Jury Alumni

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  Janet Lieberman-Lu

  Founder, TINKR

  2022 Personal Accessory Jury Captain

  Janet Lieberman-Lu has more than a decade of experience bringing products to market. As an MIT-educated mechanical engineer and entrepreneur, she's worked on everything from dustpans to 3D printers to bathmats. As the co-founder of Dame Products, she's been a key figure in originating the sextech industry, growing the company into an industry leader while managing the design, engineering, and manufacturing of their products. Her current project, TINKR, is still pre-launch.

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  David Block

  Principal, Studio Redeye

  2022 Personal Accessory Jury Member

  After receiving his MID from Pratt Institute in 2005, David Block spent his early career at the well-known branding firm Desgrippes Gobe—now Brand Image—and other elite studios/brands. He founded Studio Redeye in 2013, with a focus on products in the juvenile, kitchen, and sports equipment categories. David specializes in designing products with and for innovative startups with whom he forms long-lasting relationships, helping these companies grow into leaders in their category.
  And now, you can understand Dave’s unique aesthetic. A rare mix of high-end craft with grounded sensibilities. He excels at making products that fit into your life, that you can connect with emotionally. His is a proven track record of award winning and exceptional design.

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  Adriana C Vazquez Ortiz

  Co-founder and CEO, Lilu

  2022 Personal Accessory Jury Member

  Adriana is co-founder and CEO at Lilu. She has a Masters in Integrated Product Design from UPenn and a BSc from MIT in Mathematics and Computer Science. Prior to Lilu she worked at Morgan Stanley's Liquidity Risk software team. She was named one of the top 30 Femtech Healthcare Influencers in 2019 and has won awards such as the SheKnows BlogHer competition (2019) and the AlphaLabGear Hardware cup (2018). She has represented Lilu at SXSW, TechCrunch Battlefield, and PitcHer at GraceHopper, and she's inventor of the Lilu Massage Bra, which was recognized as Philadelphia’s invention of the year in 2019 In her spare time Adriana loves to run, cycle and attempting to snowboard.

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  Reid Schlegel

  Associate Design Director, Aruliden

  2022 Personal Accessory Jury Member

  Reid Schlegel is a NYC based Industrial Designer with a solid history working in the design consulting and education space. He is currently an Associate Design Director at Aruliden and previously worked at frog and SMART Design. As a design educator Reid teaches process drawing + digital visualization and Junior Year Studio at the Parsons School of Design and visits Universities to guest lecture and teach his design process methodologies. Additionally, Reid runs an Instagram account with 136k+ followers showcasing his work and other design related content.

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  Veronica Becchetti

  Co-Founder & Head of Production, Wild One

  2021 Personal Accessory Jury Captain

  Veronica oversees all aspects of product innovation, manufacturing and production at Wild One. Prior to joining the Wild One team, Veronica served as Director of Production at S’well, after joining as the company's 8th employee in 2014. Previously, she worked in manufacturing and product development at Target, William E. Connor and Gap. Veronica has a BFA in Retail Merchandising and Management from the University of Wisconsin - Stout, and lives in the East Village where she’s the proud aunt to many dogs.

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  Minali Chatani

  Co-Founder & Head of Brand, Wild One

  2021 Personal Accessory Jury Captain

  Minali oversees Wild One’s creative identity and vision, as well as all marketing initiatives. Prior to Wild One, she was the Head of Brand Creative at sweetgreen, where she established and grew both the creative team and brand identity to its current stage. She attended the Rhode Island School of Design, earning her degree in Graphic Design. Growing up, Minali was a pet parent to fish, birds, guinea pigs, dogs, cats and at one point a whole series of bugs. She lives in Brooklyn with her Badass Animal Rescue foster pups, and cat, Otis.

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  Alisha Ramos

  Founder/CEO, No Plans, Inc. (Girls' Night In, Whiled)

  2021 Personal Accessory Jury Member

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  Monish Sabnani

  Co-founder, Courant

  2021 Personal Accessory Jury Member

  Monish Sabnani is the Co-Founder of Courant, a design-driven electronics brand focused on wireless charging for the home. Courant products are widely distributed online and in-store at retailers including West Elm, Nordstrom, CB2, and Bloomingdales, and have been recipients of recognition including several Red Dot Product Design Awards and Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies. Monish graduated with a degree in Finance and Entrepreneurship from Georgetown University, and was selected as part of Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2021.

