Leadership
Kristen lajeunesse Roach
DIG CO-CHAIR - 2023-2025
kristen@naea-dig.org
Robin vande zande
DIG CO-CHAIR - 2023-2025
rvandeza@kent.edu
New DIG Co-Chairs and What is Coming Next!
Please let us introduce ourselves as the new chairs for DIG.
Robin Vande Zande, Professor and coordinator of art and design education at Kent State University. I have been a proponent of the teaching of design for nearly 20 years, having published on the topic, been past chair of DIG, a member of the education committees of the National Building Museum and Falling Water, and chair of 3 international conferences on Design education.
Kristen LaJeunesse Roach, Lake Zurich, IL High School Art + Design Educator and IAEA DIG Co-Chair. I am deeply engaged in teaching the design process, as it reflects what I have always believed: A teacher is a designer of learning experiences, and new and better solutions are possible, and student designers can make them happen. I collaborated on my district’s Innovation + Pathways initiative and co-wrote a future-forward elective course grounded in Design Thinking.
We are excited to join you in this new capacity. For the next 2 years, we intend to work toward completing these goals:
Collect model design lessons from our DIG members to include in a co-edited book on strategies for teaching design,
Provide some examples from the co-edited book as a resource for the NAEA membership to show approaches for teaching design.
Build our DIG membership and provide networking events, virtual or in person.
Continue to streamline communication with NAEA DIG members
Continue to leverage collaboration efforts with NAEA Interest groups
Revisit the work of a seminal Symposium held in 2019 in Florence, Italy, entitled Redesigning Education to Shape a Better World. Analyze the participants’ predictions for improving education to define ways design educators may take a central role in those changes.
We would appreciate any ideas you have toward helping us accomplish these goals.
We welcome hearing from you: Robin, rvandeza@kent.edu; Kristen, kristen@naea-dig.org
matt winkelman
CHAIR-ELECT 2023-2025
Matt Winkelman was named Co-Design Educator of the Year in 2022 by DIG for his work promoting and advancing design thinking and design education. He was a Co-founder and has served as Co-Chair for the Design Interest Group of the Illinois Art Education Association since 2019.
He has presented on creative practices in the Art + Design classroom, technology integration, design thinking, design education, and design integration at both state and national conferences and conventions. He has also co-constructed and facilitated numerous professional development workshops and activities focusing on art and design education for educators at all levels.
Matt is dedicated to continued professional development and attends Summer Educator Institutes hosted by Art + Design Colleges and Universities across the country in the pursuit of continuous growth and learning. He continues to be a strong proponent for Art + Design education and seeks unique opportunities to further the mission of the National Art Education Association’s Design Interest Group.
cindy todd
PAST-CHAIR 2021-2023
Dr. Cindy Todd is the NAEA President-Elect, Retired Art Education Program Chair at Kendall College of Art & Design of FSU in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Cindy is a co-creator and key designer of the Grand Rapids Public Museum School, a design thinking / place-based secondary school that is a proud recipient of a $10,000,000 XQ Super School Grant. Cindy has been the Co-Facilitator for SummerStudio: Design Thinking, StudioChat, and the upcoming StudioChallenge.
Before becoming a professor, Cindy taught K-12 art for over 14 years, teaching at all levels, elementary, middle, and high school.
She was named the NAEA’s 2019 Art Educator of the Year and has served as Michigan’s Art Education Association President and the NAEA Western Region Vice President. Dr. Todd has helped Michigan’s State Board of Education revise its art education standards and presents keynote addresses at conferences across the country.
doris wells-papenek
PAST-CHAIR 2019-2021
Doris Wells-Papanek, MEd, has a lifetime of experience as a practicing UX designer with tech companies such as Apple, Intuit, and Xerox.
As the Founder and Director of the Design Learning Network (DLN), Doris collaborates with diverse sets of partners within education and business. Together we co-construct learning experiences, design challenges, and research projects anchored in the learning sciences using an action research approach.
Doris has served as DIG's Chair-Elect, Chair, and now Past-Chair. Additional roles include DIG Grants Coordinator, StudioChat Co-Facilitator, and Communications Outreach.
She holds a Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction Design, focused on Action Research from National Louis University. Doris has a Bachelor's degree in Product and Environmental Design from the Kansas City Art Institute.
Previous DIG Chairs
Rande Blank, 2017-2019
Dr. Janis Norman, 2014-2017
Dr. Robin Vande Zande, 2006-2014
Dr. Martin Rayala, 2002-2006