Christina deRoos, a driving force behind Kresge Arts in Detroit (KAID) for over a decade, recently stepped down as director of the program renowned for its robust, innovative, and steady support of individual artists. She leaves a legacy of increasing opportunities for artists and advancing equitable funding in Detroit.

Since 2008, KAID has been a cornerstone of metro Detroit’s artistic community, investing in creatives across Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties. Funded by The Kresge Foundation and administered by the College for Creative Studies, the program will have provided $10 million through unrestricted awards after the upcoming announcement of the 2025 Kresge Artist Fellows and Gilda Awards.

“It’s hard to imagine Kresge Arts in Detroit without Christina deRoos at the helm. She has been far more than a collaborator…she has been a true catalyst. Christina has challenged us, inspired us, and fundamentally redefined what this program can mean to artists and to the city. Her imprint is indelible, and our gratitude is boundless.” -Rip Rapson, President and CEO, The Kresge Foundation

An accomplished visual artist, curator, and artist organizer, deRoos joined the program in 2013, hired by founding director Michelle Perron (currently director of the executive office for The Kresge Foundation). With a holistic and responsive approach to program design and administration, deRoos and KAID’s team of artists evolved the program in service of increasing artists’ compensation and creative freedom.

Working closely with The Kresge Foundation, the program doubled its Eminent Artist Award, now $100,000 per year, and fellowship award amount, now $50,000 per year, and also increased the number of artists receiving awards each year. This culminated in the distribution of over $1,000,000 via 35 awards, marking KAID’s 15th program year and The Kresge Foundation’s Centennial year.

Additionally, KAID’s “by artists, for artists” approach was instrumental in advocating for improved working conditions for artists. As a result, KAID received W.A.G.E. certification(Working Artists and the Greater Economy), the first model of its kind to establish a sector-wide minimum standard for compensation as well as a clear set of guidelines for the conditions under which artistic labor is contracted.

In 2020, accepting The Kresge Foundation’s request to design and deliver professional development and career support opportunities for the Kresge Artist Fellows and Gilda Award recipients, deRoos led the KAID program to substantially expand its annual program operations. Event and exhibition opportunities, legal and accounting support, and more were developed and produced by a staff of artists in collaboration with KAID program alumni as well as local media outlets and service providers. Highlights include:

EXHIBITIONS:

  • KAID facilitated two online exhibitions, Flash Your Lights (2024) and Counterspells(2025), on view now through July 10.
  • The 2024 in-person exhibition, Representation, curated by Wayne State University, presented the work of 17 Kresge Artist Fellows in honor of the program’s 15th anniversary.
  • In 2019, a multidisciplinary exhibition, Parallel Visions, curated and produced by Wasserman Projects in honor of the KAID program’s 10th anniversary, featured 13 Kresge Eminent Artists, Kresge Artist Fellows, and Gilda Award recipients drawn from the 2008 – 2018 artist cohorts.

FILM SERIES

  • From 2017 – 2025, the award-winning KAID film series expanded to feature dozens of Detroit-based filmmakers and evolved to invite any style of film. Fellows’ films have been screened as part of film festivals locally, nationally, and internationally. Online and in-person film premieres were presented in collaboration with DPBS (formerly DPTV), Trinosophes, Cinema Detroit, and the Detroit Institute of Art’s Detroit Film Theatre.

ESSAYS, PODCASTS, & ARTIST SALONS

  • The Practice essay series paired Kresge Artist Fellow Lillien Waller with an array of fellows and Gilda Award recipients to explore and amplify the distinctions among their creative approaches.
  • An 8 episode podcast series, Subject Matters, hosted by Imani Mixon and co-produced with Red Bull Arts, explored the perspectives of 18 artists, including 11 fellows and Gilda Award recipients.
  • The 22 episode Artist Salon series, co-produced with WDET, featured 50 Kresge Artist Fellows and Gilda Award recipients in conversation with Chris Campbell, Orlando P. Bailey, and Ryan Patrick Hooper.

COMMUNITY COLLABORATIONS

  • KAID offered five years of support for the editors and featured artists in the Metro Times Fiction Issue(2020 – 2024).
  • Three Sidewalk Detroit collaborations took place, including a neighborhood performance series during Covid and artist support for Sidewalk Festival, featuring work by Kresge Artist Fellows and Gilda Award recipients.

