Jury Alumni

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  Elizabeth Costa

  Interaction Designer

  2019 Transportation Jury Member

  Elizabeth Costa is an industrial designer focused in experiential and environmental design.

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  Cara Kim

  Multidisciplinary Creative

  2023 Transportation Jury Member

  Cara Kim is a multidisciplinary creative based in New York City with 11 years of experience coming from the automotive industry. Born in South Korea and raised in Detroit, she studied automotive design at College for Creative Studies. Her experience includes working with companies like Audi, GM, Faraday Future, and Autodesk. Having pivoted to automotive interior design from exterior design early in her career, she values a holistic approach in mobility product design. She is excited to partake in the competition as a jury member to see the fresh perspectives of next generation designers and discuss design with the jury team. Despite her career background as a car designer, she does not own a car but relies on subway trains and her motorcycle at the moment.

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  Craig Metros

  Designer, Artist, Maker, Educator, Consultant

  2023 Transportation Jury Member

  Craig Metros is an accomplished automotive designer with more than 35 years of experience. He began his career at Ford Motor Company in 1985 and throughout his tenure, he led the design and development of multiple car and truck programs in countries around the globe. In 2014, Metros was appointed Design Director of North America where he oversaw the design and styling of all North American vehicles including the Mustang, F-Series trucks, the Ford GT race car, and the rebirth of the Bronco.
  
  Since retiring from Ford Design in 2020, Metros has taught Transportation Design at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan, and sits on CCS’ Alumni Board. He frequently serves as a design patent consultant and design expert witness and creates mixed-medium art influenced by motorsports, hot rods, and NASA.

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  Hillary Coe

  Design Leader

  2024 Transportation Jury Member

  Hillary is an Emmy award-winning, hands-on design leader utilizing bold, disruptive multi-platform innovations to solve the world’s greatest challenges. As SpaceX's first Director of Design, she successfully defined the visual strategy and narrative for human spaceflight in the 21st century through NASA’s Commercial Crew program. She led efforts to conceptualize human experience for future spacecraft, while also leading ground-up product development for the high-speed satellite internet service Starlink.
  She is a commercial pilot, astronaut candidate, drag racing record holder and advocate for young women and men entering STEM fields.

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  Serena De Mori

  Product Manager in Innovation & Inclusive Mobility Solutions, Alba Robot

  2022 Transportation Jury Member

  Master of Science in Economics and International Markets with 10+ years experience in managing innovative projects in automotive, mobility solutions and new technology fields in multinational and in startups contexts.
  
  Passionate about new technologies, always curious towards future developments, focusing the attention on society change and impacts on people.
  
  In free time, photographer for hobby, enthusiast bike-rider and a no-stop traveler.

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  Eric Noble

  Professor, Vehicle Technology, Art Center College of Design

  2016 Transportation Jury Captain

  Eric is founder and president of The CARLAB, an advanced automotive consulting firm which helps manufacturers and suppliers plan and design new vehicles. Founded in 1999, it is the most influential auto product consultancy in North America, serving carmakers from Nissan to Ferrari, Toyota, VW, Honda and Subaru, in addition to industry suppliers such as Continental, global auto clubs and the energy industry.
  Eric is also Professor of Vehicle Technology at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, where most of the world’s top car designers are trained.
  He is a frequent media commentator and analyst on the auto industry, and a member of the Motor Press Guild.
  In addition to his professional activities, Mr. Noble is a longtime environmental volunteer with the Sierra Club, and enjoys surfing and off-road camping with his wife and two sons.

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  Norio Fujikawa

  Creative Director, Astro Studios, Inc.

  2017 Transportation Jury Member

  Norio Fujikawa is an award winning industrial designer currently working as a Creative Director at Astro Studios in San Francisco, where he has designed products for many of the world’s leading companies. Microsoft, Intel, HP, P&G, Samsung, Disney, Nike, and Nissan have all benefitted from Norio’s keen eye for innovative design. He has worked across a wide range of businesses and industries that include consumer electronics, home goods, appliances, toys, equipment, and automotive. Norio has also mentored start-ups with his 20 years plus of knowledge in developing products, brands, and experiences.
  
