Thank you for your interest in this event. Online registration is closed. You can register at the door beginning at 6pm.
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Women @ Work
Hear inspiring stories and best practices to support and promote women in design from a curated group of Chicago startups, agencies, and studios. Panelists will share innovative policies that have been successfully incorporated into their workplaces—and share truths about ideas that haven’t worked, too.
From hiring practices to mentoring, we'll discuss topics such as recruitment, job shares, returnships, leadership support, career advancement, healthcare, family leave, benefits, harassment and retention. The goal? For you to go back to your organization equipped with a robust set of potential policies, ready to make real change in the workplace for women.
Moderator
Theresa Stewart
Independent Design Consultant + HBIC, colored
Theresa Stewart is a Designer and Cultural Consultant who has been crafting meaningful experience in a range of industries, including consumer electronics, retail, and healthcare. Prior to becoming independent consultant, Theresa had the opportunity to be apart of design organizations both on the consulting side, having worked for the innovation consulting firm gravitytank, and in-house at a boutique shipping and logistics company.
In addition to design, Theresa is passionate about diversity and inclusion. She’s been a fierce advocate for creating spaces for designers of color in the industry. The focus of her company, colored, is to help design organizations create more inclusive environments for black and brown designers by helping them identify gaps in their inclusion efforts and create solutions, including policy, recruitment, and retention strategies.
Theresa received her Bachelor's of Science in Design at the University of Cincinnati’s, Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) program. She also completed additional studies at the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design.
Panelists
Anamika Lasser
SVP Design & Strategy, Rightpoint
I joined Rightpoint three years ago to help develop our Co-Founders’ vision to create a people-focused agency that builds innovative customer experience solutions envisioned by our clients. This position is fundamental to our company’s mission: We’re collectively focused on our people to build our clients’ futures today.
As Rightpoint’s practice lead for Strategy and Design, my role is to operationalize the design-tech culture – helping our team of 70 design thinkers, who come from a wide variety of backgrounds, to challenge, create and define the future digital agency. Our team is intentionally diverse because the role of design in agencies has changed. At any given time, we must be researchers, analysts, visionaries, and practitioners. Our team’s goal is to help assemble great talent, to grow their careers, and to create a portfolio of outstanding work recognized by our clients and the industry. We are at the beginning of this journey, and, like all journeys, we have learned some important lessons along the way.
I have worked in the digital agency space for more than 15 years, starting my career as a UX Creative Director in Detroit. Prior joining Rightpoint, most of my career had been in client strategy at Agency.com and Razorfish for large brands, with a focus on omnichannel, retail and B2B. I graduated from the University of Michigan with a concentration in Film and Biology. I remain today, as ever, fascinated with how research can inform design. An embarrassing number of my ideas are shaped in the spaces between developing a new recipe in my kitchen, procrastinating rehabbing my family’s two-flat, or debating the purpose of a reasonable bed time for my daughters.
Lindsay Verstegen
VP of Talent, ShopRunner
Lindsay Verstegen has been helping people in the tech spaces of Chicago - from early days at Groupon then later days Braintree and Venmo and now at ShopRunner. At ShopRunner she leads the people team with special care towards creating the very best place to work in both Chicago and Philly.
In less than year at ShopRunner, she’s spearheaded various initiatives developed to create a place where diversity can thrive. She’s always fiercely advocated for women in and out of the workplace, but since her first son's birth in April 2016, her quest has been emboldened. Now with leadership team at ShopRunner that walks the walk while also talking the talk about diverse and inclusive workplaces, she feels she has the unique opportunity to be the change she wants to see in the world.
She’s originally from Wisconsin, having moved to Chicago 13 years ago to pursue artistic endeavors including theatre and photography. She ended up in the people profession, recognizing it as the place for the telling and sharing of important stories and a place for powerful connection.
Elizabeth Haskell
Director of People Strategy, SapientRazorfish
Elizabeth Haskell is the Director of People Strategy for SapientRazorfish. The SapientRazorfish People Strategy team partners with business leaders to conceive, create, implement and execute solutions that drive business results and people development. They provide strategic input and lead programs in areas such as performance management, organizational design, planning and employee relations.
Elizabeth always puts people first and her goal is to ensure employees have amazing experiences throughout every touchpoint of their employee journey. In her day-to- day she partners with teams across the organization on initiatives that support the development, engagement and growth of their people. An expert at building relationships across the company, Elizabeth plays an integral role in fostering and reinforcing SapientRazorfish’s culture, mission and values. Most recently she has been collaborating with the larger people teams on organizational design to help better support career performance and growth for their people. Elizabeth has a degree in Sociology with a concentration on Crime, Law and Justice. She also completed additional coursework in Political Science at University College Galway in Ireland.
She currently lives in Chicagoland with her family. When she’s not at work, Elizabeth spends time with her husband and two daughters, ages four and seven, who constantly keep her laughing and on the go. She also stays active running, skiing, and listening to live music whenever she gets the chance.
Special Note: Due to unforeseen circumstances Sharon Kamra will no longer be able to appear at our Women at Work event.
Agenda
6 PM – Reception
6:30 PM – Presentation
Ticket Pricing
$10 student members
$20 members
$30 non members
Hashtags & Handles
#WomenLead
#WomenInDesign
#AIGAChicago
Join AIGA today and save $10 on your #WomenLead ticket.
Special thanks to Heather Snyder Quinn and Marissa Strassel, AIGA Chicago Event Chairs, for organizing this event and to OTHER for the artwork.
