About

Meet The Board

Working hard to provide the design community and the city of Jacksonville with great programming events and design inspiration and education.

Picture of Karen Kurycki

Karen Kurycki

Karen is an independent designer and illustrator. Design is her passion and she loves to combine illustration with design in her commercial work. Karen has been experimenting with watercolor since her days at Kent State University, embracing its unpredictability and the surprises that can come out of using It. She admits that in her view of the world she usually sees the humorous, the quirky, the slightly off "normal". Karen is a strong proponent of volunteerism, and as Community Outreach Chair for AIGA Jacksonville, she was instrumental in starting Discover Design, a design mentoring program for high school students. In her spare time, Karen enjoys collecting random '80s paraphernalia, creating customized personal t-shirts for every home Jags game and singing karaoke.

Picture of Jim Ward

Jim Ward

Jim is an in-house graphic designer, freelance illustrator, occasional sign painter and cartoonist/writer finding humor in everyday moments. He can be overly analytical and completely spontaneous at the same time. With a natural personable approach, he uses consideration and empathy to relate creative ideas, strategies and approaches to others in a conversational way leading to a more collaborative and confident outcome. Jim believes that in order to expand on this collaborative approach it's important to keep strange company— from typophiles, neurotics, 80's fanatics, the obsessive compulsive, vintage hoarders, day-dream believers, coffee addicts to those easily distracted by shiny objects that make up the creative community—also know as AIGA.

Picture of Brian Holcomb

Brian Holcomb

Brian graduated in 1988 from Oral Roberts University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education and subsequently studied Trumpet performance at Florida State University. (GO NOLES!) After spending all that money and time, Brian decided that music would not be his ticket and ventured into the wonderful world of printing where he has spent the last 15 years. Brian’s experience in operations management encompassed managing offset sheetfed and digital operations. His career in printing has gained him extensive experience in sales, customer service, estimating, scheduling, electronic prepress, press and bindery operations. After spending eight years in Georgia, Brian moved back to Indiana and has joined the team at Print Resources as operations manager. In 2006 Brian and his wife Joey moved to Jacksonville, Florida and started Print Resources of Jacksonville.

Picture of Stephanie Soden

Stephanie Soden

On the 4th day Stephanie arrived in Jacksonville she gave herself a pep talk outside a Cocktails & Creatives event, introduced herself to every person in sight, and never looked back. She's energetic, outgoing, and a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to design work. Stephanie spent 4 years at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and The University of Tennessee earning a BFA in Graphic Design. An inquisitive designer, aspiring writer, and autobiographical comic-artist, Stephanie's interests are all over the board. She also enjoys roller skating, martinis, and meeting new folks at AIGA events.

Picture of Ben Windsor

Ben Windsor

Ben graduated from the University of North Florida with a B.F.A. made from genuine graphic design/multimedia concentrate. Since graduation, he has been freelancing and pushing pixels for Vistakon–courtesy of RR Donnelley. When he’s not designing, illustrating or experimenting with different media forms, he can usually be found attempting outlandish, often ill-conceived acrobatic feats in area parks and gyms. Position: Affiliation: RR Donnelley; Vistakon Email:

Picture of Jeffrey Spear

Jeffrey Spear

Jeffrey Spear is the President of Studio Spear, a leading-edge consumer products marketing consultancy. Spear started his career in Los Angeles, specializing in typography, trademarks and logos. As his reputation for creative excellence spread, Studio Spear emerged as a full service branding and marketing resource – providing thorough category research, insightful brand strategies and innovative tactical solutions to a broad spectrum of clients on six continents. With 30+ years of experience, Spear has collected numerous awards including the prestigious Consumer Products Marketer of the Year from the American Marketing Association. Jeffrey contributes regularly to a variety of industry publications, is an active speaker at conferences and trade shows, has produced and authored a cookbook "Yum! Tasty Recipes from Culinary Greats" and has two more books in the works. Spear lives in Jacksonville, Florida and is enjoying the beach life.

