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Meghan Preiss

Lead Business & Service Designer, IBM iX

Meghan is an instinctive translator traversing between complex details and big picture ideas.  Meghan's passion to provide new paths for future generations to impact the world around them is becoming more of a reality with each new role she takes on. It was this passion that led her to become the youngest board member of the World Design Organization (WDO) in their 60-year history. Previously the United States female representative in WDO's inaugural Young Designers Circle, Meghan has worked with global communities to elevate design education and gender equality design initiatives. In the United Kingdom, she taught 12- to 18-year-olds how to merge design, engineering, user research, and business, while also mentoring them through different phases of life. Meghan's devotion to giving back has led her to volunteer and/or guest lecture within her favorite communities: Industrial Designers Society of America, SHiFT Design, Auburn University, Columbus College of Art and Design, Lehman College, Western Michigan University, and more.

After graduating from Savannah College of Art and Design with degrees in Service Design and Industrial Design, she gained experience in both consulting and corporate design roles. She spent a few years working as a Lead Design Research and Strategist at a design consultancy in Los Angeles, where she had the opportunity to work through a variety of challenges with companies like LEGO, Boston Scientific, Hamilton Medical, BMW, Honda, and more. Working on large strategy problems from the outside, Meghan soon became interested in how she could potentially make a larger impact by working in-house. Her time at Ford enabled her to deeply understand customers and stakeholders through design research. This knowledge influenced how she would design new business models and service solutions as a Business Designer in Ford's commercial partner innovation lab. Meghan is currently a Lead Business & Service Designer within IBM iX where she consults with clients to bring her wide digital ecosystem and sustainability expertise to a variety of industries.


Not There Yet: The Launch of a Global Conversation

Education Symposium Panel Discussion

Sept 14, 2022

Main Stage

10:15 - 10:55 AM

With the rise of reverse mentorship and the influence of the Millennial Generation through Generation Alpha voices, why are organizations still endorsing speakers and collaborators who say the same thing over and over? Why do we keep listening to sales pitches, projects that are obviously greenwashing, or the same old design thinking for the win?

In 2020, the World Design Organization launched a pilot program called the Young Designers Circle. Twenty young designers from around the world came together to bring a new voice to the organization, create projects, deliver impact toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and collaborate globally and locally. This group of international future design leaders, now in their second cohort, is ready to establish a brave place, to raise their voice, and say, "Hey, you keep saying we have wonderful ideas, but we are not there yet. As designers, we do not have the influence we should and could have.”

This honest dialogue will address the aim of providing a brave space for young designers and why older generations should listen. Companies and universities should empower their younger voices to speak up and challenge the status quo, because we are constructing the future in which our generation will live. We will announce a global conversation series to have your young designers participate in promoting their voices and impacting the global communities in which we live.

Panelists:
• Owen Foster, IDSA: Director of Innovation, UT Chattanooga
• Meghan Preiss, IDSA: WDO Board Member and Managing Business Designer, Detroit, MI
• Muhammad Khan: User Experience Researcher, Ottawa, Canada
• Santiago Avella-Perdomo: Student at SCAD | UX Design, Savannah, GA

IDC2024

AUSTIN, TEXAS

SEPTEMBER 11-13

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