Ashleigh Axios to Join Rhode Island School of Design Board of Trustees in 2021

Coforma CXO Ashleigh Axios will join the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Board of Trustees in 2021, helping set policies and provide organizational oversight to advance the school’s mission.

RISD, founded in 1877, is one of the first independent colleges of art and design in the US and continues its visionary legacy in its seven-year strategic plan, focused on recognizing the collective role of artists, designers, and educators as cultural innovators, and visioning ways of making important environmental and social justice contributions.

“A ‘radical experiment,’ RISD was founded and run for years by a group of women before any women had the right to vote in the United States. At its heart, RISD is a visionary creative institution. At its best, it’s ahead of the needs of an evolving creative class and the current era, thoughtfully using its vision and resources to create equitable opportunities and invest in future leaders. It’s an honor to join the esteemed RISD Board of Trustees to help advance this mission,” said Axios.

Axios graduated from RISD in 2008 with a BFA in Graphic Design and also met her husband, Nathaniel Axios, at school. She has acted as an ambassador for her alma mater for years, including serving on the President’s Alumni Advisory Council from 2017 to 2019 as a chief alumni advisor to RISD’s last president, Rosanne Somerson. Now she’ll join the Board of Trustees while they conduct a search for the next president of the school.

Axios joins many accomplished trustees on the RISD board including Shepard Fairey, artist and founder of OBEY; Ilene Chaiken, producer of hit series including The L Word and Empire; and Todd Waterbury, Chief Creative Officer of Target.

Ashleigh Axios is an international speaker, strategic creative, and an advocate for design’s ability to break barriers and create positive social change. Prior to her role at Coforma, she formed and led the in-house creative agency for marketing, communications, and brand identity solutions at Automattic, a technology company on a mission to democratize publishing and commerce. Axios previously served as the creative director and digital strategist for the Obama White House, bridging two presidential terms in the Office of Digital Strategy. She is also president of the national AIGA Board of Directors, after previously serving as president of the AIGA Washington, DC chapter.