AIGA staff

Here is where you’ll find the most current background, position and contact information for all members of the AIGA national office staff. All staff members may be reached at AIGA, 164 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010. The main phone number at AIGA is 212 807 1990; staff can be reached through the main number at the extension listed below or directly at 212 710 xxxx (extension).

Rose Adkins, director of strategic alliances, x3125
Rose builds alliances with corporate, media and nonprofit partners through sponsorships and affiliations. This role helps communicate the value of design to the business community, related organizations and the general public as well as creating value for partners through their relationships with members. Members benefit from these partnerships since they allow AIGA to produce conferences, exhibitions, initiatives and events that AIGA may not otherwise be able to offer members. In addition, Rose works with chapters on sponsorship and related issues.

Rose earned a BS in business administration from the California State University, Northridge. After several years at Promax/BDA, she worked in development for the Hollywood Reporter, Sundance Institute and NBC Universal, among others.

Sue Apfelbaum, editorial director, x3131
Sue is the chief editor of the AIGA website and oversees the editorial direction of online publications. She is the managing editor of Voice: AIGA Journal of Design and Gain: AIGA Journal of Business and Design, and also works with authors to manage publications for the AIGA Design Press, a co-publishing partnership with New Riders.

Sue earned a BA in English from the University of Vermont, where she was the music director of radio station WRUV. Most recently, she was managing editor and co-editor of RES magazine, a bimonthly publication about film, music, art and design. Her writing also appears in pop culture and design magazines Lemon and Print.

Katie Baker, conference coordinator, x3146
Katie manages the design and production of all collateral for AIGA’s conferences, as well as coordinates event presenters’ materials and logistics. She serves as the liaison between design teams, production houses and the AIGA staff, to ensure that projects are done right, on time and within budget.

Katie brings a range of experience to AIGA. Most recently, she was a  member of the marketing team at Two Twelve Associates, a multidisciplinary graphic design firm in New York City. She previously lived in China, where she studied in Beijing and taught English at a women’s college in Fuzhou. Katie earned a BA in history and a BA in East Asian studies from New York University.

Jennifer Bender, manager, communications and marketing, x3136
Jennifer manages all communications and marketing originating from the AIGA national office. Her primary responsibilities are to provide value through communications to members and stakeholders, and to advocate for the profession by communicating the value of design to business leaders, government officials, media and the public.

With a background in marketing and the arts, Jennifer brings both a sharp eye and an analytic mind to the communications team. Her decade of experience has run the gamut from producing in-house flyers to developing and executing marketing strategies, and from regional nonprofits to national financial institutions. Jennifer holds a BA in photography from the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota, and enjoys visiting art galleries and museums for creative inspiration.

Steve Burhans, facilities/traveling exhibitions coordinator, x3110
Steve’s areas of responsibility include the daily operations and maintenance of the National Design Center, AIGA’s headquarters. He is also responsible for office supplies, equipment, mail and shipping. Steve is the liaison for traveling exhibitions, including the “365: AIGA Annual Design Exhibition” and “50 Books/50 Covers” shows.

Steve is currently completing his BA in communications.

Jessica Casper, coordinator, strategic alliances, x3124
Jessica supports AIGA’s alliances with corporate, media and nonprofit agencies by coordinating and communicating the benefits of these partnerships to sponsors as well as the design public at large. She works closely with the director of strategic alliances to build and maintain sponsor relationships, manage contracts and document all details related to these alliances. Jessica is the main point of contact for giving opportunities and is also available to chapters who may have questions about national or local partnerships and sponsorship programs.

Jessica earned a BA in visual studies from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to working with AIGA, she helped create window displays for Ralph Lauren’s Manhattan stores.

Amy Chapman, project manager, x3137
Amy works to recruit and connect interested and active members with various AIGA programs and initiatives and helps to develop systems for maintaining member involvement and communication. In this role, she is the primary contact for engaging designers who want to advance the mission and goals of AIGA for the profession. Amy is also AIGA’s principal liaison with other organizations and with the board and board committees.

