About Ivette

I’m an architect, urban designer and planner turned business owner.

My 15 years of experience in the private sector navigating processes between stakeholders, public officials, and community members led me to start a practice focused on the interface between community engagement and design.
My focus as a designer was influenced heavily by 12 years with Urban Design Associates managing urban design projects in a broad range of contexts, including urban infill, waterfronts, transit-oriented development, mixed-income housing, and many scales in between.
My practice is rooted in transparency, clear communication, and a spirit of collaboration.
I am specially passionate about advancing the role of minorities and women in our field, and work tirelessly
to support the next generation of leaders in our field.

Ivette Mongalo-Winston is the founder of a consulting practice focused on urban design, community engagement, planning and facilitation. Mongalo-Winston Consulting is rooted in the desire to make Pittsburgh, and all of the communities she works in, a better place to live for all. Her practice evolved from an education in architecture and urban design, and evolved into a multi-disciplinary practice focused on advancing equitable outcomes through meaningful conversations about design, planning, and development.

Ivette collaborates with communities, public and private agencies, and design professionals to improve communities by bridging the gap between design, planning and public engagement. She believes all people have the right and desire to live in healthy, safe, quality neighborhoods in order to reach their maximum potential. Therefore she uses her skills in urban design, facilitation and planning to help people understand each other and make progress together. Ivette is passionate about community building and is committed to promoting transparency throughout the life of a project. She thrives on pulling together diverse constituencies and helping them to understand each other’s opinions, concerns, and visions about the project at hand.

Ivette has over 15 years of experience managing urban design projects in a broad range of contexts throughout the country and Europe, and is committed to achieving success by building trust through the life of a project. Her work is focused at the intersection of design, development, implementation and policy. Ivette’s goal is to achieve consensus through open communication and community dialogue, and to move from talk to action.

Education

Ivette Mongalo-Winston earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Maryland and a Masters in Suburb and Town Planning, with honors, from the University of Miami. Among her awards, she was a participating scholar in the Knight Program in Community Building, an organization that provides a forum for educating professionals in many disciplines in the field of urban design. She is a member of both The American Planning Association and the Congress of New Urbanism.

Kristen Maser

A Strategic Partner at Mon-Win Consulting, Kristen specializes in community outreach and engagement. The Co-Founder and Director of For Good PGH, a small nonprofit located in Braddock, PA, Kristen brings a background of nonprofit management, event planning and execution, writing and marketing, and extensive experience engaging local communities in issues and initiatives that affect them. Kristen believes that nothing should ever be done TO a community, everything must be done WITH the community.

Kristen previously served as Executive Director of CONNECT, where she worked to bring elected and appointed government officials from the City of Pittsburgh and its 40 neighboring municipalities together to collaborate on common policy issues.

Earlier in her career, she worked as a community development and municipal consultant, advising distressed communities as they sought to improve their financial position and service provision and held management positions in marketing and public relations. She is the daughter of small business owners and the proud mother of two daughters and a gaggle of rescue pets.