2020 AIGA LA Board of Directors Information
Our goal is to inform you as to the potential new board members
Please Note: Some of the proposed board members have terms that end in June, but are also on the ballot to continue. Their bios can be found on our website.
Returning Board of Directors:
Patrick Fredrickson, President
May de Castro, Diversity & Inclusion Director
Returning Advisory Board Members:
Erika Abrams, Sheharazad Fleming, David Mayes, Jod Kaftan & David Scharff
Incoming Board Member Bios:
Sam Cabrera, Vice President
Sam Cabrera is an award-winning Associate Director of UX at Amp Agency, adjunct professor at Cal Poly Pomona and SMC, and dog mom. Previously of SapientRazorfish and Gensler, Sam leads teams and collaborates across disciplines to help her clients grow and deliver delightful, accessible experiences for their customers. She has had the privilege of working with brands such as HyundaiCard, Caesars Entertainment, Riot Games, MGM Resorts, Holland America, and Bright Horizons throughout her career. For over 10 years, Sam had the privilege to call Los Angeles and this creative community her home.
Nonette Llabres, Content Director
Nonette Llabres is a multi-disciplinary Art Director, Designer, and Illustrator helping brands through digital and print design solutions with comprehensive marketing campaigns. With her extensive knowledge of the design process along with her organized project management skills, she follows through with projects from start to finish, in both collaborative and entrepreneurial settings. She has experience in the fields of marketing, technology, and digital media. Her passion for design and art are apparent through her creative work and her leadership.
Andrew Kutchera, Diversity & Inclusion Director
Andrew Kutchera has consulted on graphic identities for museums, public agencies, and businesses such as Workbook and Hillstone Restaurant Group. He currently serves as Senior Lecturer at USC’s Roski School of Art and Design. His most recent project – Faces of a Fish Empire – won a silver medal with IDA.
Christina Webb, Diversity & Inclusion Director
Christina Webb is an artist and designer with multidisciplinary experience in Seattle, Los Angeles and New York. She has worked on teams at the J. Paul Getty Museum, where she focused on experiential design, way-finding, visual identity systems and art installation, and at Local Projects with immersive digital media. Her own work combines design research with a critical nature, looking at social constructs in both environmental and virtual public space, with a focus on language and intervention. She continues to explore new modes of making, collaborating and teaching. Christina completed her Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design at the Rhode Island School of Design.
Margie Peng, Marketing Director
Margie Peng is a self-taught designer, who began her career in Marketing and expanded into Design. She is a Senior Graphic Designer at Disney Publishing. She specializes in Storytelling, Layout, Branding and Illustrations. In her free time, she volunteers with Climate Designers, hikes and paints portraits of animals. Her mantra is to be a positive influence through acts of social good by collaborating with others that are conscious of their footprint on the planet and questioning current norms while pushing for better solutions towards a brighter future.
Amata Indra, Programming Director
Working in both the business and creative fields, Amata has a wide range of knowledge and skills. As a founder and creative director leading his team at the Amata Agency, he helps businesses to improve their accuracy and efficiency through brand management, web, print, photography and technology. Not only is he passionate about bringing good design to businesses, he also brings business knowledge to the design community by dedicating his time to giving advice to new designers.
Ross Meredith, Social Media Director
Ross Meredith is an Interaction Design student at Santa Monica College. As the President of the Interaction Design Club on campus, Ross engages others to learn about the industry. In addition to the club, he is on a small team tasked with promoting the IxD program for the college. Ross has been involved with AIGA for a year now, starting as a volunteer at the Dope Design event. He is excited to have the opportunity of being involved with AIGA LA on the Board of Directors.
Carsten Becker, Advisory Board
Carsten Becker is a seasoned director of brand experiences and entertainment design with extensive tenure in leading creative studios and brand agencies. A passionate story-teller and lecturer in communication and design, Carsten has created an impressive body of work with entertainment, automotive, sports and culture brands. His work has earned an Emmy nomination, gold and silver Promax/BDA Awards, a Merit Award from the Art Directors’s Club and praise in Creativity, Adweek and Variety magazines.
Amanda Hovest, Advisory Board
Amanda Hovest is a design leader and team-builder with over 13 years of experience collaborating on multidisciplinary teams to craft meaningful and memorable brand experiences for world-class institutions. She has collaborated with clients like the Martin Luther King, Jr., Community Hospital, Bolthouse Farms, Natural History Museum of LA County, LA Phil, LACMA, SoCal KPBS, Henry Ford Museum, and many others. Currently, Amanda is running her own company, Amanda Hovest Design, and serves as a member of the Inner-City Arts Young Professional Board and is President Emeritus of AIGA Los Angeles — both leading art and design organizations in the LA landscape. Her work has been recognized by the Society for Environmental Graphic Design, the American Alliance of Museums, AIGA, and others. She was recently named a 2019 Person to Watch by GDUSA.
James Hsu, Advisory Board
James wanted to become a cat when he grew up. When he realized this was not a thing, he began pursuing a career in design. His background in graphic design, marketing, and UX has given him the opportunity to lead design teams at Disney, Live Nation, and currently, at FabFitFun. He’s spent the last decade sharpening his craft and even earned a NN/g UX Master Certification. He’s learned a lot on his path and says it would be a great honor for him to give back to the community, and share his knowledge through AIGA.
