Past Talks & Engagements

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2023

  • November 15: Design Museum LIVE: Civic Innovation & Healthcare panel | remote

  • November 2: School of Visual Arts (SVA) Guest Lecture | remote

  • October 11: Oracle Design Week talk “Impossible 'Til Done” | remote

  • August 1: This is a Prototype Podcast with Chris Hacker | remote (June recording)

 

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2022

  • December 15: Parsons Masters' in Strategic Design Guest Lecture | remote

  • November 11: Clarity Conference keynote “Confronting Stigma Traps in Healthcare” | New Orleans, LA

  • October 8: RISD New Space(s) Inauguration Symposium Panel: On Seeing and Unseeing | Providence, RI

How do we understand the work of seeing? What is at stake in working with processes and archives of visual representation like photographs and documentation, given their implication in histories of colonial domination, enslavement and surveillance? What does it mean to “train the eye” and how do we approach this in the classroom? How might a practice of “unseeing” enable us to look more closely at the intersections of visual cultures, identity formation and affect?

  • September 20: Clever Podcast | remote (August recording)

  • August 4: Introduction to Human-Centered Design for Onward | remote

  • June 3: Online Offscript Podcast | remote (late May recording)

  • May 17: DiG USA/Canada: “The Power of Partnerships” Keynote | remote

  • May 5: Convey UX: “Designing People-Centered Government Services From the Outside” Joint Keynote | remote

  • May 4: U.S. Small Business Administration Award Ceremony Persons of the Year Joint Acceptance Speech | remote

  • May 2: A Lens A Day - Conversations About Information Architecture Lenses on Information Architecture with Dan Brown | remote (January 2022 recording)

  • April 6: Parsons Masters' in Strategic Design Guest Lecture | remote

  • March 20: AIGA Design Leadership + Advocacy Conference Panel | Washington, DC

  • January 25: George Washington University Guest Lecture | remote

 

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2021

  • November 8: Jacht Agency, University of Nebraska–Lincoln | remote

  • November 6: 2021 AIGA Leadership Retreat closing remarks | remote

  • November 1: Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Mindshare “Impactful by Design” Keynote | remote

  • October 28: AFCEA Bethesda DEIA panel moderator | remote

  • September 21: AIGA Awards Celebration at the 2021 AIGA Design Conference closing remarks | remote

  • September 10: “The Amygdala & Hippocampus” internal Coforma company talk | remote

  • June 5: “With the World on Fire” with Chicago Camps UX Camp Summer closing keynote | remote

  • May 18: “Together, Changing Lyme Disease Status Quo” HHS panel with AIGA DC’s DotGov Design Conference | remote

  • April 14: The Combustion Chronicles Podcast | remote

  • April 14: “With the World on Fire” with AIGA Los Angeles | remote

  • February 23: NC State University, Design Studio Q&A | remote

  • February 2: Columbus College of Art & Design, Guest Q&A | remote

  • February 2: BBB Wise Giving, The Heart of Giving Podcast (December 2020 recording) | remote

  • January 23: Jefferson University Health Communication Design graduate student Guest Lecture | remote

  • January 14 (delayed from 2020): “With the World on Fire” with Wayfair’s Chat for Charity Series | remote
    The speaker fee was donated to AIGA’s DEI efforts.


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2020

  • October 24: AIGA National Leadership Retreat closing keynote | remote

  • October 16: George Washington University Guest Lecture | remote

  • October 9: RISD “Pivoting During a Pandemic” panel discussion | remote

  • October 8: Design Week RI “What Now?” panel discussion | remote

  • October 6: “With the World on Fire” with AIGA Triad keynote | remote

  • April 21: Conversations with Quarantined Creatives from AIGA MN video chat | remote

  • April 16: The Culture Design Show | podcast

  • March 5: “With the World on Fire” with AIGA Kansas City | Kansas City, MO

  • March 4: University of Nebraska Omaha | Omaha, NE

  • March 4: The Reflex Blue Show | podcast

  • March 3: AIGA Nebraska | Omaha, NE

  • February 20: Agile Government Leadership interview | remote

  • January 30: Disruptive Tech Summit | Bethesda, MD

  • January 18: Panelist & Mentor, Global Diversity CFP (Call for Proposals) Day | Arlington, VA

We face many global issues: climate change, poverty, inequality, violence, nationalism. Ashleigh Axios asks designers to embrace a solution framework that will: go beyond (symptoms; average), go for equity (diversity; accessibility), and commit to learning [continually adapt].
— Stan M, Civil Engineer & Urban Planner (March, 2020)


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2019

  • November 17-19: The Wilkes-Barre Connect Conference | Wilkes-Barre, PA

  • November 7: Agile Government Leadership Summit | Washington, DC

  • October 3-6: AIGA Minnesota Design Camp | Brainerd, MN
    The speaker fee was donated to improve event access, representation, and inclusion.

