The Tulane University School of Architecture has named designer, historian, and architect Edson Cabalfin, PhD as the new Director of the school's Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship (SISE) program.

Cabalfin is a licensed architect in the Philippines and runs the design consultancy Talyer Kayumanggi/Brown Workshop, which is currently based in Cincinnati, Ohio and Manila. The multi-disciplinary practice operates within the realms of architecture, interior design, set design, costume design, fashion, and design strategy, among other arenas. Cabalfin's academic research focuses on a variety of interrelated topics, including the interdisciplinary and transnational intersections of architecture history and theory, cultural studies, gender and sexuality studies, postcolonial theory, Southeast Asian studies, spatial justice, public interest design, and heritage conservation.

A statement published by the Tulane School of Architecture explains that "Dr. Cabalfin said his design studio, which in Filipino means 'Brown Workshop,' celebrates his brown-ness and says 'Here I am. I’m Filipino and I have a voice.' Filipino history [because of its colonial and post-colonial ties], he said, is connected to what is being expressed in the world now."

Cabalfin curated the Philippine Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, published a children's book on Filipino architecture, and was an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Interior Design Program in the School of Architecture and Interior Design in the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning at the University of Cincinnati prior to his recent appointment.

In addition to leading the SISE program, Cabalfin will teach at the school as a Professor of Practice in Design Thinking. Cabalfin is set to assume his new role on August 15, 2020.