Who
Lance Carlson | Principal
Lance has been a longtime advocate and practitioner of human-centered problem-solving as a transformative tool; he has authored articles on this topic as well as served as a frequent public speaker on innovation, organizational positioning, and change management. He enjoys promoting conversations about innovation and the experiences of users, and in his exchanges with educators and healthcare leaders over the years, he has facilitated learning about how to frame questions – and act on them - differently. Drawing on a network of colleagues (educators, designers, strategists, and planners from higher education and healthcare), his role is to understand organizational needs and collaborate to shape solutions so organizations and communities of people can reach their goals.
Lance was President + CEO of the Alberta College of Art and Design in Canada, preceded by a lengthy career in a variety of academic positions in higher education as a vice president and dean in the areas of arts and sciences, design, strategic planning, academic administration, and educational business management in a number of institutions. Since joining the corporate sector in 2010 he has served as Director of Design Strategy & Brand Design at Gensler, Principal and (Founding) Director of Strategies and Corporate Development at Taylor Design, and Vice President at Continuum Innovation. Lance holds an undergraduate degree in American Culture/Sociology from California State University Fullerton and Master’s degrees in both American Culture and Design from California State University Los Angeles and California State University, Fullerton, respectively; while Sociology is his behavioral lens, Design is his methodology. He is a citizen of both Canada and the United States, and is a resident of Canada.
AnneMarie Dorland | Associate
AnneMarie is a design strategist and communications researcher; she combines her background as a designer, strategist and researcher to explore the intersections of innovation in the work practices of organizations. Her disciplinary background informs her professional work on the application of design thinking to the development of sustainable and innovative brand strategy and public relations programs.
In addition to her ongoing academic endeavors as an instructor, AnneMarie is a senior-level communication strategist with a reputation for bringing clarity, direction and cohesion to even the most complicated public relations, brand and service design projects. She served as the Director of Communications at the Alberta College of Art + Design; in that role, she was responsible for the coordination of brand development, public relations, media relations and all internal and external communications strategies for the college. In addition to speaking internationally about how Design Thinking can be effectively applied within organizations, AnneMarie has also contributed to several publications on the topic of Design Thinking. AnneMarie is passionate about understanding and sharing her expertise in the application of creative practices to business settings. She holds a B.Des. degree from the University of Alberta, an M.A. in Media and Communications from Concordia University, and completed her Ph.D. at the University of Calgary. AnneMarie is also a member of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), Ethnographic Praxis in Industry (EPIC), the Service Design Network (SDN), the Canadian Sociological Association (CSA), the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA), and the Design Management Institute (DMI).
Jason Mehmel | Associate
Jason Mehmel brings a background in performance, theatre, and interactive communication to client projects that involve the need to develop and present information delivery coupled with skills related to the spoken word as a medium to more fully engage enterprise audiences. Effective presentations can encourage the enrolment of colleagues in fresh initiatives, and advance dialogue within organizations and communities.
In addition to being available for presentation consulting projects, Jason is also the Artistic Director of Sage Theatre in Calgary, a boutique theatre company that creates bold and intimate productions. For fifteen years, he has produced and directed award-winning theatre presentations, and world premieres of the work of renowned playwrights. He often acts as a consulting dramaturge on narrative for theatre, fiction, and graphic novels. He has been an organizing member of TEDxYYC for the last five years; in that capacity Jason has coached architects, physicists, and economists on their presenting skills, formats, and delivery. He has served on arts-related boards such as Fight Directors Canada, and the comics festival Panel One. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Calgary with an English minor.