AIGA Philadelphia Executive Board
President | Kelly Holohan | e-mail
Role: The President focuses on the vision and direction of the board of directors. The President is the primary contact between the chapter and the national office. The President works closely with every board member and assists in making “big picture” decisions that affect the entire chapter.Bio: Kelly is currently the President for the Philadelphia chapter of AIGA. Previously Executive VP and Education Chair for 2 years each, Kelly has an MFA in Graphic and Interactive Design from Tyler School of Art, Temple University. She worked in NYC as a Senior Designer at Bernhardt Fudyma Design Group and is currently an Associate Professor of Graphic and Interactive Design at Tyler School of Art. Her personal work has appeared in the following publications and exhibitions: AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers, Art Director’s Club of Philadelphia Creative Annual, Communication Arts Design Annual, Creativity Annual, Graphic Design Makeovers, logolounge 2, Print Regional Design Annual, and UCDA Design Competition.
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Executive Vice President | Maribeth Kradel-Weitzel
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Role: The Executive Vice President works directly with the President in maintaining the direction of the board of directors and is as familiar as the president with the events, programs and activities of the chapter. The Executive Vice President is responsible for working with board members and the president to ensure that the goals of the chapter are being met and must be available to assume the duties and responsibilities of the president in the event of resignation or absence.Bio: Formerly the VP of Education for 3 years, Maribeth has an MFA in Graphic and Interactive Design from Tyler School of Art and did her undergraduate work at Penn State. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design Communication at Philadelphia University and is the principal of Kradel Design.
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Secretary | Edward Crawford | e-mail
Role: The Secretary works closely with the President and Executive Vice President and is mainly responsible for creating agendas, keeping minutes, maintaining the Chapter Calendar, etc.Bio: Edward received a BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Massachusetts (Lowell), and later earned an MBA in Marketing from the University of Phoenix. He is currently a doctoral candidate at Argosy University (Organizational Leadership). He works at the Art Institute of Philadelphia as the Assistant Academic Director of Graphic Design. He previously owned operated Phatboy Media, Inc., a graphic/web design firm located in Philadelphia. This is his first assignment on the Board.
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Treasurer | Amy Davis | e-mail
Role: The Treasurer manages the chapter's financial resources. He/she oversees the financial planning for the group, recommending investment strategies to grow the groups' coffers.Bio: Amy recently joined ING’s digital design team where she designs Flash-based pieces as well as does web design for their insurance sector. Prior to this position, she has worked as a web/print designer at a small startup and other large corporations, such as The Vanguard Group and Vishay Intertechnology. Amy holds a BFA in Communication Arts with an emphasis in Graphic Design from Moore College of Art & Design. This will be her 3rd year serving on the Philly Board as Treasurer. Amy also serves on the alumnae Board for Moore College.
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Education Co-chair | David Copestakes | e-mail
Role: The Chair of Education is responsible for leading a committee of educators and potentially student liasons. He/she will also be the main point of contact for all student chapters and look out for the best interest of the design education audience which mainly consists of teachers and students.Bio: David has been a member of the AIGA community since 1999. He received an Associated Degree in Graphic Design from Bucks County Community College, a BFA in Graphic Design from Arcadia University and his MFA in Graphic and Interactive Design from Tyler School of Art. He has been an educator for five years and has taught at Penn State University, Millersville University, and Rowan University. He currently is an Assistant Professor at Arcadia University. Before chairing the education committee, he served on the committee for two years. Other than design, David has a passion for the outdoors and tries to do as much camping and hiking as he possibly can.
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Education Co-chair | Gigi McGee | e-mail
Role: The Chair of Education is responsible for leading a committee of educators and potentially student liasons. He/she will also be the main point of contact for all student chapters and look out for the best interest of the design education audience which mainly consists of teachers and students.Bio: Gigi McGee is a Professor and Chair of the Graphic Design department at Moore College of Art & Design. She has worked as a design professional and educator for over two decades in both Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Her teaching experience includes California Institute of the Arts and The Otis Institute of Parsons School of Design (now Otis College of Art and Design). She enjoyed a diverse professional background including Seinger Advertising, entertainment graphics; The Office of Richard Saul Wurman, information graphics; and Sussman/Prejza, environmental graphics before opening her own studio in 1989. A native of Philadelphia, she earned a BFA in Graphic Design from Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts). Before co-chairing the education committee, she served as a member for three years.
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Ethics Co-chair | Marc Hummel | e-mail
Role: The Co-chairs of Ethics create a chapter-wide awareness of all issues related to ethics. More specifically, targeted toward business practice and sustainability.Bio: Marc is a graphic designer/small business owner living in Philadelphia with a small bamboo plant and noisy neighbors. He has shown work with the Da Vinci Art Alliance in South Philadelphia, with the AIGA in the Crane Arts Building, and at Bicycle Revolutions in Bella Vista. Marc has sold t-shirts to people across the countries and has them for sale at a couple bike shops too. He's currently working towards a career positioned somewhere between illustration and graphic design.
