In this talk, Dr. Dori Tunstall will explore what decolonizing design might mean for institutions and organizations. She addresses the need for Putting Indigenous First and understanding one's individual and institutional positionality vis-a-vis Indigenous sovereignty. She helps dismantle the tech and racists biases in the European modern project that has harmed Indigenous, Black, and other POC design histories and contemporary practices of making. She concludes with practical ways in which institutions might begin to make amends for the harms done by design and truly embrace design that creates liberatory joy for diverse bodies and communities. 

Dr. Elizabeth "Dori" Tunstall is a distinguished design anthropologist, celebrated author, visionary organizational design leader, consultant, and coach. As the renowned author of "Decolonizing Design: A Cultural Justice Guidebook," she is a path-breaker of progressive approaches that challenge conventional design paradigms that exclude and harm Indigenous cultures in order to decolonize them and champion diversity, equity, and inclusivity practices in communities and organizations.

With a global career encompassing an Associate Professor of Design Anthropology at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Swinburne University in Australia, respectively, Dori made history as the first black and black female Dean of a Design Faculty anywhere at OCAD University in Toronto, Canada. Her accomplishments have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, notably the 2022 Sir Misha Black Award for Distinguished Service to Design Education, the inaugural BADG of Honour for Design Education from the Black Artists and Designers Guide, and the 2023 SEGD Excellence in Design Education Award. 

Dori's profound commitment to making an expansive impact beyond academia has recently led her to establish Dori Tunstall, Inc., a firm dedicated to decolonizing and diversifying institutional processes for companies and organizations through corporate education, executive coaching, and strategic consulting.