2017 Board Slate Ratification

Bernadette Irizarry

Secretary

A creative leader with roots in graphic design and sculpture, Bern delights in combining aesthetics and usability and holds two patents in color selection. Bern heads the Los Angeles-based design consultancy, Velvet Hammer.

Luke Gledhill

Communications Director

Luke comes from a background in fashion with 20 years experience in retail, wholesale, distribution, brand development, product design and marketing. Since his college days he has been able to keep graphic design as a thread and passion running through all of his work. Luke believes brand development is key in the modern day—communicating a brand’s story and making its voice heard is where growth begins.

Anastassia Zukova

Communications Co-Director

Driven, outspoken, and optimistic, Ana is living her dream as a newby in Los Angeles. Having done freelance work for over six years, she is passionate about bringing new opportunities to freelancers in various creative fields and fostering a collaborative environment. As a result, Ana recently co-created a collaboration project that she hopes will soon include more independent freelancers in an effort to deliver better-quality design for small businesses around Los Angeles.

Paul Elliston

Content Co-Director

Paul Elliston has been elevating brands and services for over 20 years–embracing the full spectrum of tools available to him; from traditional placement advertising to direct marketing to today’s social media. During that time he has created award-winning work within agencies, client side and as a freelancer. He is a specialist in financial, medical/pharma, technology, lifestyle, real estate, education … well, it depends on who you ask, he likes them all. The power of his ideas have translated into effective websites, radio/TV broadcast, print, naming, digital, out-of-home and experiential work.

Anthony Wiktor

Content Co-Director

Anthony is a digital creative director and designer with a decade of success engaging, inspiring and activating audiences to drive demand for brands. His digital-first branding studio based in Hollywood is known for “digital that drives action” by creating consumer centric, imaginative, and conceptual design with a love for storytelling.

Marc Strijdveen

Development Director

Client Service and New Bizz Dev Director with comprehensive exposure to key aspects of digital marketing, branding and communication: Extensive experience in global account management, strategy, planning and buying, creates a well-informed perspective on the changing media landscape and the development and execution of strategic solutions to marketing challenges.

Michelle Jolliffe

Development Co-Director

Michelle Jolliffe is a LA-based web developer and business strategist. She currently works for Ludlow Kingsley – an amazing creative studio specializing in branding, graphic design, web design and web development. Michelle’s interests include traveling, cooking, coding, learning languages, and practicing design.

Leo Estevez

Diversity & Inclusion Director

Leo Estevez is a partner and founder of small green door, a full-service interactive web design and product photography studio in Los Angeles, California. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Art Center College of Design and a Master of Fine Arts/New Media from the University of California, Berkeley.

Patrick Fredrickson

Education Director

Patrick has spent the past 13 years developing engaging experiences for museum audiences and visitors at The Autry and the J. Paul Getty Museum, working with and leading multidisciplinary teams. He now works as a Senior Designer at Selbert Perkins Design.

Anthony Acock

Education Co-Director

Anthony Acock is an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Cal Poly Pomona and a freelance art director focusing on the nonprofit sector. He’s been an active member of AIGA since 2003 starting in Portland Oregon, and has served on the board of directors for AIGA Connecticut and AIGA Kansas City. Skateboarding deep into middle age, being comfortable with a can of spray paint, and chasing his two delightful but not particularly useful children around are his other areas of interest.

Khara Cloutier

Events Director

A native of Austin, Texas, Khara Cloutier is a designer and educator based in Long Beach, California. Her true joy and inspiration is translating her clients’ stories into visual tapestries of texture, color and typography.

Melissa Flower

Events Co-Director

Melissa Flower is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Long Beach, CA. With a background in design for non-profit and arts organizations, she is passionate about community development and creative leadership.

Matt Goldman

Events Co-Director

Matt Goldman (aka MFG) is partner and creative director of A-OK Collective, an experiential and design agency based in Downtown LA’s emerging Chinatown development on the south east side of the State Historic Park. After working in entertainment design and as senior art director for Shepard Fairey’s Studio Number One, Matt became an event producer and promoter, having created more than 10 event IP’s, some of which ran weekly for more than five years and has produced over 1200 events for himself and clients.

Brigitte Boyer

Marketing Director

Brigitte Monet Boyer has spent over 14 years lending her talents and passion to some of the most beloved American retail and publishing brands, including Kate Spade, J.Crew, Anthropologie, TOMS, West Elm, One Kings Lane, AOL, and Condé Nast. She is currently Creative Director at Chairish, overseeing brand experience and visual design.

Lauren Forbes

Marketing Co-Director

Lauren is a Designer at Hasbro working on multiple brands such as Disney Princess, fulfilling her childhood dream of playing with toys all day. Previously she branded events that raised funds for cancer research as well as designed for multiple beauty brands.

Doran Chang

Membership Director

Doran is an associate creative director who is passionate about research, digital experiences and creative culture. She loves to connect with the broader creative community through curating workshops at MXM where she works, and attending conferences and local events. Drawing from those sources of inspiration and connection, she hopes to be a guide and resource to junior creatives and help others to produce their best work. Doran also loves to read, so ask for a book recommendation or suggest one for her.