Amy earned a BFA in painting from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Kathleen Cox, controller, x3127
Kathleen is responsible for AIGA’s accounting, bookkeeping and administration. Her duties include internal controls, policies and procedures according to established audit norms, liaison with outside auditors overseeing the annual audits, corporate tax returns and financial reports. She assures that AIGA’s business activities comply with AIGA policies aimed at fiduciary responsibility as well as with federal, state and local regulations.

Kathleen has many years of experience in accounting. She served as the director of finance for the New York Society for the Deaf for three years and as its executive director for four years. Kathleen earned her BS in accounting from Georgian Court University.

Jonathan Feinberg, director of events, x3142
Jonathan has the overall responsibility for site selection, vendor contract negotiation, logistical application and post-event reconciliation for AIGA’s conferences and meetings. He collaborates with the programming team to develop, maintain and adhere to the meeting and conference budgets. Jonathan also serves as a tactical consultant for Design Educators and other regional conferences. Additionally, he schedules events and meetings within the AIGA building.

Jonathan earned his BA in business from the University of New Hampshire and brings more than 10 years of event planning and hospitality management experience to AIGA.

George Fernandez, membership director, x3132
George maintains AIGA’s membership database and is the primary customer service contact for membership inquiries from chapter membership coordinators. He is responsible for providing membership recruitment materials, helping coordinators use the workroom, generating invoices and monitoring and maintaining group memberships as well as sending out regular mailings (postcards, new-member packets, membership cards). He answers questions about membership status, which benefits members should have been sent and who belongs on a group membership.

George holds a BA in liberal arts from Queens College. Previously, he was responsible for membership at another association and maintained client records for a health care organization.

Amy Gendler, director, AIGA China, direct inquiries to 212 710 3111
Amy Gendler is founding director of AIGA China and also serves as a full-time professor at Beijing’s Central Academy of Fine Arts. An award-winning designer and design educator, Amy founded Thinking Eye Visual Communication in Hong Kong in 1996, creating bi-lingual design solutions for a variety of industries—from fashion to finance. She then served as Art Director Asia/Pacific for Arthur Andersen, developing strategy and new media solutions for Andersen’s clients. Always intent on blending practice with teaching, Amy has taught design in the United States and Asia throughout her career.

Amy graduated from Yale University with a BA in art history and an additional concentration in design. She studied at Yale’s joint program with the Basel Kunstgewerbeschule in Brisaggo Switzerland. And subsequently, she received an M.F.A. in graphic design with honors from Rhode Island School of Design. She has more than 10 years experience in Greater China and speaks Mandarin Chinese.

Richard Grefé, executive director, x3100
Ric is the CEO of AIGA, the professional association for design. He is generally involved in all of AIGA’s activities, although his major contributions are in strategy, formulating new initiatives to enhance the competitive success of designers and advocating the value of design.

Ric earned a BA from Dartmouth College, crafted books at Stinehour Press, spent several years in intelligence work in Asia, reported from the Bronx County Courthouse for AP, wrote for Time magazine on business and the economy and then earned an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Following a career in urban design and public policy consulting, Ric managed the association responsible for strategic planning and legislative advocacy for public television and led a think tank on the future of public television and radio. He has been at AIGA since 1995, developing programs that reinforce the relevance of design as an extraordinary creative gift and a critical element of business strategy.

David Hall, member experience manager, x3133
David is AIGA’s primary liaison to student groups and faculty coordinators, as well as student members in general. David also serves as the liaison to a task force addressing the needs of designers working in corporate and institutional design departments. In responding to member inquiries by phone or email, he pays close attention to ways in which AIGA can improve the member experience and works with the team to implement those improvements.

David has several years of experience processing payments, working with financial databases and working with the public. He has a BA in music and performs regularly.

Jessica Friedman Hewitt, managing director, Design for Democracy, x3126
Jessica manages AIGA's Design for Democracy initiative, which applies design tools and thinking to increase civic participation by making interactions between the U.S. government and its citizens more understandable, efficient and trustworthy. She also directs the initiative’s election program, helping states, counties, vendors and legislators use AIGA’s ballot and election design guidelines.