Picture of Bryan Hunt

Bryan Hunt

Bryan is a designer at the American Culinary Federation. A Pennsylvania native, he graduated from Edinboro University with an Applied Media Arts Degree in Animation. He also attended The Art Institute of Pittsburgh to further his education in graphic and digital design. Currently, he fills his free freelancing, playing some music on the guitar or jogging around town in preparation for the next 5K race.

Picture of Varick Rosete

Varick Rosete

Varick is a designer slash illustrator who's been in the biz for over 10 years, designing everything for local Mom & Pop shops to worldwide clients like GE, Capital One and AT&T. He's helped them all with a strong sense of branding – heightening the experiences of their consumers. He's also been drawing all his life and loving the fact that he's able to do this for a living. Although he's got a traditional print background, the last 6 years have been about living and learning in the world wide web as a Founding Partner of nGen Works. The passion driving him now, though, is learning more about animation and motion graphics, while still doing more design and illustration.

Picture of Jose Cruz-Figueroa

Jose Cruz-Figueroa

Jose is more than a gorgeous pompadour and angry eyebrows. Underneath it all, the cogs and gears of his brain churn out award winning designs. Ranging from art deco to steampunk to what ever is next, he is on the look out for something more than a trend. He likes to ghost hunt with a Woodchuck in hand. He can often be found with nature finding him. He also creates music that would be the perfect soundtrack to an Evil Dead remake. He hopes to one day live in a log cabin in the woods with his beast cat Charlotte designing to his heart's content.

Picture of Blake Coglianese

Blake Coglianese

Blake Coglianese is an assistant professor of graphic design and digital media at the University of North Florida in the Department of Art and Design. He received his Bachelor of Arts at Columbia College in Chicago, IL. He moved south and continued his education at Savannah College of Art and Design, where he graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in graphic design. After spending 11 years in the industry he decided it was time to corrupt tomorrows design stars and become a full-time educator. Blake continues to hone his craft with a select group of clients and thinks that every home should have a BBQ and a smoker...mmmmmm.

Picture of Beth Nabi

Beth Nabi

Beth Nabi is an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design + Digital Media at the University of North Florida. She majored in English at the University of Florida before earning her M.F.A. in Graphic Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design. She combined her love for both verbal and visual communication as Senior Editorial Designer at Rowland Publishing in Tallahassee, Fla., where she worked for five years on a variety of magazine titles and special publication projects. Beth taught briefly as an adjunct professor at Florida A&M University before moving to Jacksonville and joining UNF as a full-time faculty member. She takes great delight in traveling, photography, visual rhetoric, typographic mugs, ampersands & Bono

Picture of Caroline Zwicker

Caroline Zwicker

Born and raised on an island 2,463 miles away, Caroline now calls Jacksonville home. After graduating from Flagler College in 2004 her portfolio teacher mentioned her personality and talent might be a good fit for Shepherd and Caroline hasn't looked back. Find her at any AIGA event and be prepared to hear tidbits about public television, knitting, how "awesome RAM is," the "art of searching an antique store," the book she's currently reading, and how none of these topics make her sound like her Grandma.

Picture of Ron Hubbard

Ron Hubbard

Ron is a designer, creative & big picture thinker. A Graduate of the University of North Florida with over 12 years experience in the industry. With both a B.F.A. in Graphic Design & a B.A. in Advertising he approaches things from both a creative and strategic method of problem solving. As Past President and current Business Outreach Director of AIGA Jacksonville, the professional association for design, he works to make connections in the city to help illustrate the importance of design thinking in the business world. While his middle initial does happen to be L he is not and never will be a practicing Scientologist. He is, however, currently exploring the world of designtology.

Picture of Natalie Kennedy

Natalie Kennedy

Natalie's love for design came rather late in her life, during her senior year, when a highschool art teacher brought in a graphic artist from a local firm. She instantly fell in love and decided then that was going to be her career path. She came to Jacksonville from Miami to pursue an education in graphic design at the University of North Florida. After graduating with her B.F.A., she stays very busy creating for the Jacksonville Business Journal and the occasional client. When she's not designing she cuddles with her Boston Terrier on the couch and reads. A self-taught amateur chef, she also loves to create wonderful meals in her kitchen with all her cool toys.

