|
|
Linda Varghese
Interim President
Linda is a Creative Director at Corgan, where she conceptualizes and directs a wide variety of project types such as renderings, motion graphics, videos, animations, broadcasts, and immersive experiences in their MediaLab. Prior to her current position, she worked in the Digital Design department at Fossil for a little over fifteen years after obtaining a BFA in Communication Design from the University of North Texas. Linda began volunteering with AIGA Dallas in 2017, and served as the Director of Diversity & Inclusion for four years before joining the Executive Board of Directors as Secretary in 2022 and then as Vice President of Operations in 2024. As Interim President, she leverages her passion and experience to support our team of volunteers in their pursuit to build meaningful connections for designers across the metroplex.
Email
Michael Meadows
Interim Secretary & Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Chair
Michael Meadows is a creative strategist, brand designer, and advocate for inclusive storytelling. As the Interim Secretary and DEIA Chair for AIGA Dallas, he is dedicated to fostering a more diverse and equitable design community. Michael is the Co-founder of Fufu and Grits, a creative studio that blends culture-driven branding with impactful storytelling. With a background in marketing and design, he works at the intersection of creativity and advocacy, ensuring that design is accessible and representative of all voices. His hope is to provide resources for up-and-coming designers to build their confidence and find their place in the industry.
Email
Crissanka Christadoss
Director of Partnerships & Treasury
Crissanka Christadoss is currently an account manager at a leading health tech company and has a rich background spanning many years in both nonprofit and healthcare sectors. She is deeply involved in community work and volunteerism, demonstrating her commitment to making a positive difference in the world both professionally and personally. Passionate about writing and storytelling, she has a deep appreciation for languages, music, and art. Her diverse interests and professional expertise make her a vibrant and multi-talented individual, always bringing energy and creativity to everything she does. As Director of Partnerships & Treasury, Crissanka aims to cultivate lasting business relationships that consistently elevate the DFW design community.
Email
Jeremy Johnson
Director of Membership & Community
With nearly 25 years of experience, Jeremy has built a track record of success across user experience, product innovation, and marketing. His time has been a mix of running in-house UX teams for brands like Travelocity and GameStop and years on the management teams of consulting companies focused on improved experiences for numerous Fortune 100 clients. Currently, he’s exploring the intersection of User Experience as it applies across digital solutions, people, culture change, and physical space at geniant.
Email
Natalie Coca
Director of Programming
Natalie Coca is a Communications and Marketing Consultant at The TransSynergy Group, where she helps organizations craft effective strategies in public relations, media relations, crisis communication, brand messaging, event planning, and content creation. With a strong background in event planning, she excels at aligning a program's broader goals with tangible strategies that enhance logistics, flow, and overall impact. As the Director of Programming for AIGA Dallas, she leverages her creative expertise to deliver engaging and accessible programming to the dynamic Dallas Design Community.
Email
Ana Ponce
Community Projects Chair
Ana Ponce is a first-generation Salvadoran, contract designer at Falkon Technologies. As a multimedia designer, she has worked with a range of motion graphics, fabrication, and illustration projects. She formerly directed her own AIGA student group branch at UTA before graduating in 2022. She ran the setup of studio tours, workshops, fundraisers, and she provided an online platform of resources and community for remote students during the COVID pandemic. Ana started off volunteering motion graphics services for AIGA Dallas until officially joining as Social Media Chair in 2023.
Email
Sam Mak
UX Events Chair
Sam Mak is a Senior Designer at IBM with ten years of experience navigating the intricate dynamics between humans and technology. She has collaborated with Fortune 500 clients such as BNP Paribas, Caterpillar, and Samsung. Sam leads with a people-centered focus, fostering empathy for both customers and the teams shaping their experiences. Passionate about building design communities, she believes that by collectively enhancing our craft, we can contribute to a better-designed world. As a returning Dallas native, she joins AIGA Dallas to support UX programming, connect with local designers, and foster community growth.
