Bio

I am an educator, researcher, and designer with an integrative practice—working in and beyond the field of communication design—to support inclusivity and multivocality through co-design. I do this in several ways: through my teaching at the University of Florida and my research initiative—the D4D Lab—focused on co-design collaborations and knowledge-building, and in my academic service. With the D4D Lab, I co-design with people who are systemically marginalized and others (students, experts) to explore ways we can integrate design to support people’s goals and how design might, in this way, be enacted to create many centers. The majority of my collaborations are in México, with indigenous entrepreneurs and activists (Yucatán, Jalisco), and progressive academics (in the US and México). I have recently started working in Florida with black and Latinx peoples who are systemically marginalized and their allies. My current project focuses on framing a methodology for designers to work responsibly and authentically with people in context. My goal has been and continues to explore ways we can shape the design discipline to be more equitable and engage with people who will benefit directly from design, bringing design into communities in sustainable ways, including through design education. I find that laddering and creating access paths are important as we shape the world we want to be in. For many reasons and in many ways, I am privileged to work at a world class university where I have incredible opportunities — collaborations, contributions, change making experiences. It is, therefore, important for me to act on this—to have a seat at the table— to foster knowledge creation and opportunities for others. My early and continuous exposure to a range of cultures and ways of being in the world has fostered value of the multiple knowledges, frameworks, and perspectives which create our world. Recently, I co-authored, with Raúl Sánchez, the chapter “Co-Designing for Development” in The Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Design, edited by RB Egenhoffer. London: Routledge Press (2017). I was fortunate to receive several grants to support my work in Mexico, including a three Fulbright grants, the inaugural American Institute of Graphic Arts Design Research Grant, and a Sappi “Ideas That Matter” grant. Clifton Strengths: deliberative, ideation, relator, adaptability, strategic