The MBA in Design Strategy faculty comprises professors and experienced professionals who bring knowledge and insightful leadership skills from academic, business, and nonprofit domains. New faculty biographies are being added each month as we approach the fall 2008 launch of this program.
Nathan Shedroff, Program Chair, Faculty: Sustainability Studio, Experience Studio
Nathan Shedroff is the chair of CCA's groundbreaking MBA in Design Strategy. He is one of the pioneers of experience design, an approach to design that encompasses multiple senses and explores the common characteristics in all media that make experiences successful; he also works in the related fields of interaction design and information design. Nathan speaks and teaches internationally and has written extensively on design and business issues, including his 2001 book, Experience Design 1; he maintains a website with resources on experience design at www.nathan.com/ed. He's a serial entrepreneur; he works in several media; and he consults strategically to help companies build better, more meaningful experiences for their customers. He lives in San Francisco, where the climate, culture, and industry make it easy to have an esoteric and amorphous title like experience strategist and actually make a living.
Nathan's latest book, Making Meaning: How Successful Businesses Deliver Meaningful Customer Experiences, cowritten with two members of the Silicon Valley–based strategic consultancy Cheskin, explores how companies can specifically create products and services to evoke meaning in their audiences and customers. (For more information about this book, please visit www.makingmeaning.org.)
In 2006 Nathan earned a master's degree in business administration from the Presidio School of Management in San Francisco, the only accredited MBA program in the U.S. specializing in sustainable business. In 1989 he earned a BS in industrial design, with an emphasis on automobile design, from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. A fear of Detroit, however, coupled with a passion for information design led Nathan into that arena, in which he worked with Richard Saul Wurman at The Understanding Business. Later, he cofounded vivid studios, a pioneering company in interactive media and one of the first web-services firms on the planet. Vivid's hallmark was helping to establish and validate the field of information architecture by training an entire generation of designers in the newly emerging web industry.
Nathan was nominated for a Chrysler Innovation in Design Award in 1994 and 1999 and a National Design Award in 2001. You can learn more about him at www.nathan.com.
Steve Diller, Faculty, Market Insight Studio
Steve Diller, who is a partner at Cheskin's Experience Design Studio, has more than 20 years of innovation and marketing consulting experience that drives the firm's innovation practice. He also is coauthor of the book Making Meaning: How Successful Businesses Deliver Meaningful Customer Experiences written with experience designer Nathan Shedroff (also
MBA in Design Strategy program chair) and Cheskin CEO Darrel Rhea. (For more information about this book, please visit www.makingmeaning.org.)
Steve is a self-described experience strategist who believes the most effective way for companies to deepen relationships with their customers is to develop meaningful experiences, be they through branding or product usage. Such experiences constitute the cornerstone of effective brand and product innovation in an era of rapid technological change. Recent clients include: The Washington Post, Gannett, MasterCard, Microsoft, Del Monte, Humana, and Procter & Gamble.
Prior to joining Cheskin Steve was responsible for media research at Continental Bank. He also has been a professor at Columbia College, Chicago where he taught advertising and marketing psychology, social marketing, market research, media, and political propaganda courses. He also has owned a film production company and has produced and directed several features.
Steve earned a bachelor's degree in History from Carleton College, a second bachelor's degree in film from Columbia College, and a master's degree in Public Policy Studies from the University of Chicago.
James Forcier, Faculty, Managerial Economics
James Forcier, PhD, is managing director of the strategy consultancy Bay Analytics and chair of the applied economics program at the University of San Francisco.
As a consultant he has assisted such firms as AT&T, Bluetooth SIG, BMC Software, Charles Schwab, Cisco Systems, Maersk, PCTel, Sun Microsystems, and VISA. Prior to consulting, Dr. Forcier held positions as AirTouch Communications' director of strategic technology, Pacific Telesis' competition manager, and Holtz Corporation's chief executive officer.
A member of the American Economics Association and the National Association for Business Economics, Dr. Forcier is the former business & economics chair of the Commonwealth Club of California. He has been quoted in such publications as The Boston Globe, Business Week, Nation's Business, Public Utilities Fortnightly, and InformationWeek; and has appeared on CNET Radio, KRON TV, National Public Radio and NBC Nightly News.
