Speakers

Company: SAGA

Eric Thomas is an entrepreneur, storyteller, social commentator, brand strategist, artist, and self-taught designer. His life is one that proves many things can be true at once and no one is defined by any one part of their identity. During his career he has worked with hundreds of businesses and organizations to help them develop their brands, connect to their markets, and grow in ways they did not know was possible. Known for his unique perspective, engaging communication style, and sharp sense of humor, Eric has made a name for himself as a national speaker, writer, and adept networker.

As an entrepreneur, he and his business partner have built the unique "storytelling agency” Saga, that has serviced municipalities, museums, cultural institutions and corporations. He’s proud that during Saga’s lifespan, over 60% of the vendors and employees have been people of color and women, proving that the pipeline issue in media is more about access and intention than lack of talent.

Design Partner at True Ventures

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Jeff spends his time helping companies create better products. He does this as an advisor, as well, for companies like about.me, Medium, and WordPress. Previously, he was VP of Design at Adobe after they acquired Typekit, the company he co-founded and ran as CEO.

He was also one of the founding partners of the user experience consulting group Adaptive Path. While there, he led Measure Map, which was acquired by Google. During his time at Google, he designed Google Analytics and lead the UX team for Google's apps.

Design Thinking, Learning & Community Director at Ford Motor Company

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Shel guides the development and practice of Design Thinking at Ford leading a global team responsible for the Learning and Community around Design Thinking. She is also fueling a movement –a rapidly growing community of advocates and experts. Her stakeholder's engineer and build, create strategies and design city solutions, bend steel and write code and allocate capital. This diversity keeps her on her toes.

A seasoned design and strategy leader, Shel has spent over 20 years in the trenches making things to learn what it is we need to make.

Leader in Social Impact Design

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Luisa Schumacher Resto is a leader in social impact design and creating value using human-centered design methods and strategies. Luisa fosters a collaborative atmosphere to solve and prototype in complex social and corporate environments.

With over 20 years of experience as an executive, she is a leader in design thinking, change management, innovation, and leadership. Luisa’s approach to facilitation led her to spearhead strategic innovation initiatives at several prestigious institutes and companies, including United Way, Ford Motor Company, and the city of Detroit. Currently, she is creating a manual on how we can all design museums of the future.