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“Collaborating with Christina was a transformative opportunity for us to deepen our relationships and encourage radical place-based spatial interventions with some of Detroit’s most dynamic artists,” said Ryan Myers Johnson, former KAID coworker and current executive director at Sidewalk Detroit. “Christina was an exceptional partner, providing financial support and thought partnership on community facing initiatives that served as a powerful collision of creative experimentation, justice and artist empowerment through direct artist commissions at the Sidewalk Festival as well as an several iterations of our Now:Future Initiative, a conference and now residency that encourages artists to explore issues of economic security and spatial justice.”

Working with CCS, deRoos built intentional relationships between KAID and other CCS programs during her tenure to increase opportunities for Detroit artists while contributing to CCS’s mission as a premier art and design college. Kresge Artist Fellows have given lectures at CCS, curated CCS’ alumni exhibition, and been featured in Design Core’s Detroit Month of Design.

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“Christina has made outstanding contributions to the KAID program over the past decade, demonstrating dedication and consistent care and commitment to the metro Detroit arts community,” said Don Tuski, President of CCS. “Her guiding principle of ‘we work for the artists of Detroit’ inspired the program’s approach to engaging artists from a place of trust, service, and collaboration.”

deRoos has been planning since 2024 to depart the KAID team to focus on her artistic practice and expand her freelance work, coaching emerging and established leaders in arts and culture and supporting philanthropic initiatives advancing economic justice and abundance economies. She spent the past six months as the Director of Leadership Transition, supporting KAID’s new leadership and their preparation to ensure strong programming and resources for artists will continue.

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KAID continues to be staffed by a team of active artists, including Asukile Gardner, Nicole Peterson, Angelina Starceski. As announced earlier this year, succeeding deRoos as director is Katie McGowan, an interdisciplinary artist and advocate.

McGowan joined the KAID team as managing director in September 2018, was promoted to deputy director in 2022 and director earlier this year. Since 2021, she has led the selection process of the Kresge Eminent Artist Award, most recently awarding virtuoso jazz bassist and educator Marion Hayden, as well as the Kresge Artist Fellowships and Gilda Awards, which will soon include a 2025 cohort of artists to be announced later this month. McGowan created and produced the In the Air: Voices from Detroit and Beyond series with Wayne State University and the KAID Featured Photographer project, currently highlighting 2021 Kresge Artist Fellow Brian Day as he shares monthly documentation of studio practices and public art by Kresge Artist Fellows and Gilda Award recipients.

A native metro Detroiter, McGowan brings deep ties to the local artistic community, having co-founded the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit’s DEPE Space Residency program and served as program director for the Ann Arbor Film Festival. Her personal art practice explores the intersection of literary and performance art, often resulting in genre-bending nonfiction reportage. McGowan holds an MFA from The University of Iowa in Intermedia, as well as MA and BA degrees from Wayne State University in English.

Tim Flattery, Provost, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer for the College for Creative Studies (CCS), is retiring, effective June 30, 2025. The renowned Hollywood concept artist, designer and educator provided 10 years of leadership at the College, including prior roles as Co-Leader of Academic Affairs, Chair of the Entertainment Arts department and Dean of Undergraduate Studies.

Leader

“The atmosphere here is electric. There’s a creative fuel that just pumps through every room and every hallway of this institution that’s really infectious and inspiring. I’ll miss being around that constantly.” – Tim Flattery

Flattery’s retirement marks the end of a fulfilling academic career at CCS, where his story began as a student. He graduated from the Transportation Design program in 1987 and credits the program for providing the transferable skills needed to have a successful film career in the Hollywood film industry. “CCS gave me all the tools that I could have imagined needing for success,” Flattery says. “It gave me the tools to think outside the box in regards to solving design problems, which makes the CCS grad very unique. And that was something that was noticed in Hollywood.”

Creative

Not only did Flattery break into Hollywood film, he thrived in it, nurturing a nearly 40-year career in the industry and racking up more than 100 film credits. He has conceptualized and designed for some of the most popular films of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, including “Back to the Future II,” the “Men in Black” movies, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” “Dune,” and several Marvel movies including “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” “Captain Marvel,” “Thor: Love and Thunder” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”

Flattery developed some of the most recognizable prop designs, like the Infinity Gauntlet for “Avengers: Infinity War,” the Batmobile for “Batman Forever” and the Fantasticar for “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.” Flattery has also been nominated for two Art Directors Guild awards and won its Excellence in Production Design Award for his work on “Avengers: Endgame.”