Email
Carmen Zavarce
The Deck Coordinator
Carmen Virginia is a graphic designer with over 16 years of experience in branding, editorial design, creative direction, and print production on both large and small scales. She founded and directed Kėp, a graphic design magazine in her home country, Venezuela, and has developed her own creative ventures. Currently, she works as a Senior Designer and Pre-Press Specialist at De-sl. Passionate about design as a problem-solving tool, she has led high-impact projects for businesses and entrepreneurs. She joined AIGA Dallas as The Deck Coordinator to contribute her skills and creativity to the team.
Email
Loryn O'Donnell
Advisory Board
Loryn O’Donnell is a Brand Strategist with 15+ years of international experience in both agency and consultant work environments. In addition to directing her own design business, she is the Design Area Coordinator for UTA where she is on faculty as a Senior Design Lecturer. Loryn joined the board in 2013 as Director of Volunteers, then served as Director of Membership & Engagement, overseeing community growth and founding new committees to better serve DFW designers. After 2 years as Vice President, she served for 6 years leading the Executive Board as President. As a member of the Advisory Board, Loryn aims to encourage new levels of excellence for the DFW design community.
Brett Yanoski
Advisory Board
Brett Yanoski has over 15 years of experience as a designer and developer. He is currently the Associate Director of Digital Experience at Schaefer Advertising in Fort Worth. At Schaefer, he works with brands crafting websites, apps and other digital experiences in a variety of industries in Texas and beyond. During his 6 years on the board of AIGA Dallas, Brett served as the Director of Communications and then as Vice President, chairing many events along the way. Outside of design, Brett is an avid gamer who founded and co-hosts The Inner Gamer podcast, producing podcasts and online video content since 2015. As an active member of our Advisory Board, he encourages design community growth in North Texas.
Gus Granger
Advisory Board
Gus Granger is a native of Minnesota, husband, father of three, and founder at Waza, a consultancy and design studio focused on articulating and elevating brand stories for B2B technology companies. His 20+ year career in graphic design and brand strategy has earned him recognition by a number of publications and organizations including Adobe, AIGA, Brand New, Communication Arts, Dallas Observer, DSVC, Fast Company, Graphis and Print Magazine. Gus is a past president of AIGA DFW and former Chair of the National Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force for AIGA.
Holly Aguilar
Advisory Board
Holly Aguilar is a Design Director at Balcom Agency in Fort Worth. A myriad of design awards highlight her more than 20 years of experience as an art director, designer, and illustrator, including a Best of Show ADDY, a Silver Medal from the Dallas Society of Visual Communications (DSVC) and inclusions in Print’s Regional Design Annual and LogoLounge. Holly has previously served on the AIGA Dallas board of directors and is also active in the DSVC.
Willie Baronet
Advisory Board
Willie Baronet was the owner / creative director of GroupBaronet from 1992-2006. His work has been featured in CA, Graphis, AIGA, NY Art Directors, The One Show, Print, Annual Report Trends, The Type Directors Club among others. In 2013 Willie received the AIGA Fellow award. He is a public speaker (including TEDxSMU) and judge of many creative competitions (including the prestigious Communication Arts Annual). He also co-directed Signs of Humanity, a documentary about his long term activist art project WE ARE ALL HOMELESS. Willie is currently the Stan Richards Professor of Creative Advertising at SMU's Temerlin Advertising Institute.
Dawn Davidson
Advisory Board
Dawn Davidson leads an award-winning creative team as the President and Creative Director of Alpha Business Images LLC, the largest African American woman-owned and -led advertising agency in Texas (and one of the largest in the US). Dawn is a powerhouse strategist, communicator, and relationship builder and recipient of the Dallas Business Journal’s Minority Business Leader Award. Dawn has also been a speaker, mentor and advocate for the arts, community organizations, and creative industry for decades. In addition to supporting the AIGA Dallas chapter in various ways over the years, she is currently serving a two-year term on the AIGA National Board of Directors.
|
|
