Jessica is an independent designer and passionate storyteller with an insatiable curiosity for brand, company, and social culture. She has a multifaceted background in art and design with a BFA from SVA and MA (with distinction) in Ethnic Studies. Her double thesis project (written and creative) focused on multiracial identity and creative strategies for crossing and challenging racial boundaries. Her interests in culture and identity, social justice, Latina/o art, and girl-centered activism set her apart as a designer with passion and purpose. Jessica was born in México, trained in NYC, and is now based in LA.

Sue Bohorquez is a senior graphic designer for the Rhode Island Department of State and, recognizes that government can have a positive impact and play a vital role in improving citizens’ lives. She believes that meaningful design has the power to influence people and help them stay informed—empowering them to lead and inspiring them to get more involved. Sue is an advocate for the Rhode Island's creative community serving as committee member of Design Week RI. Her interest focuses on user experience and examining how design can create social impact.

Carlos is a Design Entrepreneur and Community Catalyst with a passion for education, inclusion and racial equity. His studio Agency 512 has continuous projects with clients Herman Miller,  Public Agency, and national non profits. He serves as  AIGA Detroit's VP of Programming, Content Lead for AIGA’s National  Diversity + Inclusion Task Force and completed two terms with  AIGA West Michigan as their first Diversity + Inclusion Director.

Gaby is a design researcher and professor who concentrates on social design, design for development, visual storytelling, and multidisciplinarity, and has significant international experience working with disadvantaged communities in México and Costa Rica. She earned her MFA in Graphic Design and Certificate in Latin American Studies from the University of Florida. Her scholarly and creative activities include articles, national and international conference presentations, and design work in branding, editorial, illustration and information design.

Richard Hollant is the principal, strategist, and design director at CO:LAB, a firm he started In 1988. After nearly two decades developing brand and product launches for Fortune 500 corporations, he now works exclusively on community empowerment initiatives. With an interdisciplinary degree from Boston University and a degree in media from the Museum School of Fine Arts, Hollant’s approach blends comprehensive strategic thinking with tightly orchestrated execution.

Hollant and his firm have received numerous awards from AIGA, CADC, Print, How, Graphis, Cause/Affect, CXD, and Best of New England. His design work has appeared in trade publications and design books. Additionally, Hollant has been featured in Business Weekly and Communications Arts, and was named one of GDUSA’s 20 People to Watch, and one of the top 11 designers creating social value by Fast Company.

Dian is a deputy art director at AARP and a part-time visual/brand associate for GAP Inc. Her background includes publishing (print/digital), integrated marketing, branding, retail installation and styling. She currently serves on the AIGA Washington DC chapter board as the Mentoring and Design Continuum Fund director. Her passions include education, philanthropy, fashion and pop culture.

George is a designer, educator, and creative catalyst. A native New Yorker, who looks to the city’s rich history and culture for inspiration in his work. He earned his BFA from New York's Fashion Institute of Technology and his MFA from the Savannah College of Art + Design. He has an extensive background in publishing, marketing, and strategy which allowed him to craft creative solutions for clients such as Popular Mechanics, Esquire, Cadillac, and Ford. When not teaching strategic thinking and research methodologies at CUNY’s New York City College of Technology (City Tech), George works to create industry connections and access for emerging designers via his connections to the AIGA and The One Club. 

Lastly, George researches the creative process through his Works in Process podcast. He lives by the belief that you are not a designer because it’s your job, you are a designer because it’s who you are.

Gus is the founding principal of 70kft, a brand communications firm located in downtown Dallas. Under his leadership, the firm has served such major client brands as Verizon, HP, Haier and VMware. He has been involved with AIGA at the national and local levels, serving as president of AIGA Dallas/Fort Worth and locally leading the Design for Democracy Initiative. His work has been recognized by AIGA, Adobe, Architectural Digest, Communication Arts, DSVC and both the London and New York Flash Film Festivals.

Tim is a design student at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. He is an extremely creative designer/developer who believes in "diverasign," an idea that diversity in design can lead to meaningful and innovative approaches in strategic design thinking and design craft. He has interned for Answers.com and Spoke Marketing and freelanced for Lincoln University of Missouri and the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA). Tim is currently working on increasing his talents and understanding of design problem solving

Nakita is the owner and chief chick of Branding Chicks, a boutique branding and graphic design firm in Atlanta. She helps women make their dreams come true by giving their brands voice and life through strategic marketing and design. Over the past 15 years, she has worked with businesses large and small as a graphic designer, marketer, professor and brand expert. These experiences provided a pathway to creating Branding Chicks, which specializes in marketing for women-owned businesses and brands whose primary target market is women.

Jacinda is a designer, entrepreneur and instructor who proudly calls Cleveland home. Her work ranges from publications to research and event management. She earned her A.A.B. and B.F.A. in graphic design from the University of Akron. Currently, she is pursuing an M.F.A. at The Ohio State University in Design Research & Development. Her focus is the lack of diversity in design disciplines and what is an effective tool to expose African-American and Latino youth to design-related careers. She proudly mentors young designers on portfolio presentation, professional development and career planning.