His research into the economic implications of the American legal system was published as the book, Judicial Excess: The Political Economy of the American Legal System.
Dr. Forcier received his bachelor's degree from the University of California and his master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Southern California. He has taught management economics and strategy at University of San Francisco, as well as in the business schools at Golden Gate University and St. Mary's College.
John Foster, Faculty, Strategic Management
John Foster is Head of Talent and Organization Development for IDEO and works with IDEO clients to design more innovative organizations.
John has held senior leadership positions at Citibank, Fidelity Investments, Levi Strauss, and Mercury Interactive. Previously he worked as a consultant with Aon/Pecos River Learning where he designed and led a wide variety of leadership development, team building, and change initiatives with Fortune 500 companies. John spent his first years in business working in computer sales and as a partner in a custom home-building business. He also worked as a program director for the Y.M.C.A. leading outdoor education and leadership programs for K-12 students.
John earned a double bachelor of arts from Miami University in Organizational Communication and psychology. He possesses a master of education from Colorado State University emphasizing experiential learning.
Today John lives in California and enjoys traveling with his family, playing outdoor sports, and enjoying music.
Sharon Green, Faculty, Leadership & Entrepreneurship, Culture and Ethics in Business
Sharon is a professor and organizational consultant with over 25 years of experience working with business professionals and students from the United States, Germany, Russia, Hong Kong, and Beijing to develop leadership effectiveness and business strategy.
Sharon has served as a faculty member of the College of Business and Economics at California State University East Bay (CSUEB) since 1984. As a professor she has designed and implemented undergraduate- and graduate-level courses, including High Performance Management, Business Ethics, Organizational Behavior, Human Resource Management, and Research Methods. Sharon has taught in the Transnational Executive MBA program at CSUEB, as well as in the CSUEB Hong Kong and Moscow MBA programs. Her research has included business ethics, leadership skills development, teaching virtual courses, the U.N. Global Compact in the business curriculum, and Russian management practices.
As a consultant Sharon has taken a lead role in creating change and improving organizational performance in a wide variety of industries, including structural engineering, software development, food and entertainment services, financial services, manufacturing, and education. Her work has included organizational assessment; facilitation of organizational change, including training in communication skills, decision making, conflict resolution, and business ethics; development and implementation of organizational systems, including organizational strategy and design; management development; attitude surveys, selection systems, performance management systems, and program evaluation.
Sharon also has maintained active involvement in community development. She has served as a board member and president of the board of directors for the Family Violence Law Center in Oakland where her responsibilities included strategic planning, personnel management, fund raising, and executive coaching. She has provided pro bono support in the areas of strategic development and leadership training for the Community Institute, a collaboration of Northern California community-based organizations committed to economic development among low-income constituencies.
Sharon earned her PhD in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and her bachelor of science in psychology from the University of New Mexico.
Raffi Minasian, Faculty, Design Innovation Studio
Raffi Minasian is a freelance designer, widely published illustrator, and educator. He holds degrees in both product and transportation design. His impressive 25-year-career includes aircraft interior design (Boeing), toys (Mattel and McDonald's), consumer products (Microsoft, Polaris, and Rainbird), and car designs (Toyota, Subaru, Moal Coachbuilders, and The Franklin Mint). He has devoted much of his professional energy to educational programs targeting young people interested in design professions.
Raffi has been featured on such television programs as World of Wheels, Speed Vision Network, The Learning Channel's Rides, and he also appeared on the Fine Living Network. Raffi has designed more than 300 unique model cars, several full-size cars, consumer products, toys, and home accessories.
His awards include Car Styling magazine's Award of Excellence and the Educators Who Make A Difference award by the Yuba County Office of Education for his efforts supporting the Automotive Academy. Raffi also was part of the design/build team for "Sedeuced," the 2005 AMBR – 32 Ford hot rod.
Having taught illustration and design at several notable universities and design colleges, Raffi is an advisory board member for public school programs, adjunct professor at both California College of the Arts and San Jose State University, and sits on the board of directors for the Collectors Foundation (a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving youth involved in the automotive community through scholarships, grants, and museum support).
