Michele Y. Washington
Creator and Host
Michele Y. Washington is an artists, designer, researcher, and strategist who works with various cultural and community-based projects. As an A’Lelia Bundles Columbia University Community Scholar, she holds a Master of Fine Arts in Design Criticism from the School of Visual Arts and a Master of Science in Visual Communications from the Pratt Institute. Michele’s worked with Coforma, A Long Walk Home, City as Living Lab, Leadership Summit, Cornell University, and Social Design with MBK. Her current research explores environmental racial issues and displacement. Other research included Michele’s thesis entitled The Afro as a Graphic Narrative and how African American hair is used as a political tool for self-autonomy. Along with her passion for 20th century African American designers, Washington holds several advisory positions such as Sing Sing Prison Museum/Visitors Center board member, Indigo Arts Alliance advisor, National Museum of African American History and Culture (arch and design adhoc advisor), SEGD education advisor group, and Poster House Museum’s Advisory board.
Alicia Ajayi
Producer
Alicia Olushola Ajayi is an architectural designer, researcher, writer, and (still trying to figure it out) based in NYC. After receiving a dual masters in architecture and social work from Washington University in St. Louis, Alicia worked as an associate designer at MASS Design Group. There, she was a member of the design team for the ground-breaking Memorial to Peace and Justice in Montogomery, AL, a site dedicated to the racial terror and lynching throughout US history. She is the project manager at BlackSpace Urbanist Collective, a group of design professionals dedicated to protect and create Black spaces.
Some of her favorite things are re-imagining Black futures, consuming copious amounts of media (TV and podcasts) for critical research, indulging in the tidiness of musicals, and investigating the messiness of our collective histories.
Connie Harvey
Design Consultant
Connie Harvey is a graphic designer whose experience ranges from traditional to emerging media. He specializes in user-centered web/interactive design and development, branding and identity, strategy and research, print, and environmental design. He’s worked with Crosby Associates, Fjord, IDEO, Ogilvy & Mather, Salesforce, SapientNitro, and VSA Partners.
Connie Harvey Design
Angelina Bruno
Writer, Assistant Producer
Angelina is an enthusiastic young journalist interested in all aspects of the industry, from writing features to creating multimedia projects.
Joanna Samuels
Sound Engineer and Music
Joanna works on the more technical side of podcasting, crafting sound design, and I also mixed and mastered all the episodes of the “Akili and Me” podcast. Akili and Me is an edutainment series from Ubongo Media and has over a million followers worldwide.
Joanna Samuels Sound Design
Kyrie Tompkins-Overlock, Web Developer, Overlock Design Company
Sherard Quow, Intern
Mentor: Afi Yellow Duke, producer of Death, Sex & Money