Semester
Project
Year
Fall
2023
Fall
2023
Summer
2024
Fall
2025
CV
Bio
Nene Villalobos is an administrative and operations professional, designer/artist, and emerging information scholar based in New York. They currently serve as Administrative & Operations Manager at the Pratt Institute School of Information, where they oversee departmental logistics and large-scale academic programming while supporting faculty, staff, and student initiatives across the School. Working across disciplines, Villalobos combines design and critical theory to examine how information is experienced.
Education
Pratt Institute School of Information
Library and Information Science, MS
Advanced certificate: Digital Humanities
University of California, Santa Cruz
Fine Arts, BA
Latin America and Latino Studies, BA
Library and Information Science, MS
Advanced certificate: Digital Humanities
University of California, Santa Cruz
Fine Arts, BA
Latin America and Latino Studies, BA
Employment
Pratt Institute School of Information,
Administrative and Operations Manager
Manhattan, NY
January 2025 – Present
Manhattan, NY
January 2025 – Present
- Translate complex operational and academic, including budget planning, expense analysis, and purchasing workflows, into clear documentation for internal and external usage.
- Act as a cross-functional lead partnering with creative, academic, and administrative teams to move projects from concept through, balancing vision timelines and resources.
- Manage budgets and operational strategy in collaboration with departmental leadership, using Business Objects to track spend, analyze variances, and inform project scoping and decision-making.
- Optimize operational systems to streamline execution, support cross-departmental collaboration, and enable teams to focus on high-impact creative and strategic work.
Pratt Institute Undergrad Communications Design
Assistant to the Chairperson
Brooklyn, NY
November 2021 – December 2024
- Managed departmental budget with Chair, using Business Objects to track expenses, prepare proposals, and analyze variances.
- Processed invoices and maintained vendor relationships, establishing a centralized tracking system.
- Oversaw purchasing, streamlined operations, and supported cross-departmental collaborations.
Private School
Contributor Organizer
Brooklyn, NY
August 2024 – August 2025
- Supported independent publishers by organizing ephemeral materials for book fairs.
- Fostered artist relationships to enhance organic, collaborative partnerships.
False Flag Gallery
Gallery Manager
Queens, NY
June 2020 – June 2023
- Coordinated artist installations and managed logistics with art handlers for gallery operations.
- Communicated daily updates with gallery owners and maintained exhibition spaces for seamless transitions.
Cosme
Chef de Partie
Manhattan, NY
December 2019 - March 2020
- Executed menu components with a clear point of view, ensuring each dish aligned with the restaurant’s culinary vision and service objectives.
- Took full ownership of assigned stations from concept to execution, maintaining consistency and timing across high-volume services.
- Collaborated closely with the Executive and Sous Chefs to refine dishes and iterate on plating.
University of California, Santa Cruz
Orientation Office Administrative Assistant
Santa Cruz, CA
January 2015 – August 2017
- Facilitated hiring and training processes for new undergraduate orientation students.
- Collaborated on institute-wide events, preparing rooms and materials for academic advising.
The Social Club
Chief of Staff
Santa Cruz, CA
January 2016 – June 2017
- Led event management, planning dynamic events to maximize engagement while adhering to budget constraints.
- Established clear communication with venue management to ensure cohesive atmospheres.
Skills
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
Google Suite
HTML/CSS
Tableau
Adobe Photoshop
Google Suite
HTML/CSS
Tableau
Project Description
- A curated LibGuide exploring the theoretical and practical location of New York City film culture, with a focus on access, community-building, and shared viewing experiences. While grounded in NYC-specific and Pratt-accessible resources, the guide offers broadly useful digital content for wider audiences. Organized into sections on theaters, festivals, film communities, and DIY practices, the project emphasizes how film operates as both a cultural and communal infrastructure. Feedback highlighted its clarity, accessibility, and strong balance between academic and public-facing resources.
Methods
- The team identified Pratt students as the primary user group and developed the guide by researching and compiling film-related resources across NYC. Content was collaboratively organized using Google Docs and implemented in LibApps, with supplemental video content produced using personal devices.
My Role
- Group project (5 members). I created video content, developed the “Film Clubs and Community Events” section, and designed consistent title headers across the guide. Additionally, using LibApps to address any potential issues continuously.
Learning Outcome Achieved: Foundation of Library & Information Studies
- Applied foundational LIS concepts to the organization and access of information across a hybrid (physical/digital) cultural landscape.
Rationale
- This addition to my portfolio, which fulfills the requirements, highlights my ability to work, organize, and collaborate with colleagues to develop a project. This project was fundamental in knowing how to showcase and make information accessible to multiple audiences and/or to define the target audience.
Learning Outcome Achieved: Technology
- The learning outcome in technology was achieved in this project by using a digital tool to organize library system resources. Patrons would be able to identify information showcased in the LibGuide. While troubleshooting was needed at the start of this project's development, it was addressed.
