Chief Operating Officer

CofOrma (Formerly &Partners)

September 2019 – Present

At Coforma, we craft creative solutions and build technology products that improve the communities you belong to and serve.

Impactful by design.

Founded in 2017, Coforma is co-owned by Eduardo Ortiz, CEO, and Ashleigh Axios, COO (U.S. Small Business Administration's 2022 Small Business Persons of the Year for the Washington DC area). We employ more than 150 talented creators and business operations leaders who live in and work from various communities and locations. Our leadership has decades of experience in transforming and modernizing government digital services from a civic service mindset, and a strong record of developing innovative technology solutions for government, enterprise, and nonprofits.

We’re a minority-owned small business and ~12% Veterans. To date, we've helped improve access to quality healthcare, connected families in crisis at the US border, researched improvements to veteran care, provided greater access to civic tools, used technology to tell previously told untold stories, and more.

• Chief Operating Officer | 2024 – present

• Chief Experience Officer | 2019 – 2023

Advisor

Open City Advocates

August 2016 – Present

VOLUNTEER POSITION
Advise on design and digital strategies to help Open City Advocates fulfill their mission of providing zealous individualized representation and mentorship of children sentenced by DC's juvenile court system and acting as catalysts for systematic improvements to the juvenile justice system.

Board of Directors

AIGA

July 2016 – June 2022
 

VOLUNTEER POSITION

Served as a volunteer leader to AIGA, the professional association for design, with the commitment to advancing design as a professional craft, strategic advantage, and vital cultural force. Led as the fifty-fifth president — first person of any known Black ancestry and sixth woman — to the position in the organization’s more than 105-year history.

ROLES AND FEATURED ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• President/Chair of the Board of Directors | July 2020 – June 2022 (pandemic era)

  • Supported the continued orientation and celebration of the arrival of the new executive director of the organization.

  • Navigated the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic with speed and agility, including shiting conferences and events as well as cutting pre-pandemic expenses back.

  • Helped AIGA navigate an economic downturn, climate and social crisis, a critical racial reckoning, along with unprecedented remote-first engagement, exhaustion, and both compassion- as well as Zoom-fatigue as an active and visible servant leader throughout the community.

  • Established and supported a new set of board committees, including: Audit & Ethics Committee (chaired by Art Taylor), Community Committee (chaired by Lisa Babb), and Membership Structure Committee (temporary committee; chaired by Manuhuia Barcham) which together guided the first changes to the organization's membership structure in more than 10 years time, conducted a best-practice review and selection of auditors and codes of conduct alike, and brought together critical community interest groups.

  • Withstood an unprecedented number of unsolicited personal comments and attacks to complete the commitment of the role while pushing toward a more equitable, just, and positive future for all.

• President- or Chair-Elect | July 2019 – June 2020

  • Served as the President Elect in Dana Arnett's final year as President of AIGA's national board of directors.

  • Co-chaired the Executive Committee of the Board as well as the Search Committee that successfully conducted the search for the executive director of the organization. See the related Press Release.

  • Was an advocate for and guide to shifting AIGA to remote/distributed work, which advanced the organization forward in necessary ways prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that soon followed; increasing organizational resiliency, viability, and relevancy in the difficult 2020 year.

• Board Director | July 2016 – June 2019

  • Chaired the multi-day AIGA Design Conference in Pasadena, California April 4-6, 2019.

  • Member of the 2019 & 2020 AIGA Awards Committees, responsible for reviewing nominations, verifying candidate eligibility, and presenting a slate of nominees to the board for a majority board approval.

  • In 2016, chaired AIGA's national Racial Justice by Design efforts, exploring the role of design and designers in fighting racial inequities that exist in our systems, communities, the design industry, and in individual designers.