Picture of Shauna Panczyszyn

Shauna Panczyszyn

Shauna Panczyszyn is a graphic designer, hand letterer and illustrator located in Orlando, Florida. She graduated from the University of North Florida in December 2010 with a BA with a concentration in Graphic Design and Digital Media. Since then she has interned, freelanced and held a design job. She has done work for OC Weekly, Brunet-Garcia Advertising, and Suddath, among other companies. Her work was featured in the Communication Arts Typography Annual Two and Graphic Design USA's 2011 design annual. She has also received several AAF ADDY awards at the local and regional level. She has an obsession with type and is quick to point out awesome type examples to friends and coworkers, who thankfully put up with her quirkiness. On the side she's a figure skater and finds delight in teaching her skillz to toddlers who think what they're learning is "baby stuff" (hint: it is).

Picture of Tia X. Wigham

Tia X. Wigham

English-born and raised, with the stamps of twelve countries in her passport, Tia Wigham brings a worldly perspective to her creative approach, believing "an open mind keeps an imagination alive." Aware that the core of creativity is creation - she thinks the process of getting there, happy accidents and all, is the best part. She refuses to go by her middle name Xenia. Although it is tempting to feel like a superhero when her name is called, and some say her design skills warrant that regard, Tia keeps her dreams sky high, but her ego here on earth. She is a rare breed of creative with design expertise and business savvy. She enjoys red jellybeans, idiosyncrasies, detailed storytelling, and trying the newest eateries in town. Twenty years in Florida have earned her a diverse professional design portfolio and a bachelor's degree from the International Academy of Design in Tampa. She currently lives with her dog, Andrew, while working as a creative professional at Pontoon Solutions.

Picture of Meredith Fordham Hughes

Meredith Fordham Hughes

A Georgia native, Meredith graduated from the University of North Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in computer graphics. She is currently the in-house Creative Queen at the Jacksonville Port Authority. Fordham Hughes has collected numerous public relations and design awards. Her design handiwork has been featured in national sample buy-ins and she has also been highlighted by The Creative Group in their New Directions White Paper. Meredith is a board member with two other local non-profit organizations and has also expanded her role at JAXPORT to include several community outreach opportunities for local artists and art students.

Picture of Kim Huddleston

Kim Huddleston

Kim is a nerdy designer and illustrator, who enjoys specializing in web and interactive experiences. She openly admits that she knows code better than she knows Spanish. Originally from the Fort Walton Beach coastline in Northwest Florida, Kim moved to Jacksonville to study at the University of North Florida, where she got her B.F.A. with a concentration in Graphic Design and Digital Media. A modern day June Cleaver, Kim enjoys baking (and experimenting) with cooking and desserts, crafting and biking. She is also an avid gamer and has an up-to-date contingency plan for when the zombie apocalypse comes.

Picture of Jen Cone

Jen Cone

Jen Cone is a designer at Wounded Warrior Project, avid AIGA volunteer, and proud supporter of Synconation Records — a local record label and radio show airing on UNF's Osprey Radio and WJCT. A lover of all things web, hand letterer and illustrator extraordinaire, and a strong background in brand development, Jen Cone appreciates all aspects of creativity. She earned a BFA with a concentration in Graphic Design and Digital Media from the University of North Florida and a minor in Art History and English. She enjoys long distance running, traveling, and making music under the name Daytona 5000 while maintaining a healthy relationship with Diplo.

Picture of Eric Hinote

Eric Hinote

As a former U.S. Navy EOD Technician, Eric used to solve problems with the right application of explosives. Now, as a designer and artist, he prefers something a little more creative and less destructive. From illustrating murals and painting and drawing in his studio, to educating folks on great user experience, creative web design and the benefits of standards-compliant coding, he is always using his passion for the arts and design to create, inspire and communicate a message.

Picture of Josh Simpson

Josh Simpson

Josh Simpson is a full-time front-end web designer/developer for MECLABS. He specializes in HTML/CSS/PHP with web standards and accessibility. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in Graphic Design and Digital Media from the University of North Florida. He enjoys teaching high school students web development and directs a sub-team in a web competition under the FIRST Robotics organization. In his free time, he loves going to the beach, traveling, swimming and playing online games.