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No matter how far Flattery went or how successful his career was, he never lost sight of where his roots were sown. That’s why in 2015, when former CCS President Richard L. Rogers tapped him to serve as Chair of Entertainment Arts, Flattery moved back to Detroit from Los Angeles, ready to “live the rest of my life back home where my DNA is.”

Mentor

As Chair of Entertainment Arts, Flattery created the Concept Design program, a competitive program that teaches students conceptual skills, 2D and 3D execution, and designing hardware, architecture, characters and environments. While developing this program, Flattery drew upon his experience in the film industry as well as his time creating a similar concept design program as Chair of the Entertainment Design program at ArtCenter College of Design in California.

CCS President Don Tuski credits Flattery’s leadership, hiring and execution for making Entertainment Arts a nationally recognized department.

“In talking with Tim during my first couple of years [as president of CCS], I realized that he had a rare mix of high-level industry experience. That mix of accomplishments in the industry, paired with great academic leadership at CCS and ArtCenter, were things that got my attention and led to Tim becoming Provost.” – Don Tuski, CCS President

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David Gazdowicz is one of the many CCS faculty members Flattery has profoundly impacted. With a background in animating, filmmaking, audio producing and game/interaction design, Gazdowicz currently serves as the Chair of Entertainment Arts, overseeing the Animation, Game Design and Concept Design programs. A fellow CCS alum, he was a visiting artist and assistant professor at the College when Flattery became the Chair. Within Flattery’s first year in the role, he hired Gazdowicz as full-time assistant professor.

During his time working with Flattery, Gazdowicz admired Flattery’s “collaborative personality” and his ability to quickly assess what the Entertainment Arts department needed. He says Flattery gave faculty the agency to make decisions, and he kept the student experience at the forefront of his own decision-making.

“When he came in, every decision that he was making was all about, ‘How do we make it good for the students?’ or ‘How do we improve the students’ experience?’ or ‘How do we bring something to the students that is going to help them become better artists and storytellers, and give them a leg up in the industry?’” Gazdowicz says. “I was really blown away by how much he really did care.”

When Gazdowicz was made Chair of Entertainment Arts – Animation, Game Design and Concept Design, he recalls Flattery empowering him to take on the role. Gazdowicz tries to give that same encouragement and autonomy to his faculty, just like Flattery did before him.

“I feel like [these are] some of the best years that I’ve been at CCS and some of the most progress we’ve made,” he says. “We’re trying to make the curriculum as best as it can be, helping the students as much as we can, really being flexible with the students — and that all comes from Tim.”

Innovating processes to intentionally enhance the student, faculty and staff experience has always been a priority for Flattery. When he became Co-Leader of Academic Affairs in 2020, Flattery quickly found ways to adapt to remote learning during the pandemic, working with the College’s faculty to create online and asynchronous learning solutions. When he became Dean of Undergraduate Studies in 2021, Flattery worked with faculty to redesign the Foundations program. Rather than all first-year students taking the same Foundations courses, the program was organized to be discipline-specific to better support students’ individual career paths. He also oversaw the creation of the Interdisciplinary Art + Design program to support students interested in pursuing multiple disciplines rather than just one.

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Flattery created the Chairs Council to encourage shared governance with department chairs. Through this council, academic department chairs could hold meetings, without the Dean, in order to discuss their concerns in a comfortable setting, create formal recommendations for consideration and be more effective leaders. “He empowered the Chairs to meet on their own and work on problems together,” Tuski says. “It was a very positive experience for the Chairs, for Academic Affairs and the College.”

All of Flattery’s industry and academic experience came to the helm when he was appointed Provost, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer in 2022. Flattery oversaw Academic Affairs and later Student Affairs, when it was brought under Academic Affairs to create a more holistic approach. From student organizations and residence life to resources for first-generation and international students, Flattery uplifted CCS’s goals to cultivate an exceptional environment for students, faculty and staff.