  • September 19: AIGA Northwest Arkansas | Fayetteville, AR

  • September 14: Design Observer Conference conversation with Lisa Strausfeld | Cambridge, MA

  • September: “Design Speaks” AIGA Leadership Retreat interview also featuring Forest Young, and Sarah Brooks | podcast

    • 🎧 Audio

      • Forest Young at ~25

      • Sarah Brooks ~45

      • Ashleigh Axios at ~60

  • August 24: AIGA National Leadership Retreat closing keynote | Atlanta, GA

  • August 22: Design Conversation: Ashleigh Axios at MODA | Atlanta, GA

  • August 8: “The Flexible Future” with AIGA & TCG | Webcast

  • August 1: AIGA Asheville keynote | Asheville, NC

  • July 26: NextGen Government Training Summit keynote | Washington, DC

  • July 18: Columbus Society of Communicating Arts keynote | Columbus, OH

  • May 29: AIGA Vermont keynote | Burlington, VT

  • April 24: Design Observer: Culture is Not Always Popular (AIGA NY) panelist | NY, NY

  • April 4-6: 2019 AIGA Design Conference opening keynote | Pasadena, CA

  • March 5: Ladies Wine and Design panelist | Washington, DC

  • February 18: RISD Student Discussion | Providence, RI

So inspired by Ashleigh Axios’s presentation yesterday with AIGA Asheville! I love that she started her tips with this one: “the best brands are built on values.” She had so much great wisdom … all of her advice was so applicable to everyone no matter what they do.
— Alyssa P, Ampd Designs


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2018

  • October 27: Monmouth County Business and Professional Women's Council annual scholarship luncheon keynote | Long Branch, NJ

  • October 2: AIGA Orlando keynote | Orlando, FL

  • September 20: AAF Akron keynote | Akron, Ohio

  • September 18: Design Week Rhode Island keynote | Providence, RI

  • August 22: Design for Inclusivity Summit Workshop support | St Louis, MO

  • June 21: AAF Montgomery keynote | Montgomery, AL

  • May 17: Tech Jobs Tour mentor | Washington, DC

  • May 10: 99U Conference closing keynote | New York, NY

  • April 27: AIGA Richmond keynote | Richmond, VA

  • April 25: Design in Government (DIG) keynote on Inclusive Design presented by Adobe Creative Jams | Washington, DC

  • March 22: AIGA Charlotte keynote | Charlotte, NC

  • March 1: Circular Summit "Break the Rules, Build a Following" panelist | Washington, DC

  • February 23-24: InfluencexDesign Conference at Harvard Graduate School of Design keynote and panelist | Cambridge, MA

  • February 14: RISD Alumn NYC: Politics, Alumni, and Effecting Change panelist | NY, NY

  • February 8: Mattel Inc. keynote | Los Angeles, CA

  • January 20: "Design and Authentic Communication" keynote at WordCamp Albuquerque | Albuquerque, NM

 
 
One of the speakers that impacted me the most was Ashleigh Axios, the creative director for the Obama White House. Among other things, her speech was about how we can use impactful design to empower social change and help others in our communities.
— Erica C, Sr. UX Designer

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2017

  • November 16: Arcadia Power lunch & learn keynote | Washington, DC

  • November 2: The 3% Conference keynote | New York, NY

  • October 12-14: AIGA Design Conference Command X | Minneapolis, MN

  • October 12: AIGA Design Conference UX track keynote | Minneapolis, MN

  • September 29: AIGA Cincinnati Design Week keynote | Cincinnati, OH

  • September 26: Flourish career workshop w/ AIGA Central PA | remote session

  • September 14: Brand flash talk | Whistler, BC

  • July 29: Voto Latino Power Summer Pop-Up panelist | Annandale, VA

  • July 16: "Beginning Branding/Design" breakout presentation at WordCamp DC | Washington, DC

