AIGA Charlotte Board

AIGA Charlotte board members are volunteers elected by our membership to lead and direct our Chapter, plan and implement events, communicate with and grow our membership and build an active creative community. Director positions serve two-year terms and comprise our Executive Board. Coordinator positions serve one-year terms.

Carolyn Colonna

President

The President oversees and guides the development of the Chapter, ensuring that Chapter activities are in alignment with the AIGA mission. He/she provides leadership for the Board of Directors and the membership at large. The president supervises the daily administration of the Chapter including financial and communications management and interface with the national office. Responsibilities include: Define and guide direction of the Chapter, oversee board of directors, serve as point of contact with AIGA’s national office, participate in a monthly call with all Chapter Presidents, write annual report and submit to the national office, keep Chapter Affiliation in good standing, lead/moderate all Board meetings and annual Chapter Board Retreat, share financial responsibility for the Chapter with Financial Director.

Taylor Nall

Vice President

The Vice President oversees and manages operations of the Chapter. He works closely with the President to provide support to Board members and ensure they are on-task and have adequate resources. Responsibilities include: Work closely with Directors to implement strategies for each segment of the Board. Manage and maintain Chapter email accounts, maintain the Chapter’s Basecamp account and educate Board on proper use of these tools. Oversee that all AIGA’s public records are up to date (aiga.org, wiki, etc). Ensure that Board members are meeting their goals and spearhead (as needed) task forces to tackle special initiatives. Maintain and post regularly to @aigacharlotte Twitter account.

Banks Wilson

Communications Director

The Communications Director is responsible for keeping our membership and community informed about the happenings of the Chapter and AIGA. He oversees all outgoing Chapter communications from printed materials to web content to social media. The Events Team relies heavily on the Communications Director to properly promote upcoming Chapter events. Responsibilities include: Develop, oversee and manage communication strategy/schedule for the Chapter. Oversee, update and maintain content on Chapter’s website. Produce and send Chapter eBlasts and eNewsletters, manage schedule of blasts. Oversee, maintain and manage Chapter’s blog, Facebook group/page, Flickr account and LinkedIn group.

Rachel Martin

Membership Director

The Membership Director oversees the growth of our Chapter’s thriving membership. She is responsible for encouraging new memberships, as well as, helping with the needs of our existing membership. Responsibilities include: Develop and oversee strategies and initiatives for Chapter growth, communicate benefits of AIGA membership, plan/oversee an annual Chapter Roundtable event, manage event registration and event check-in table, maintain responsibility for Chapter’s cash box, present a membership report at each Board meeting.

Trent Edwards

Events Director

Our Chapter presents many events each year to the design community that enrich our members’ AIGA experience. It is the responsible of the Events Director to coordinate our various events series with the four Event Coordinators and see them though from idea to implementation. Responsibilities include: Define and guide direction of the Chapter’s Events, oversee Event Coordinators, work with Finance Director to develop and oversee event-related budgets, develop an event schedule for the year, lead/moderate a biannual Events Team meeting.

Katie Hart

Education Director

The Education Director initiates and assists in organizing programs that are beneficial to student members, helps design students supplement their education through our speaker events, networking opportunities and student Chapters, and acts as a liaison with area universities, colleges and student groups to communicate and champion their interests and needs. Responsibilities include: Act as liaison between our Chapter and Charlotte’s student (and educator) population, work with other Board members to be sure the needs of our student population are being met (through the benefits, events and initiatives we offer), plan/oversee a minimum of three student-focused events/initiatives per year.

Shane Sellers

Finance Director

The Finance Director provides oversight for all financial related material for the Chapter. He works closely with the President and with the Events Team for any expense related items to ensure that each event has a budget and stays within that budget. Works closely with Partnership Coordinator to provide input on revenue-generating strategies for our Chapter. Responsibilities include: Develop and manage Chapter budgets. Produce Event reports after each event. Maintain Chapter bookkeeping (or oversee hired bookkeeper) and accounting (or oversee hired accountant). Oversee Chapter’s tax preparation. Obtain and manage Chapter’s liability insurance. Provide reimbursements for approved Chapter-related expenses. Present a Financial report at each Board meeting.