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“Having a clear vision and a plan for implementing that vision is key,” Flattery says of being a provost. “Being a good communicator and overcommunicating is key.”

As Provost, Flattery continued his work of increasing shared governance and streamlining academic programs to make them more efficient. He combined the Fine Arts and Crafts departments to form the new Studio Art & Craft department as well as the Advertising and Communication Design departments to make the new Communication Design & Strategy department. He has also overseen the development of new reduced credit Bachelor of Arts programs that are currently awaiting accreditation.

Flattery’s passion for student success led to important student retention initiatives during his time as Provost. This intentional work brought CCS’s retention rate to its goal within the 80th percentile.

Flattery made CCS a leading example by instituting an artificial intelligence (AI) policy across the College in 2023, making CCS the first Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design (AICAD) college in the country to do so. The four-point policy allowed for CCS students to show curiosity in the ever-evolving landscape of AI while remaining ethical and honoring intellectual property.

At the heart of all the policies, programs and committees, and no matter his job title, it has always been about giving everything he can to the students, faculty and staff. During his time at CCS, Flattery has taught students who have gone on to have their own fulfilling careers in their dream industries. “We have many successful alumni who are doing really fantastic work, in animation, film and game design. And many of them were students of Tim’s,” Tuski says. “It’s amazing just the number of alumni that Tim has taught who have gone on to work on their own television shows and work in movies like Tim has.”

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“He’s a phenomenal concept designer, teacher and communicator, able to get to the core of the issue and provide kind, helpful and directly actionable critiques. Tim helped me develop my skills, craft and design sensibilities. He’s someone I look up to; he’s approachable, humble and down to earth despite his great success. He was, and is, a mentor to me.” – Alex Nakhleh ’24

One of those students Flattery taught and mentored is Alex Nakhleh, who graduated from the Concept Design program in 2024. As a student in Flattery’s Concept Industrial Design course, Nakhleh says Flattery provided helpful feedback on his graduation portfolio during Senior Studio, a two-semester course that helps students create a portfolio of work to share while job searching. Nakhleh now does environment, architecture, hardware and prop design primarily for virtual reality video games. CCS doesn’t have to say goodbye entirely to Flattery — he will serve as CCS’s first Provost Emeritus and do consulting for the College. And you might see his name in an upcoming movie credit; he worked on the new “Superman” movie directed by James Gunn, coming out this July! (Although Flattery retired from the film industry in February, he says he’ll still do some work here and there.) “The atmosphere here is electric,” Flattery says of what he’ll miss most about CCS. There’s a creative fuel that just pumps through every room and every hallway of this institution that’s really infectious and inspiring. I’ll miss being around that constantly.”

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Mark your calendars for the Detroit event of the summer. The largest, free, family-friendly music and cultural event is July 15-20 in Detroit and CCS is proud to be a part of it! This year, along with its homebase at the Detroit Institute of Arts and events throughout Midtown’s cultural institutions, the festival also returns for one special day to the Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre to honor the theatre’s 40 year anniversary. A daylong DJ set by Detroit’s Divine 5 madams outside at the CCS Sculpture Garden is also new and will take place on Sunday, July 20, from 2-7 p.m.

In true Concert of Colors tradition, this year’s festival brings top artists from their respective countries, plus some of Detroit’s best performers, to the Motor City for shows and children and youth events that are always free.

Femi Kuti of Nigeria, Bab L’ Bluz of Morocco, Detroiter Don Was and Chicago blues star Mavis Staples headline. Bollywood dancing and singing; Reggae, Latin pop, African dance and drumming, Ethiopian and Moroccan modern music and jazz, Arab and Turkish sounds, as well as Detroit garage, blues, experimental and pop are part of the show. The full lineup is below and can be found via www.concertofcolors.com

Locations of free entertainment this year include: inside and outside Detroit Institute of Arts, Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, Michigan Science Center, Detroit Historical Society/Detroit Historical Museum, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Sosnick Courtyard outside the DSO, Scarab Club, Hellenic Museum of Michigan, The James and Grace Lee Boggs Center, College for Creative Studies, Third Man Records, Spotlight Detroit.

