Toban is a strategic designer, researcher, and educator. Her work focuses on fostering transdisciplinary collaborations, driving systemic transitions, and enabling place-based transformation.

She currently serves as the Director of the Master of Strategic Design at ELISAVA School of Design and Engineering in Barcelona, where she leads academic and applied initiatives exploring the role of design in shaping societal change.

Most recently, Toban was a Partner at Field States, a strategic design firm dedicated to place-based transformation and civic value in the US and Canada.

Prior to that, Toban helped establish the Rhode Island School of Design’s Center for Complexity (CfC), a pioneering studio applying creative practices to complex and systemic challenges. There, she led large-scale collaborative efforts in healthcare, public policy, and education. Her leadership at CfC focused on building new capacities within organizations, stewarding implementation efforts, and developing new forms of partnership. 

Toban’s work often spans sectors and geographies. She co-founded mainstay, RI, to address the overdose crisis through the redesign of care environments. She has advised governments, NGOs, and philanthropic organizations on strategic initiatives. From developing cross-departmental innovation programs for state employees in Rhode Island, to reimagining libraries as civic infrastructure, to contributing to Vietnam’s circular economy strategy with the United Nations Development Programme.
 
As an educator, Toban has held teaching positions at the Rhode Island School of Design and the University of Michigan. She is a guest critic and lecturer at academic institutions around the world including the Royal College of Art in London and the Istituto Europeo di Design in Barcelona.

Earlier in her career, Toban worked as an architectural designer specializing in adaptive reuse projects for residential, commercial and civic spaces. She holds a Master of Design in Interior Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design, and a Bachelor of Science in Human Ecology from the University of Alberta.

Originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Now based in Barcelona, Spain. 





CV

Education & Certifications
2018 
Master of Design, Rhode Island School of Design, Interior Architecture, Adaptive Reuse

2014 
Bachelor of Science, University of Alberta, Agricultural, Life, and Environmental Sciences, Human Ecology

2013 
Certificate, Istituto Europeo di Design Barcelona, Trends Investigation and Forecasting

2023 
Certificate, CITI Program (Lifespan Corporation) Human Research, Social and Behavioral Research
 
2025 
Program, Power of Place, Really Regenerative Center


Professional Practice
2024-Ongoing
Director, Master of Strategic Design, Elisava School of Design & Engineering, Barcelona Spain

2023-2024
Partner, Field States, Portland OR USA & Barcelona Spain 

2023
Strategic Designer, Smithery, London UK  

2018-2022
Founding member & Senior Design Lead, Center for Complexity Rhode Island School of Design, Providence RI USA

2020-2021
Strategic Designer, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Vietnam, Snowcone and Haystack, Hanoi Vietnam

2019-2022
Co-founder, mainstay RI, Providence RI USA

2017-2018
Fellow, Rhode Island Office of Innovation, Providence RI USA

2017
Architectural Designer, Praud Office, Seoul South Korea

2017-2018
Design Fellow, Institute for Design and Public Policy RISD, Providence RI USA

2014-2016
Interior Designer, Revolving Rooms Interior Design, Edmonton AB Canada

Academic Practice
2023-Ongoing
Faculty, Master of Strategic Design in Complexity, Elisava Barcelona School of Design and Engineering & Kaospilot, Barcelona, Spain.

2022-Ongoing
Co-coordinator and Faculty, Future Thinking and Innovation, Istituto Europeo di Design, Barcelona, Spain.

2023
Studio Instructor, Undergraduate Design and Innovation, Space Design Thesis, Elisava School of Design and Engineering, Barcelona, Spain. 

2022 
LEO Intermittent Lecturer, Urban Technology, A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI USA

2018-2022
Studio Instructor, Center for Complexity, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence RI USA

2018-2022
Faculty, Strategic Design Program, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence RI USA

2018-Ongoing
Thesis Advisor, Critic, and Lecturer, Department of Interior Architecture, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence RI USA

2018-2021
Studio Critic, Department of Industrial Design, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence RI USA

2018
Co-facilitator, Innovation League, Rhode Island Office of Innovation, Providence RI USA

2016-2017
Teaching Assistant, Department of Interior Architecture, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence RI USA

Courses Taught
Fall and Spring 2023-2025
Strategic Design & Leadership, Master in Strategic Design & Complexity, Elisava Barcelona School of Design and Engineering & Kaospilot, Barcelona Spain

Summer 2024,2023,2022
Innovation & Future Thinking, Istituto Europeo de Design, Barcelona Spain