  
  Born and raised in Chicago, Norio studied at the Institute of Design. At the heart of it all, Norio is an artist. When he isn’t designing, he is either professionally illustrating or hanging his paintings in better art galleries around San Francisco. Norio has also been a semi-professional tumbler, and is a fully-professional fish monger.

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  Torgny Fjeldskaar

  Design Director, BMC Switzerland

  2015 Transportation Jury Member

  Torgny initially studied mechanical engineering and earned a master's degree at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. Later on he studied Transport Vehicle Design at Elisava Design School in Barcelona.After graduating he started working for Mazda at their European design center in Frankfurt, then moved to Cannondale Bicycles, where he was heading up the industrial design team. Five years later he went back to automotive design at BMW in Munich, and last year he returned to bicycles again and is now Design Director at BMC Switzerland. Torgny was awarded ôYoung Designer of the Yearö by the Norwegian Design Council in 2009, along with numerous IF Awards for his work at Cannondale.As a side-project Torgny has co-founded laisr.com, a small manufacturer of high-tech furniture. As a designer and design teacher he is interested in all sorts of transport vehicles and how urban design influences our habits and needs with respect to transportation.Torgny can be found on Twitter at @torgnyf.

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  Ken Mak

  Co-Founder, daCompany

  2017 Transportation Jury Member

  Ken Mak is co-founder of daCompany, an upcoming start-up delivering insights for cannabis patients into their consumption to disrupt the medicinal distribution model. He is concurrently developing With Eaze, a housewares company emphasizing clean solutions for the home. His work has spanned across industrial design, software development, product management and product marketing.
  
  In addition to these ventures, Ken is principal of Orenga Design, a product consultancy in San Francisco helping technology companies deliver innovative user experiences. He is currently leading industrial design for Cisco's Unified Computing System’s division, responsible for a $4B portfolio. Prior to this group, he was Senior Creative Lead for Cisco's flagship Telepresence system, garnering a Red Dot Best of the Best Award.
  
  Over the past 15 years, he has released 75+ products in the electronics and hard goods space for the likes of HP, Sony, Google, Disney, Black & Decker and a multitude of startups, earning iF Design, R&D 100, and CES Innovations Awards.
  
  Ken holds a Bachelor of Science from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and has been a senior lecturer at the California College of Arts in San Francisco.

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  Anne Asensio

  Vice President Design Experience, Dassault Systèmes

  2016 Transportation Jury Member

  After 30 years in various executive and design management positions in the automotive industry, Global Executive Director at General Motors in charge of the Design of the group's eight brands, and Renault Design Director for the Twingo, Clio & Scénic programs, Anne ASENSIO joins Dassault Systèmes in 2008 as Vice President Design Experience. She created the "Design" discipline and design research department of Dassault Systèmes as well as the DESIGNStudio entity, bringing together a multidisciplinary team in innovation strategy through design, experience design, upstream thinking, design research, design management.
  
  Advocating a participatory approach with regard to new technologies and virtual universes, the DESIGNStudio supports Dassault Systèmes’ customers in fast-growing industrial sectors in their needs for transformation, digital and sustainable innovation, towards new business models for a circular economy, towards virtuous design processes, as a manifestation of their value proposition to their end customers. Anne collaborates with designers, artists, maverick thinkers, innovators in diverse industry and public sectors. Imagining alternatives strategies to transform the world we live in in a more sustainable and desirable one, Anne enables cross-thinking, colliding nature inspired and technological approaches through creation and ultimately leverage the value of design for users, citizens and humans’ well-being.