“This year’s theme is “Get Up, Stand up for your rights.” Fans have asked for years to host the festival at current locations but also back at the Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre and in true Concert of Colors style, we listen to what people want and try to provide it all for the love of free music,” Ahmed said. “Our goal has always been to let the people make the decisions, so this year you can listen to artists like Mavis Staples with her big beautiful voice right on the Detroit Riverfront; it’s the perfect backdrop for a Detroit summer evening.

“Also at the DIA, we’ve heard from fans and in response have greatly expanded our children’s entertainment and activities, vendors selling global wares and crafts from around the world and Detroit, and we are bringing back the information booth section for nonprofit organizations so people can learn about causes that interest them and how to participate, if they choose.”

Concert of Colors attracts thousands of people into Midtown annually who support local business. The festival has never wavered from providing free music to residents of Detroit. To bring major names to a free event is no easy feat as funding comes from grants, foundations and private donations. Corporate sponsorships have dwindled over the years. Last year however, the State of Michigan for the first time granted funds to the festival, seeing its economic value to the region as the largest free music fest in the Midwest.

“Not only does Concert of Colors host the largest names of artists of their genres like Femi Kuti of Nigeria, we also believe in highlighting and supporting Detroit’s top emerging and established top artists,” said Salort-Pons. “The DIA is proud to be the homebase of Concert of Colors once again because we greatly believe in free, world-class programming for everyone.”

Detroit artists include power trio Shadow Show – three women who perform modern garage psychedelic sounds; Mariachi Femenil Detroit – an all-woman Mariachi band; Sean Blackman, Victor Ghannam and Dave McMurray together performing Eastern Jazz; and Emmy Award winner Mike-E curating a “Detroit to Ethiopia’ performance where he will be surrounded by Ethiopia’s top musicians, but doing it Detroit style.

Don Was Detroit Allstar Revue this year is tributing Don’s favorite blues songs.

“The Concert of Colors is a unifying event that exemplifies everything wonderful about Detroit,” Was said. “This year’s All Star Revue will celebrate the vibrant musical legacy of Detroit Blues so you know we’re going to have fun! I look forward to seeing all of our friends there.”

This year WDET will broadcast live from the festival throughout the week along with Don Was and Ann Delisi hosting their popular “Motor City Playlist” the festival.

Concert of Colors at the DIA includes two outdoor stages, a large children’s tent, music and film inside the DIA’s Detroit Film Theatre including a whirling dervish from Turkey; Eastern jazz at the Scarab Club, dance lessons and exhibits at Michigan Science Center, experimental sounds at Third Man Records, a freedom discussion at Spotlite Detroit presented by the Arab American National Museum, live music at the DSO and Detroit Historical Society and Museum among others.

The upbeat, six-day festival showcases Detroit’s top cultural institutions while aiming to unite southeast Michigan’s diverse communities and ethnic groups through music, dance and art from around the world. Its goal is to create a dialogue where participants embrace freedom of expression. Over its significant 34 year history, Concert of Colors has strategically grown into a celebrated, beloved Detroit summer festival – one of the few remaining large-scale, free-admission music festivals in the nation. Every year, the anticipation of who will perform in the lineup creates excitement among music fans of all ages.

Concert of Colors was originally launched by New Detroit Inc., and Detroit’s Cultural Exchange Network (CEN)- both which still exist today – with Ahmed as the festival’s executive director. It was founded in response to the 1982 racial murder of Chinese American Vincent Chin. The inaugural festival drew a modest crowd to Detroit’s then-Chene Park on the Detroit River, but by 1999, tens of thousands of attendees were coming out each year. The festival expanded to three days in 2001, when it was part of the official festivities for Detroit’s 300th birthday, drawing an audience of 100,000. In 2019, the concert expanded to nine festive days. The festival went virtual during Covid-19 with bands from around the world performing from their respective countries attracting huge online audiences worldwide. Today it is live again and always free and evolving.

Concert of Colors is made possible by its partners Culture Source, the Detroit Institute of Arts, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, WDET 101.9 FM, WTVS-DPTV, ACCESS/Arab American National Museum, International Institute, Michigan Science Center, Kresge Artists, Michigan.com, the University of Michigan Detroit Center, Detroit Historical Society/Detroit Historical Museum, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Marx Layne & Co., Scarab Club, Hellenic Museum of Michigan, the City of Detroit Department of Arts, Culture & Entrepreneurship, Visit Detroit,, The James and Grace Lee Boggs Center, Third Man Records. Arts & Scraps, WHFR.FM, College for Creative Studies, The LowRiders of Detroit and West Indian Caribbean and Carnival Association.

