Leadership By Design 2015

Jesse James Garrett has been one of the most prominent voices in digital product design for more than 20 years.

Jason Kunesh finds simple solutions for gnarly problems wherever people meet technology.

Jen Myers is a technologist, speaker and educator, and currently a Curriculum Director of Software Developer Content at Pluralsight.

Peter Merholz has been active in digital design and product for 25 years, most notably in building Adaptive Path, and now a design executive and product leader.

Chris is a Vice President, Head of Design who leads teams, drives product strategy, and helps executives understand the value of design. He has championed design, research, and content strategy to improve the services people use every day in organizations of all sizes and industries around the globe.

Dr. Steve Julius is the founder and chief executive of HRCG, a Chicago based firm specializing in executive leadership, high performance teamwork, organizational effectiveness and strategic human capital solutions.

Andrea is a designer who has been exploring interactions between humans and technology for the last fifteen years. Her research interests center around the role of reflective practices in organizational design and development.

Dr. Temple Grandin, a world-renowned autism spokesperson, scientist, and inventor, has served as an inspiration and role model to hundreds of thousands of families and persons with autism. In this unique presentation, Temple eloquently and candidly describes the challenges she has faced and offers glimpses into her own childhood, with ideas on how others dealing with autism can meet these obstacles and improve the quality of their lives.

Denise Jacobs is a Speaker + Author + Creativity Evangelist who speaks at web conferences and consults with tech companies worldwide.

Braden Kowitz is a product designer, prototyper, and storyteller. He’s also a Design Partner at Google Ventures and founded the team’s Design Studio.

Bridget Weis-Urbain is the Chef and owner of Cook from Scratch, where she offers a variety of cooking classes as an opportunity to help broaden people’s horizons in the kitchen.

Bridget Weis-Urbain is the Chef and owner of Cook from Scratch, where she offers a variety of cooking classes as an opportunity to help broaden people’s horizons in the kitchen.

Milissa Tarquini is VP, Product UX and Design for Food Network, HGTV, DIY, and The Travel Channel — which are conveniently owned by one company that no one has heard of: Scripps Networks Interactive.

Clay is the Managing Director of Undercurrent, an organizational design unit of Quirky, where he and his team work to restructure organizations for an uncertain world.

As USDR’s CEO, Hillary sets the strategic vision for the organization and helps oversee all operations. Hillary most recently was the Chief Digital and Data Officer and Deputy Minister for the provincial government in Ontario, Canada.

J has been making websites and software for the web since 1998, and has been credited with creating several software features web designers and developers take for granted today.

Danny Schuman is a writer, thinker, and idea creator. He spent over 20 years writing memorable marketing campaigns that built iconic brands like Coors Light, Life Cereal, and Gatorade.

Carl Smith is an irreverent ditcher of the nine-to-five and mortal enemy of the overworked lifestyle.

Stephen brews his own beer and grows his own hops. Sometimes he shares. He remembers when GIFs started animating, when AOL's browser wouldn't read , when Netscape updates were an event, and waiting 15 minutes to download a Quicktime video about an exploding whale. He officially held the title Webmaster when it wasn't embarrassing.