Spring 2023
Decentralizing Museums, Thesis in Space Design, Elisava School of Design and Engineering, Barcelona Spain

Spring 2022
Incomplete City, Urban Technology, A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan

Spring 2022
Design Beyond Crisis: Harm Reduction Centers, Rhode Island School of Design Center for Complexity, Providence RI

Fall 2019
Future of Mobility, Rhode Island School of Design Strategic Design Program, Providence RI

Spring 2019
Financial Infrastructure and Inclusion, Rhode Island School of Design Strategic Design Program, Mysore India

Winter 2019
Future of Food, Rhode Island School of Design Strategic Design Program, Mysore India

Fall 2018
Future of Healthcare, Rhode Island School of Design Strategic Design Program, Providence RI

Summer 2018
Human and Societal Wellbeing, Rhode Island School of Design Strategic Design Program, Providence RI

Summer 2017
Hybrid Housing, Teaching Assistant, Interior Architecture Department, RISD, Seoul South Korea

Lectures & Workshops
2025
Designing a Collaborative Future, Panel, IKEA Xplore Studio at Barcelona Design Week, Barcelona, Spain

2025
Portfolio Approach, Lecture, Systemic Design Club, Tokyo Japan (online)

2025
Design for Interaction and Extended Realities, Workshop, Institute Europeo di Design, Barcelona Spain

2025
Practitioner Talk, Lecture, Laere Inc, Tokyo Japan

2025
Planetary Civics Inquiry: Beyond the National: Cities, Bioregions, and the Planetary, Panel, Dark Matter Labs, RMIT, Politics for Tomorrow, RISD Center for Complexity, (Global event online)

2024
Design for Society, Lectures, Royal College of Art, London UK

2023
Recovery and Renewal of Co-design, Panel Presentation, hosted by OCAD University, Toronto Canada 

2023 
Design Ethics, Lecture, Design with Society, Royal College of Art, London England 

2022 
Practitioner Talk, Lecture, Future Thinking and Innovation, Institute Europeo di Design, Barcelona Spain

2022
Research Methodologies, Lecture, Trends Investigation, Institute Europeo di Design, Barcelona Spain

2022
The Role of Design Research in the World of Medical Science, Conference Presentation, Design Research Society, Bilbao Spain

2022
Practitioner Talk, Lecture, Service Design Programme, Royal College of Art, London England 

2021
Developing Community of Practice, Lecture, UNDP Vietnam, Hanoi Vietnam

2021
UNDP Vietnam Deep Demo: Circular Economy, Workshop, UNDP Vietnam, Hanoi Vietnam 

2021
Opioid Hackathon, Panelist, Center of Biomedical Research on Excellence (COBRE), Providence RI

2020-Ongoing
Design Research Methodologies, Interior Architecture Department, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence RI

2020
Developing a Center for Arts and Health in Rhode Island, Rhode Island School of Design Center for Complexity, Providence RI

2020-Ongoing
Design Thesis, Interior Architecture Department, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence RI

2020
mainstay RI: Developing a Cross-disciplinary Understanding of Care Practices and Spaces, Lecture, Symposium on Substance Use Research

2018 
Cyber Security, Co-facilitator, Rhode Island School of Design Institute for Design and Public Policy

2018
Drug Trafficking, Co-facilitator, Rhode Island School of Design Institute for Design and Public Policy

2017 
Libraries for the 21st Century, Rhode Island Public Libraries, Westerly RI

2017
Gassed Out, Pecha Kucha, Providence RI

Invited Critic & Advisor
2025  
School of Architecture, RMIT

2025  
Creative Design and Leadership, Elisava

2023  
Digital Infrastructure Incubator, Code for Science & Society 

2020-Present  
Thesis Advisor, RISD Interior Architecture

2022  
Future Thinking and Innovation, Istituto Europeo di Design, Barcelona Spain (John V. Willshire)

2022
Trends Investigation, Istituto Europeo di Design, Barcelona Spain (Christina Bifano)

2021
Thesis Review, RISD Interior Architecture (Elizabeth Debs)

2021
Design Studio, RISD Interior Architecture (Patricia Roka)

2021  
Narrative Environments Studio, RISD Interior Architecture (Dorian Juncewicz)

2021  
Innovation Studio, RISD Industrial Design (Charlie Cannon)

2020  
Design Thesis Studio, RISD Interior Architecture (Markus Berger & Wolfgang Rudolf)

2020
Design Studio, RISD Industrial Design (Khipra Nichols)

2019  
Design Studio, RISD Interior Architecture (Jeffrey Katz)

2019
Summer Design studio, RISD Interior Architecture

Publications

Shadlyn, T. I Wanna Be Soil. Untold Magazine. 2025.