Generous Sponsors include Kresge Foundation, DTE Foundation, Wayne State University, Utopia Gardens, Mark Bernstein and Rachel Bendit, Zingerman’s, AARP, University of Michigan Arts Initiative, Arts Midwest, Henry Ford Health, Carr Center, Margot European Spa.

As the festival has always remained free, the event is created through donations, grants, sponsors, partners, and volunteers. Individual contributions, corporations, or nonprofit organizations who want to support music and art can donate via the Concert of Colors website. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. To donate, visit https://www.concertofcolors.com/donate.

For more information, visit www.concertofcolors.com Facebook.com/concertofcolors Instagram: @concertofcolors

CCS Fashion Design student Maxwell Honeycutt has been selected for the prestigious Television Academy Foundation Internship Program . He is one of 40 students chosen by Television Academy members from across the country for the 2025 Summer Internship program and the only student selected for costume design. The Foundation offers paid internships at top Hollywood studios and production companies annually to college students nationwide.

Honeycutt, a senior this fall, will intern this summer with three-time Emmy® nominated Hollywood costume designer Terry Gordon through the Foundation’s program. Terry Gordon is a renowned costume designer who has worked on hit television shows such as Happy’s Place, The Queen’s Gambit, One Day at a Time and The Nanny.

“Being selected by Television Academy members—the very professionals who determine Emmy Award winners—feels absolutely surreal and deeply humbling,” said Honeycutt. “The realization that industry veterans who shape television saw potential in my application makes my heart sing. This incredible opportunity has given me a profound new perspective on my career aspirations and the path ahead.”

“{What excites me most about this internship is} the opportunity to experience the authentic, day-to-day reality of costume design beyond the glamorous image people often associate with the field,” said Honeycutt. “While the red-carpet moments are certainly exciting, I’m eager to dive into the practical, hands-on work that happens behind the scenes—from initial concept development and fabric sourcing to fittings, alterations, and problem-solving on set. I want to understand the craft from the ground up, learning the technical skills and workflow that make those final, polished moments possible.”

“I dream of a career that combines my passion for design with my desire to explore the world, learning from different communities and translating their stories, traditions, and aesthetics into compelling costume work for film, theater, or television,” said Honeycutt.

Originally from Michigan, Honeycutt attended Northville High School in Northville, MI.

The Television Academy Foundation shapes the art of creating television by engaging and educating the next generation of television professionals providing essential resources that help them discover their voices, refine their skills and forge rewarding careers in every sector of the television industry. The Internship Program provides over 50 students from across the nation with hands-on work experience, mentorships and opportunities for accelerated career development in more than 30 disciplines annually.

About the Television Academy Foundation Established in 1959 as the charitable arm of the Television Academy, the Television Academy Foundation is dedicated to preserving the legacy of television while educating and inspiring those who will shape its future. Through renowned educational and outreach programs, such as The Interviews: An Oral History of Television Project, Access: Behind the Screens, College Television Awards, Student Internship Program and the Media Educators Conference, the Foundation seeks to widen the circle of voices our industry represents and to create more opportunity for television to reflect all of society. For more information on the Foundation, please visit TelevisionAcademy.com/Foundation.

CCS alumna Elizabeth Salonen made waves at NeoCon 2025, partnering with Bernhardt Design to create a captivating experience in their showroom, Space 320 at The Mart. Salonen, a distinguished multidisciplinary artist-designer, has unveiled “Meditations on Canvas,” a series of seven meticulously hand-stitched large-scale works that truly embody her unique Finnish design ethos: functional beauty intertwined with a deep connection to materiality.

Salonen’s creative journey is extensive. She founded Mottoform, her design studio, in Helsinki in 2005, later moving its base to Ontario, Canada. Her expertise spans a wide array of disciplines, from product design, ceramics, and textiles to interiors, lighting, and the crafting of collectible art and objects.

Her innovative work has garnered international acclaim, including the prestigious honor of being named Industrial Designer of the Year in Finland in 2012. She graduated from CCS with a degree in Industrial Design.