The Phyllis M. Taylor Center For Social Innovation And Design Thinking At Tulane University

Shows

Finding Our Way60: Making the World– Design Education and Social Change (ft. Lesley-Ann Noel, PhD) Show Notes Help Jesse and Peter better serve you by sharing a bit more about who you are, what you’re into, and what you’d like to hear from us in this listener survey which should just a few minutes to complete. Thank you! Summary: Dr. Lesley-Ann Noel, Dean of Design at OCAD, joins Jesse and Peter to discuss her global journey from Trinidad to Toronto, leading design education through relationships over craft, preparing students for social change, and her vision for decolonizing design while navigating the tension between academic values and industry demands. 2025-06-2953 min

The Connected College Podcast with Elliot FelixDesigning Your Life and Career Path with Julia LangWhat is design thinking and how can students use it to design their lives? What will that tell them about possible career paths, courses to take, projects to work on, and mentors to find? We discuss these great questions with Julia Lang, Professor of Practice and Associate Director of Career Education and Life Design at Phyllis M. Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking at Tulane University.2023-04-0620 min

Practical Wisdom for Leaders with Scott J. Allen, Ph.D.Dr. Mallory Monaco Caterine - From Working On Plutarch to Working With PlutarchSend us a textA Senior Professor of Practice in Classical Studies at Tulane University, Dr. Mallory Monaco Caterine loves to help learners find connections between the past, the present, the self, and the human community. She believes that a humanities education is a highly effective mode of leadership training and infuses opportunities to practice leadership into all of her classes, including Greek and Latin language, Greek culture, Ancient Medicine, and the Classical Leadership Lab. She earned her Ph.D. in Classics at Princeton University, where she explored Plutarch’s Lives of Hellenistic statesmen and the lessons the...2022-08-2043 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep30: Hello From the Pluriverse: Lesley Ann NoelDr. Lesley Ann Noel has explored design opportunities all around the world, taking risks to find spaces and opportunities that she is passionate about, and making opportunities work for her. While she was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Noel has had opportunities to explore design around the world. She received training in industrial design in Brazil, was an adjunct and eventually full-time faculty member at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad. She has also taught at Stanford University and North Carolina State University. She has a Master of Business Administration from the University of the W...2021-05-0651 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep29: Hello From the Pluriverse: Laura MurphyDr. Laura Murphy is the Associate Director of Research and Scholarship at the Phyllis M. Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking at Tulane University. She is also a professor in the Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences department teaching critical development theory at the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Dr. Murphy has spearheaded several design thinking workshops and training classes during her time at Tulane, like the Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship (SISE) minor, SISE 2010 Design thinking course, SISE 4050 Senior seminar course, and the "Fast 48" Weekend bootcamp. Dr. Murphy is constantly thinking about her students a...2021-05-0622 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep28: Hello From the Pluriverse: Kareem CollieKareem Collie was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from the Pratt Institute with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Design in 2001, and he spent the next decade as an art director for clients including Nickelodeon, USA Network, Coca-Cola, Starwood, and Mercedes. From 2006 through 2011, he and his business partner launched and then ran the design studio Dimitrious II Inc. while he also taught graphic design at Pratt Institute through 2012. Kareem earned his MA in Culture and Communications in 2016 and is currently the User Experience Design Lead at IBM in Los Angeles, California. Connect...2021-05-0536 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep27: Hello From the Pluriverse: Tsai Lu LiuProfessor Tsai Lu Liu is head of the Department of Graphic Design and Industrial Design at North Carolina State University, where he and his students have been working on user research and product design projects for companies such as Coca-Cola, IBM, Johnson and Johnson, Lowes, Under Armour and more. Before teaching, Professor Liu managed new product/service design and marketing for 12 years in the toy, healthcare, gaming, semiconductor and communications industries. Professor Liu holds an MBA in marketing from Georgia State University and a Master of Industrial Design from Auburn University. Connect with Tsai Lu Liu: 2021-05-0432 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep26: Hello From the Pluriverse: Gisele Raulik MurphyGisele Raulik Murphy is the Co-Founder and Partner at DUCO Design Intelligence based in Brazil. In March of this year, Gisele founded WIM Angels, which stands for Women Investment Movement, a network of angel investors that invests in high-impact startups founded by women in tech. Gisele is passionate about collaborative work that helps groups to co-create innovative solutions, particularly in the context of public policies and cultural change. Gisele has a PhD in public policy for design and innovation from the University of Wales and a Masters in Strategies for Design and Innovation from Brunel University. Con...2021-05-0434 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep25: Hello From the Pluriverse: Mallie FaughnanDr. Maille Faughnan is an instructor for the Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship Minor Program at Tulane University and is a research fellow at the Phyllis M. Taylor Center. At the Taylor Center she also does community outreach programming and helps with the scholarship initiatives at the center. Dr. Faughnan has collaborated on local and international research projects, from New Orleans to Central America to East Africa, spanning topics like gender and social entrepreneurship, cultural development, design thinking for reproductive health, and the diffusion of design-thinking through capacity building.  Connect with Dr. Maille Faughnan: 2021-05-0436 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep24: Hello From the Pluriverse: Marielle Ednalino"How can we create an environment where EVERYONE is able to thrive?" Marielle Ednalino is a San Francisco-based entrepreneur, and alumna from the University of California, Davis. She is also a self-taught computer scientist and started her own Girls Who Code chapter where she taught computer science skills to over 50 girls ranging from elementary through high school. Since then, she has gone on to start her own nonprofit, htm.elle, where her mission is to create the next generation of female founders. She works with young women from low-income and underserved communities. Marielle also serves as a Venture Associate for In...2021-04-3031 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep23: Hello From the Pluriverse: Glenn Fajardo"Develop empathy for others and make things tangible as fast as possible.” Glenn Fajardo is a design educator at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford (also known as the Stanford d.school). He also curates TEDxPeacePlaza, has contributed to the Stanford Social Innovation Review, and is an independent consultant working with nonprofits.  Glenn has been considered "the messy problems guy" as he has been the go-to person in his work to solve problems by using design and design thinking.  