Watch: Hello From SEGD CEO Cybelle

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Hello SEGD,

I join as CEO passionately believing that the SEGD I have long known and loved can rise to the occasion, even in the midst of a pandemic, and elevate our interdisciplinary global design community by leading the way with thought-leadership, innovation and experimentation.

For over 25 years as the Executive Director and Principal at Gallagher & Associates, overcoming challenges were the foundation on which I built my leadership style and skills. As I switch gears and leap into my new role as SEGD’s CEO, I feel these experiences will propel me to serve SEGD in a new and dynamic capacity.

Now, more than ever, we need to come together as a community in order to: be more accessible and provide more value to our membership, and welcome our peers and partners across a spectrum of practices, backgrounds, geographic locations and perspectives. This will enable us to pivot, reset and recharge ourselves for the road ahead.

This is not an easy ask and it will require us to work collaboratively, to experiment and to take risks. SEGD grew out of great ideas that needed championing; the organization was always at the intersection of something new, whether it was wayfinding, ADA and accessibility, exhibition design or the realm of digital interactivity and storytelling.

Among our phenomenal membership we have the talent and expertise as well as the responsibility to step up and be the leaders in designing a new world that responds to the evolving challenges we face.

We all know that there never was a “normal,” because in our unique areas of practice we were always on the fringe and forefront. So, who better than us to take on the greatest challenge of our century?

Join me over the upcoming month for our “SEGD Summer 2020” series of virtual events, symposiums, and workshops to discuss how we forge our shared future. I look forward to your ideas, insights, and simply getting to know each other better.

Take care and talk soon,

Cybelle Jones, CEO
SEGD