On SHINE Mentorship

When Sela was assigned to me as my mentor for a four-month design program, I had no idea I’d be gaining a mentor for life. Not only did she encourage me to work on projects outside of my comfort zone, she consistently sought to connect me with people, groups, and resources in the design field that I could use to develop my skills. After the program, she invited me to partner with her to lead a workshop at a leading user experience design conference. Sela’s mentorship has provided opportunities to me that I never thought I’d have, even inspiring me to go back to graduate school. I am so grateful for her guidance, generosity, and go-getter attitude.

- Mary Ann Badavi, UX Manager, Mentee

On writing for "Can Black Designers Afford To Be Weird" Revision Path

I met Sela at a conference last year that changed my life, and she is by far one of the most educated and insightful people I've ever met in design or otherwise. She holds her design counterparts to a higher standard, and this piece is no different. Y'all gotta read this.

- Stephen G Jones, Owner, Gogo Jones

Response to The Pell Partnership

I am not sure who to congratulate on this, but I am sure it is a team effort. You have a wonderful communications package and I just have to tell you that I think it is a model for the industry. I am (a long time public information officer) and for years I was responsible for communicating developments in social sciences and education at (a major research university), including the work of our Urban Education Institute. I know how hard it can be to communicate about education effectively as it often comes off as tedious, predictable and jargon heavy. Additionally, the tools of communication often seem cumbersome. I came across your site and report on college graduation via twitter and was immediately drawn into a lively, important and fascinating report on how well minorities are doing. I spent time looking around, clicking for more information, enjoying the graphics and admiring your wonderfully designed, powerful communications package. Congratulations on your work. You’ve given a retired guy who follows this stuff something interesting to read.

- Anonymous, Retired Public Information Officer

From the author of "Butterflies in the Hallway"

“I have worked at the Education Trust, where Sela leads our design work, for almost 15 years. In the years she has been with us, she has masterfully transformed our visual brand and presence and lent powerful illustration to critical issues surrounding educational justice. I have been beyond fortunate to collaborate directly with Sela for over a year on Echoes from the Gap, an online narrative series focused on the stories of students. I have watched her, through her work, bring life to words on the page and the experiences of young people. An avid student and unquestionable master of her craft drawing from broad influences, she sees to the core of the issues and human narratives and transforms them into powerful visual experiences. In our time working together, she has dramatically evolved not just my written narrative work, but my notions of what is possible in story-telling and the visual manifestation of advocacy.”

- Brooke Haycock, Senior Playwright-Researcher