Paul Mendoza is the Associate Coordinator for the AIGA Portfolio Festival and the AIGA Design Conference.

Additionally, he supported 18 local AIGA chapters as the CAC representative for the West after serving as AIGA LA’s membership director from 2015 to 2017.

When he’s not supporting AIGA members and leaders, Paul works as a designer and copywriter at UCLA, his alma mater. Go Bruins!

Vanessa Ulrich is a marketing and public relations professional who works at a full-service agency in Baltimore, where she wears many hats including art direction and meeting facilitation. She served on the AIGA Baltimore board for five years, first as visibility director and vice president, and then as president. She is currently president emeritus on the chapter’s Advisory Board. Vanessa earned her M.A. in Design Management from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and enjoys writing, styling, and being in front of and behind the camera for her fashion blog, The Primpy Sheep. She lives in Baltimore city with her husband and russell terrier, Otis.

Savannah is the President Emeritus of AIGA Hampton Roads and finds great inspiration in our creative community. 

Recent honors include; 2016 AAM Museum Publication Competition - 2nd Place, 2016 GDUSA In-House Design Award (5), 2015 GDUSA In-House Design Award (5), 2015 American Advertising Award (2), 2014 American Advertising Award - Silver Addy & Judges Choice, 2014 Hermes Creative Award - Honorable Mention,  2014 GDUSA In-House Design Award.

Ayu Gagnebin is the former Communications Director for AIGA Wichita and has been active with the chapter since 2012. She has always been a hard worker, with ethics that she gained from her parents. She loves working with people from different backgrounds and perspectives. She appreciates learning and becoming a better individual and better creative for those she serves. She finds fulfillment in giving back to the people who surround her, as they have taught her to be who she is today.  

Ayu is a parent, a full-time designer, and dedicated volunteer, who while juggling these roles wants to assist other AIGA leaders balancing similar responsibilities to help them avoid burnout and stay connected with each other.

Katrin Loss is President Emeritus of AIGA Minnesota and has been volunteering with AIGA since 2002. She is also the co-founder and lead facilitator for EMERGE, a nationwide AIGA initiative that aims to prepare the design workforce for the future and provides inclusive strategies that enable underrepresented groups and give all emerging designers the opportunity to flourish. 

Katrin is an award-winning art director/designer for Best Buy Creative. She holds a BFA in Graphic design from Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) where she serves on the Alumni Board of Directors. She also holds a degree in business administration and international trade from Staatliche Handelsschule in Hamburg, Germany.

Brendan is a multidisciplinary creative with 15 years experience in visual design, photography and strategy. He has served on the Board of Directors of AIGA Chicago and as Chapter President of AIGA Seattle. Now based in Seattle, he leads creative and strategic efforts for clients in a multitude of industries at Lost In Print. Brendan is an Eagle Scout, a wannabe sommelier and he’s looking for the next story to tell.

Jennifer Ford is the founding president of the AIGA Gainesville, which launched in 2017, and now serves as President Emeritus. Founding the new chapter has involved more than 4.5 years of active community building and leadership and Jennifer’s goal as president of the Gainesville chapter was always to connect designers to members of their local, regional, and national AIGA communities.  She also works to build bridges between the tech/startup community and local service orgs and fosters collaborative relationships among multiple AIGA chapters.

Jennifer is the marketing and communications director at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications and has worked in print and web design for more than 10 years.

Natacha Poggio is a design educator, TEDx speaker, and advocate of design for social change. She is a two-time recipient of the Sappi “Ideas that Matter” award and founder of Design Global Change, a creative collaborative addressing problems in global health, sustainability, and social justice. Natacha teaches graphic design at the University of Houston-Downtown and shares her passion for design judging competitions; contributing to books and publications on social impact design, global health, environmental issues; and volunteering her expertise as the AIGA Houston Design for Good Chair and previously as Design Advocacy Director. Currently she helps with AIGA Unidos.

Erin Hamilton is a designer and brand consultant based in Anchorage, Alaska. Her award-winning, multi-disciplinary design firm, EHD, focuses on strategic brand design for clients in a variety of markets including healthcare, travel and tourism, restaurants, and retail. She is president emeritus and a founding member of the AIGA Alaska chapter, and was honored to serve on AIGA’s national Women Lead steering committee. She has been a panel participant and workshop leader at AIGA’s national leadership retreat, and is a frequent reviewer and guest presenter for the University of Alaska's graphic design program. She was recently featured in Graphic Design USA as a 2019 Designer to Watch, and currently sits on the board of the Alaska Design Forum.