Jury Alumni

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  Tingbin Tang

  CEO, Jiusi Creativity

  2024 A/V & Photography Equipment Jury Member

  Tingbin has been a designer, educator, and serial entrepreneur. As a designer, his works have won many design awards, were reported by Time magazine, ABC Good Morning America program, BBC news, etc. And was permanently collected by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum. He has been teaching and managing at three institutions in three different countries. He was the Dean of the School of Design of Pearl Academy in India; an Interaction Design professor at San Jose State University in California, USA; and he was the founder and director of the Transportation Design program at CAFA Central Academy of Fine Arts in China. He founded Gopackup, which connects travelers with locals; he cofounded Trisenx, which brought the third sense, smell into the internet; he founded Nearal, a location-based professional networking platform; and he also founded and worked on MeiCAD, an AI-powered CAD tool.

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  Tingbin Tang

  CEO, Jiusi Creativity

  2024 Consumer Technology Jury Member

  Tingbin has been a designer, educator, and serial entrepreneur. As a designer, his works have won many design awards, were reported by Time magazine, ABC Good Morning America program, BBC news, etc. And was permanently collected by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum. He has been teaching and managing at three institutions in three different countries. He was the Dean of the School of Design of Pearl Academy in India; an Interaction Design professor at San Jose State University in California, USA; and he was the founder and director of the Transportation Design program at CAFA Central Academy of Fine Arts in China. He founded Gopackup, which connects travelers with locals; he cofounded Trisenx, which brought the third sense, smell into the internet; he founded Nearal, a location-based professional networking platform; and he also founded and worked on MeiCAD, an AI-powered CAD tool.

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  Joe Doucet

  Founder, Joe Doucet x Partners

  2024 Tools Jury Member

  A designer, entrepreneur, inventor and creative director, Joe Doucet is one of the most sought-after creative talents working in America today. After graduating from the Art Center College of Design, Doucet quickly began exporting his vision into product, furniture, environment, and technology to find solutions for daily and societal challenges through design. His work deftly hybridizes function and visual appeal while conveying layers of meaning and message. Doucet believes that design and, more importantly, a designer’s thought process can play a larger role in innovation and problem solving, as well as aesthetics. He currently holds numerous patents for his designs and inventions.
  
  Doucet’s work has been exhibited globally, including the London Design Museum and the Biennale International Design in Saint-Etienne. He has received numerous international awards, including a World Technology Award for Design Innovation and multiple Good Design Awards. He was also named the only ever AvantGuardian for Design by Surface Magazine. In 2017, Doucet was named the 2017 Winner of the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award as Product Designer—the highest honor in his field.
  
  Doucet holds over 50 patents, and as an entrepreneur, he has created and launched a myriad of businesses aimed at making the world a better place through design, including OTHR and Airiva.

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  Joe Doucet

  Founder, Joe Doucet x Partners

  2024 Lifestyle Accessories Jury Member

  A designer, entrepreneur, inventor and creative director, Joe Doucet is one of the most sought-after creative talents working in America today. After graduating from the Art Center College of Design, Doucet quickly began exporting his vision into product, furniture, environment, and technology to find solutions for daily and societal challenges through design. His work deftly hybridizes function and visual appeal while conveying layers of meaning and message. Doucet believes that design and, more importantly, a designer’s thought process can play a larger role in innovation and problem solving, as well as aesthetics. He currently holds numerous patents for his designs and inventions.
  
  Doucet’s work has been exhibited globally, including the London Design Museum and the Biennale International Design in Saint-Etienne. He has received numerous international awards, including a World Technology Award for Design Innovation and multiple Good Design Awards. He was also named the only ever AvantGuardian for Design by Surface Magazine. In 2017, Doucet was named the 2017 Winner of the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award as Product Designer—the highest honor in his field.
  
  Doucet holds over 50 patents, and as an entrepreneur, he has created and launched a myriad of businesses aimed at making the world a better place through design, including OTHR and Airiva.

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  Joey Zeledón

  Designer, Joey Zeledón Studio

  2024 Furniture & Lighting Jury Captain

  Joey Zeledón (they/she) is a designer who helps objects find their purpose in life. They do this by creating aspirational narrative identities – sticky stories that drive meaning – for object archetypes. Is it just a printer? or could it be furniture that prints? Is it just a coffee maker? or could it be a barista in your kitchen? Is it just a clothes hanger? Or could it be a closet you can sit on? In 2022, they founded a design studio based on this approach, creating purposeful objects for people and market differentiation for clients. Prior to starting their own studio, Joey brought dozens of products to market from shoes and furniture to housewares, consumer electronics and consumer packaged goods during their 15-year career working for Clarks, Continuum, Smart Design, Steelcase and HP. Their designs have won 40+ awards and have been featured in leading publications. Joey is a proud RIT alum.

