Educator Awards
Doris Wells-Papanek earns the 2024 DIG Outstanding Educator Award
As Founder and Director of the Design Learning Network, Doris Wells-Papanek, M.Ed., collaborates with diverse sets of partners around the globe. Doris is passionate about Empathy from Diverse Perspectives, the Art of Being Curious, and Responsible AI Design. Using a creative problem-solving approach, Doris is accomplished at co-constructing shared visions, tackling complex challenges, and striving for positive impact. She loves leading cross-organizational collaborations, facilitating teams inspired by diverse perspectives, and developing purposeful professional development.
She has years of experience in leadership and UX design with Apple, Athena Health, Xerox, Hewlett Packard, Intuit, Siemens, and Philips. She often mentors students and facilitates workshops at Carnegie Mellon University, the Kansas City Art Institute, the University of Illinois, Auburn University, and the University of Lincoln in the UK. Doris holds a master’s in Curriculum and Instruction Design, focused on Action Research from National Louis University. She has a bachelor’s in Product and Environmental Design from the Kansas City Art Institute and School of Design.
Deborah Parizek Honored as DIG’s 2023 Outstanding Design Educator
We were excited to honor Deborah Parizek as our 2023 NAEA Outstanding Design Educator. Deborah is the Executive Director for the Henry Ford Learning Institute. She is a nonprofit leader and educator with 25 years of experience in dynamic learning environments. She drives HFLI’s efforts to deliver immersive learning experiences that pair effective education and human-centered design approaches, empowering learners to lead transformational change in, with and for their community. She is known for cultivating the conversations, empathy, and capacity critical to addressing complex challenges, as demonstrated by HFLI's powerful inclusive and participatory models for learning that include innovative, community-supported schools in three major US cities.
Kristen LaJeunesse Roach and Matt Winkelman, DIG’s 2022 jointly awarded Design Educators of the Year
