Hello From the Pluriverse – Details, episodes & analysis

Dr. Lesley Ann Noel has explored design opportunities all around the world, taking risks to find spaces and opportunities that she is passionate about, and making opportunities work for her. While she was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Noel has had opportunities to explore design around the world. She received training in industrial design in Brazil, was an adjunct and eventually full-time faculty member at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad. She has also taught at Stanford University and North Carolina State University. She has a Master of Business Administration from the University of the West Indies, and she has a PhD in Design from North Carolina State University. At the time of this interview, in Fall 2019, Dr. Noel was a Professor of Practice and the Associate Director of Design Thinking for Social Impact at the Phyllis M. Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking.  

 

Connect with Dr. Lesley Ann Noel: 

LinkedIn 

Phyllis M. Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking 

College of Design - North Carolina State University 

Dr. Laura Murphy is the Associate Director of Research and Scholarship at the Phyllis M. Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking at Tulane University. She is also a professor in the Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences department teaching critical development theory at the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Dr. Murphy has spearheaded several design thinking workshops and training classes during her time at Tulane, like the Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship (SISE) minor, SISE 2010 Design thinking course, SISE 4050 Senior seminar course, and the "Fast 48" Weekend bootcamp. Dr. Murphy is constantly thinking about her students and how she can better design a classroom that meets their needs and maximizes the opportunities for learning. 

 

Connect with Dr. Laura Murphy: 

LinkedIn 

Phyllis M. Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking 

"With the Pluriverse state of mind, you belong everywhere and nowhere" Michael Lee Poy is an Afro-Caribbean artist-activist and architect in Trinidad and Tobago. His practice and interests center on post-colonial Caribbean design and fabrication in the festival arts – especially Carnival. A graduate of Pratt Institute of Technology in architecture and the Yale Graduate School of Architecture, Environmental Design, Michael aims to use an interdisciplinary approach to augment the innovative, creative, and collaborative process of design. Michael is an Assistant Professor of Design at Ontario College of Design University in the Environmental and Industrial Design programs. Connect with Michael:  LinkedIn Lee Poy Design  SEGD Yale School of Architecture

While she may be an engineer by trade, Dr. Christina Harrington identifies herself as a designer. She has a background in electrical engineering and industrial design and focuses her design skills and research on the areas of universal, accessible design. Specifically, she has looked at how to use design in the development of assistive products for older adults and individuals with differing abilities, and how to use design to center communities that have been historically been at the margins of mainstream design. Based out of Chicago, Dr. Harrington is the Assistant Professor in the School of Design at DePaul University and serves as the Director of the Equity and Health Innovations Design Research Lab.  

Connect with Dr. Christina Harrington: 

LinkedIn 

Christinaharrington.me 

Twitter: @adapperprof 

 

“What if? How come? Why?” 

 

Michele Washington is a user-centered designer based in New York City. She has a MS in Communication and Design from the Pratt Institute and an MFA in Design Criticism from The School of Visual. Currently, Ms. Washington teaches design at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City. Her latest design interests include pure research, strategic planning, and branding. Michele works with numerous non-profit organizations, cultural institutions, and start-up companies to refine strategic plans, revamp websites, and/or develop products. 

 

Connect with Michele Washington: 

LinkedIn 

Office of Michele Washington 

Twitter: @culturalboundar 

Instagram: @culturalboundaries 

Curious Story Lab     

"Get a Passport and Go” 

 

Dr. María de Mater O’Neill is a designer, artist, and educator born, raised, and based in Puerto Rico. María has spent 25 years of her life as a painter, switching to design when the painting industry became too restrictive. Currently she is the Creative Director and Head Researcher for Rubberband Design Studio, LLP and is Adjunct faculty at the University of Puerto Rico. Whether it’s a small or a large-scale project, María uses her toolbox, empathy and her experiences to her advantage, working together with her clients to solve problems.  

Connect with Dr. María de Mater O’Neill: 

LinkedIn 

Rubberband Design Studio, LLP 

Michael Bonnick is the founder and Chief Design Consultant at MELB DESIGN Ideation studio and he is also a lecturer at the University of Technology in Kingston, Jamaica. Formally trained in Industrial Design in London, Michael's design influences and career have taken him from Jamaica to London and back to Jamaica again, stimulating design spaces and carving out niches within Jamaica's own developing market.  

 

Connect with Michael Bonnick: 

LinkedIn 

MELB Design Ideation Studio 

Born in raised in Barbados, Debbie Estwick has held many roles throughout her career in design. She has held the role of director of marketing and communications, professor of integrative design, to design advisor. Debbie has a master’s in design and brand strategy and currently is in charge of corporate communications at Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC). She uses design and design thinking to create challenges and collaborator with others to address real world problems affecting Barbados.  

 

 

Connect with Debbie Estwick:  

LinkedIn 

DebbieEstwick.com 

Instagram: @de.sign.books 

"Whatever the thing is, it doesn't have to be perfect." 

 

Rebecca Otten is a Professor of Practice and the Director of Strategy & Engagement at the Taylor Center. She facilitates the Taylor Center’s field leadership, campus and community partnerships, and program assessment. She also teaches "Introduction to Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship” as well as “Cultivate your Inner Changemaker" and works with GrowDat Youth Farms, a local organization that nurtures a diverse group of young leaders through the meaningful work of growing food. 

 

Connect with Rebecca:  

LinkedIn  

Tulane School of Architecture  

Alfredo Gutiérrez Borrero is an industrial designer based in Colombia. Currently, he is an associate professor of Industrial Design at the Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano. Central to Alfredo Gutiérrez Borrero’s design work is examining Western design equivalents across cultures, ultimately working to discover and improve the visibility of the traditions that Western professions have projected a shadow on. At the moment, he is also finishing his PhD dissertation on indigenous design equivalents in New Zealand and Bolivia, and he recently won a grant for a project, in collaboration with Arizona State University, titled “Enabling Autonomous Design Processes in Colombian Post-Conflict Societies”.

Connect with Alfredo Gutiérrez Borrero:

LinkedIn

Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano