As we collectively emerge from 2020, we pause to introduce you to the team behind the planning and coordination for IAC21:
- Grace Lau
- Teresa Nguyen
- Claire Morville
- Cassini Nazir
We are honored to carry forward the rich legacy. IAC has endured for 22 years thanks to the effort and dedication of a smart and dedicated community. Over the next few weeks we’ll be sharing a “Meet the Co-Chairs” series so you can get to know us better.
No conference would happen if it were just made of chairs. We are thankful to the many volunteers who have worked tirelessly to make the conference possible. Thank you for your support:
Matt Arnold, Alesha Arp, Mykle Brossette, Ken Caldwell, Anita Cheng, MaShana Davis, Vinish Garg, Michael Hardy, Jennifer Jefferson, Agnes Kiss, Sandra Lloyd, Bibiana Nunes, Chiara Ogan, Jeff Pass, Adam Polansky, Dan Ramsden, Nathan Rogers, Shana Shields, Amy Silvers, Kyle Soucy, Sup Suh, Stacy Surla, and Noreen Whysel.
There’s still time to register for IAC21. We hope you can join!
—IAC21 Chairs
Claire is a senior at the University of Maryland iSchool, studying information architecture and user experience. Her experience includes wedding planning, web design, and a paid internship in user experience at the Federal Aviation Administration. As the first-ever student co-chair for the IA Conference, she is bringing new voices and energy into the field. She hopes to increase student participation as attendees, speakers, volunteers, and leaders. Claire’s interests include volleyball, visual design, disaster planning, and crisis management. She is excited to use her experiences to help students progress in this field and meet the people in this community.
Cassini Nazir is a designer of conversations, curricula, and interfaces. He is a Program Director and Clinical Associate Professor in New College at the University of North Texas where he teaches classes in design thinking and interaction design. In spring 2020, he was Designer-in-Residence for the SMU Masters in Design and Innovation (MADI) program. Prior to joining UNT, Cassini taught at The University of Texas at Dallas, where he directed two research labs. He was founding director of the ATEC Usability Lab, which fosters collaborative research with community partners and offers experiential learning to students. He was Director of Design for the ArtSciLab, a transdisciplinary research lab helping the arts, science, and technology communities by pursuing initiatives of societal urgency and cultural timeliness. His academic projects include collaborations with art historians, biochemists, brain scientists, futurists, materials scientists, new media artists, and a university press. He has worked with industry partners such as Intuit, Toyota, Sabre, DFW Airport, and projekt202. He holds bachelor’s degrees in English Literature and Economics as well as an MFA in Arts and Technology.
Grace Lau is an information architect and designer based in Greater Los Angeles, California. She supports the information architecture community through organizing events and mentoring. She co-founded DIA Design Guild, a design community and collective for new and transitioning tech professionals to learn and develop UX skills on real-world projects. Her first IA Summit was in 2007 Las Vegas. She is also the co-president of World IA Day.
