Ravi S. Adapathya has worked to optimize interactions between people and technology in a broad range of industries spanning consumer electronics, information technology infrastructure, and medical devices. In his current role as General Manager of Global Product Experience for GE Healthcare, Ravi leads an international team comprised of design researchers, human factors specialists, and interaction designers. He previously led the user experience team for the worldwide digital capture and devices portfolio of Eastman Kodak Company, and worked for IBM Corporation and Lenovo Group Limited in a series of human factors engineering and user-centered design roles. He is co-inventor of 9 issued patents and 2 patents pending.

Bob Allen became vice president of Disney Production Services, Inc. in 1991, and is responsible for all facilities and services at Disney-MGM Studios, as well as the operation of Disney i.d.e.a.s., a full-service Integrated Creative Content Studio. Bob began working with Disney after graduating from college, and has helped write, produce, concept and manage many Disney projects throughout the years.

Lynda Barry, a cartoonist, is the writer and illustrator behind two recent graphic novels, “One! Hundred! Demons!” and “The! Greatest! Of! Marlys!” which were both named Comic Of The Year by The Comics Journal. Her first strips, “Ernie Pook’s Comeek,” were published in her college newspaper in 1977. Lynda’s strips have been in more than 50 newspapers in the U.S., as well as Esquire and Mother Jones magazines.

Laura Guido-Clark is a design consultant specializing in a variety of consumer products, with clients including Apple, Toyota, Godiva Chocolatier, IDEO and Design Within Reach. Laura also designed the Imagineered Workspace to celebrate Fast Company’s Most Creative People. Her work also includes product and showroom design, product color, material and finish development, and strategic planning.

Steven Heller is the co-chair of the MFA Designer as Author program and co-founder of the MFA in Design Criticism and MFA in Interaction Design programs at the School of Visual Arts, New York. For 33 years he was an art director at the New York Times. He currently writes the Visuals column for the Book Review. He is editor of AIGA VOICE: Online Journal of Design and contributing editor to Print, EYE, Baseline, and ID magazines. He contributes to Design Observer and writes the DAILY HELLER blog for Print Magazine (http://blog.printmag.com/dailyheller/). He is the author of over 120 books on design and popular culture, including "Design Literacy",  "Paul Rand", "Graphic Style", "Stylepedia", "The Design Entrepreneur", "Design School Confidential", "Iron Fists: Branding the Twentieth Century Totalitarian State", and, most recently, "New Ornamental Type".  He is the recipient of the 1999 AIGA Medal for Lifetime Achievement. His website is www.hellerbooks.com.

Carl N. Hodges is the Founding Director of the University of Arizona’s Environmental Research Laboratory (ERL) (1967). Currently he is Chairman of the Seawater Foundation, a US 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to addressing ecological issues (including global warming) using Integrated Seawater Agriculture Systems (ISAS), and Co-Chairman of the for-profit company, Global Seawater, Inc. 

Carl has worked on projects to address the challenge of increasing atmospheric carbon since the late 1970s.  That started with his associations at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. Carl worked with Dr. Walter Orr Roberts on the preparation of the 1981 American Association for the Advancement of Science book, Climate’s Impact on Food Supplies – Strategies and Technologies for Climate-Defensive Food Production.  He has since published on that topic in various scientific and popular publications.

Dave Mason was born in England and raised in Canada, where he formed his own design firm in 1984. He and co-founders Greg and Pat Samata formed Chicago/Vancouver-based SamataMason Inc. in 1995. His strategy and design work for clients such as Sesame Workshop, Swiss Army Brands, TRW, Broderbund Software and QLT has been honored in hundreds of national and international competitions and publications. He has served as a guest speaker at design industry functions and schools and has served as a juror for design competitions across North America and in Asia. Dave has also co-founded a number of successful business ventures including OpinionLab, Inc., the leader in web-based VoC (voice of customer) intelligence systems, Cusp Conference LLC, which produces an annual conference about "the design of everything," and documentary producer NoisemakerFilms.

Sir Ken Robinson is a consultant for the development of creativity, innovation and human resources. He works with governments in Europe, the UK, Asia and the U.S., Fortune 500 companies and worldwide cultural organizations. He is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Warwick in the UK, and travels around the world speaking about the creative challenges facing business and education.

Kath Straub is the principal of Usability.org, and works with organizations and agencies to design, integrate and evaluate content that shapes consumer behavior. Her research and methods have been applied extensively within the consumer health, financial and government services industries. Her previous work includes nine years as the Chief Scientist at Human Factors International.

Dr. Larry Thompson is President of Ringling College of Art & Design, which is ranked by BusinessWeek as one of the Top 60 design schools in the world, and one the top institutions in the U.S. As host, Larry will share his vision for integrating design thinking and practice into business curriculum, and explore trends in design and business education.

• Ringling College of Art & Design

Alissa Walker is a freelance writer who can most often be found in Los Angeles. She writes about design, architecture, cities and transportation for publications including Fast Company, I.D., Print, GOOD, Dwell, ReadyMade, Architect's Newspaper, Design Observer, Core77, and LA Weekly, and is the associate producer for the public radio show “DnA: Design and Architecture,” hosted by Frances Anderton. In 2009 Chronicle Books published City Walks Architecture: New York City, a walking guide to the city’s notable architecture, which Alissa researched, wrote and photographed over the course of a sticky New York summer. Alissa is the co-creator, with Casey Caplowe of GOOD Design, an event series where designers present solutions to problems posed by urban leaders. She lives in a royal blue house in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, where she throws ice cream socials, tends to a drought-tolerant garden, writes infrequently on her blog, Gelatobaby, and relishes life in L.A. without a car.