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  Kasia Lys

  Lead Senior Designer, FCA US LLC

  2018 Transportation Jury Member

  Kasia Lys is a Lead Senior Designer in the Advanced Color and Materials studio at FCA US LLC. While Lys is responsible for overseeing the selection of exterior body paint, trim and wheel finishes for all FCA US brands, she spends the majority of her time with the Ram Truck brand. From research to material development, she oversees design and creation of all colors and materials used within the interiors of the Ram Truck model lineup. She recently completed work on the all-new Ram 1500 unveiled at the 2018 North American International Auto Show.
  
  Lys earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in interior design with a minor in textile design from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. She enjoys a hands-on approach to design and appreciates highly crafted products and spaces.

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  Meredith Gannes

  Design Manager, FCA US LLC

  2018 Transportation Jury Member

  Meredith Gannes began her automotive design career in Shanghai and she has continued to explore the different facets of automotive design over the past decade. As a design manager in the advanced color and materials studio at FCA US, she oversees interior color mastering and program information for all NAFTA vehicle programs. She spends the majority of her day working with FCA designers and suppliers to execute color and material for vehicle production. Additionally, Gannes manages a separate team that creates documents illustrating FCA vehicle interiors for internal and external use. Most recently, Gannes designed the color and materials for the latest Jeep® concept car, the YunTu, revealed at the 2017 Shanghai Auto Show. She also worked on the new Jeep Compass, as well as variations of the Fiat 500.
  
  She earned her Bachelor of Arts in fashion and textile design from Michigan State University and her Master of Science in business administration from Wayne State University. She is passionate about design and enjoys working with her team of color, material and finish designers. When she is not working, she loves traveling and immersing herself in different cultures.

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  Shady Elias

  Senior Designer, FCA US LLC

  2018 Transportation Jury Member

  Shady Elias is a senior designer in the Advanced Color and Materials studio at FCA US LLC. He is responsible for and provides input on all interior colors and materials used on Chrysler, Dodge and SRT (Street, Racing and Technology) vehicles. He also provides support for all exterior color and trim across those FCA US brands. As a senior designer in the advanced color and materials studio, he works side-by-side with interior and exterior designers, brand and materials engineering to develop new, innovative interior and exterior trims and finishes for each vehicle. Most recently, Elias worked on the all-new 2017 Jeep® Compass, Jeep Renegade and the Chrysler Portal concept vehicle.
  
  Elias earned a Master of Science in menswear design from the Academy of Art, San Francisco, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from The American University in Cairo. Prior to joining FCA, Elias was a children and menswear’s designer and has worked for Levi Strauss & Co. on their Levi’s and Dockers brands. He has also designed for brands such as Janie and Jack and The Northface.

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  La Shirl Turner

  Head of Exterior and Interior Color and Materials, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

  2018 Transportation Jury Captain

  La Shirl Turner is currently the Head of the Exterior and Interior Color and Materials team at FCA US LLC. She is responsible for the inspiration, research, development and coordination for all exterior and interior color and materials found in all FCA US vehicles. She has worked on vehicles such as the performance-driven 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, the iconic Jeep® Wrangler and the innovative Chrysler Pacifica minivan. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a focus on Fiber and Textile design from the College for Creative Studies.
  
  

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  Melissa Ruhl

  Emerging Mobility Researcher, Ford

  2020 Transportation Jury Captain

  Melissa Ruhl is an Emerging Mobility Researcher with Ford’s Research and Advanced Engineering division in Palo Alto. Her research focuses on new and emerging transportation trends, such as micromobility, microtransit, and autonomous vehicles initiatives. Previously, Melissa was a senior planner for Arup in San Francisco where she managed projects on transportation innovation. She regularly speaks in California and nationally on autonomous vehicles and the future of cities. She has published a number of articles on future mobility and most recently co-authored a chapter on mobility as a service in the recently published Disruptive Transport: Driverless Cars, Transport Innovation and the Sustainable City of Tomorrow. In 2019, Melissa was recognized on the "40 under 40" Mass Transit Magazine list.