Jim Nissen

Membership Co-Director

President+Creative Director of Switch Studio, specializing in the delivery of branded content through publication design, identity and creative direction. Process + Passion = Success

Simrit Brar

Simrit Brar currently heads the design practice at the integrated agency Phenomenon. For the past few years she has helped shape the voice of several global brands while leading both the graphic design and UI teams for clients like Pepsi, P&G, Flywheel, Wilson, Warner Brothers, Neustar and Wonder. From a background that includes designing Bollywood movie posters to teaching at the Parsons New School of Design, Simrit brings a fresh, thoughtful and unique approach to visual design in everything she does. She was picked to be on AdWeek’s Creative 100 list for 2017.

Andrew Byrom

Andrew Byrom is a British-born designer and educator based in Los Angeles. His clients include The New York Times Magazine, Sagmeister Inc., Penguin Books, and The Architecture + Design Museum. His interdisciplinary work has been recognized by the AIGA and the Type Directors Club. It has been featured in many design-related publications and has been exhibited in venues across the United States, Europe, and Asia. In 2012 he was elected as a member of the prestigious Alliance Graphique Internationale.

Karin Fong

Karin Fong is an Emmy-award winning director and designer. Among her best-known works are the iconic opening titles of Boardwalk Empire, South Park, and Black Sails, as well as the main titles of numerous feature films. She has also helmed spots for major brands, including Target, Lexus, Sony PlayStation and Herman Miller. Her role as a founding member and partner of Imaginary Forces prompted Fast Company to name her one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business.

April Greiman

April Greiman is a thinker, designer, and artist whose transmedia projects, which address all areas and scales of design from communications to textiles and from architecture to new media, together with her innovative use of advanced digital technology, have made her a leader in the design world. Greiman’s work has been recognized with numerous awards including an AIGA Medal and the prestigious Chrysler Award for Innovation and is in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art; Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum; Pompidou Center and Library of Congress.

Kalle Hellzen

As Executive Creative Director, Kalle oversees all creative work for R/GA Los Angeles. A Swedish native, Kalle has over 18 years of international experience building brands and crafting campaigns across agency, production, and client-side roles. His work has consistently been recognized with the highest accolades from the top international award shows, something he attributes to being surrounded by amazing colleagues and bold clients.

Haven Lin-Kirk

Haven Lin-Kirk is an artist and designer researching and producing art and design work that explores design as a cultural language. She is currently the Vice Dean of Design at the University of Southern California’s Gayle Garner Roski School of Art and Design and a Professor of Practice of Design. Her  design background began in the mid ‘80s and includes working in diverse industries such as publishing, tech and advertising fields.

Pash Pashkow

Pash is a designer / author / educator with 27.66 years of experience in the field of design.  He is a President Emeritus of AIGA Los Angeles and has taught in UCLA Extension’s Design Communication Arts program since 2001.  He is currently Vice President of Brand & Design at ABC.

Arturo Perez

Arturo Perez is Founder and CEO of Kluge Interactive, a digital design agency based out of Marina del Rey. Some of Kluge’s longtime partners include Deloitte, Telesign, AdColony, and the City of Los Angeles. Arturo is also the founder of Evenings at the Loft, a leading creative talk series in Los Angeles.

Louise Sandhaus

Louise Sandhaus is a graphic designer and graphic design educator. She was previously Director of the Graphic Design Program at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) where she is current faculty. Louise is an AIGA Los Angeles Fellow and former national board member, as well as former chairperson of AIGA Design Educators Community (DEC).

John Scheer

As our co-founder and brand tactician, John is a true renaissance man who utilizes his many talents to maintain our team’s focus in visual design and creative direction, keeping our ideas flowing and our work fresh. In addition to this, John also spearheads our sales, business development, and culture creation, enthusiastically shepherding Herman-Scheer to new heights of success on a daily basis.

John Tanner

As General Manager at Chase Design Group, John is responsible for business development, marketing and strategy for the LA, NY and UK offices. John has held positions in Account Management and Business Development at Wallace Church, Dragon Rouge and CBX, and has developed branding programs for Nestlé, Disney, and Pepsi, to name a few.

Davina Wolter

An accomplished Exhibit Designer, Davina’s work can be seen at The Natural History Museum of L.A. County, The La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, the Getty Center and Getty Villa. With expertise in both 2D and 3D design; she works in interdisciplinary teams, often providing insight as to how the two fields best integrate within an environment, product or campaign.

Josh Freeman

A past AIGA LA Chapter President, Josh is the Founder and Creative Director of FreeAssociates. His design firm creates marketing systems—from the research, goal-setting, and planning stages through the development of highly effective brand-building tools for regional, national and international clients.

Amy Gustincic

A past AIGA SF Chapter President, Amy is a designer and strategist working at the intersection of business, design and sustainability.

Kevin Kelley

Kevin Kelley is co-founding principal of Shook Kelley, a 25-year-old strategy and design firm with offices in Charlotte, NC and Los Angeles, CA. Kevin and his team of diversified specialists create places and experiences that have The Power to Convene®. Although Kevin is a licensed architect, he has ink in his blood, as both his father and grandfather were newspaper and magazine publishers. Kevin has always had a passion for all things graphic and believes that most problems in life can be solved through better visual communication.

Keith Knueven

Keith Knueven is founder and creative director at his Los Angeles based design studio, Keith & Co. Keith and his Co. create smart, designed solutions for brands in print, web, motion, and the built environment.