BETTER WORLD X design
BETTER WORLD X design
WHAT IS roots ?
Mitchell Joachim
TERREFORM
Mitchell Joachim, PhD, Assoc. AIA, is Co-Founder of Terreform ONE and Professor of Practice at New York University. A leader in ecological design, biotechnology, and future cities, he previously worked in the architectural offices of Frank Gehry, I.M. Pei, and Moshe Safdie. He is a Fulbright Scholar, TED Senior Fellow, and recipient of fellowships from Safdie Architects and the Martin Society for Sustainability at MIT.
Joachim has been recognized by Rolling Stone as one of “The 100 People Who Are Changing America” and by Wired on “The Smart List: 15 People the Next President Should Listen To.” His honors include the NEA Grant for Arts Projects, Fast Company Design of the Year, ARCHITECT R+D Award, AIA New York Urban Design Merit Award, Victor Papanek Social Design Award, Zumtobel Group Award for Sustainability, Architizer A+ Award, History Channel Infiniti Award for City of the Future, and Time Magazine’s Best Invention Award with MIT Smart Cities.
He is the co-author of four books, including Design with Life: Biotech Architecture and Resilient Cities and Super Cells: Building with Biology. His work has been exhibited internationally, including at MoMA, the Venice Biennale, Seoul Biennale, and major museums and cultural institutions worldwide. Joachim holds a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Master in Urban Design from Harvard University, a Master of Architecture from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Professional Studies with honors from the University at Buffalo.
Mitch Jafery
IDEO
Mitch Jafery is a Global Creative Director and Design Strategist who helps leaders and organizations translate brave strategies into powerful, sensorial experiences across mediums. Most recently, she served as Chief Creative Officer at IDEO and spent a decade in the Middle East, where she co-founded and led the Dubai Design Lab as a new wing of the UAE Government. She also founded the Friday Foundation in Los Angeles, an art gallery and platform celebrating creative voices from the Global South. With a background in sociology and psychology, her practice is grounded in design strategy, brand building and storytelling, cultural foresight and cross-cultural trendspotting, emerging tech, human-centered design, and an unrelenting quest to explore the next global aesthetic edges. Over the past 20 years, she has partnered with organizations including MTV, Beyoncé, Adidas, and Bose to shape brands, products, and experiences across industries, from fashion and hospitality to entertainment and education. She has taught at Harvard University, the MIT Media Lab, Intercorp in Peru, Fabrica in Italy, the Dubai Future Academy, and Ithra in Saudi Arabia. She firmly believes the world deserves a rewilding of the collective imagination in service of braver, more beautiful futures for all.
Grace Jun
UGA
Named in Vogue Business “100 Innovators” of 2025, Grace Jun is a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Georgia (UGA) where she examines the intersection of disability and collaborative design processes. In this space, she researches how accessibility is created and negotiated within graphic design and fashion, spotlighting how creative making in these fields actively constructs inclusive practices. Her latest book released by Bloomsbury Publishing, Fashion, Disability and Co-design, offers a curated sampling of design processes inclusive of disability, and a close investigation into specific clothing applications. Grace has held different positions in the tech industry, academia, and entrepreneurial business. This has influenced her work to be interdisciplinary, leading her to become a founding member of the national award-winning disability nonprofit called Open Style Lab. Grace has been asked to speak about disability and design in numerous settings around the world and has been featured in Forbes, the Washington Post and NYTimes Style. She is also a proud alumnus of both Parsons School of Design and RISD majoring in Design & Technology (MFA) and Graphic Design (BFA) respectively.
Asher Intebi
WXY Studio
Asher Intebi is an architect and urban designer at WXY Studio, where he is the Managing Director of Architecture. At WXY, he has led a variety of projects including the first capital project for the renowned Storm King Art Center; the urban design strategy for Anable Basin, a large-scale rezoning project on the waterfront of Long Island City; the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation’s artist residency program on Captiva Island; and the Gansevoort Square rezoning in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Asher has a background in both architecture and business, and holds a certificate in Real Estate Development from Fordham University. Before joining WXY, Asher worked on major cultural, civic, and institutional projects across the country, including the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago with Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects.
Zoey Zhu
IDEO
Ziyuan “Zoey” Zhu is a designer, creative technologist, and curator exploring the intersection of art, design, and emerging technology. At IDEO, a global design company committed to fostering social impact with human-centric design, she helps teams tangibly explore the future of product experience with creativity and technologies, including AI, spatial computing, and data visualization. Her works have been featured in SXSW, iF Design Trend Conference, MIT Museum, SF Design Week, IDSA, NY Climate Week, and more.