Shadlyn, T. What Grows When Water Runs Out. Rebel Roots Magazine. 2025. 

Shadlyn, T., Hubbard, L., Maly, T., and Dalgish, H. (2022) A marriage in practice: The role of design research in the world of medical science, co-author, in Lockton, D., Lenzi, S., Hekkert, P., Oak, A., Sádaba, J., Lloyd, P. (eds.), DRS2022: Bilbao, 27 June - 3 July, Bilbao, Spain. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2022.956

Cook, J., Maly, T,. Shadlyn, T. Equitable Futures Studio: Opioids, Care, & Addiction – Final Report, co-author, Rhode Island School of Design Center for Complexity, 2021.

Cook, J., Maly, T,. Shadlyn, T., Singh, S., Woods, J. Generation C, editor, Rhode Island School of Design Center for Complexity, 2021.

Cook, J., Maly, T,. Shadlyn, T. Center for Arts and Health in Rhode Island, author and editor, Rhode Island School of Design Center for Complexity, 2020.
 
Cook, J., Maly, T,. Shadlyn, T. “Planning for a Post-Pandemic World”, Press, RISD News, 2020. 
 
Octavia, A., Baffoni N., Shadlyn, T., Vang, B. StudioRhode: Toolkit for Next-Generation Libraries, co-author & editor, Office of Library and Information Services and Rhode Island Office of Innovation, 2018.
  
Shadlyn, T. GASSED OUT, author, Rhode Island School of Design Digital Commons, 2018.   

Berger, M., Wong, L. Volume 8 Water As Catalyst, editor. IntIAR, the journal of Interventions and Adaptive Reuse, 2017. 

Selected Press
Friis-Andersen, E., Lundquist Balling, C. Growing Facilitation: Being a Facilitator, Podcast Interview, Kaospilot, June 2023.

Strategic Design and Complexity, Interview, Kaospilot, June 2023.

Berg, N. Why RISD students are designing spaces for people to safely do drugs, Press, Fast Company, June 1, 2022.
 
Mulvaney, K. Innovative RISD projects tackle opioid crisis and stigma through design, Press, Providence Journal, May 28, 2022.

Gagosz, A. How artists could play a role in harm reduction centers, Press, Boston Globe, May 16, 2022.

Mulvaney, K. Replace stigma with compassion: RISD students reimagine better approaches to drug addiction, Press, Providence Journal, May 15, 2022.

Green, T. et al. COBRE on Opioid and Overdose: A Collaborative Research-Based Center Addressing the Crises in Rhode Island and Beyond. Press, Rhode Island medical journal (2013) vol. 104,3 22-26. 1 Apr. 2021.
 
Solondz, S. New Modes of Inquiry, Press, RISD News, December 3, 2019. 
  
RISD Alums at Global Grad Show, Press, Our RISD, 2018. 

Exhibitions
2025
Barcelona Design Week, Exhibited Project Beyond the Bite, Barcelona, Spain, 2025 

2024
Barcelona Design Week, Exhibited Projects Amor SecH2Oh!Bet of the Future, Barcelona, Spain, 2024 

2021  
Carry Forward, Symposium Curator, Rhode Island School of Design Center for Complexity, Providence RI

2020  
Generation C, Symposium Curator, Rhode Island School of Design Center for Complexity, Providence RI

2019  
Rhode Island School of Design Interior Architecture Biennale, Exhibited Project Gassed Out, Providence, RI, 2019

2018 
Dubai Global Grad Show, Exhibited Project Gassed Out, Dubai UAE

2018 
Rhode Island School of Design Grad Show, Exhibited Project Gassed Out, Providence RI

Board Service, Volunteer, & Affiliations
2024-
Advisor, Rebel Roots, Barcelona Spain 

2023-2024
Kaospilot Thesis Mentor, Aarhus, Denmark

2021-2022  
Harm Reduction Center Committee, Providence RI USA

2021   
Rhode Island Community for Addiction and Recovery Services (RICARES), Providence RI USA

2021-ongoing 
Women in Innovation (WIN) 

2015-2016 
M.A.D.E (Media, Architecture, and Design in Edmonton), Edmonton AB Canada

2014-2016 
Edmonton Next Gen, Edmonton AB Canada