Connect with Glenn Fajardo: LinkedIn Twitter: @muzzygator 2021-04-2720 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep22: Hello From the Pluriverse: Tania Anaissie“If we're going to do equity work, we can't be doing this TO people; we need to do this WITH people.” Tania Anaissie is the founder and CEO of Beytna Designs, an equity design organization that supports socially-minded leaders to design in new ways to create a more equitable world, part of this involves designing for liberation, or as Tania has coined it “Liberatory Design”. She is a proud graduate of Stanford University's Product Design program and she is also faculty at The National Equity Project and was a Lecturer at Stanford. Connect with Tania Anaissie: 2021-04-2725 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep21: Hello From the Pluriverse: Julia LangJulia Lang is the Assistant Director for Career Education at the Phyllis M. Taylor Center at Tulane University. She leads two major programs here: "Taylor your life" and the Changemaker Institute. Julia is all about teaching students to embrace a design thinking mindset towards your work and your life. A design thinking mindset has not only been used by Julia in her programs, but also in her life; showing just how design thinking can help designers and non-designers to re-examine and restructure your life.  Connect with Julia Lang: LinkedIn Phyllis M. Taylor...2021-04-2322 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep 20: Hello From the Pluriverse: Lorenzo Hodges"I think that just taking a little bit of time to understand just a bit more will change the outcomes that we have" Lorenzo Hodges has built a career using design methodologies and his own design aesthetic. While he may not have got to school for design, Lorenzo learned, practiced, and incorporated design into his work. Based in Trinidad and Tobago, Lorenzo is an innovation strategist and designer. Currently, Lorenzo is the Chief Executive Officer at Ferreira Optical Limited, and he is also the Founder and Managing Director of Plain White Table, Inc., the Business Dev...2021-04-2244 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep19: Hello From the Pluriverse: Michael Lee Poy"With the Pluriverse state of mind, you belong everywhere and nowhere" Michael Lee Poy is an Afro-Caribbean artist-activist and architect in Trinidad and Tobago. His practice and interests center on post-colonial Caribbean design and fabrication in the festival arts – especially Carnival. A graduate of Pratt Institute of Technology in architecture and the Yale Graduate School of Architecture, Environmental Design, Michael aims to use an interdisciplinary approach to augment the innovative, creative, and collaborative process of design. Michael is an Assistant Professor of Design at Ontario College of Design University in the Environmental and Industrial Design programs. Connect with Michael: LinkedIn Lee...2021-04-2227 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep18: Hello From the Pluriverse: Christina HarringtonWhile she may be an engineer by trade, Dr. Christina Harrington identifies herself as a designer. She has a background in electrical engineering and industrial design and focuses her design skills and research on the areas of universal, accessible design. Specifically, she has looked at how to use design in the development of assistive products for older adults and individuals with differing abilities, and how to use design to center communities that have been historically been at the margins of mainstream design. Based out of Chicago, Dr. Harrington is the Assistant Professor in the School of Design at DePaul Univers...2021-04-2139 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep17: Hello From the Pluriverse: Michele Washington“What if? How come? Why?” Michele Washington is a user-centered designer based in New York City. She has a MS in Communication and Design from the Pratt Institute and an MFA in Design Criticism from The School of Visual. Currently, Ms. Washington teaches design at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City. Her latest design interests include pure research, strategic planning, and branding. Michele works with numerous non-profit organizations, cultural institutions, and start-up companies to refine strategic plans, revamp websites, and/or develop products. Connect with Michele Washington: Lin...2021-04-0925 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep15: Hello From the Pluriverse: Maria de Mater O'Neil"Get a Passport and Go” Dr. María de Mater O’Neill is a designer, artist, and educator born, raised, and based in Puerto Rico. María has spent 25 years of her life as a painter, switching to design when the painting industry became too restrictive. Currently she is the Creative Director and Head Researcher for Rubberband Design Studio, LLP and is Adjunct faculty at the University of Puerto Rico. Whether it’s a small or a large-scale project, María uses her toolbox, empathy and her experiences to her advantage, working together with her clients to solve...2021-04-0935 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep16: Hello From the Pluriverse: Michael BonnickMichael Bonnick is the founder and Chief Design Consultant at MELB DESIGN Ideation studio and he is also a lecturer at the University of Technology in Kingston, Jamaica. Formally trained in Industrial Design in London, Michael's design influences and career have taken him from Jamaica to London and back to Jamaica again, stimulating design spaces and carving out niches within Jamaica's own developing market.  Connect with Michael Bonnick: LinkedIn MELB Design Ideation Studio 2021-04-0819 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep14: Hello From the Pluriverse: Debbie EstwickBorn in raised in Barbados, Debbie Estwick has held many roles throughout her career in design. She has held the role of director of marketing and communications, professor of integrative design, to design advisor. Debbie has a master’s in design and brand strategy and currently is in charge of corporate communications at Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC). She uses design and design thinking to create challenges and collaborator with others to address real world problems affecting Barbados. Connect with Debbie Estwick: LinkedIn DebbieEstwick.com Instagram: @de.sign.books 2021-04-0853 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep13: Hello From the Pluriverse: Rebecca Otten"Whatever the thing is, it doesn't have to be perfect." Rebecca Otten is a Professor of Practice and the Director of Strategy & Engagement at the Taylor Center. She facilitates the Taylor Center’s field leadership, campus and community partnerships, and program assessment. She also teaches "Introduction to Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship” as well as “Cultivate your Inner Changemaker" and works with GrowDat Youth Farms, a local organization that nurtures a diverse group of young leaders through the meaningful work of growing food. Connect with Rebecca:  LinkedIn Tulane School of...2021-04-0224 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep12: Hello From the Pluriverse: Alfredo Gutérrez BorreroAlfredo Gutiérrez Borrero is an industrial designer based in Colombia. Currently, he is an associate professor of Industrial Design at the Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano. Central to Alfredo Gutiérrez Borrero’s design work is examining Western design equivalents across cultures, ultimately working to discover and improve the visibility of the traditions that Western professions have projected a shadow on. At the moment, he is also finishing his PhD dissertation on indigenous design equivalents in New Zealand and Bolivia, and he recently won a grant for a project, in collaboration with Arizona State University, titled “Enabling Autonomous Design Proces...2021-04-021h 02

