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Fireside chat with Dr Mary McBride | Designing action

Thursday 30 January | 4-5pm GMT | Online

Register now

Designers possess a unique superpower: the intrinsic ability to apply a creative lens to complex problems and envision a future that doesn’t yet exist. Paired with the capacity to connect changemakers and solve problems together – the power of creativity in society is unbounded. Yet, in a time of global uncertainty and flux, why do we so often feel powerless?

As we look ahead to the future, there are lots of unknowns, a wealth of urgent challenges demanding creative solutions. For designers, this is an infinite opportunity to step forward, take action, and address the pressing issues of our time. Progress is within our reach—but it won’t happen on its own. Are you ready to step into the unknown? To pick up your pencils and do something?

Join Dr Mary McBride, Chair and Professor at Pratt Institute and DBA Chief Executive Deborah Dawton at 4pm on 30 January for an hour that will flood your mind with brand new perspectives and spark your imagination. They won’t hand you a roadmap, but they will challenge, galvanise, and energise you to take decisive action.

There’s a mindset shift we need to embody if we’re going to design the right solutions to the big and gnarly issues in our world today. One that embraces creativity, collaboration and courage. Designers won’t act alone; other changemakers must join the effort, but if we can imagine a better future, then we need to step up and make that a reality. What are you waiting for?  

Thursday 30 January | 4-5pm GMT | Online | Register now

"Dr Mary McBride’s expert insight and genuine passion for building a better future through the power of design really shines through. "

Jenny Hillier, MD, Briggs Hillier

"Dr Mary McBride is a powerhouse. We feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to hear her thoughts. "

Sally Forsyth Spark, MD, Point 6

Deborah Dawton, Chief Executive of the Design Business Association

As Chief Executive of the Design Business Association, Deborah works with the industry to champion the tangible and measurable impact of design and its capability for change in business and government, nationally and internationally.

Her passion for design as a strategic tool that boardrooms must recognise, and her experience of the UK’s diverse and competitive design sector enable her to lead the DBA as it works tirelessly to build universal confidence in design investment and support the design industry to deliver on this promise.

Mary McBride Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Creative Enterprise Leadership, Arts and Cultural Management, Design Management at Pratt Institute

Mary is a coach, communication strategist and consultant to enterprise leaders worldwide. She designed and heads up the Creative Enterprise Leadership international graduate programmes in Design Management and Arts and Cultural Management at Pratt Institute.

Mary is passionate about the power of design to enable, engage and enliven, with her research focusing on developing the personal, organisational and systemic capacity for creative experimentation, innovation and change. She heads up the leadership development practice at Strategies for Planned Change and has most recently published Leading As If Life Matters: An Invitation to Attend a Future of Our Own Making with co-authors Xue Bai and Maren Maier.