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Ethics Co-chair | Alexander Zahradnik | e-mail
Role: The Co-chairs of Ethics create a chapter-wide awareness of all issues related to ethics. More specifically, targeted toward business practice and sustainability.Bio: As the Graphic and Web Designer for Student Life and Administrative Services at Drexel University, Alexander creates print and new media materials for the largest non-academic division at the University. He earned his BFA in Graphic Design from the University of the Arts, and shortly thereafter began building interactive, web, and programming experience at various studios and companies. His current interests include motion graphics, computer science, artificial intelligence, and sustainability.
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Membership Co-chair | Neha Agarwal | e-mail
Role: The Co-chairs of Membership are primarily responsible for maintaining and grow the local membership.Bio: Neha received a BFA from the University of Dayton, and later earned an MFA in Design from Tyler School of Art. She worked in Philadelphia as an editorial designer for B&G Design Studios, and is currently working at 20nine Design Studios in Conshohocken. This is her first year serving on the Board.
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Membership Co-chair | Kevin Kernan | e-mail
Role: The Co-chairs of Membership are primarily responsible for maintaining and grow the local membership.Bio: Kevin began his career in graphic design at "Current Medicine/Current Science" in Philadelphia. He later became the senior designer at the Philadelphia "City Paper." While working at City Paper, Kevin also freelanced for an up and coming studio called gdloft. He continues to freelance for gdloft while working currently for Turnaround Marketing up in Newtown, PA. Kevin has an extensive background in print design, and he is always interested in learning more about Web design. Kevin majored in graphic design at Rutgers University in Camden. He is an active member of the AIGA in Philadelphia where he resides on the programming committee and is now a co-chair for membership. In his spare time Kevin enjoys playing in bands, bowling, traveling and working on cars.
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Public Relations Co-chair | Peter Camburn | e-mail
Role: The Co-chairs of Public Relations focus on AIGA Philadelphia’s external communication. They also maintain and create partnerships with other outside organizations in-line with the interests of the membership.Bio: Peter Camburn is the Creative Director at About Face, a Philadelphia-based marketing communications and graphic design firm. He received his BFA from The Cooper Union School of Art, NYC, followed by a year abroad, studying at the University of Art and Design, Basel, Switzerland (Hochschule fur Gestaltung und Kunst Basel). Since finishing school, Peter has been working in Philadelphia as the Creative Director for About Face, as a freelance graphic designer and, occasionally, as an educator. His work focuses on identity, branding, photography, multi-media, and print work. Other areas of interest include hand-built pinhole camera photography and 3-dimensional work.
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Programming Co-chair | Mike Trusa | e-mail
Role: The Co-chairs of Programming are responsible for coordinating the main programs of the chapter with a focus on member benefits and trends. Viewed as event logistic experts on the board and oversee that all events are running correctly.Bio: Mike spent two years volunteering with the Education Committee before taking on his shared role of Programming Chair; now entering a fourth term. After earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design Communications from Philadelphia University in 1998, Mike worked in the field of exhibition and retail design until 2004. He’s currently a senior designer for NGS Associates, a multidisciplinary studio located in Wayne, PA, where his work focuses on print, packaging, corporate identity, and three-dimensional design. An advocate of the latest technology and fast-moving objects (Kelly won’t let him drive her car ever again), Mike’s always open to programming feedback, so send him an email.
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Programming Co-chair | Allan Espiritu | e-mail
Role: The Co-chairs of Programming are responsible for coordinating the main programs of the chapter with a focus on member benefits and trends. Viewed as event logistic experts on the board and oversee that all events are running correctly.Bio: Allan Espiritu is a designer and educator living in Philadelphia. He is the principal of a small design studio, gdloft PHL. He presently is an assistant professor at Rutgers University, Camden, Fine Arts Department, heading the graphic design component of the program.
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Sponsorship Chair | Bernardo Margulis | e-mail
Role: The Sponsorship Chair’s primary responsibility is to manage and communicate the value of the local AIGA Philadelphia community to our sponsors/vendors. He /she will work closely with the board members coordinating events/lectures in establishing a calendar and indetifying potential sponsors for the various events/activities throughout the year.Bio: Bernardo comes to Philly from a far off tropical location. After quitting Engineering school and realizing that Design is the correct path, he pursued a career in Graphic Design Communications at Philadelphia University, where he also acquired a minor in Digital Design. Bernardo enjoys branding, package design, web design and the smell of freshly baked apple pie. After being an active member of his school's AIGA chapter and an avid participant at many AIGA events, Bernardo is very excited to join the executive board and looks forward to this fun venture.