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep11: Hello From the Pluriverse: Terrence Moline“Terrence Moline’s passion is infusing people’s stories with images to create art.”  Terrence Moline is a director, designer, illustrator currently based out of Austin, Texas. He also builds communities and transforms stories with illustrations to generate art that conveys meaning. He is the founder of the community "African-American Graphic Designers" as is committed to uplifting and amplifying the voices of Black designers and creative professionals. Connect with Terrence: LinkedIn terrencemoline.com Instagram: @tmoline Behance 2021-03-2628 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep10: Hello From the Pluriverse: Renata Marques Leitāo“A designer is programming society when they create public images.” Dr. Renata Marques Leitão is an adjunct professor teaching graphic design at OCAD University in Toronto. Born and raised in Brazil, but formally trained in design in Montreal, Renata’s work is shaped by her upbringing and her training resulting in an identity uniquely her own. After her receiving an education and training that was rooted in European-Anglo standards, Renata has worked to understand how design can reflect and have the power to create culture and social change. Connect with Dr. Renata Marqu...2021-03-2632 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep9: Hello From the Pluriverse: Rafe SteinhurRafe Steinhauer is a design educator and a designer. Currently he is a visiting assistant professor at Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth, but he has also been a visiting assistant professor with the Phyllis M. Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking at Tulane University in New Orleans and a lecturer at Princeton University. Introduced to design thinking in his graduate studies, Rafe has incorporated it into his classes to help his students experience the type of growth he had when he first learned about design thinking. Design educator is not the only role Rafe plays though; community design...2021-03-261h 01