Head of The Studio

Automattic

October 2016 – April 2019
(2 years+)

Established The Studio, the company’s (fully remote) in-house creative agency for marketing, communications, and brand identity solutions. Crafted practices and operational structures to ensure timely delivery of quality creative solutions within budget. Developed partnerships throughout the marketing division and across Automattic’s products and services. Mentored and guided project teams in creating product identities, telling compelling customer and product stories, and connecting customers to solutions. Built a positive team culture across timezones, borders, and over long distances.

Automattic is a company on a mission to democratize publishing and commerce so that anyone with a story can tell it, regardless of income, gender, politics, language, or where they live in the world — with products including WordPress.com, WooCommerce, and Jetpack.

FEATURED ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Oversaw the WordPress.com brand redesign, brand book, and first through-the-line campaign

• Headed up the newly-established Emotional Design Practice by defining process, coaching designers, developing programming, and supportinga vision for better consistency between marketing and product

• Chaired Design and Exclusion, an online conference where designers and technologists spoke of many industry failures in creating inclusive experiences and shared tips for doing better
  Read the related Fast Co. Design article.

• Advised on company inclusion practices and launched a highly-trafficked, open-source guide to creating more inclusive design solutions

Advisor

Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)

2017 – 2019
(2 years)

VOLUNTEER POSITION
Served as chief alumni advisors to the RISD President, Rosanne Somerson, and her Cabinet. As a member of the President’s Alumni Advisory Council, advised RISD on issues impacting the strategic direction and programmatic initiatives of the College. Acted as an ambassador for the College within our broader communities.

Served with esteemed RISD graduates:

Editorial Board Member

Design Observer

October 2016 – February 2019
(2 years+)

VOLUNTEER POSITION
Sourced and featured diverse voices and perspectives from others while actively contributing her own.

Design Observer features news and critical essays connecting design with other disciplines, including: business, politics, science, journalism, music, media, history, and technology.

The Design Observer editorial board included Sean Adams, Julie Anixter, Doug Powell, and Christopher Simmons as well as Design Observer co-founders Jessica Helfand and Michael Bierut.

Ashleigh’s piece, "To Be a Design-Led Company," is featured in the anthology, Culture is Not Always Popular: Fifteen Years of Design Observer.

Advisor

Leadfully

December 2016 – February 2018
(1 year+)

Through Leadfully, taught emerging leaders at companies like Nike, SY Partners, and Planned Parenthood how to develop optimism, humanity, authentic communication, and creativity capabilities so that they can tap into their full potential as skilled leaders.

Founder, Conference Director, Committee Lead

DOTGOV DESIGN

September 2013 – 2017
(4 years)

VOLUNTEER POSITIONS
Co-founded and co-led DotGov Design, an initiative aimed at connecting and empowering government designers, improving U.S. government design standards, and drawing talent to the public sector. Co-led the DotGov Design School, a new continuing education offering helping sharpen the leadership skills of designers in all areas of government. Founded and directed the DotGov Design Conference (2015 and 2016), as an annual event for government designers, while increasing community engagement.

President

AIGA WASHINGTON, D.C.

May 2011 – June 2016
(5 years+)

VOLUNTEER POSITION
Managed the directors of programming, communication, education, mentoring, the Design Continuum Scholarship, membership, and the AIGA 50 competition and gala to create programs for the local design community, support the future of design, create lasting local partnerships, and spotlight great design from the region. Prior to the role of president, Ashleigh served as the chapter’s vice president and sponsorship chair, co-programming director, and as a programming coordinator.

AIGA Washington, D.C. is one of the largest and most active AIGA chapters in the United States.

FEATURED ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Secured more than $50K in sponsorship funds

• Revamped the chapter communications strategy

Creative Director, Digital Strategist

The Obama White House

April 2014 – April 2016
(2 years)

Determined the best ways to visually represent the White House and Obama brand. Led and managed the White House design team. Made policy relatable and plain language. Improved the White House public-facing platforms with a human-centered design approach. Created opportunities for engagement between the administration and the public. Communicated the priorities of the administration via digital channels. Showed the public who the President is and what motivates him. Advocated for design’s abilities to create change in the public sector. Balanced projects around the news-of-the-week and -day with longer-term and large-scale campaigns.

