Portland Presentation: Mentorship and Community

Read Time: 2 minutes

It’s just around the corner! The
2022 SEGD Conference Experience is set to take place June 16–18 in Portland, Oregon, and SEGD has engaged some exciting speakers to present at this annual gathering of experiential designers from around the country and the world.

Included in this year’s roster will be a breakout session on “Mentorship and Community” featuring speakers from Diversity in Design, the Architecture Foundation of Oregon, and COMMA. In this session join us for a panel discussion and interactive round tables focused on mentorship and community programs impacting designers. Learn how these programs seek to increase representation by empowering BIPOC creatives, communities and allies, advocate for a continuum of design education that supports young people as they grow, increase access to design careers, and provide opportunities to mentor and be mentored. Share your experiences, learn how to get involved and start mentor programs within a studio. Read on to meet the speakers who will be a part of this panel. 

Sun Joo Kim integrates more than 20 years of experience in architectural design and project management into her current role as a Senior Management Consultant at CVG.

Téjara Brown has followed a dynamic path to work both in the design industry and the social sector where she gained a deeper understanding of the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the design and architecture fields.

Kim Knowles has more than 25 years of experience with arts and design organizations. In addition to guiding the Architects in Schools Program for AFO, she has experience in arts accessibility programming and worked in grants and education for the Regional Arts & Culture Council.

Fartun Abdi is an African immigrant from Somalia. Due to the civil war, she left the country at a young age. Fartun was the first generation of her family to earn a bachelor’s degree, receiving  her degree in Architecture from Portland State University in 2020. She is now the new Education Outreach Assistant for AFO.  Fartun speaks three languages and considers herself to be a creative and community-driven person.

Precious Bugarin is a creative director and educator. For more than 25 years she has used design as a language for equity to connect nonprofits to supporters, students to design aspirations, entrepreneurs to bigger audiences, and diverse voices to creative events.

Stephen Lee is an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Portland State University, where he advises the group COMMA along with Precious Bugarin. His practice includes interactive, experience, branding, and motion design.

Want to attend the Portland conference and get insightful mentorship tips from these speakers? Visit the SEGD website and make your plans today!