Picture of Andy Gattis

Andy Gattis

Born, raised and living right here in Jacksonville, Andy Gattis wants few things more than his city's success. A recent graduate of the University of North Florida's Design and Digital Media program, he's currently freelancing with several Jacksonville based institutions. He loves design, film editing, motion graphics, print design and most forms of design that you can think of, with a special interest in non-profits and social causes. Andy has successfully survived hurricanes, cancer and the Florida educational system. He is a fan of most forms of rock music, he has carried a box of Tic Tacs with him since he was 14 years old, and he is a screenprint fanatic. Talk to him about the Tim Curry film "Clue" and you will be best friends forever.

Picture of Jesse Sison

Jesse Sison

Jesse is a creative raised in Duval County, a Terry Parker alumni and has been active with AIGA Jacksonville since 2008. Sison earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of Jacksonville and focused his senior thesis on corporate identity and branding. He is the in-house graphic designer at Allstate Dealer Services where he develops the creative for internal/external marketing materials including print collateral, signage, event branding, electronic media as well as photography, project management and brand compliance. Considering his role in a corporate environment, he continues to adorn himself with tattoos; listens to insanely heavy music; and rocks a pompadour that would make Elvis proud. Outside of work, Sison spends most of his time in the urban-core; can be spotted walking his pit-mix rescue “Lola”; enjoys traveling; drops obscure movie quotes; and is constantly inspired by his fellow creatives in Jacksonville.

Picture of Kristina Cancelmi

Kristina Cancelmi

Originally from New Smyrna Beach, Fl, Kristina Cancelmi is a Flagler College graduate and graphic designer at a local apparel/music licensing company, Zion Rootswear. Music, surfing and sketching are daily sources of inspiration for Kristina, and she tries to learn something new everyday. Legend has it, there is not a food she hasn't tried with hot sauce on top.

Picture of Brad O’Donnell

Brad O’Donnell

After a nine year haul in the US Army Brad’s now the digital designer over at Shepherd Agency and spends his days slanging pixels into everything web. He loves drawing, making music and getting tattoos. Being creative takes a backseat though to his main passion in life, brewing craft beer and of course frolicking around town with his wife from pub to pub.

Picture of Amanda Langenbach

Amanda Langenbach

After two major changes at the University of North Florida, Amanda found her niche in graphic design. She has spent the last year and a half designing for the Shepherd agency. When she finds the time, hand lettering and illustration are her "go-to" hobbies. You could describe her as an avid Starbucks drinker, riverside resident, cat lover, costume maker, makeup hoarding hairstyle fanatic.

Picture of Amber Aultman

Amber Aultman

Amber Aultman is a designer born and raised in good old Jacksonville. While she loves all types of design from graphic and web, to textile and industrial design, her current passion is user experience design. Amber found her way to design in a roundabout way that began with a B.S. in Psychology with a Chemistry minor from the University of Florida. During mid-application process to med school, she realized her heart wasn't in it and decided to go to Savannah College of Art and Design, where she fell head-over-heels in love with design and hasn't looked back since. She now has her own company, Copal, and works with Void Creative, The Logica, and Pocket Sevens, among others. When she's not happily slaving away at her computer, Amber loves tennis, yoga, screenprinting, camping, seeing live music, and the occasional - nay, regular - cocktail.

Picture of Samantha Wilbur

Samantha Wilbur

Samantha is a senior at the Art Institute of Jacksonville that cannot wait to get her feet wet come December when she graduates to take her first big leap into the real world of design. Loving everything from concept to layout design and branding to social media, Samantha is unafraid to do it all. Challenges are always welcome into her "no sleep till Brooklyn" lifestyle. She loves to travel and hopes to do much of it in the near future. In her spare time she finds herself roller blading to 90s music, researching international design agencies and shopping for the next awesome outfit.

Next Event

Forward: AIGA Leadership Retreat

  • When? 5.29.13 @ 7:00pm
  • Where? Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

About the retreat The 2013 AIGA Leadership Retreat will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from Thursday, May 30, through Saturday, June 1. At More