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  Francois Nguyen

  Creative Director, frog

  2020 Personal Accessory Jury Captain

  François is a Creative Director at frog’s New York studio. His career began over a decade ago at Pentagram where he worked with clients such as Microsoft, Coca-Cola and Dell. He then joined ammunition where he was the lead designer for the original “Beats Studio ” headphones for Dr. Dre. Currently as one of frog’s creative leads, François is responsible for overseeing the vision of projects and managing the team. His work continually strives to be emotionally and intellectually engaging through balancing the use of materials, form, finish, poetry and metaphor.

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  Brooke Ellis

  Design Director, Airbnb

  2020 Personal Accessory Jury Member

  Brooke is a Design leader with nearly 20 years of experience across product/UX, brand and experience. She currently leads Design for Airbnb’s Lux division as well as spearheading key strategic projects across the organization. Prior to Airbnb she was the Head of Design at Condé Nast across the portfolio of brands, and was a Creative Director at frog design working with clients such as Disney, Google, GE, Chase, and Westfield.

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  Phu Hoang

  Founding Director, MODU

  2020 Personal Accessory Jury Member

  Founding Director and studio alchemist, Phu Hoang and has led MODU since its founding in 2012. Along with Rachely Rotem, he was awarded the 2017 Founders Rome Prize in Architecture, since 1897 an annual prize to those ”who represent the highest standards of excellence in the arts and humanities.” Phu has led the design of many projects in MODU, including the Exhale art park and the Promenade retail and office center. They have also been awarded the Emerging Voices award from the Architectural League of New York (2019) and the US-Japan Creative Artists fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts (2018).

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  Haley Nahman

  Freelance Writer

  2020 Personal Accessory Jury Member

  Haley Nahman is a culture writer and editor based in Brooklyn, New York. She was most recently the Features Director at Man Repeller, a cult women's media site covering style, culture, and advice. Today she's a freelance writer interested in exploring why humans respond to the trappings of modern life the way they do. She writes a weekly newsletter called Maybe Baby.

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  Linda Jiang

  Lead Industrial Designer, Google

  2019 Personal Accessory Jury Captain

  Linda is based in Mountain View, California, where she is an Industrial design lead within Google’s fast-growing hardware design team. She is currently focused on designing Google’s next generation of Pixel and Chrome products.
  
  With a background in consumer electronics, Linda has a passion for designing a future based on innovation and compelling experiences. Prior to joining Google, Linda served as the Head of Industrial Design at Essential Products, a Palo Alto-based startup that launched its first PH-1 smartphone in 2017. Before moving to Silicon Valley, Linda was a Senior Designer with Motorola’s Consumer Experience Design team in Chicago, Illinois.
  
  Linda was born in Chengdu, China but grew up in countries across the globe, including Belgium, Spain, and eventually the United States. She received a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Product Design from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan. Go Peacocks!

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  Kelly Custer

  Founder + Creative Director, Knack

  2019 Personal Accessory Jury Member

  Kelly Custer is the Founder and Creative Director of Knack, a product design studio with passion for products that move. Whether for a startup, a major corporation or anything in between, Kelly leads her team in designing user-centric products that build desire.
  
  Driven by the belief that design powerfully impacts people and business, Kelly’s mission is not only to prove the value of good design to the world, but to shake up the way designers work
  while she’s at it. Her approach brings new energy, empowerment and mentoring to her teams.
  
  Kelly earned a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Transportation Design from the College for Creative Studies in the “Motor City”, Detroit, MI. That motor oil runs through her veins!

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  Mike Simmons

  Director of Product Design, Playground Global

  2019 Personal Accessory Jury Member

  Mike currently serves as Director of Product Design at Playground Global, which is a venture investment firm with an added studio of product development and technical experts. Here he blends his consulting, product design, and entrepreneurship experience to help aspiring hardware startup companies create great products and strong businesses. Prior to joining Playground, Mike worked for Google where he built a team and managed the product design and mechanical engineering efforts first with Android and the Nexus line of products and then adding projects with Chrome and Chromecast. Before that, Mike led product design efforts for startups, created new products and businesses at Lunar Design, and ran his own consulting practice. Through these experiences, he has helped develop products across industries and for many clients such as Apple, Danger, HP, Motorola, and SanDisk.
  
  Mike first realized his passion for designing and inventing products while earning his degree in the Product Design program at Stanford. He later went on to fuel his interest in business and entrepreneurship by obtaining an MBA at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Mike grew up in Montana, and he loves to return to his home state for skiing, fishing, and simply taking in the Big Sky.

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  Bernie Wildner

  Director of Design, Amazon

  2019 Personal Accessory Jury Member