Jury Alumni

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  Alex Alexiev

  Automotive Designer, McLaren

  2016 Transportation Jury Member

  Alex is a designer at McLaren Automotive in the UK since 2013. His work at McLaren includes, production, advanced and bespoke customer projects through McLaren Special Operations.
  
  Prior to joining McLaren he worked with a So-cal EV start-up to develop an electric platform for limited production in Newport Beach. He has worked in a variety of studios such as Polaris Industries, Volvo (VMCC), Toyota ADV Design (Tokyo), and Misha Design (LA) during his studies.
  Alex is a Graduate with Honors (12’) of Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, where most of the world’s top car designers are trained. Some of his work can be seen in the Petersen Automotive Museum, within the design process showcase. In addition to his professional activities, Alex is a outdoor fanatic, tennis player, and dedicated car enthusiast.

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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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  Jacob Bouchard

  Senior Industrial Designer, JUMP Bikes, Uber

  2019 Transportation Jury Captain

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  Melissa Bruntlett

  Co-Founder, Modacity

  2015 Transportation Jury Member

  Melissa Bruntlett is co-founder of Modacity, a multi-service consultancy, focused on inspiring healthier, happier, simpler forms of urban mobility through words, photography and film. She is a regular contributor for Momentum Magazine, The Vancouver Courier, Vanity Buzz and most recently Grist. Melissa is very active in her community, advocating for walking, cycling and public transportation improvements, and works as producer and project manager for Modacity's film campaigns. Her most recent work includes developing a marketing campaign for a Transit Referendum in the Metro Vancouver area. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her husband and two children, and makes riding a bicycle or walking throughout her beautiful city a daily activity.Follow her on Twitter at@mbruntlett.

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  Dylan Buffington

  US Marketing Manager, Pas Normal Studios

  2023 Transportation Jury Member

  Dylan Buffington is an experienced creative professional in design and marketing with over a decade of industry experience. He started his career as a freelance designer, working with clients from various industries to develop branding, marketing collateral, and industrial design. Later, he moved to a full-time role as a Lead Creative at Specialized Bicycles, where he honed his skills in visual communication and brand strategy. Dylan has been serving as Creative Director for various companies, focusing on creative leadership and management, developing high-performing projects from concept to completion, and creating innovative marketing campaigns that drive business growth.
  
  Currently, Dylan is the US Marketing Manager at Pas Normal Studios, a leading Danish cycling apparel brand. He is responsible for developing brand, retail, and activation strategies. Dylan's expertise in design and marketing, combined with his passion for the industry, has allowed him to drive business success and push the boundaries of what is possible. He is a skilled communicator and collaborator with a deep understanding of the power of design to connect with audiences and drive business growth.
  

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  Jackie Chang

  Project Lead Designer, Nissan

  2017 Transportation Jury Captain

  Jackie Chang is a Project Lead Designer at the Silicon Valley office of Nissan Design America (NDA), part of the global design organization of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (NML). He is responsible for leading cross-functional research and design activities to connect consumer experiences with future HMI/GUI design for Nissan and Infiniti products with a user-centered approach to lead and shape new mobility experience in the era of autonomous drive. The activities are already yielding positive results in the upstream design development process.
  
  Since joining Nissan Design America, San Diego, California, in 2001 as an automotive interior designer, Jackie participated and contributed in the design development of many key Nissan products, including the 2012 Nissan NV2500 commercial van, 2014 NV200 NYC Taxi and 2016 Nissan Maxima 4-door sports car. He also led the GUI design development of the 2015 Nissan IDS concept (debuted Tokyo Motor Show) and supported the GUI design of 2017 Nissan Vmotion 2.0 concept (North American International Auto Show).
  
  All Nissan and Infiniti products and concept cars are designed and developed in global collaboration under the leadership of Shiro Nakamura, Senior Vice President and Chief Creative Officer of NML.
  
  Born in Taiwan and growing up in Argentina and Spain, Jackie moved to the United Stated in 1998 after being accepted by the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California. He graduated in 2001 with BS in Transportation Design.

