Verena Paepcke-Hjeltness is an Assistant Professor of Industrial Design at Iowa State University. Her work focuses on the diffusion of design thinking and doing practices in design and non-design-oriented disciplines, with a focus on exploring visualization as a gateway to sketching and creative confidence, as well as design-ability.

She has taught in Germany and the U.S. at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, The Ohio State University, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Drexel University, and Iowa State University. She frequently facilitates workshops on sketchnoting, design thinking, and strategic planning in both academia and industry.