PROFESSIONAL COMPETITION
IRINA BLOK
GOOGLE | San Francisco, CA
Irina Blok is a Silicon Valley-based designer known for creating the Google Android logo, and redesigning Vurb for their victory in TechCrunch Disrupt. She was a contestant on ABC’s Shark Tank with her own startup idea. In the past 15 years she has worked for various tech companies including Facebook, Apple, Adobe and many startups. Currently Irina is a Product Design Lead at Google Research/AI working on incubating new products.
Maurice CHERRY
GLITCH | Atlanta, GA
Maurice Cherry works as a creative strategist at Glitch, the friendly community where everyone can discover and create the best stuff on the web. Before Glitch, Maurice was principal and creative director at Lunch, an award-winning multidisciplinary creative studio in Atlanta, GA.
These days, Maurice is perhaps most well known for his award-winning podcast Revision Path, which showcases Black designers, developers, and digital creators from all over the world. Other projects of Maurice’s include the Black Weblog Awards, 28 Days of the Web, The Year of Tea, and the design anthology RECOGNIZE.
Maurice is the 2018 recipient of the Steven Heller Prize for Cultural Commentary from AIGA, was named as one of GDUSA’s “People to Watch” in 2018, and was included in the 2018 edition of The Root 100 (#60), their annual list of the most influential African-Americans ages 25 to 45.
MATTHEW MANOS
VERYNICE | Los Angeles, CA
Called “crazy or genius” by Forbes, and recognized as one of the 100 most influential creatives working today by HOW Magazine, Matthew Manos is the Founder of verynice, a social enterprise that designs and facilitates workshops for creative problem solving.
Matthew is also the author of numerous books and toolkits on the intersections of creativity, strategy, and social impact. He has delivered lectures, facilitated workshops, or exhibited work in 18 countries, including 2 TEDx talks. Matthew is also the Assistant Dean for Academic Strategy and an Assistant Professor of Design at the USC Iovine and Young Academy, a school that brings together design, business, and technology in order to create the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators. His teaching focuses on social impact and design-driven innovation in both client-facing and entrepreneurial contexts.
STUDENT COMPETITION
Tammy Black
BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON | McLean, VA
Tammy Black is a Creative Director at Booz Allen Hamilton, on the Digital Experience team. She has been at Booz Allen for the last 13 years leading design solutions and helping to build a full-service design agency. The team has grown into 200+ creatives who serve over 50 federal clients. She has delivered brand strategies for many government clients throughout her tenure, currently Tammy provides creative direction to the U.S. DOT Intelligent Transportation System Joint Program Office and the Recreation.gov rebrand. Tammy earned a MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and a BFA from West Virginia University in the area of design and visual communications.
FABIAN TEJADA
DE LOS ANGELES STUDIO | Washington, DC
Emmy Award-Winning art director and motion designer with over 20 years of experience building compelling and memorable media experiences that resonate. Highly skilled at conceptualizing, planning, and implementing breakthrough design strategies with engaging visual components. Leads development teams and owns the creative process, utilizing the full palette of brand expression to meet the needs of commercial firms, Television, streaming and film series. Delivers original content that garners widespread acclaim, including videos with the former U.S. president and first lady.
JULIA AMES
HUMANKIND STUDIO | Washington, DC
Julia is the Founder & CEO of HUMANKIND (formerly Spoolia Design), an award-winning brand strategy and design studio with offices in DC and LA. Guiding every aspect of the business, she creates bold identities and memorable campaigns for clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies and national nonprofits to beloved local businesses throughout DC. Julia's work has received the AIGA Design for Good Award and an Addy. Her work has also been featured in Print Magazine, GD USA and a number of other publications. Before opening her own studio, Julia worked at Design Army, The New York Times Company, Spot Co and Penguin Group. She graduated with an MFA from SVA in 2005. Outside the office, she uses her Master Gardener Certificate to cultivate a small urban garden with her 3-year-old daughter and husband.