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Fellow Awards Chair | Elysa Stein Soffer | e-mail
Role: The Fellow Awards Chair is responsible for building a committee, gathering Fellow Award nominations and planning the annual Award Dinner event for the local chapter. This person serves as the liaison between the chapter board and other participating groups related to both the award and event (i.e., members, non-members, sponsors, and other design related organizations).Bio: Elysa Stein Soffer is the lead Graphic Designer at Bresslergroup, Product Design Consultancy in center city, Philadelphia. Accomplishments include dozens of product graphics solutions, as well as user interface programs. She is also responsible for the firm’s marketing communications materials. Some of her package design can be found on the shelves of large retailers such as Target and Home Depot. Most recently Elysa contributed to the visual communication of Momenta, a concept project, a finalist in the Microsoft Next Gen PC Design Competition ‘08. As a co-founder of Wonka Vision Magazine, one of the top international indie music magazines, Elysa contributed to it’s success for almost 10 years. She earned her BFA in graphic design and minor in photography from the University of the Arts. Interests: eco-design, pinhole photography and independent movies.
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Web Chair | Dave Rizzio | e-mail
Role: The Web Co-chairs are responsible for the direction of the website. The Chairs will work closely with each board member as a liaison for information to be added as content to the web.Bio: During his 4 years of involvement (3 years as Web Chair and 1 on the Web committee) with the Philadelphia chapter of AIGA, Dave has helped create and maintain an ever more useful AIGA Philadelphia website, and a vibrant Philadelphia AIGA design web presence. A designer and developer, Dave has over 12 years of experience in both print and interactive design. His experiences range widely, from building flash apps and instructional movies to full production of high-run press materials. Currently Dave is managing the efficient and timely completion of web projects for The Star Group.
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Web Co-Chair | Mitzie Testani | e-mail
Role: The Web Co-chairs are responsible for the direction of the website. The Chairs will work closely with each board member as a liaison for information to be added as content to the web.Bio: Mitzie has been an official AIGA member since 2005. She began working on the web committee while finishing up her BFA at Tyler School of Art/Temple University. Originally from Colorado, she worked as a web designer for a few years prior to returning to school. She currently works at 21xdesign as a graphic and interactive designer and illustrator. When she gets free time, she enjoys frivolous time wasting activities, such as hiking, road trips, wandering through flea markets, movie marathons, abstract painting and experimenting in the kitchen.
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Breakfast Club Chair | Lisa Richards | e-mail
Role: The Breakfast Club Chair is responsible for organizing all aspects of the The Breakfast Club meetings - coordinating speakers/sponsors and discussion topics, writing Breakfast Club content for email blasts and AIGA website, tracking attendee RSVP's, sending reminders, and follow-ups, all of the preparations related to the venue as well as greeting AIGA members the morning of the meeting.Bio: Lisa recently stepped down from her four years of serving the AIGA Philadelphia Board as VP, Sponsorship. During her last year, she and Membership VP, Stuart Slater, developed The Breakfast Club, a members-only, educational breakfast series, featuring local paper mill speakers. These meetings, held at Fork, etc., took on a life of their own, becoming so popular that coordinating them became a "full time" board position. Lisa's day job is Marketing & Creative Director for Millmar Paper, a small paper merchant in North Jersey who's she's excited to help put on the map! For 20 years, she has enjoyed educating graphic design customers on the art of specifying paper. You may have known her in her previous life as VP, Marketing with Central Lewmar where she coordinated the much anticipated Central Lewmar paper event held each fall in Philadelphia. Lisa is a graduate of the University of Maryland with a degree in Commercial Art. If you'd like to suggest a paper-related topic to be discussed at The Breakfast Club, she'd be happy to hear from you.
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Design Competition Chair | Michele Cooper |
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Role: The Design Competition Chair is responsible for building a committee and organizing logistics for the local chapter design competition. This person serves as the liason between the chapter board and other participating groups related to the competition (i.e., members, non-members, sponsors, and other design related organizations).Bio: After serving her two years as AIGA Philadelphia President, Michele has taken on the role as Design Competition Chair. Her past roles with AIGA Philadelphia include Executive Vice President, Vice President-Public Relations, and Education committee member. She remains connected to AIGA through the Design Competition position and contributes to the AIGA Diversity Task Force. Michele started designing in 1997. She has worked for Philadelphia Zoo, Moore College of Art + Design, and Paragraph. Michele has a B.A. from West Virginia Wesleyan College in Public Relations and Graphic Design. She has also taught design courses at Moore College of Art +Design and Rutgers Camden. Currently, she is one of the founding partners at Cooper Graphic Design.
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