EXP Is Something to Shout About!

Jonathan Posnett

The SEGD Emerging Experiential Professionals (EXP) Program helps students, early-career designers, and career changers build community and find mentors. At the 2026 Kansas City Conference, it offers a poster challenge, speaker lunch, mentor meet-ups, and a NEXPO tour.

  1. EXP Lunch attendee asking questions about speaker presentation

The SEGD Emerging Experiential Professionals (EXP) Program creates meaningful opportunities for students, emerging professionals, and career changers to connect, build community, and find their voice within SEGD.

Our mission is to give emerging and transitioning design professionals a space to meet peers, form mentor and mentee relationships, and build connections that last a career. If you’re in the first years of practice, a full-time design student, or transitioning into experience design, this program is for you.

  1. 2025 EXP Lunch

  2. Lineup of speakers at 2025 EXP Lunch

2026 SEGD Conference EXP Programming

Our committee is expanding and evolving! With a dedicated group of SEGD volunteers, we’ve been busy developing forums and materials for the conference, and we can’t wait to deliver an exceptional experience for our EXP members.

Our EXP Poster Challenge debuted at the 2025 SEGD Conference in San Francisco, and this year we received an extraordinary increase in submissions. We’re thrilled to display them at the 2026 Conference in Kansas City for jury review and recognition. Thank you to everyone who participated; your voices are a powerful part of our growing community.

Our EXP Lunch will feature another lineup of inspiring speakers, including Josh Goldblum (Bluecadet), Alex Jeongco (Clearstory), Debra Satterfield (CSULB), and Gerald Sastra (Pentagram) with presentations followed by a moderated Q&A. Each speaker will reflect on, ‘Building a career through community, one bridge at a time.’ If you haven’t signed up as an EXP member yet, don’t wait! Register for the Conference EXP Programming here.

The Mentor Meet-ups program continues to grow and evolve. Come with your questions, your dreams, and an open mind, ready to speak with professionals and leaders from across the SEGD community.

  1. EXP Mentor Meetup

Mentors, this is your call-out:

If you’ve been in the field more than five years, you have something someone in Kansas City needs. Here’s your challenge: over three days, make one real connection with an emerging professional. Not a handshake in a hallway, but a conversation that continues after the conference ends. Sit down with someone at the EXP Lounge, pull up a chair at a session, say yes when a student or emerging professional asks you a question they’re nervous to ask. One person, one exchange of contact information, one follow-up. Meet Me in the Middle isn’t only about where we’re gathering, it’s about who’s willing to walk halfway.

Sign up here!

What else? A customized NEXPO tour and more. Keep an eye out for more details to come!

And lastly, please welcome some new faces to the committee. Jaclyn Marlo has stepped up to lead, with support from Maria Alma Guede; introduce yourselves when you see them. Hannah Anderson, Jonathan Posnett, Melisa Delibegovic, and Chris McCampbell will continue to be familiar faces throughout the conference. And last but not least, a shout-out to the whole team of members who have volunteered to support our efforts through the conference and beyond—thank you!

We hope to meet you in Kansas City!

People also viewed