Associate Vice President of Engineering Project Management, Conexiant, Hartford CT

I’ve worked in design for 25 years and stay busy at home with my wife, and daughter, and the BSA troop I lead. That mix of professional experience and hands-on community work keeps my creative approach practical and people-focused.

Tell us how and why you became involved in socially responsible communications, any thoughts on why design can be an especially effective tool for this goal, and, if you wish, give us an example of a project of which you are proud.

I first got hooked on social design in 2012 when I rebranded the logo and materials for our local nonprofit youth soccer club. What began as a simple facelift quickly opened my eyes to the way design can unite a community. The new look wasn’t just sharper; it gave parents, players, and volunteers a shared identity and a reason to feel proud of the club. That experience followed me into my next chapter as the leader of my daughter’s BSA troop. Having been a Boy Scout myself, I knew the values of the program — service, resilience, leadership—were worth passing on. When the organization opened its doors to girls, I jumped at the chance to build something with her. My design work there — everything from logos to event materials — does more than decorate flyers. It signals inclusion and shows these young Scouts that their voices matter and their presence belongs.

Given the confluence of events and challenges our society now faces, does this moment in time present any special opportunities, urgencies, obstacles to designing for good?

Design is a universal shortcut: it can communicate what pages of text can’t. A single emblem or banner can spark pride, cut through the noise, and turn a group of volunteers into a cohesive force for good. That’s the kind of impact that keeps me designing long after the last troop meeting ends.