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep8: Hello From the Pluriverse: Woodrow Winchester IIIDr. Woodrow Winchester III is a professor of Systems and Industrial Engineering at Kennesaw State University and a design educator. His work within engineering focuses on interactive technologies and using connections between technology and design. Specifically, Dr. Winchester examines the connection between technology, design, health, and fitness; like his work on using interactive technologies in order to improve health outcomes, especially in underrepresented groups. Dr. Winchester also works to increase diversity and inclusion within the field of design, and he consistently is encouraging his students to think holistically and to use design thinking with other design approaches. Get t...2021-03-1927 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep7: Hello From the Pluriverse: Marlon DarbeauMarlon Darbeau is a designer, the Founder and Creative Director of By-Making, and a collaborator at the Alice Yard art-space initiative. Based in Trinidad and Tobago, Marlon’s identity is rooted in his culture and his upbringing. He consistently integrates techniques his father taught him into his own physical designs, not only incorporating his identity and his family into his work, but also working towards striving to bring his local Caribbean culture into the present and future. Connect with Marlon Darbeau: LinkedIn Website Instagram @marlondarbeau Instagram: @bymakingdesign B 2021-03-1926 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep6: Hello From the Pluriverse: Randall Wilson IIRandall Wilson II is the Design Lead in Digital Messaging at Capital One in Chicago and is the co-creator and creative director of Hue Design Summit, a four-day immersive conference and community for designers of color. Randall is a self-taught designer, and on his path to becoming a designer, he explored opportunities in architecture. As an avid Lego enthusiast, Randall likes to use Legos, and other hobbies, to facilitate design and design thinking processes.    Connect with Randall Wilson II: Linkedin Instagram: @therocfiles & @huedesignsummit Twitter: @huedesignsummit   2021-03-1735 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep5: Hello from the Pluriverse: Jose CottoJose Cotto is the Collaborative Design Project Manager at the Tulane School of Architecture Albert and Tina Small Center for Collaborative Design. Among his many responsibilities in the Small Center, he works on various design projects, fosters partnerships with Tulane University departments and community stakeholders, and leads a seminar course on public space in New Orleans, guiding Tulane students as they explore the connections between our created environment and social dynamics. In this interview, we learned that Cotto comes from Worcester, Massachusetts. Specifically speaking, he grew up in Great Brook Valley, a small housing project. Cotto emphasizes t...2021-02-1253 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep4: Hello from the Pluriverse: Maria RogalMaria Rogal is currently a professor of design at The University of Florida and her work spans disciplines, applications, and place. Her upbringing, education, and experiences have all been diverse, enriching, and make her the conscientious designer she is today. Always cognizant of visual language and environmental print, Rogal found her passion in design from the language barrier of growing up outside the United States. Moving from places ranging from Laos to Peru to Liberia, Rogal needed to be aware of the signs to maneuver around these different cultures and landscapes. When she returned to the United States for c...2021-02-0546 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep3: Hello from the Pluriverse: Omari SouzaOmari Souza is a professor of design and design research at Texas State University. Professor Souza was born in the Bronx, New York as a first-generation American and Jamaican descent. Professor Souza graduated from Kent State University as a first-generation college graduate with a Masters of Fine Arts in Design. Professor Souza's research primarily revolves around what classes and majors students of color prefer and why. He then used this research to discover what the design industry can do to attract more students of color. In his research, Professor Souza found that students of color pr...2021-01-2941 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep2: Hello from the Pluriverse: Ann YoachimAnn Yoachim joins us for a cheerful, enthusiastic, and passionate conversation. The energy Ann brings to this interview is surely indicative of the energy she brings to her role as director of Tulane's Small Center of Collaborative Design. Reflecting on the creative process, our nonlinear conversation sparked a powerful exploration of identity, impact design, and design as a coalition builder. Ann was born and raised in Northern Pennsylvania, right near the New York state border. Though she didn't realize it until later, her rural roots forged her interest in people and their relationship to place related to...2021-01-2241 min

