We bring people, place, and possibility into focus.
Through research, creative engagement, and collaborative design, we transform local knowledge into strategies, stories, and experiences that strengthen connection and inspire meaningful action.
A creative practice rooted in community.
IRIS Collaborative is a women-led creative engagement and cultural strategy practice founded by Ali Estefam Iris. We work across cultures, languages, and generations to uncover what matters to people and translate their insight into thoughtful, place-based solutions.
Through conversation, research, storytelling, making, and design, we create meaningful ways for communities to shape the places, programs, and experiences that belong to them.
Our Approach
Every community carries knowledge. We create the conditions for it to be shared, explored, and put into action.
Participation might begin with a conversation, a drawing, a memory, a question, or something made together. Our process is flexible, welcoming, and shaped around the people involved.
By connecting community insight with creative strategy, we help organizations build experiences that feel relevant, accessible, and deeply connected to place.
Leadership Team
A collaborative network shaped around each project.
IRIS Collaborative brings together a trusted network of strategists, researchers, designers, artists, educators, planners, storytellers, and community partners. Each team is thoughtfully assembled according to the project’s context, goals, and communities involved.
This flexible model allows us to combine complementary perspectives and expertise while working as one connected team. Our leadership guides the vision, builds the right collaborations, and ensures that every project remains grounded in people, place, and purpose.
Meet our team
Ali Estefam Iris
Ali is an urban planner, educator, and community engagement specialist whose work brings together planning, psychology, design, storytelling, and creative practice.
Over 15 years of experience working with communities and organizations have shaped an approach that is thoughtful, creative, participatory, and grounded in the people and places at the center of each project.
Founder & Principal
Mari Salmonson
Mari is a multidisciplinary designer, illustrator, and visual storyteller with over a decade of experience creating visual identities, branding systems, and public-facing communications for cultural, public, nonprofit, and mission-driven organizations. She helps organizations translate complex ideas into accessible, engaging visual experiences that build connection and celebrate local identity.
Creative Director (Collaborator)
(Collaborator)
Jimena Castro-Pozo
Jimena Castro-Pozo is a housing and planning educator and participatory planning and qualitative research specialist with experience designing inclusive processes and integrating community voice into planning and development initiatives. She brings expertise in community-centered education, housing, facilitation, and qualitative research