Melany Ventura
Featured Volunteer
August 2026
Meet Melany Ventura, our penguin-loving Featured Volunteer from La Paz, Bolivia.
Melany is a user-experience and user-interface (UX/UI) designer who has played a pivotal role in improving the Trufi App for Cochabamba, which relies on OpenStreetMap data to power its routes and accessibility features.
Her recent work includes enhancing the app’s accessibility and developing a web version to ensure compatibility with older Android devices.
Melany’s contributions go beyond design. She conducted user testing to validate her accessibility improvements as a proof of concept, ensuring the app remains inclusive and user-friendly. Her work has already made the UI more intuitive, earning praise from Trufi’s community manager in Cochabamba.
In addition to her work on the app, Melany is now helping develop the UI for a WordPress plugin. This plugin will make it easier for people to discover Trufi apps, not just the app for Cochabamba.
Melany says she loves penguins. This may be a stretch, but penguins are a metaphor of good UI/UX. Some people see a bird that can’t fly — limitations. But they do fly; they’ve evolved “fly” in water better than any other bird. Melany’s work has ensured that the app evolves to meet users where they are.
When she’s not designing, Melany enjoys the company of her cat, Gunter.
Designing for Impact: A Volunteer with Vision
Melany’s skill in UX/UI design has made the Trufi App more accessible and user-friendly. “I’m grateful to Trufi for allowing me to collaborate and contribute to this open-source project,” she says.
Are you inspired by Melany’s creativity, dedication, and commitment to improving mobility for all? Well…
Be Like Melany: Volunteer for Trufi
We feature volunteers who’ve helped reshape sustainable mobility. Could you be next? Here’s a partial list of our current volunteering needs. Join us and help communities worldwide build better transport systems!