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  Meghan Romero

  UX Design Lead, JP Morgan Chase

  2024 Apps & Platforms Jury Member

  Meghan is a UX Design Lead at JP Morgan Chase, where she uses service design and collaborative design techniques to improve customer and employee experience. Prior to Chase, she designed new products in the healthcare industry to support nurses and patients and also worked in K-12 and higher education in a number of roles. Meghan lives in northern Delaware with her husband and enjoys Saturday morning yard sales, travel, margaritas, and talking about whatever tv shows she has been watching recently.

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  Meghan Romero

  UX Design Lead, JP Morgan Chase

  2024 Interaction Jury Member

  Meghan is a UX Design Lead at JP Morgan Chase, where she uses service design and collaborative design techniques to improve customer and employee experience. Prior to Chase, she designed new products in the healthcare industry to support nurses and patients and also worked in K-12 and higher education in a number of roles. Meghan lives in northern Delaware with her husband and enjoys Saturday morning yard sales, travel, margaritas, and talking about whatever tv shows she has been watching recently.

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  Alero Dawn Akuya

  Vice President of Global Brand, LEGO

  2024 Branding & Identity Jury Member

  While at Nike for 13 years, Alero was responsible for some of the most pivotal brand transformations for the sport and culture giant. Most notably, Alero created Nike's Purpose Marketing division, leading Nike's role in sport and social impact alongside key athletes Colin Kaepernick, Serena Williams, Kobe Bryant and many more. She led Nike New York where she orchestrated the launch of Nike's collaboration with Virgil Abloh at New York Fashion Week-- a first for the brand, and one of Nike's most successful collaborations of all time.
  Alero now serves as the Vice President of Global Brand for The LEGO Group. She is responsible for transforming the impact of the 89-year-old Danish brand globally to become a proactive cultural leader through play advocacy, inclusion, and innovation. She has led integrated brand strategy and global initiatives, and campaigns such as Rebuild the World, 90 Years of Play, Play Unstoppable, and Everyone is Awesome. Alero is committed to inspiring a world play movement to ensure creative play remains a birth rite to all children.
  

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  Alero Dawn Akuya

  VP Global Brand Development, LEGO

  2024 Visual Communication Jury Member

  While at Nike for 13 years, Alero was responsible for some of the most pivotal brand transformations for the sport and culture giant. Most notably, Alero created Nike's Purpose Marketing division, leading Nike's role in sport and social impact alongside key athletes Colin Kaepernick, Serena Williams, Kobe Bryant and many more. She led Nike New York where she orchestrated the launch of Nike's collaboration with Virgil Abloh at New York Fashion Week-- a first for the brand, and one of Nike's most successful collaborations of all time.
  Alero now serves as the Vice President of Global Brand for The LEGO Group. She is responsible for transforming the impact of the 89-year-old Danish brand globally to become a proactive cultural leader through play advocacy, inclusion, and innovation. She has led integrated brand strategy and global initiatives, and campaigns such as Rebuild the World, 90 Years of Play, Play Unstoppable, and Everyone is Awesome. Alero is committed to inspiring a world play movement to ensure creative play remains a birth rite to all children.
  

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  Dario Volpe

  Creative Director, Lettera7

  2024 Packaging Jury Member

  Dario Volpe is a designer with more than 20 years of experience in brand design, passionate about illustration, type design, and contemporary art. By experimenting with eclectic languages, he crosses multiple and diverse stylistic barriers, encouraging a deeper understanding and interpretation of the project's core message.

  
  In 2010, after several important international experiences as a designer (at Landor, Interbrand, Cb’a), he established Lettera7, a brand design studio based in Vietri sul Mare - Amalfi Coast, where he is both the founder and creative director.
  His ability to work across multiple disciplines has led Lettera7 to handle a variety of projects in different industries over the years, continuously improving their approach to meet a wide range of challenges: "There's no preferred industry for Lettera7; we're designers and any visionary idea well-structured can be turned into a virtuous project, no matter the industry tag it goes into"
  In his experimentation with visual languages, he has successfully led cultural initiatives including international festivals in cinema, music, and theatre, developed complex wayfinding systems in diverse locations, and enhanced brand design for Italian firms to spotlight their true market value. Especially in the food sector, his unconventional approach has blended artistic visuals with business needs, rapidly earning multiple projects international recognition.

