Community of Practice

The Center for Design Thinking Community of Practice supports the infusion of Design Thinking pedagogies across Elon curricula and the fostering of inclusive, equitable, and transformational project-based learning under uncertain and shifting conditions.

What is the CoP?

This CoP is aimed at supporting Elon’s mission to ensure graduates are creative, culturally agile, ethically grounded, and well-prepared to address questions of societal importance. Faculty will design and deliver openly accessible resources for faculty, staff, students, and the surrounding community interested in infusing DT practices in their own work.

The Process

Monthly: CoP members participate in monthly meetings with facilitators to explore best practices for infusing Design Thinking methods and processes into their curriculums.

Adaptable: Facilitators work with each CoP member to ensure individual goals are met while creating a productive and synergetic environment.

Collaborative: Participants share ideas, resources, strategies, and tools to co-create, prototype, and test diverse, equitable, and inclusive design pedagogies, and explore a variety of formats and technologies for implementation.

Action-Oriented: Over the course of the CoP, each participant frames, explores, generates, prototypes, and cultivates Design Thinking activities, assignments, and/or projects that meet their curricular goals.

Participants

Deidre Yancey

At Elon, Deidre is excited to be able to teach in two overlapping disciplines – Human Service Studies, and Leadership Studies. She is also expanding the Leadership Studies Minor curriculum with the development of new leadership course offerings. Deidre’s approach to teaching and mentoring mirrors her leadership orientation, combining servant-leadership and authentic leadership: service to others; and pursuit of genuine relationship that mutually respect and speaks to the needs and values of her students. Her current research centers on leadership for the increasingly multigenerational workforce, with a focus on Millennials and GenZ. Deidre’s research interests also include wellness in leadership, and leadership efficacy.

Sirena Hargrove-Leak

Dr. Hargrove-Leak received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering from NC A&T State University and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of South Carolina. The mission and commitment of Elon University have led her to explore the scholarship of teaching and learning. She was most recently a Principal Investigator on a collaborative grant from the National Science Foundation to explore the use of case study teaching in STEM courses. She also has interests in heterogeneous catalysis for fine chemical and pharmaceutical applications and membrane separations, for which she and her collaborators hold a patent for work on a flux-enhanced cross-flow membrane filter (US Patent No 6,168,714 B1).

Lakeisha Vance

Lakeisha Vance is currently a lecturer for the department of Management and Entrepreneurship. She hopes to explore how the design thinking process can help her identify innovative ways to shape the student learning experience. In addition, she would like to identify ways to implement design thinking in her personal and professional pursuits.

Bob Martin

Bob Martin graduated from Nova University Center for the Study of Law in South Florida in 1977 and was hired directly from law school as a felony trial prosecutor in Janet Reno’s State Attorney’s Office for Miami-Dade County. He became a Major Crimes Prosecutor, Chief of the Economic Crimes Division and Chief Training Officer for that office. After that he worked as an appointed special public defender. He moved to North Carolina in 1988 and has served Alamance County both as a prosecutor and criminal defense attorney specializing in indigent defense for the past 27 years, with the exception of the five years between 1999 and 2004. In August, 2016 he began teaching Business Law and Ethics at Elon University and sharing the practice of mindfulness with students on that campus. He is an active member of the Elon Community Church, United Church of Christ.

David Cooper

David Cooper is a Learning Support Specialist for the Teaching and Learning Technologies department. He would like help attacking an ongoing problem with fresh eyes and creative ideas. He also wants to improve the Moodle gradebook experience for teachers, while making it easier for students knowing where they stand in the class.

Maor Greene

Rabbi Maor Greene (they/them) is the Associate Chaplain for Jewish Life at Elon University. They are a doctoral candidate in Hebrew Bible at Jewish Theological Seminary where they were also ordained. They have previously served as the first Ritual and Music Rabbinic Intern at Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action and as Senior Rabbinic Intern at Park Slope Jewish Center. They are a spiritual director, yoga teacher, organizer, musician, and avid outdoor enthusiast. They are based in Durham, North Carolina.

Elena Kennedy

Elena Kennedy is a Doherty Emerging Professor of Entrepreneurship and Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship. She hopes to create a more engaged and socially focused MBA cohort that has higher retention rates than previous classes and has a clear value proposition that is distinct from the other offerings in the area. Within her class there’d be an engaging and thoughtful experience that sets students up for success in their following classes and builds an appreciation for the full impact of their decision making within their firms.

Derek Lackaff

Derek Lackoff is an Associate Professor of Communication Design and Director, Interactive Media Graduate Program. He hopes to reinvigorate his teaching and/or scholarly practice and reconnect with colleagues from across campus who share my interests in design through the Community of Practice initiative.

Mena Marino

Mena Marino is currently a lecturer for Italian in the World Languages and Cultures department. She joined the CoP to improve her research and so that she could integrate it into her courses. She also wants to find strategies to be able to increase the number of minors in the Italian program.

Jess Navarro

Jess Navarro is an assistant professor for Psychology & Human Service Studies department. Her research, teaching interests, and approaches are grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory. She believes that development across the lifespan occurs within everyday interactions and activities and is specific to the unique sociocultural and historical contexts individuals and families inhabit. Furthermore, her research interests are informed by her training and clinical work as a Social Worker. Accordingly, at the core of her research agenda is the desire to translate research into measurable improvements in the daily lives of children and families.

Phillip Motley

Phillip Motley is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Design at Elon University, where he teaches communication design and interactive media courses to undergraduate and graduate students. His research interests include pedagogies of design and experiential learning, especially service-learning and social innovation. He is currently focused on the potential value that design thinking has for liberal arts education. Professor Motley received his MFA in Industrial Design from North Carolina State University and his BA in Fine Art from Davidson College. He has worked professionally as a web designer, graphic designer, and animator.