Leadership

THERESA HAUGEN

DIG CO-CHAIR - 2025-2027

Theresa Haugen is an Associate Professor and Research Specialist at The Art of Education University. With a background in graphic design and extensive professional experience, she has taught design thinking and practice at both technical college and K–12 levels. Her doctoral research focused on curriculum materials for elementary students with special needs. Haugen has developed digital design programs for high schools and integrated real-world client projects into her teaching. She currently teaches design and capstone courses, mentoring students in action research related to design thinking. As Marketing and Branding Director for the Lowe Syndrome Association, she has led nonprofit marketing initiatives. Haugen is committed to advancing design thinking in K–12 art education, emphasizing its role in building problem-solving, creativity, and 21st-century skills.

susan BRACCIA

DIG CO-CHAIR - 2025-2027

Susan Braccia is an art, design, and digital media arts teacher at AIM Academy, an arts-based school in Conshohocken, PA, serving students in grades 1–12 with learning disabilities. With over thirty years of experience teaching design classes and workshops to all ages, Braccia brings a diverse background in environmental design, architecture, interior design, graphic design, videography, and set design—including work on the feature film School of Rock. She holds a degree in environmental science from the Philadelphia College of Art. Braccia’s professional experience spans commercial and residential design, museum exhibitions, and large-scale murals. Her approach to design education emphasizes creative problem-solving, executive functioning, and community building. At AIM Academy, she develops engaging, inclusive lessons that support students with language-based learning disabilities and collaborates with colleagues and global experts to advance innovative teaching practices.

PAST-CHAIRS 2023-2025

Robin Vande Zande was a Professor and coordinator of art and design education at Kent State University. She has been a proponent of teaching design for nearly 20 years, with numerous publications on the topic. Vande Zande is a past chair of DIG, a member of the education committees at both the National Building Museum and Fallingwater, and has served as chair of three international conferences on design education.

Kristen LaJeunesse Roach is a high school art and design educator in Lake Zurich, IL, and serves as IAEA DIG Co-Chair. She is deeply engaged in teaching the design process, reflecting her belief that teachers are designers of learning experiences, that new and better solutions are possible, and that student designers can achieve them. Roach has collaborated on her district’s Innovation + Pathways initiative and co-authored a forward-thinking elective course grounded in Design Thinking.

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.