Raffi lives in Walnut Creek, California, with his wife and two daughters and maintains his design consultancy.
Linda Sheldon, Managerial Accounting, Managerial Finance
Brad Simon, Faculty, Law and Intellectual Property
As Vice President and General Counsel Brad Simon oversees legal matters for PlayFirst, including all aspects of the company's intellectual property portfolio. He also is involved in the company's business development and strategic corporate issues. In addition, Brad is adjunct professor of law at U.C. Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law where he teaches one of the only video game law classes. Brad has advanced training as a mediator and negotiator and has mediated a wide range of conflicts.
In addition to technology and cyber law Simon has expertise in the intersection of anthropology and intellectual property and has consulted for the Smithsonian Institution, served as an invited expert participant at a global UNESCO conference, and published in the area of indigenous and traditional knowledge and intellectual property. He has also published articles in anthropology journals on topics ranging from curating an African art exhibit to slam dancing and the postpunk youth culture.
Simon previously worked as an intellectual property and technology attorney at Thelen, Reid & Priest. He joined the pioneering international Internet consulting company Organic, Inc. and became its senior counsel and worked on its IPO, negotiated several multimillion dollar deals with high-profile clients, served on the company's change management team, provided counsel on Internet and advertising law, and implemented intellectual property training.
As Senior Director of Legal, Business, and Intellectual Property Affairs at AtomShockwave Corporation, Simon oversaw the merger of Shockwave.com, Inc. with Atom Corporation (AtomFilms), guided the company in its subsequent restructuring, and performed or supervised others in performing the required full range of legal services.
Simon holds a juris doctorate from U.C. Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law and a masters of law (L.L.M.) from Harvard Law School where he focused on international law and negotiation. He also holds a bachelor of arts in social anthropology from Brown University and master's of science from University College London. He has served on the board of a youth AIDS organization and currently serves on the international advisory committee of PIIPA, Inc., a nonprofit that provides intellectual property–related legal assistance to groups in developing countries. He loves his Holga camera and glass fusing.
Naomi Stanford, Faculty, Business Models & Stakeholders
Naomi Stanford, PhD, is an expert organization design and human capital consultant based in San Francisco. Her current work is leading large-scale organization design and change programs in government and commerce. Her skills and experience were honed in the British private sector where she was a corporate employee in large-scale multinational companies. Her early career was in graduate- and post graduate–level business education, and she maintains this affiliation by teaching organization theory for the doctoral program at Capella University and human resource management at Roffey Park Institute in the United Kingdom.
Naomi is the author of two books that address organization design: Organization Design: The Collaborative Approach and The Economist Guide to Organization Design. She also has written numerous articles on aspects of organization design and development, and frequently speaks at conferences on such subjects.
With a PhD (focused on growing leadership capability) and two master's degrees, Naomi also is is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and a licensed corporate Wellcoach.
Asher Waldfogel, Faculty, Venture Studio
Bill Wurz, Faculty, Venture Studio
Linda "L" Yaven, Faculty, Effective Communications
Linda Yaven enters organizational work from the painter's studio and is a creativity thought leader. She provides seminars and services integrating right-brain approaches for the empirical world of work. For the past 10 years she has guided groups in the United States and abroad using her original program "Responsive Evaluation: Creativity, Assertions & Assessments."
LInda is on the Graduate Design faculty at California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Since a 1999 visit to the schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy she has successfully adapted their minds- and hands-on approach to group learning with young children for adults in professional practice. She designed and implemented a project based on creative thinking and assessment for the education branch of the U.S. Department of Defense over a two-year period.
Linda is a public speaker who has presented her seminar "Making Thinking Visible and Social Innovation" at Harvard, AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Artists), the Smithsonian Institution's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, the Creative Problem Solving Institute, and Innovation Immersion for Fortune 500 among others.
An advisor/documenter to Harvard's Making Learning Visible Institute and Project Zero, Linda is currently completing a one-hour documentary titled, Teach Us Something in 7 Minutes.
For additional information about how to apply to the MBA in Design Strategy program, please contact Admissions for a precedural overview or send email to Program Chair Nathan Shedroff at nshedroff@cca.edu.