AIGA Welcomes Four Members to the Board of Directors

New Appointees Help Drive the Future of a Historic Design Organization

New York, NY-AIGA, the professional association for design, announces the appointment of new members to its Board of Directors. The new Board appointments are three-year terms effective July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028.

The new Board members were elected by the entire AIGA membership and play a crucial role in driving forward the mission of AIGA, and ensuring the organization remains a relevant and contemporary association for the design profession.

We are delighted to share the new AIGA Board Members who bring diverse perspectives and unique capabilities to the AIGA Board of Directors:

Meet the newly elected members of AIGA's Board of Directors:

• Dawn Davidson, President/Creative Director, ABI - Alpha Business Images (2nd term)
• Victor Davila, Associate Professor, University of Central Florida (2nd term)
• Mihali Stavlas, CEO/Founder, Mellonaid
• Ying Zhang, Creative Director, Human Rights Foundation

AIGA's new Presidents Council Chair, Alberto Rigau, also joins the board of directors ex-officio for a one year term through June 30, 2026.

"I am excited to extend a warm welcome to our new AIGA board members, and I am eagerly anticipating the opportunity to collaborate with our new colleagues," said Cesar Rivera, AIGA's Board President. "I am deeply grateful to our outgoing board members for their extraordinary contributions in advancing AIGA's mission, their unwavering dedication to the design community, and their invaluable efforts in expanding the influence of design. Your service to AIGA and the design profession has been truly remarkable."

Board Members continuing their service:

• Cesar Rivera (President 2024-2026), Supervisory Visual Information Specialist, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Mr. Rivera is serving in his personal capacity.
• Art Taylor (Treasurer), President & CEO, Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP Global) (2nd term)
• Lama Ajinah, Founder and Chief Strategist, Co-Designs
• Rachel Elnar, Senior Creative Producer of B2B Engagement Content, Adobe
• Aleksey Fedorov, Director of Global Brand Marketing, Microsoft
• Jennifer Ford, Director of Marketing & Communications, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications
• Terence Hobson, Group Creative Director, EA Sports
• Nicole Parente-Lopez, Creative Executive, Advisor, Mentor
• Eileen Prado, Operational and Financial Professional
• Isaiah Steinfeld, Founder & CEO, Neue Alchemy
• Reggie Tidwell, Owner/Creative Director, Curve Theory

Departing Members of the Board:

• Lauren Yanko, (former Presidents Council Chair), Experience Design and Community Lead, Tripadvisor
• Richard Shanks, Founding Partner, UpShift

2025 AIGA Board Member Bios:

Dawn Davidson, President/Creative Director, ABI - Alpha Business Images
Dawn Davidson is a creative executive and agency president who believes respect is earned-through the quality of your work, how you lead, and how you lift others along the way. For over 30 years, she's been doing just that - shaping brand narratives, building award-winning teams, and supporting business growth in the advertising and design industry. As President of ABI, the largest Black-owned advertising agency in Texas, she sits in two seats - building business and crafting creative, while continuously introducing innovation across operations and creative execution. Under her leadership, ABI's work has received international awards as the agency continues to grow its footprint across education, healthcare, transportation, and government sectors.

Dawn extends her leadership to national board service with AIGA, where she currently serves as Secretary of the Board and Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Relations Committees. She also sits on the Advisory Committee of The Ad Council, and serves as Board Secretary for Girls Inc.

As a former adjunct professor at TCU, Dawn continues to be deeply invested in mentorship and talent development. She volunteers for college design programs helping students through portfolio reviews, mock interviews, and design competitions. She also coaches emerging and veteran creative leaders navigating their next level of growth.

Dawn is a creative by trade, but also a natural strategist, storyteller, and builder-of brands, people, and purpose-driven work. Her leadership style blends clarity, empathy, and bold thinking, and her passion always lies in helping others while shaping what's next for the creative industry.

Victor Davila, Associate Professor, University of Central Florida
Victor is an illustrator and designer from the Orlando, FL area, as well as an Associate Professor in the University of Central Florida's School of Visual Arts and Design teaching illustration and design. Victor has a wide range of design experience, spanning from character designs and storyboards for animation, to editorial illustrations, interactive games, and children's books.

He is the founder of the central Florida illustrator collective Giant Illustrators, President Emeritus of AIGA Orlando, on the AIGA Design Educators Community Steering Committee, and the host of CreativeMornings Orlando.

Mihali Stavlas, CEO/Founder, Mellonaid
Mihali Stavlas is the founder and CEO of Mellōnaid, an analytical and creative agency in Raleigh, North Carolina. For the past 20 years at Mellōnaid, Mihali has helped clients capture and recreate their brand's story, build brand experience and online platforms by encompassing the full spectrum of all its touchpoints: identity, collateral materials, advertising, marketing, user experience, and interactive media. Mihali oversees all strategy and brand experience efforts that help clients convert prospects into advocates.

In addition to overseeing Mellōnaid, Mihali currently serves on the Board of Directors at Easterseals UCP, and Hearts with Haiti, and an advisor to North Carolina Center for Nonprofits and AIGA Raleigh. Mihali has previously served as President of the American Marketing Association (AMA) Professional Chapter Council, and President of the AMA Triangle. In addition, Mihali has hosted a radio talk show out of California called This Week in Marketing and is a national speaker on the topics of marketing, design, and leadership.

Mihali has been recognized by the marketing community as the 2015-2016 AMA Triangle Volunteer of the Year and a recipient of Triangle Business Journal's 40 Under 40 Award in 2017. When not at work, Mihali can be found jumping out of planes, flying a Boeing-Stearman Model 75 or partnering with local organizations to help bring transformation in North Carolina. Mihali is married to his best friend, Laura, and they have two children.

Ying Zhang, Creative Director, Human Rights Foundation
Ying Zhang is a Creative Director who thrives at the intersection of brand, design, and strategy. A builder at heart with a bias toward action, she is passionate about creating impactful, memorable experiences for brands she believes in.

She is currently the Creative Director at the Human Rights Foundation, where she leads a team of six and oversees all of the organization's creative output, including the Foundation's flagship event-the Oslo Freedom Forum, a three-day annual human rights conference held in Oslo.

Previously, Ying was a Senior UX Designer at the business consultancy SYPartners, where she worked with clients including IBM, Starbucks, and American Express. Before that, she was the founding Creative Director of a Melbourne-based startup, where she scaled the team from three to twelve, developed the brand from the ground up, and led all design and marketing initiatives.

Beyond her professional work, Ying is committed to mentorship and education. She has mentored at NEW INC, D&AD Shift with Google, and AIGA; reviewed portfolios for AIGA and SVA; and served as a guest critic at institutions including Cranbrook Academy of Art, Pratt, RMIT, George Brown College, and the University of Melbourne. Since 2014, she has also collaborated with Melbourne-based arts collective Not Yet It's Difficult and joined its board in 2024.

Born in China and raised in Australia, Ying holds a Bachelor's in Business and Marketing, a Bachelor's in Architectural Design, and a Master's in Architecture from RMIT. Her career spans creative roles in Melbourne, London, Tokyo, and New York.

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AIGA

About AIGA

AIGA, the professional association for design, advances design as a professional craft, strategic advantage, and vital cultural force. As a community of design advocates, AIGA brings together practitioners, enthusiasts, and patrons to amplify the voice of design and creates the vision for a collective future. AIGA defines global standards and ethical practices, guides design education, inspires designers and the public, enhances professional development, and makes powerful tools and resources accessible to all.