  • May 17: Rebrand Cities & Automattic presentation | Detroit, MI

  • April 24: "The Design of Business | The Business of Design" on Design Observer interview | podcast

  • April 21: Design and Exclusion chair & moderator | online

  • April 12: Wesleyan University presentation | Middletown, CT

  • April 11: Yale School of Business presentation | New Haven, CT

  • March 31-April 1: Y Conference by AIGA San Diego keynote | San Diego, CA

  • March 24: IBM Design Studio presentation | Austin, TX

  • March 24: Sanders/Wingo presentation | Austin, TX

  • March 2: High Five Conference keynote & roundtable | Raleigh, NC

  • February 28: High Five Conference workshop | Raleigh, NC

  • February 26: Giant Thinkers (January recording) | podcast

  • January 24 - February 16: DGD School: Fundamentals of Design in Government (AIGA DC & Aquent) | online class series

  • January 24: Computational Design Seminar presentation (AIGA Philadelphia, Automattic, Drexel) | Philadelphia, PA

 
 
Cincinnati Design Week concluded on a high note thanks to the powerful storytelling of Ashleigh Axios!
— Openfield, UX research and design

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2016

  • November 18: Brandstand keynote and panelist | New York, NY

  • November 8: Adventures in Design interview | podcast

  • November 5: AIGA Houston's Inside Job keynote | Houston, TX

  • November 3-4: RGD DesignThinkers Conference keynote | Toronto, Canada

  • October 22: AIGA Baltimore's Make/Shift keynote | Baltimore, MD

  • October 16: Private AIGA National event presentation | Las Vegas, NV

  • October 8: Civic Design workshop | St Louis, MO

  • October 7: St Louis Design Week keynote | St Louis, MO

  • September 30: Auburn University presentation | Auburn, AL

  • September 21-23: Spikes Asia presentation | Singapore

  • September 16: Big Duck | online webinar

  • September 15: McKinley Technical High School | Washington, DC

  • September 10: AIGA Dallas Fort Worth presentation | Dallas, TX

  • September 9: Circles Conference keynote | Dallas, TX area

  • September 8: Circles Conference panel discussion | Dallas, TX area

  • September 8: University of Texas at Arlington presentation | Arlington, TX

  • August 13: #InFromDC by AIGA Chicago keynote | Chicago, IL

  • August 11–12: Prototypes, Process, & Play by Chicago Camps keynote | Chicago, IL

  • July 28: AIGA Las Vegas | Las Vegas, NV

  • July 26: Town Hall: Racial Justice by Design director | Washington, DC
    This event had technical difficulties affecting the video quality:

  • July 25: Revision Path interview | podcast

  • July 15: Portfolio Center workshop | Atlanta, GA

  • July 14: Portfolio Center presentation | Atlanta, GA

  • May 13: Cooper Hewitt DC High School Design Summit | Washington, DC

  • May 6: 2016 DotGovDesign Conference director & host | Rosslyn, VA

  • April 20: D&AD Festival keynote | London, England

  • April 12: (AIGA) West Michigan's Design Week keynote | Grand Rapids, MI

  • March 31: AIGA Rhode Island: KnowHer Design Panel w/ Debbie Millman, panelist | Providence, RI

 
 
A risk-taking brand I took the most inspiration from thanks to a brilliant talk by Ashleigh Axios (Ex-Creative Director at the White House) is the President of the United States himself.
— Lloyd, Account Director


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2015

  • December 16: South Carroll High School | Sykesville, MD

  • October 18: AIGA Arizona's Method+Madness Conference keynote | Phoenix, AZ

  • September 22: HOW Interactive Conference keynote | San Francisco, CA

  • September 9: Hopscotch Design Festival breakout presenter | Raleigh, NC

  • May 4-8: HOW Design Live Conference keynote | Chicago, IL

  • March 27: 2015 DotGovDesign Conference host, & closing keynote | Washington, DC

 
 
I enjoyed getting an inside look at the SOTU address and seeing how they iterated on their processes to make it a more interactive and content-rich experience. Designing for the betterment of people is a tough job, and it’s even tougher when you feel the weight of the Presidency… Ashleigh was eloquent while being candid and I really appreciated her sense of humor.
— Stephanie, Art Director


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2014

January 6: General Assembly Introduction to the DC Design Community panel discussion | Washington, DC

📓 Takeaways


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2012

October 29: AIGA DC Host for “Very DC: The White House” | Washington, DC


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