Ren DeCherney is CoDesign Collaborative Week’s Emcee. She was born and raised in Juneau, Alaska. She went as far across the country as she could go to get her undergraduate degree at Smith College in Massachusetts, where she got a degree in Art History and French. She was an interior designer in Juneau for several years, working in a commercial firm and then a residential firm before getting a Masters in Interior Architecture from the University of Oregon.

After graduation she worked in Portland as a designer, where she took her firm PVC-free. She was then the Director of Industry Transparency at Source, where she implemented various features to help designers integrate sustainability criteria into their material selection and specification process. She’s quite possibly the only person who loves talking sustainability but doesn’t like being in nature itself.

Allan Fenner began his career providing arborist services in the field before quickly moving through the ranks. Today, he has more than 40 years of experience working with private, commercial, institutional, and municipal clients. Throughout his career, Allan has developed proficiency in preservation plans, design development construction, tree risk assessments, master planning, inventory analysis, and much more. Regardless of his current project, Allan works hard to minimize the detrimental environmental impact of his clients’ projects.

Jessica A. Petro is a Lead Designer and Landscape Architect at EYP. She works closely with EYP teams to align the built and natural environment to inform and respond to each other while addressing their clients’ program and mission. With multiple degrees and diverse backgrounds in the arts, business, fashion, and landscape architecture, she draws inspiration from many markets, industries, and the natural environment.

Dr. Christopher Daley has been conducting humanistic research for over a decade. He received his Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from Duke University, where he explored the role of money and technology in the everyday experience of young Cubans. At Fidelity, where Chris is now a Principal UX researcher, he focuses on designing scalable approaches to qualitative UX research, coordinating DEI research practices, and publishing thought leadership on ethnography. He currently resides in Chicago where he enjoys riding his bike along Lake Michigan when the weather permits.

Renae Geraci has been doing human-centered design research for over 20 years, working in industries that span consumer goods to enterprise software. She currently leads a UX Research & Operations team for Autodesk’s product development organization. Renae is a lecturer at Tufts University- Gordon Institute, Masters Class in Innovation & Management. She lives in the Boston area and is a CoDesign Collaborative council member. 

Dr. Jonathan Schwabish is an economist, writer, teacher, and creator of policy-relevant data visualizations. He is considered a leading voice for clarity and accessibility in how researchers communicate their findings. His book Better Presentations: A Guide for Scholars, Researchers, and Wonks helps people improve the way they prepare, design, and deliver data-rich content and his edited book, Elevated the Debate: A Multilayered Approach to Communicating Your Research, helps people develop a strategic plan to communicating their work across multiple platforms and channels. His latest book, Better Data Visualizations: A Guide for Scholars, Researchers, and Wonks details essential strategies to create more effective data visualizations. He is on Twitter @jschwabish. 

Aaron Williams is a data journalist, analyst and visualization expert tackling inequity in data and design. He’s a senior visualization engineer in Netflix’s Data Science and Engineering group and previously spent a decade as a data and graphics reporter—most recently at the Washington Post. He serves on the advisory board for OpenNews and is a board member of the News Product Alliance.

James Determan, FAIA is an architect, researcher and Principal at Craig Gaulden Davis in Baltimore and has designed learning space for 35 years. He leads teams of neuroscientists, educators and architects in research providing evidence that design has the power to enhance wellness and learning. This work is influencing designers internationally. 

Bill Browning, BED Colorado University, MSRED MIT, Hon. AIA, LEED AP., is one of the green building industry’s foremost thinkers. Terrapin Bright Green is an environmental strategies research and consulting firm. Browning’s clients include Disney, New Songdo City, Lucasfilm, Google, Bank of America, Marriott, the White House, Interface, and the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Browning is a founding board member of the USGBC. He is a coauthor of the Economics of Biophilia, 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design, and Nature Inside: A Biophilic Design Guide.

Every day, 4.6 pounds of waste are generated by an individual, based on the research from UA sustainability. All the waste will finally immigrate to the landfill or ocean, which will gradually damage the earth. As a designer, what can we do to confront growing environmental issues? How can we utilize design to create a better future? In this lightning talk, Zhu will share daily practices designers can do to turn waste into something fun and functional, including accessories, and small objects for fun. By adapting daily rituals with unwanted treasures, we, as designers can not only practice our design skills, but also help create a better and more sustainable future for all.

How can design system teams empower feature teams to innovate and focus on the big picture? And how do design system teams convince feature teams to use them when they don’t technically have to?