Hello From the PluriverseS1: Ep1: Hello from the Pluriverse: Tanya Marie Williams-RhuleIn this first ever episode of the Hello from The Pluriverse Podcast, we interview Tanya Marie Williams-Rhule, an independent designer and brand consultant and the executive Designer of Designer Island, an online publication curating contemporary Caribbean culture. To Tanya Marie, design is so much more than designing for the project and the need, it is about communicating and listening. Born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, Tanya Marie's identity is not only rooted in her upbringing in the Caribbean but also the work she does to explore the "Caribbean aesthetic" and expand it past the limited definitions it...2020-12-1648 min

Women of Silicon Valley: The PodcastLesley-Ann Noel: Taking a Leap into UncertaintyToday, we're joined by Lesley-Ann Noel.Lesley-Ann is an Afro-Caribbean design educator and huge leader in the Design Thinking and Social Impact space. Lesley-Ann is the Associate Director of Design Thinking for Social Impact at the Phyllis M. Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking at Tulane University. Lesley-Ann was a 2018–2019 Ocean Design Teaching Fellows at the d.school at Stanford University, where she co-taught a class in which students applied a design lens to address global ocean threats and propose sustainable solutions. She completed her PhD in Design at North Carolina State University. Her...2020-11-1145 min

Just Wanna QuiltHomemade Mask (Virtual) Summit - Part 2Homemade Mask (Virtual) Summit: Part 2On June 17, 2020 and June 20, 2020, Tulane University held the Homemade Mask (Virtual) Summit, organized by the Just Wanna Quilt team of Elizabeth Townsend Gard, Hailey Barnett, Whitney Chatmon, John Spartz, and Becky Blank. Hosted by Newcomb Institute, and co-hosted by the Phyllis Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking, and the Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. More information can be found at http://www.justwannaquilt.com.Homemade Mask (Virtual) Summit is where we celebrate the entrepreneurial activities of the mask makers around the country, talk to industrial hygienists about how to...2020-06-264h 38

Just Wanna QuiltHomemade Mask (Virtual) Summit: Part 1On June 17, 2020, Tulane University held the Homemade Mask (Virtual) Summit, organized by the Just Wanna Quilt team of Elizabeth Townsend Gard, Hailey Barnett, Whitney Chatmon, John Spartz, and Becky Blank. Hosted by Newcomb Institute, and co-hosted by the Phyllis Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking, and the Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. More information can be found at http://www.justwannaquilt.com.Homemade Mask (Virtual) Summit is where we celebrate the entrepreneurial activities of the mask makers around the country, talk to industrial hygienists about how to safely move around in this world (including how...2020-06-184h 51

Just Wanna QuiltCovid-19 Masks: We talk with my students that are helping to organize local NOLA efforts in mask makingWe talk to the students at Tulane that have been on the frontlines of mask making with me. Over the last month, I've been working with students and others to organize making homemade masks. We've received two grants, one from the Phyllis M. Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking , and the other from the Newcomb Institute. We talk about the work and plans for the future, and life as a Tulane student during Covid-19. For more, see https://law.tulane.edu/news/law-professor-and-truck-driver-join-make-million-masks-day.2020-04-1350 min