Previously, she directed a user experience research and design practice at a marketing agency and designed user interfaces for emerging software solutions at IBM. She has served major clients from finance, travel and consumer packaged goods industries in the areas of business process improvement, interaction design and usability. She is a former SIGCHI chapter co-chair and holds a BA in visual and cultural studies from the University of Rochester.

Lydia Mann, web director, x3122
Lydia administers AIGA’s websites in conjunction with an outside technology and development firm, and works to provide satisfactory user experiences for visitors to the sites. Her primary responsibility is to provide accessible, rich online experiences for all and provide a window to communities of designers. 

Lydia brings more than 20 years of experience in designing and developing websites, applications, intranets and print collateral materials for a wide variety of clients, from large financial associations to small-business owners, artists and musicians, as well as establishing and maintaining brand and corporate identities. Lydia has a BA in graphic design and early-childhood education from SUNY Empire State College. She paints as often as possible.

Gabriela Mirensky, director, competitions and exhibitions, x3143
Gabriela is responsible for AIGA’s competitions, which provide the content for two major exhibitions in the National Design Center gallery each year and their traveling extensions. She collaborates with design teams to conceptualize, produce and install from four to six exhibitions annually. Gabriela oversees the production of the print annual that results from the competitions, and the online Design Archives, launched in 2004.

Gabriela earned a BA in graphic design from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana in Mexico City and an MFA focused on printmaking from the City College of New York.

Delores Norfleet, accounts payable/membership associate, x3134
Delores plays two important roles at AIGA: supporting accounting functions in the capacity of accounts payable assistant, and assisting in processing memberships and keeping member records up to date. Her strong attention to detail is critical to both functions.

Prior to joining AIGA, Delores worked for 20 years at SafeHorizon, a nonprofit organization supporting victims of crime and abuse, where she managed the accounts payable department. She holds a certificate of continuing education in bookkeeping and accounting from York College in Queens, New York, as well as a license in real estate and notary.

Tiia Schurig, director of first impressions, x3111
Tiia serves as the first line of response to callers and visitors to AIGA, providing general information on chapter contacts, health insurance, discounts and other member benefits as well as basic information about conferences, competitions and exhibitions. Tiia is an essential member of the membership team, answering questions and assisting callers in navigating the AIGA website. She also handles sales of publications though the website and the gallery. Tiia works with other staff to find better ways of serving members and the public.

Tiia earned a BA in art history and a BA in humanities from the University of South Florida.

Michelle Stanek, program curator, x3144
Michelle coordinates AIGA’s events and conferences. She is responsible for program content, managing relationships with presenters, managing marketing and promotion, the coordination and development of collateral materials and backstage management.

Michelle earned a BA in art history and arts administration from Goucher College and an MA in the theory, criticism and history of art and design from Pratt Institute. Michelle is a visiting art history professor at Pratt. She also teaches art appreciation for Pratt’s summer pre-college program, introducing high school students to art history themes and theories and New York City’s art and cultural institutions. 

Heather Strelecki, information specialist, x3145
Heather provides support on a wide variety of information resources. She is the primary contact for event registration inquiries, and she manages the AIGA library and institutional archives. In addition, she assists with annual competitions and exhibitions, the online design archives and journal publications. Her responsibilities include effectively communicating with conference attendees and competition entrants, timely processing and notification of financial transactions; monitoring the AIGA website for necessary updates and organizing digital and print information and artifacts.

Heather earned a BA in art history from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and an MS in library and information science with an advanced certificate in archives from Pratt Institute. She brings customer service and administrative experience from STERIS Corporation. She was a contributing art writer for the Erie Times News, and she volunteers at Kentler International Drawing Space in Brooklyn.

Denise Wood, chief operating officer, x3135
Denise is responsible for operational decisions within AIGA, overseeing development and implementation of AIGA’s budget. She is responsible for knowledge management within the organization and AIGA’s information systems. She works closely with the executive director to implement plans in virtually all membership and strategic areas of AIGA.

Denise earned a BA from Oberlin College and an MBA in information management from George Washington University.