Hello! I'm Abby Golfo.

I'm a service designer and researcher working in public transit!

Work Experience

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)
Senior Service Designer · 2022 — Present
→ Service Designer working on a variety of products and services, including leading discovery for paratransit service (and real-time vehicle tracking for paratransit), operations-facing tools to improve internal communications on the Green Line, making future Green Line audio and visual communications more accessible, & more
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→ UX Designer & Researcher working on digitizing Reduced Fares applications for Senior Pass, Blind Access, and Transportation Access Pass (TAP) — Reduced Fares
America on Tech (AOT)
UX Design Instructor · 2021 — Present
→ Instructor for introductory UX design courses (covering topics like information architecture, prototyping, and usability testing) for high school and college students interested in technology
M&T Bank
Designer / Researcher · 2018 — 2021
→ Service Designer working on a North Star Experience Vision for financial advice and planning for one’s financial future
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→ Researcher for a new product focused on young families thinking about and managing money together

→ Designer & researcher for a money management integration into M&T’s online banking, focused on how people view and interact with their full financial picture
Cortina Productions
Interactive Design Intern · 2017
→ Designer working on interactive experiences in museums and other cultural institutions across the U.S. and Canada

Education

Georgia Institute of Technology
Master of Science in Digital Media (Civic Media) · 2018
SUNY Geneseo
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology & Communication · 2016

SELECTED Speaking & Workshops

Routes & Roots · Service Design Network (SDN) Boston
Case Study Speaker · September 2025
→ Designing better public services by learning from and building with Greater Boston’s systems and communities
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→ Learn more here
Exploring Transit Through Service Design · Harmonic Design
Guest Speaker · March 2025
→ Exploring the role of service design in understanding public transit experiences
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→ Watch here
Talk & Portfolio Review · University of Rochester UX Design Club
Speaker · November 2023
→ Guest speaker and portfolio reviewer for the University of Rochester UX Design Club
Interaction 21 · IxDA
Workshop Co-Facilitator · Feb 2021
→ Co-faciliated with Brooke Bosley
Pecha Kucha Series · Service Design Network (SDN) Atlanta
Speaker · Dec 2020
→ Shared my design journey at SDN Atlanta's Pecha Kucha series
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→ Watch here
Thought At Work · Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)
Workshop Co-Facilitator · Oct 2019
→ Co-facilitated “Encouraging Diverse Perspectives in Group Brainstorming” at RIT's Thought At Work — a conference connecting young designers to industry professionals

About

My goal is to positively impact people’s lives by meeting people where they are.

I'm a research-focused designer dedicated to building impactful products and services. I'm interested in understanding how people move through their worlds and I love working within multidisciplinary teams so that we can ask, learn, and iterate together.

I'm a Senior Service Designer & Strategic Researcher in the Technology Innovation Department (TID) at the MBTA. Effective and equitable public transit is essential to the social, economic, and environmental progress of Greater Boston. TID’s mission is to apply modern principles of research, design, and technology to help riders use our transit system.

I've worked in a variety of industries as a designer and researcher (museums, finance, and, now, civic technology). Previously, I was a UX Designer at M&T Bank focusing on service design and research. I have a master’s degree in Digital Media from Georgia Tech and bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and Communication from SUNY Geneseo.

In 2024, I founded Queer Pickleball Boston (QPB), a collective of LGBTQIA-identifying pickleball players in Greater Boston looking to connect with each other, elevate their skills, and grow the game. In 2025, we hosted 50 open plays, 4 Drill & Play sessions, 2 tournaments, and 1 Learn to Play, welcoming over 1,100 attendees.

As of September 2025, I'm a RacketPro Organization (RPO) Level 1-certified pickleball coach.

My pronouns are she/her.

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Contact me→

abbygolfo [at] gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/abbygolfo

WHAT'S NEW — DECEMBER 2025 DISPATCH

→ Continuing to build Queer Pickleball Boston (QPB)→ Queer Pickleball Boston‍
→ Revising a TV pilot script with my cousin, inspired by our moms moving from Manila to the Bronx in the 1980's as newly-graduated nurses.