Announcing the Spring 2021 Lecture Series
We are delighted to announce our Visiting Lecture Series lineup for the Spring 2021 season. (See all of our department guest lecturers here.) Read more below about Josh Owen, Sloan Leo, Julia Marsh, Liz Obbu, and (our annual “last lecture”) Cameron Tonkinwise below! And if you want to virtually attend one of these events, just DM us on Instagram @svapod!
Josh Owen
Josh Owen is an internationally renowned industrial designer, educator, and author. He is the president of his eponymous design studio, Josh Owen LLC, and is the Vignelli Distinguished Professor of Design and Director of the Vignelli Center for Design Studies at The Rochester Institute of Technology. Owen's projects are produced by major manufacturers and have won many awards. His work is included in the permanent design collections of the Centre Georges Pompidou, the Chicago Athenaeum, the Corning Museum of Glass, the Denver Art Museum, the Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the National Museum of American Jewish History and the Taiwan Design Museum. He is the author of the book Lenses for Design and the forthcoming book Design for Study.
Sloan Leo
Sloan Leo is the Founder & CEO of FLOX Studio Inc., a community design and strategy studio that collaborates with curious optimists committed to getting things done. Grounded in social justice values, FLOX Studio seeks to manifest a near future where power is shared, misfits feel they belong, and work is more humane.Through social practice art, education, and consulting they work with private and public sector institutions to create more brave, creative, and resilient organizational communities. They have over 15 years of non-profit management, board engagement strategy and fundraising experience. They have worked with organizations such as The Environmental Defense Fund, the Trust for Public Land, The Wikipedia Foundation, The Ms. Foundation and The New York Women’s Foundation.
Cameron Tonkinwise
Cameron is the Professor of Design Studies at the University of Technology Sydney. He is Director of UTS’s Design Innovation Research Centre, which focuses on the design of social systems that support participatory governance, especially in relation to fostering safe and diverse communities and services. He returned to Australia after being the Director of Design Studies and Doctoral Studies at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Design, and the Associate Dean Sustainability at Parsons The New School for Design and co-Chair of the Tishman Environment and Design Center at the New School in NYC. Cameron has a background in continental philosophy and continues to research what design practice can learn from material cultural studies and sociologies of technology. His primary area of research and teaching is Sustainable Design. Cameron is widely published on the ways in which Service Design can advance Social Sustainability by decoupling use and ownership—what these days is referred to as the ‘Sharing Economy.’
Liz Ogbu
A designer, urbanist, and spatial justice activist, Liz is a global expert on engaging and transforming unjust urban environments. From designing shelters for immigrant day laborers in the U.S. to a water and health social enterprise for low-income Kenyans, Liz has a long history of working with communities in need to leverage the power of design to catalyze sustainable social impact. She is Founder and Principal of Studio O, a multidisciplinary design consultancy that works at the intersection of racial and spatial justice. In addition to her practice, Liz has held academic appointments at several institutions including at UC Berkeley, Stanford’s d.school, and the University of Virginia. She also previously served as the Droga Architect-in-Residence in Australia, investigating urban marginalized populations and community development practices in the country. Liz has written for and been profiled in publications such as The New York Times, Bloomberg (formerly The Atlantic) CityLab, and the Journal of Urban Design. Her projects have been featured in museum exhibitions and received numerous design awards globally. Her honors include IDEO.org Global Fellow, TEDWomen Speaker, Aspen Ideas Scholar, Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council, and one of Public Interest Design’s Top 100. She earned architecture degrees from Wellesley College and Harvard University.
Julia Marsh
Julia Marsh is a multidisciplinary designer whose work encourages empathy and environmental stewardship. She is CEO and co-founder of Sway, a design-driven materials lab harnessing the power of seaweed to replace harmful plastics. Julia's background includes over a decade of experience in art direction and mission-driven design, working with consumer packaged goods companies, technology startups, and design studios to build meaningful brand experiences. She holds an MFA in Design from the School of Visual Arts in New York, where her thesis earned her the Paula Rhodes Award for Exceptional Achievement in Design. Sway was born from a lifetime affection for nature, and the belief that designers can create practical solutions for the planet’s greatest problems.