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  Menaja Ganesh

  Gallery & Collections Programming Associate, Letterform Archive

  2024 Design for Social Impact Jury Member

  Menaja (currently in-between bodies and in-between names) is a gay Tamil & Bengali artist originally from Kolkata and currently based in San Francisco. Their practice lies between language and presentation, familiarity and loss. It manifests thru printmaking, multi-media installation, writing, and a sporadically maintained sketchbook. Their curatorial practice is born from and constantly dying within the archives. Their inspirations range from the fashion of 90s Karan Johar movies, to Arundhati Roy’s texts. They love independent publishing, and handloom saris. They currently work at Letterform Archive, activating the permanent collection through public programming. In their personal and professional life, they are always preoccupied with the conversation between preservation and access. They think of their grandmother daily.

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  Nichole Rouillac

  Founder + Creative Director, level

  2024 Sports & Outdoors Jury Member

  Nichole is Founder and Creative Director of level, a West Coast, women-led industrial design shop based in San Francisco. The level studio is on a mission to create a global positive and progressive influence through smart, thoughtful design.
  
  Nichole’s work at level has helped create new industry categories and propelled products into the global spotlight. The studio’s portfolio encompasses the likes of Microsoft, Google, Logitech, FitBit, North, HTC, AliveCor, Tempo and Nex.
  
  level’s work has garnered wide recognition, including design awards such as FastCo., IDEA, Red Dot, iF and Spark. Notably, level was recognized as #03 in FastCompany’s Most Innovative Design Companies of 2021.
  
  Nichole remains committed to creating a diverse, inclusive industry. She has dedicated her career to balancing motherhood and empowering the next generation of female designers through mentorship, having served as chair of IDSA’s Women in Design from 2017-2021. level are active members of the Diversity in Design (DID) Collaborative, initiated in June 2021 to foster systemic change by increasing diversity and improving conditions for Black creatives across the design industry.

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  Erik Haug

  Founder & Chief Vision Officer, LIGHT CoCreative

  2024 Sustainability Jury Member

  Erik Haug is the Founder & Chief Vision Officer of LIGHT CoCreative, a global innovation and impact collective.
  
  Alongside a dynamic network of talent at LIGHT, Erik is focused on community-driven solutions to major global issues and basic human needs:
  • Food
  • Water
  • Livability • Energy
  • Air
  • Care
  
  LIGHT has a range of core capabilities and codified consulting offerings including deep research, human- centered design, strategic visioning, technology enablement, stakeholder engagement, thought leadership and facilitating win-win-win partnerships across value chains.
  
  The core objective of LIGHT is to cultivate more collaboration, inclusion, sustainability, trust, collective action and long-term value creation in the private sector.
  
  Prior to LIGHT, Erik was the CoFounder & CEO of a venture-backed social technology startup — dedicated to building community and bringing people together in-real-life.
  In his consulting career, he has led dozens of strategy, design and innovation projects with leaders at top organizations including Deloitte, Nike, Intuit, Cisco, Lowe’s, Masdar, Li & Fung, Visa, AirBus, DHL, NEOM and Stryker.

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  Jess Greco

  Director, Product Experience Design, Mastercard

  2024 Interaction Jury Member

  Jess Greco is an experience design and research leader with deep experience in tying customer insights into business priorities that drive design-led organizational change. She has a proven track record in creating an environment that fosters team collaboration and builds design maturity. Her experience is a mix of consumer and enterprise work across industries including financial services, payments, insurance, consulting, healthcare, education and media.

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  Jess Greco

  Director, Product Experience Design, Mastercard

  2024 Apps & Platforms Jury Member

  Jess Greco is an experience design and research leader with deep experience in tying customer insights into business priorities that drive design-led organizational change. She has a proven track record in creating an environment that fosters team collaboration and builds design maturity. Her experience is a mix of consumer and enterprise work across industries including financial services, payments, insurance, consulting, healthcare, education and media.

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  Tim Hulford

  Director of Industrial Design, Meta

  2024 Gaming Accessories Jury Captain

  Tim Hulford is a design leader with a passion for delivering thoughtful, functional and intentional design. His background is deeply rooted in technology, producing influential designs that have spanned across many industries and categories. Tim is currently Industrial Design Director at Meta, working to bring the audacious dreams of Reality Labs to life as beautifully integrated, compelling consumer products.