Jacinda Walker

headshot HiRes4.5x6in-JWalker

Jacinda Walker is a designer, entrepreneur and instructor with over 20 years of industry experience, who calls Cleveland, Ohio home. She believes that “participation is the key to success.” Her work ranges from designing publications to educational programming and event management. A graduate of Cleveland Heights High School, Ms. Walker continued to earn both her Associates of Applied Business in Commercial Art. and Bachelors of Fine Arts in graphic design with minors in drawing and computer imaging from the University of Akron. In August 2016, she obtained her M.F.A. in Design Research & Development with a minor in Nonprofit Studies from The Ohio State University. Her area of focus explored diversity in design disciplines and investigates effective strategies to expose African-American and Latino youth to design-related careers. Jacinda is a strong advocate for young people and proudly mentors several design students on portfolio presentations, professional development and career planning. Ms. Walker’s future goals are to help scale diversity in design education initiatives in corporations, school systems, organizations, and museums for underrepresented youth.

Speaking and Workshop Engagements

  • Co-facilitated and developed Design Diversity Index: Building a Data Feedback Loop presentation for the American Planning Association of Ohio’s webinar, Cleveland, Ohio, April 27, 2018
  • Speaker at Art Bar: Designers Night in Worthington Yards, Cleveland, Ohio, April 26, 2018
  • Presentor at Pleasure Ridge Park High School design classes, Louisville, Kentucky, May 17, 2018
  • Panelist for WeCollective Speaker Series, Fort Worth, Texas, May 16, 2018
  • Speaker at the PEP Rally Speakers Series at Austin Community College, via Google Hangout, May 7, 2018
  • Developed, coordinated and co-facilitated Spark216: The Design Edition, Cleveland, Ohio, March 10, 2018
  • Speaker at the University of Texas Arlington Diversity Speakers Series, Arlington, Texas, March 2, 2018
  • Coordinated and co-facilitated Youth Activities for National Design Awards Cities 2017 K-12 School Programs for Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, in Washington, DC on November 9, 2017, in San Francisco, California on January 25, 2018, and in Boston on March 1, 2018
  • Speaker at Phoenix Design Week Methods + Madness Conference, Phoenix, Arizona, October 29, 2017
  • Panelist for Crossing Over Symposium at Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio, October 6, 2017
  • Facilitated Design Thinking Workshop and panelist on Social Impact Student Discussion at Millikin University, Decatur, Illinois, October 4-5, 2017
  • Speaker at Hopscotch Design Festival, Raleigh, North Carolina, September 7, 2017
  • Panelist for We Are Vectors during SanFrancisco Design Week, San Francisco, California, June 15, 2017
  • Panelist with Leaders of Tomorrow (LOT) an NBMAAA’s initiative, Cleveland, Ohio, May 29, 2017
  • Guest Speaker at Diversity Workshop for Design Department at University of Texas-Arlington, Arlington, Texas, March 24, 2017
  • Guest Speaker on Design Research Process for Thesis at Cleveland State University’s Design Department, Cleveland, Ohio, March 7, 2017
  • Speaker at IBM Ask, a speakers series for employees, Austin, Texas, November 10, 2016
  • Developed and facilitated professional practice workshop at Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, Texas, November 7, 2016
  • Developed and facilitated an Adobe InDesign Training session, Ohio Electric Co-Operatives, Columbus, Ohio, August 30, 2016
  • 2016 Design Diversity Powered by Pecha Kucha, Cleveland, Ohio, Thursday, February 25, 2016
  • The Office of Diversity and Inclusion Dialogues Discussions Designed to Suppress: The Impact of Communication Practices on Minority Voting, Columbus, Ohio, March 24, 2016
  • Presentation with the Art Academy of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, April 21, 2016
  • Portique Portfolio Reviews, Creative Control Fest, Columbus, Ohio, September 2015
  • Developed and facilitated Weapons Declassified: Race in Design & Creativity panel at Weapons of Mass Creation Fest 5, Cleveland, Ohio, August 2014

AIGA speaking engagements and workshops

  • Speaker at Dialogues: Diversity & Inclusion in the Design Workplace, Louisville, Kentucky, May 17, 2018
  • Speaker at KnowHER Design Talks at RISD Graphic Design Commons, Providence, Rhode Island, April 4, 2018
  • AIGA Design Learning Challenge workshop at Whittier Elementary and Dunwoody College of Technology, Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 11, 2017
  • Moderate Design Thinking Session on Diversity & Inclusion with IBM at AIGA HIVE Design Conference, Seattle, Washington, May 20, 2017
  • AIGA Pittsburgh Judge for PGH365, Pittsburgh, PA, March 31, 2017
  • AIGA Bowie State Student Chapter Inaugural Speaker Series Careers in Design, Bowie, MD, March 16, 2017
  • AIGA Raleigh Speaker Community Meeting, Durham, NC, November 2, 2016
  • AIGA Design Challenge workshop, Las Vegas, NV, October 17, 2016
  • AIGA Impact of Inclusion: Community Impact Report, October 18-19, 2016
  • Created partnership with the One Club’s Here Are All The Black People multicultural career fair event and developed The College to Professional Walk session, New York City, NY, September 30, 2016
  • AIGA Design + Diversity Conference, Saturday, July 23, 2016, St. Louis, Missouri
  • HOW Design Live Conference, May 22, 2016, Atlanta, Georgia
  • AIGA Design Learning Challenge with PlayBuild, New Orleans, LA, October 17, 2015

 

Photos of speaking and workshop engagements 

Volunteer Community Organizations:

  • AIGA, The Professional Association of Design
    • Chair, AIGA Diversity & Inclusion Task Force— June 2016 to Present // The Diversity and Inclusion Task Force has been created with volunteer AIGA members and leaders from across the United States. The mission is, “Encouraging diversity in design education, discourse, and practice to strengthen and expand the relevance of design in all areas of society.”  This is achieved by Celebrate a diverse array of influential designers, including historical figures and contemporary role models. Cultivate greater opportunity, awareness of diversity issues, and inclusive design cultures. Connect with students, emerging designers, and like-minded groups to support a broader range of future practitioners and leaders.