By day, she works at IDEO, prototyping new product experiences with AI and spatial computing. She is also the co-founder of FuturePIXEL, a cultural platform bringing together artists, technologists, and founders to explore the future of creativity.
Julia Chu
BUCK
Julia Chu is an artist from Hong Kong, now based in New York and working as a designer at BUCK. She holds a BFA in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her creative practice spans design systems, experimental creative tools, and world-building, guided by a passion for creating human connection through visual storytelling.
At BUCK, she has worked with clients across technology, finance, and media, including Microsoft, Apple, Sphere, and JPMorgan Chase. Alongside her commercial design work, Julia explores new tools and mediums in her art practice, experimenting with new ways of making while staying connected to the people, memories, and instincts that give her work meaning.
Mitchell Joachim
TERREFORM
Mitchell Joachim, PhD, Assoc. AIA, is Co-Founder of Terreform ONE and Professor of Practice at New York University. A leader in ecological design, biotechnology, and future cities, he previously worked in the architectural offices of Frank Gehry, I.M. Pei, and Moshe Safdie. He is a Fulbright Scholar, TED Senior Fellow, and recipient of fellowships from Safdie Architects and the Martin Society for Sustainability at MIT.
Joachim has been recognized by Rolling Stone as one of “The 100 People Who Are Changing America” and by Wired on “The Smart List: 15 People the Next President Should Listen To.” His honors include the NEA Grant for Arts Projects, Fast Company Design of the Year, ARCHITECT R+D Award, AIA New York Urban Design Merit Award, Victor Papanek Social Design Award, Zumtobel Group Award for Sustainability, Architizer A+ Award, History Channel Infiniti Award for City of the Future, and Time Magazine’s Best Invention Award with MIT Smart Cities.
He is the co-author of four books, including Design with Life: Biotech Architecture and Resilient Cities and Super Cells: Building with Biology. His work has been exhibited internationally, including at MoMA, the Venice Biennale, Seoul Biennale, and major museums and cultural institutions worldwide. Joachim holds a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Master in Urban Design from Harvard University, a Master of Architecture from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Professional Studies with honors from the University at Buffalo.
Mitch Jafery
IDEO
Mitch Jafery is a Global Creative Director and Design Strategist who helps leaders and organizations translate brave strategies into powerful, sensorial experiences across mediums. Most recently, she served as Chief Creative Officer at IDEO and spent a decade in the Middle East, where she co-founded and led the Dubai Design Lab as a new wing of the UAE Government. She also founded the Friday Foundation in Los Angeles, an art gallery and platform celebrating creative voices from the Global South. With a background in sociology and psychology, her practice is grounded in design strategy, brand building and storytelling, cultural foresight and cross-cultural trendspotting, emerging tech, human-centered design, and an unrelenting quest to explore the next global aesthetic edges. Over the past 20 years, she has partnered with organizations including MTV, Beyoncé, Adidas, and Bose to shape brands, products, and experiences across industries, from fashion and hospitality to entertainment and education. She has taught at Harvard University, the MIT Media Lab, Intercorp in Peru, Fabrica in Italy, the Dubai Future Academy, and Ithra in Saudi Arabia. She firmly believes the world deserves a rewilding of the collective imagination in service of braver, more beautiful futures for all.
Grace Jun
UGA
Named in Vogue Business “100 Innovators” of 2025, Grace Jun is a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Georgia (UGA) where she examines the intersection of disability and collaborative design processes. In this space, she researches how accessibility is created and negotiated within graphic design and fashion, spotlighting how creative making in these fields actively constructs inclusive practices. Her latest book released by Bloomsbury Publishing, Fashion, Disability and Co-design, offers a curated sampling of design processes inclusive of disability, and a close investigation into specific clothing applications. Grace has held different positions in the tech industry, academia, and entrepreneurial business. This has influenced her work to be interdisciplinary, leading her to become a founding member of the national award-winning disability nonprofit called Open Style Lab. Grace has been asked to speak about disability and design in numerous settings around the world and has been featured in Forbes, the Washington Post and NYTimes Style. She is also a proud alumnus of both Parsons School of Design and RISD majoring in Design & Technology (MFA) and Graphic Design (BFA) respectively.
