Annie M Tor


Welcome! My name is Annie. I live in Washington, D.C., and I love experiments, friendship, and service.

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I mostly work as a product manager and have a broad background across design, engineering, and policy. I'm currently a U.S. Digital Corps Fellow supporting the Health Resources and Services Administration, working to strengthen the effectiveness and fairness of the national organ transplantation system through IT modernization*. I have a B.S. in Engineering & Product Design from Olin College.

Find me on LinkedIn. Read my diary. See my sister's cats, Pepper and Prissy, on her website.

Sewer in a Suitcase Redesigning an interactive community education tool that teaches city residents about the impacts of urban sewer systems.

What I did: User Research, Design for Manufacturing, Rapid Prototyping, Adobe Illustrator, SolidWorks, Vacuum Forming, 3D Printing, Laser Cutting

As part of my work with the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP), I redesigned Sewer in a Suitcase -- a community education toolkit that demonstrates the environmental impact of urban wastewater systems and what we can do today to keep our public resources clean and usable.

I collaborated with educators from different organizations around New York City to conduct user interviews, develop 3D models, and build physical prototypes of what a new design might look like. The new version of Sewer in a Suitcase is more comfortable to carry and easier to use, but still retains the original kit's joy and fun. We're also redesigning Sewer in a Suitcase for scale-- CUP plans to distribute these kits around the world, so I developed a manufacturing plan that would enable environmentally and financially sustainable production.

We're currently looking for funding to continue developing Sewer in a Suitcase. Please reach out if you know of any grants, organizations, or programs that you think might be a good match for this project!

Rendering of the Sewer in a Suitcase 3D Model Sewer in a Suitcase Prototype Annie boldly doing some (bad) vacuum forming Front view rendering of the Sewer in a Suitcase 3D Model Prototype of the Sewer in a Suitcase tray Annie and 3 other collaborators discussing Sewer in a Suitcase over Zoom
The Portabraille Printer Designing and building an affordable and effective Braille printer.

What I did: User Research, UI/UX Design, Mechanical Design, Rapid Prototyping, Adobe Illustrator, SolidWorks, HTML/CSS

The Portabraille Printer is a low-cost, easy-to-use, and portable braille printer. Our design was informed and guided by our partners at the Visually Impaired and Blind User Group (VIBUG), who generously and patiently gave us their feedback over the course of the project. I coordinated user research and built an informational website about how my team and I created the printer. Additionally, I contributed to the design of the printer interface as well as the mechanical design of the printer.

This project was created as part of the Principles of Engineering course at Olin College. You can learn more about this project on our website.

Picture of the fully assembled, final version of the Portabraille Printer Picture of the Portabraille Printer physical interface, composed of 3 3D-printed buttons, 2 LEDs, and an ON/OFF switch, labeled with braille Picture of the solenoids inside of the printer, which punch the dots into the paper Picture of the inside of the Portabraille Printer, with outside enclosure and handles removed Picture of the Portrabraille Printer team -- from left to right, Meg, Nathan, Colin, Annie, and Maia <3
Joe Knows Designing and developing an accessible and intuitive way for people to use public transit.

What I did: User Research, UI/UX Design, iOS Development, Rapid Prototyping, SolidWorks, 3D Printing

Joe Knows is an iOS app and Bluetooth sensor system created in collaboration with Joe and Fran Weisse of Natick, MA. Joe is visually impaired and relies on public transportation in and around Boston to get around, and Joe Knows is designed to make transit easier to navigate regardless of ability. I co-created the project and designed, implemented, and tested the app interface and sensor packaging. My team and I presented our prototype to the MWRTA to explore implementing the system in parts of the Greater Boston Area.

This project was created as part of the Engineering for Humanity course at Olin College.

Learn more about this project here.

5 mockups of the Joe Knows mobile interface. The first screen is the Joe Knows initialization page, the second screen indicates where the user is, the third screen prompts the user to select what transit option they'd like to navigate to, and the fourth and fifth screen shows the user navigation instructions Picture of the Joe Knows Bluetooth sensor enclosure, closed Picture of the Joe Knows Bluetooth sensor enclosure, opened to reveal the sensor Picture of the Joe Knows team, Annie and Maia <3
Air Partners Designing and developing accessible training materials enabling community members in Roxbury, MA to monitor and mitigate air quality.

What I did: User Research, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop

Air Partners' goal is to support environmental advocacy groups in their work to reduce pollutant exposure in Roxbury-- a neighborhood of Boston known as the city's heart of Black culture, with a proud history of community-driven activism. We do this by working with community stakeholders to establish community-owned air quality monitoring networks and piloting in-home mitigation strategies throughout the community.

As a lead member of Air Partners' Training and Equipping team, I designed and produced an array of training materials about air quality sensors and HEPA purifiers, including printed guides, illustrations, and walkthrough videos. These materials will enable Roxbury residents to understand and advocate for air justice in their communities and beyond.

Picture of an indoors community engagement the team co-hosted in Roxbury. Nine people, a mix of team members and community residents, are pictured. Emmanuell is at the front of the room leading the engagement. Two people have their hands raised Picture of Annie and another team member, Gabby, assembling two air quality sensors Picture of a workshop participant following the Air Partners instructions sheet on how to assemble an air quality sensor Image of the Air Partners air quality sensor assembly instructions sheet Image of the Air Partners air quality sensor installation instructions sheet Picture of the Air Partners + Alternatives for Community and Environment team

*The views expressed on this site are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.

I built this site on Neocities. You can get in touch with me by emailing anniemtor (at) gmail (dot) com. Last updated October 14th, 2025.