Rationale
- Including this in my portfolio aligns with my skill set: identifying the tools presented in a learning environment and adapting to use them. This highlights the importance of using technology in the library field to adapt to digital infrastructure that showcases innovation.
Project Title
Project Description
Methods
My Role
Learning Outcome Achieved: User-Centered Services
Rationale
- Reference Service to Incarcerated People: Final Report
Project Description
- A final report on the semester-long assignment of writing to incarcerated partons who were asking questions ranging from religious information to the origin of the universe. I was able to locate most of the information and also follow the NYPL guidelines on what was acceptable to share and what was not. These limitations highlighted the role of vulnerability on both sides, as you serve patrons and how they may interact with you. The final report reflects my ability to maintain professionalism and transparency in identifying what was appropriate and what was not.
Methods
- I would first take notes on the question, then organize what was feasible on a personal level, knowing I had a week to answer it. I would search on Google, JSTOR, and the Pratt Library website. I'm sharing information without paywalls in case incarcerated patrons want to search this once the time comes. I would add most of the findings to my Zotero to keep a working citation list in case I needed to recall an entry. I deliberately used information graphics as visual cues to navigate and use the letter that was a final Google Doc.
My Role
- I worked on these letters alone, and periodically, I would email my professor to clarify an aspect of my work as a guide. Early on, it was easy to get caught up in the trivial points.
Learning Outcome Achieved: User-Centered Services
- I successfully attained a learning outcome focused on providing user-centered services. This involved not only staying attentive to specific requests but also catering to a patron's needs belonging to an underserved demographic.
Rationale
- I include this in my portfolio due to the pragmatic necessity of responding to inquiries within agile constraints while maintaining a critical evaluation of the delivery process.
Project Title
Project Description
Methods
My Role
Learning Outcome Achieved: Ethical/ Creative/Critical practice
Rationale
- Earth Crust Relics
Project Description
- For this assignment and final delivery, I presented data on the ecological and social impacts of warehouses on a local community in Southern California’s Inland Empire through a sculptural piece made of Bristol board.
Methods
- I would gather the dataset from the Warehouse CITY project and translate the CSV. file in Tableau Public to render out an infographic in the form of a bubble map. From there, I would then bridge the knowledge I have as an artist to begin constructing this visualization into a physicalization.
My Role
- I worked independently throughout the summer class, iterating from sketches to final production. I then presented this work in a final showing where outside guests were invited. Although it was daunting to talk about my work, it was a relief to have people acknowledge the piece.
Learning Outcome Achieved: Ethical/ Creative/Critical practice
- This project fulfils the focus of the Ethical/ Creative/ Critical practice. I created a physical sculpture that serves as a commentary on the warehouses and their impact on a community near and dear to me. Using data from an online source on the expansion of warehouses in Southern California enabled me to interpret it into a sculpture, bridging my personal practice as an artist and my role as an information scholar.
Rationale
- This inclusion in my portfolio demonstrates my ability to create work that conveys how information impacts society and community. I was able to get a version of this work published in perhaps, thereby extending its impact beyond the time it was created.
Fall
Project Title
Project Description
Methods
Learning Outcome Achieved: Research
Rationale
- Mapping the Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Bedbug Complaints in New York City
Project Description
- Willem Helf and I developed a spatial heatmap of bedbug complaints using data found on NYC 311 complaints. This project showcased the in-depth collaboration required to develop a reproducible project.
Methods
- We collected the bedbug dataset from NYC Open Data, then began filtering for the time period we wanted to focus on. We began to analyze the spatial and temporal patterns of the complaints. We identified that complaint correlation was associated with communities that could make the call to address an infestation. All our work is available on a GitHub repository for viewing.
- I was tasked with locating the datasets and setting up the groups' Google Drive to bounce ideas off one another asynchronously. I then took on the task of focusing primarily on writing the final reports, knowing I wanted to highlight the strengths I could bring to the group: writing.
Learning Outcome Achieved: Research
- I researched bedbug complaints reported in the 311 Open Data alongside my groupmate. We approached this qualitative research with the idea that there would be a correlation between 311 complaints and the location of the call. And there was a correlation, simply put, well-off areas were afforded the resources to call in complaints. After constructing our GitHub repo and organizing our findings, I wrote our Data Management Plan with the hope that it can be reproduced by others.
Rationale
- This inclusion in my portfolio demonstrates my ability to maintain a research investigation, recognizing that it may change along the way. I was able to hand off data sets to my group member. The important aspect of this project was knowing I was learning new skill sets from the collaboration, such as API calls, and building out a GitHub repo for reproducibility.
Additional Work
Two publications I created or collaborated on that highlight my creative approaches to storytelling. You can purchase Sideshow from Printed Matter.