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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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  Elizabeth Costa

  Interaction Designer

  2019 Transportation Jury Member

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

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  Rob Cotter

  CEO/Founder, Organic Transit

  2015 Transportation Jury Member

  Rob started out in California working on Porsche and BMW race cars. Not far away, Dr. Paul MacCready built the Gossamer Condor, a pedal powered aircraft. Rob become fascinated with the technology and built a 60 mph pedal powered trike. Highway speeds at fractional horsepower became an obsession. Rob became VP of the International Human Powered Vehicle Association and directed the first solar car race in the US. With support from GE and DuPont to develop composite and thermoforming technologies, Rob built or contributed to numerous innovative vehicles. He also served as an advisor to Gov. Jerry Brown, a Creative Director and a documentary producer. He worked with Anita Roddick, CEO of The Body Shop launching environmental and human rights campaigns. After consulting on Bike Sharing technology for NYC, it became apparent there was now a viable market for an ultra-efficient vehicle that was between a bicycle and a car.

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  Mollie D'Agostino

  Policy Director, 3 Revolutions Future Mobility Program, UC Davis

  2020 Transportation Jury Member

  Mollie Cohen D'Agostino's work focuses on the 3 Revolutions in Transportation: vehicle sharing, electrification and increased automation. These forces are profoundly changing how we travel and may cause unknown changes to traffic congestion, equity, air pollution, and energy use. Ms. D'Agostino leads the policy outreach component of the 3 Revolutions Future Mobility Program at UC Davis. Her work aims to convey academic research findings to inform policy makers and practitioners. She leads the annual 3 Revolutions Policy Conference, legislative briefings, and other outreach events, as well as leading in the publication of policy briefs and issue papers. She has also spoken at dozens of external events and conferences to represent the 3R Program and has provided expert testimony to the California Senate Transportation and Housing Committee.
  
  Her prior work spans several sectors and includes environmental policy, community development and transportation planning. She worked with the California League of Conservation Voters, the City of Oakland’s Department of Housing and Community Development and the Alameda County Transportation Commission. She carries a Master’s in Public Policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, and a B.A. in Political Science and the Program for the Environment, from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Ms. D'Agostino has a dual position in the Policy Institute for Energy, Environment, and the Economy, and at UC Davis and the Institute of Transportation Studies, at UC Davis.

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  Bernice Dapaah

  Founder & CEO, Ghana Bamboo Bikes

  2021 Transportation Jury Member

  Bernice Dapaah is a serial award-winning entrepreneur and a passionate advocate of smart mobility systems. Recognized internationally as a climate trailblazer, she has spent several years in Ghana and across the globe advocating for a regional shift toward eco-mobility and integrated transport in keeping with the ethos of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  
  Her early interest in bamboo led to rigorous experimentation and innovation of a green, functionally robust alternative to conventional bicycles. For her contribution to bamboo industrialization, she was appointed as Bamboo Ambassador by the World Bamboo Organization in 2015 and has since been an active advocate for regional integration of bamboo. She has recently been crowned as one of the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) and is now an alumnus Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.
  
  Bernice is also a Fellow of the Harvard University’s Executive Education and Oxford Transformative Leadership Program. She has been honored with the World Entrepreneurship Forum’s “Entrepreneur for the World Award” for her impact on society and the capacity to change the world. She currently holds a Master’s Degree in Development Management and a BA in Business Administration (Marketing) from the Kwame Nkrumah and Christian Service Universities respectively.

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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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  Matheus Demetrescu

  Design Strategy Director, D-Ford São Paolo, Ford Motor Company

  2021 Transportation Jury Member

  Matheus Demetrescu is graduated in Mechanical Manufacturing Engineering, post graduated in Vehicles and Its Subsystems, with two MBAs, in Business Management and in UX Design Strategy Management. Career initiated on window-shops creation (Sylvia Demetresco) and since 2007 working at Ford representing the voice of the customer inside Product Development, ensuring company strategy and customer satisfaction balance. In 2014 created the User Experience area in South America to have the user-centered focus on the development. Has lived in US, France and Germany as part of professional and academical life, and has worked in large corporations such as Pilkington, Volkswagen and Unilever.

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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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  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.