As Professor of Practice and Innovation Design, Cheryl Heller wears multiple hats at Arizona State University (ASU). Through her roles as Director of Design Integration and Program Director of InnovationSpace, she connects students to real world projects with social benefit. She also spearheads a one-year MS program in Innovation and Venture Development (MSIVD) at the intersection of ASU’s Business, Engineering and Design Schools.
Prior to joining ASU, Heller was the Founding Chair of the MFA program in Design for Social Innovation at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City, and President of the design lab CommonWise. Heller also launched MeasureD, the result of a research project at SVA which evaluates ways to measure the difference a design approach makes to efforts to improve health equity.
As a strategist, Heller has helped grow businesses from small regional enterprises to multi-billion global market leaders, launched category-redefining divisions and products, and designed strategies for hundreds of successful entrepreneurs. Heller is the former Board Chair of PopTech, and a Senior Fellow at the Babson Social Innovation Lab.
We had a chance to speak with Cheryl on our podcast Social Design Insights. Have a listen below.