FEATURED ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Redesigned WhiteHouse.gov (now archived at ObamaWhiteHouse.gov), taking the platform to modern, responsive standards

• Digital strategy, product direction, and design for the 2015 and 2016 State of the Union addresses, engaging online audiences in new and compelling ways

• Redesigned the We the People platform (Obama White House archived version at Petitions.ObamaWhiteHouse.Archives.gov), vastly improving the experience of petitioning the White House for more than 5 million visitors each month

• Created a digital catalog of the Obama administration's achievements (now here)

• Created the rainbow White House iconography, celebrating the historic Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage across the U.S. in a way that allowed for mass public participation in Washington, DC and across the globe

Read White House blog posts authored by Ashleigh in this role.

Art Director

THE Obama WHITE HOUSE

March 2012 – April 2014
(2 years+)

Provided visual direction, digital strategy, graphic design, content strategy, information graphics, web design, illustration, and more for the Obama administration. Worked alongside the White House Creative Director to advise on design solutions for various White House policy offices. Created the majority of the social media designs, intended to: inform the public about the policies of the White House, humanize the president, reach Americans where they are, and initiate engagement with the administration. Formulated, designed, and sometimes built digital campaigns for major White House policy priorities, spanning across web and social platforms.

FEATURED ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Created animated videos explaining complex policy in easy-to-understand, bite-size, and sharable means

• Branded the first-ever White House Maker Faire, celebrating making the U.S. a nation of makers

• Branded President Obama's campaign to fight Climate Change, complete with a comprehensive interactive infographic, in use for more than 4 years

• Designed and maintained an online hub of sharable White House content

• Created the cover designs for the 2013 and 2014 United States budgets

• Created the first-ever White House Tumblr page and President Obama's Facebook page

Ashleigh Axios was later promoted to Creative Director at the White House. See the above section for information about the following two years at the White House.

Principal

ASHLEIGH DESIGN

2002 – 2013
(11 years)

Designed a range of print, web, and interactive experiences for diverse clientele such as: American University, Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission, GMMB, Vanguard Technology Corporation, AIGA DC, and National Wildlife Federation.

Manager,
Online Editorial & Engagement

NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION

January 2012 – March 2012
(3 months)

Content strategy, online marketing, project management, and user experience design.

Ashleigh's time at NWF was cut short when she was offered and accepted a role at the White House.

Interactive Designer

CORTINA PRODUCTIONS

May 2011 – October 2011
(6 months)

Conceived and designed interactive media for museums and public-facing industries focused on education and entertainment.

Featured ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Strategized and designed eight interactive exhibits for the The Henry Ford Museum's Driving America permanent exhibit on the influence of the automobile on American culture

• Designed part of the Hitler Letter interactive exhibit, on permanent display in the Museum of Tolerance's extensive Holocaust section

Graphic Designer

OPENBOX9

January 2010 – April 2011
(1 year+)

Connected donors to nonprofits and strengthened communications and brand recognition for each of the company's clients. Involvement with print and web projects included: research & analysis, strategy, design, development, testing, implementation, training, and documentation. Mediums included: websites, brochures, logos, branding campaigns, and illustrations.

Designer, Account Executive

FLEISHMAN-HILLARD DIGITAL

September 2008 – December 2009
(1 year+)

Developed ideas, designs, and layouts for print and interactive media. Met with clients and client affiliates to deliver presentations, pitches, and provide guidance during the course of a project or project transition. Managed the hiring process of design interns and directed their schedules once they were hired. Supported such client accounts as AT&T, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, Novartis, and Visa Inc.

Designer, Student Development Manager

RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN (RISD)

2005 – 2008
(3 years)

Trained and organized more than thirty students in successful year-round fundraising efforts and aided the school's development with design and organizational responsibilities.

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