Suzanne Chou (she/her)

Equitable Design Researcher

Suzanne Chou is the community engagement strategist for the Multnomah County Library Capital Building Projects, where she works with architects, library staff and community members to ensure that communities are equitably engaged throughout the design process. Suzanne received her PhD in the human-centered design research field, focused on improving the ways we design to create more positive outcomes for communities.

LinkedIn | Website

Emi Day (she/HER)

Architect

Emi Day is B-Line’s Microhub Design Strategist, bringing over 15 years of experience in architecture, service design strategy, and civic engagement. With a deep commitment to solving public interest challenges, she has a proven track record in leading teams to develop innovative, community-driven solutions emphasizing human interaction and sustainable urbanism. Emi facilitates partnerships and implements neighborhood-scale projects, driven by a passion for creating spaces that enhance connection, accessibility, and environmental stewardship through experience design and placemaking.

Email

Michael Ellsworth (He/Him)

Co-Founder & Principal, Civilization

Michael Ellsworth is the co-founder and principal of Civilization, a design studio dedicated to crafting meaningful and sustainable visual identities, digital experiences, printed materials, environmental graphics, exhibitions, and campaigns. His work is rooted in engaging, empathetic design solutions that serve public, private, and nonprofit clients. Under Michael's leadership, Civilization has received numerous accolades, including the National Design Award for Communication Design from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum—recognizing the studio’s "excellence, innovation, and contribution to enhancing daily life." Their internationally recognized work is part of permanent collections at institutions such as SFMOMA and the Milton Glaser Design Archives at SVA. Beyond his studio practice, Michael is deeply engaged in design education and mentorship. Michael also works closely with students at Portland State University, providing guidance and support for their student-run Kemeny Design Lecture Series. His commitment to fostering the next generation of designers reflects his belief that design is a powerful tool for shaping culture and driving social impact.

Website

Dylan Haupt (He/Him)

Innovation Studio Program Manager, Portland Public Schools

Dylan Haupt is dedicated to reshaping the landscape of Portland's largest public school district through design and innovation. As the Innovation Studio Program Manager at Portland Public Schools, he oversees programs that integrate design thinking, creative problem-solving, and emerging technologies into student and employee experiences. Dylan is committed to building inclusive, hands-on learning environments that empower Portland Public School stakeholders to think critically and innovate for the challenges facing students, the district, and beyond. His work bridges the gap between education, technology, and social impact, fostering a new generation of design-driven educational leadership. Dylan believes that good innovation is collaborative, driven by curiosity, and aims to challenge the status quo.

Website | LinkedIn

Connor Larsen (he/him)

Senior Product Designer, Design Systems, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Connor Larsen is a senior product designer at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative with a specialization in design systems where he works with engineers, product managers, biologists, AI specialists, and other science-y folks to help bring visual and functional consistency across CZI’s suite of science applications. He has worked in the product space at a range of organizations, always laser-focused on ensuring the best possible experience for all users.

LinkedIn

Mary Li (she/my name)

Multnomah County

Mary Li’s professional experiences include 34 years of service at Multnomah County delivering training, facilitation, coaching, and consulting within and across County organizations to groups and individuals through a variety of learning and skill building learning experiences and methods; as well as extensive experience with and service to the non-profit sector - domestic and sexual violence, HIV/AIDS, general social justice organizing efforts, culturally specific community development and support. She is a proud Asian American woman working locally, regionally, and nationally within Asian American Indigenous Pacific Island communities, and in allyship with communities of the global majority to survive and thrive.

Website

Reilly Martin

Executive Director, Technologists for the Public Good

Reilly Martin is a passionate advocate for leveraging technology and digital services to drive social impact. As the Executive Director of Technologists for the Public Good, she cultivates a safe and neutral space for public interest technologists to collaborate. Prior to TPG, she helped build a U.S. portfolio for the Open Contracting Partnership as well as worked embedded in state government with the State of Colorado through the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University and in local government at the City of Boston. She was the inaugural recipient of the 2018 Public Service and Civil Leadership award from Spark Boston for her work and dedication to the field. With a background spanning technology, organizational operations, and digital services across government, nonprofits, philanthropy, and academia, Reilly is passionate about reimagining how the government serves the public through technology, data, and design.

Website

erin stevanus (she/her)

erin is an artist, strategist, and social entrepreneur committed to unlocking the potential of complex systems through foresight and speculative thinking. She runs a design futures studio, collaborating with leaders across the private, public, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors to bring to life not-too-distant futures. As the founder of an innovation platform, she support changemakers in design thinking and social entrepreneurship. In her creative practice, erin writes, composes, and performs works exploring speculative futures and the mindsets needed to navigate them. You can also find her facilitating deep listening experiences and crafting live digital soundscapes through the sonic sound lab project, which invites curiosity, exploration, and rest.

words | music

Special thanks to our series sponors:

Why “Radical Futures”?

This was our provocative theme for an event last fall. We are carrying it forward into 2025 because we know the future needs to be divergent from where it is now. It will take courage, gumption, resilience, grace, creativity, and a lot of love to get there. Examining the real tensions that come up when we try to implement the imperative to “design with, not for” in various contexts will only allow us to design better. And we use the term futures (plural) because we know there are many possibilities not just for what is yet to come but also for what we’re doing now and HOW we will get there…

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Curious what we’re about?

Read all about our 2024 Design Month lineup.