There is a philosophy that an organization can only be as strong as its leader. Thankfully for the past three years, AIGA Baltimore has been fortunate to have a president who was dedicated to the best interests of our organization. Regrettably though, Chapter President, Christopher Jones, decided to step down at the end of August. During his tenure, he developed a dedicated team of board members, helped grow the membership of our chapter in a challenging economy and push forward multiple initiatives like the e-newsletter, blog and the printed newsletter, as well as coordinate a phenomenal speaker series including Jim Sherraden, House Industries, Design Army, Debbie Millman, and Steven Heller just to name a few.

Additionally, we’d like to thank four other board members whose terms have ended in the recent months: Beth Lacey Gill, Lindsay Story, Heather Joines and Elisa Watson. These individuals have donated countless hours to the chapter that can never be repaid. Please join us in thanking them for everything they have done.

It’s been said, “Change is the only constant in life.” As designers, our contribution has traditionally been the development of identities, collateral and websites. Designers are no longer content to be limited to these roles. To continue AIGA Baltimore’s legacy of service to our design community, the board is committed to furthering discussions about the role of design and the potentially larger impact it can have. With this new initiative, we hope to engage in important social issues in a deeper way than ever before. Please welcome our new Chapter President, Alissa Jones (no relation), and new Vice President, Brian Ghiloni who are excited to facilitate this larger conversation.

Moreover, AIGA Baltimore has several great changes planned for this fall and beyond:

• Blends: Our monthly happy hours will now be the first week of every month and include informational sessions on specific topics of interest for designers.
• Critique Hash: You loved it when we ran it last spring, so we are bringing it back on a regular basis. The third Saturday of every other month, starting this October, will be your chance to receive feedback on in-progress work and your portfolio from fellow designers.
• Converse: We know how important it is to hear from leaders on design, so starting in November, the third Thursday of every other month, you can hear a variety of opinions on current hot topics at our roundtable sessions.
• Pulp, Ink, and Hops: AIGA Baltimore has made the difficult decision that it is time to retire this event, and instead, we are going to focus on supporting AIGA’s new initiative for Design for Good. You can learn more about this initiative from the Executive Director of AIGA, Ric Grefé’s interview with Fast Company.
• Communications: AIGA Baltimore is going to continue to improve our communications with members and other organizations throughout our region. Through building relationships, we plan to bring a greater variety of events and programs and help increase the value of design within the community.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or an interest in volunteering, please contact us! We always love hearing from our members. Lastly, don’t forget to check out our upcoming events.