, and multi-stakeholder solutions to the

challenges of the 21st century" — UN 2.0 Vision Statement

In alignment with this vision, the NYU Intersectionality Lab remains committed to elevating student voice, research excellence, global communication, and actionable collaborative innovation on the world stage.