Asher Intebi
WXY Studio
Asher Intebi is an architect and urban designer at WXY Studio, where he is the Managing Director of Architecture. At WXY, he has led a variety of projects including the first capital project for the renowned Storm King Art Center; the urban design strategy for Anable Basin, a large-scale rezoning project on the waterfront of Long Island City; the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation’s artist residency program on Captiva Island; and the Gansevoort Square rezoning in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Asher has a background in both architecture and business, and holds a certificate in Real Estate Development from Fordham University. Before joining WXY, Asher worked on major cultural, civic, and institutional projects across the country, including the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago with Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects.
Zoey Zhu
IDEO
Ziyuan “Zoey” Zhu is a designer, creative technologist, and curator exploring the intersection of art, design, and emerging technology. At IDEO, a global design company committed to fostering social impact with human-centric design, she helps teams tangibly explore the future of product experience with creativity and technologies, including AI, spatial computing, and data visualization. Her works have been featured in SXSW, iF Design Trend Conference, MIT Museum, SF Design Week, IDSA, NY Climate Week, and more.
By day, she works at IDEO, prototyping new product experiences with AI and spatial computing. She is also the co-founder of FuturePIXEL, a cultural platform bringing together artists, technologists, and founders to explore the future of creativity.
Julia Chu
BUCK
Julia Chu is an artist from Hong Kong, now based in New York and working as a designer at BUCK. She holds a BFA in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her creative practice spans design systems, experimental creative tools, and world-building, guided by a passion for creating human connection through visual storytelling.
At BUCK, she has worked with clients across technology, finance, and media, including Microsoft, Apple, Sphere, and JPMorgan Chase. Alongside her commercial design work, Julia explores new tools and mediums in her art practice, experimenting with new ways of making while staying connected to the people, memories, and instincts that give her work meaning.
The roots of our histories run deep in complex tangled ecological systems, connecting all of us together in ways we can’t imagine. From the networks of our families, to the networks we form throughout life, the core of our work, and selves are ROOTED in our identities. These roots shift and transform, ever evolving along us. In today’s age, we find that our networks extend beyond those in our immediate circle, extending to creatives across disciplines to address the ever global challenges and issues.
How is it that we can uproot and reroute the work that we engage in as creatives, makers, designers,
and imagineers?
The roots of our histories run deep in complex tangled ecological systems, connecting all of us together in ways we can’t imagine. From the networks of our families, to the networks we form throughout life, the core of our work, and selves are ROOTED in our identities. These roots shift and transform, ever evolving along us. In today’s age, we find that our networks extend beyond those in our immediate circle, extending to creatives across disciplines to address the ever global challenges and issues.
How is it that we can uproot and reroute the work that we engage in as creatives, makers, designers, and imagineers?
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Breakfast & Check In
9:30 - 10:00 AM
Sayles (Brown)
10 - 11:00 AM
Keynote: Mitchell Joachim
Sayles (Brown)
11:10 - 12:10 PM
Asher Intebi
Friedman 102 (Brown)
12:10 - 12:40 PM
Lunch
Sayles (Brown)
12:40 - 1:20 PM
Continued lunch (networking tabling opportunity)
Sayles (Brown)
1:30 - 2:30 PM
Grace Jun Zoey Zhu
Friedman 202, Friedman 208 (Brown)
2:40 - 3:40 PM
Julia Chu
Grace Jun
Friedman 108, Friedman 202 (Brown)
3:50 - 4:50 PM
Mitch Jafery
Friedman 102 (Brown)
5:00 PM
Closing Speech
Sayles (Brown)
Breakfast & Check In
9:30 - 10:00 AM
Sayles (Brown)
10 - 11:00 AM
Keynote: Mitchell Joachim
Sayles (Brown)
11:10 - 12:10 PM
Asher Intebi
Friedman 102 (Brown)
12:10 - 12:40 PM
Lunch
Sayles (Brown)
12:40 - 1:20 PM
Continued lunch (networking tabling opportunity)
Sayles (Brown)
1:30 - 2:30 PM
Grace Jun Zoey Zhu
Friedman 202, Friedman 208 (Brown)
2:40 - 3:40 PM
Julia Chu
Grace Jun
Friedman 108, Friedman 202 (Brown)
3:50 - 4:50 PM
Mitch Jafery
Friedman 102 (Brown)
5:00 PM
Closing Speech
Sayles (Brown)
Schedule