Joseph Schlosser

Chapter Ambassador

The Chapter Ambassador oversees and implements all hospitality-related initiatives for the Chapter and acts as AIGA Charlotte’s representative to Chapter guests, other AIGA Chapters, and our local community. Responsibilities include: Oversee travel/hotel arrangements for out-of-town speakers, plan post-event dinners, assists in planning internal Chapter events (retreats, roundtables, nominations), and acts as the Chapter’s liaison – facilitating communication and collaboration between AIGA Charlotte and: its members, other Chapters, the greater Charlotte creative community.

Jenna MacFarlane

Partnership Coordinator

The Partnership Coordinator is responsible for overseeing the development partnerships with area businesses and maintaining partner relationships once established. The partnerships our Board members create strengthens our Chapter, the greater design community and our local businesses. Responsibilities include: Secure and oversee other Board members in securing partnerships for our Chapter. Partnerships include: annual partnerships, event partnerships, resource partnerships and in-kind donations of goods or services. Develop, implement and manage a plan for Board members to secure partnerships for AIGA Charlotte. Oversee renewal of annual and resource partnerships.

Nikki Mueller

Programming Events Coordinator

The Programming Coordinator is charge of planning and executing our membership interactive programs. These are programs where our membership gets to meet and discuss various design related topics with one another. Currently these events include: Meet Market and Buzz. The Programming Events Coordinator works closely with the Events Director. Responsibilities include: Plan and implement one Buzz event per month, a minimum of six MeetMarkets per year. Manage individual event budgets, create and manage a committee as needed. Coordinator may also create committee “Chairs” to head specific series events.

Caresse Duford

Speaker Events Coordinator

The Speaker Events Coordinator is charge of planning and executing our Talk About event series. Talk About is the Chapter’s marquee event series where we bring in nationally recognized designers to present a lecture for our membership. The Speaker Events Coordinator works closely with the Events Director. Responsibilities include: Plan and implement a minimum of three Talk About events per year, manage individual event budgets, create and manage a committee as needed.

John Howard

Community Events Coordinator

The Community Events Coordinator is charge of planning and executing our events that feature local speakers. These events are created to give our membership an inside look at the design industry in Charlotte. Currently these events include: our Annual Board meeting, Design Unplugged and Meet Your Neighbor. The Community Events Coordinator works closely with the Events Director. Responsibilities include: Plan and implement one Annual Board meeting (before December 31, 2009), plan and implement a minimum of two local-speaker events per year, create and manage a committee as needed. Assist Programming Coordinator as needed with Buzz events.

Beca Rosal

Education Events Coordinator

The Workshops Coordinator is charge of planning and executing our Top 10 workshops. These are workshops are design to teach our membership and about new techniques and best practices in the design industry. Currently these events include: Top Ten, and Adobe Workshops. The Education Events Coordinator works closely with the Events Director. Responsibilities include: Plan and implement a minimum of one Adobe workshop per year, plan and implement a minimum of two workshop events per year, create and manage a committee as needed.

Will Jardine

Internet Coordinator

The Internet Coordinator is responsible for managing and maintaining our Chapter’s highly trafficked website. He continually seeks new ways to improve the member experience via aigacharlotte.org Responsibilities include: Manage and maintain Chapter’s website, remedy any errors or bugs on website, develop new features for the Chapter’s website and assist Communications Director in maintaining the Chapter’s digital communications.

Anne Kouguell

Student Groups Coordinator

The Student Groups Coordinator provides support and guidance to schools in starting and maintaining AIGA student groups. She acts as the liaison between the student groups and our Chapter, facilitating communication and collaboration. The Student Groups Coordinator works closely with the Education Director to provide student-focused events/initiatives for our student community. Responsibilities include: Act as the point of contact for our Student Groups, work with other Board members to be sure the needs of our student population
are being met (through the benefits, events and initiatives we offer), provide resources to Student Groups, assist Education Director in planning a minimum of three student-focused events/initiatives per year.

Open Position

Secretary

The Secretary facilitates communications within the Board. He acts as a historian/archivist for the Chapter, records meeting minutes and oversees all Chapter documentation. Responsibilities include: Develop and manage strategies and initiatives to facilitate smooth communication within the Board, record Board meeting minutes and post to Basecamp, manage and facilitate a monthly “between meetings” Board update, manage and maintain all Chapter documents, archive all Chapter materials.