Debera Johnson, Director, Pratt Design Incubator

Debera Johnson, started her career at Pratt as a student in the Industrial Design program and returned to the department to teach and was selected to chair the ID program from 1998 until 2005.  Currently she is Pratt’s Academic Director of Sustainability and has been working across the institute to implement Pratt’s strategic commitment to link the greening of its campus with greening of its academic programs. She has been actively collaborating with the Deans of Architecture, Art and Design and the School of Liberal Arts and sciences to introduce an innovative all-institute minor in sustainable design and is the program director for the 3-year, $500,000 FIPSE grant for faculty development. Deb is leading the vision for Pratt’s Center for Sustainable Design Studies and Research (CSDS) - an open source resource center for students, faculty and the NYC community. Deb founded and directs the Pratt Design Incubator for Sustainable/Social Enterprise, now under the umbrella of CSDS. The incubator, started in 2002, supports Pratt’s entrepreneurial alumni in starting design based sustainable/social enterprises and has helped launch over 12 businesses. The Incubator also takes on numerous for profit and non-profit projects, connecting Pratt’s extensive network of faculty, alumni and students to work on world changing projects. Deb was the chair of the NYC chapter of the IDSA and is the strategic director for education for the “Designers Accord”.  Recently she established the “Sustainability Cohort” an inter-institute group of educators envisioning the future of design education.

Teresita Brigitte Cochran, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, SMIT

Teresita Cochran grew up in St. Louis, MO until she attended Phillips Exeter Academy, graduating in 1993. She then attended the Rhode Island School of Design and received her BFA in 1999. She received her Masters in Interactive Technology in 2005 from New York University's Interactive Telecommunication Program (ITP).

At ITP she focused primarily on bringing sustainability to urban environments through new and efficient technologies. Her thesis, Sustainably Minded Interactive Technology (SMIT) was a business plan for creating SMIT as an innovative, sustainably focused, action-oriented business. She and her brother, Samuel Cochran, shared this vision and officially formed SMIT as a start-up centered on Sustainable Design at the Pratt Design Incubator at Pratt Institute in September of 2005.

Samuel Cabot Cochran, Co-founder and Chief Design Officer, SMIT

Samuel Cochran grew up in St. Louis, MO until he attended Northfield Mt. Hermon, graduating in 2001. He then attended Pratt Institute and received his Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Design in 2005. Sam's thesis project at Pratt was GROW, a hybrid solar and wind device that took on the biomimetic form of ivy. GROW was featured at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York City in May 2005. It was featured on various blogs and in Icon Magazine and Azure Magazine from the ICFF exposure. In 2008 GROW was featured at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York for their exhibit Design and the Elastic Mind, curated by the esteem Paola Antonelli. GROW was was chosen to be a part of MoMA's permanent collection in April 2008. Sam most recently has overseen the development of SMIT's first commercial offering, SOLAR IVY. 

Sam consults for SMIT on many different projects. In 2005 as a designer on The Dumpster Shed project for the Mayor's office of NYC.  In 2007 he worked as design director on the Lab on a Chip project in conjunction with Columbia University and Smart Design. Recently he has finished a green re-design of Ice Stone.

Sam also taught Drawing for Industrial Designers at Pratt Institute from 2006-2007

Benjamin Wheeler Howes, Partner and Chief of Architectural Design, SMIT

Benjamin Howes grew up in Rochester, NY before receiving his Bachelor's Degree in Architecture from the Pratt Institute School of Architecture in 2006. 
Ben has extensive construction and fabrication experience, and specializes in architectural applications and design at SMIT. His academic design work focused on the understanding of architecture as an assembly of discrete systems, and the relationship between architecture and its environment.  Ben has worked for Graftworks LLC and Greggory Merryweather Architect among others.

David Wright

Prior to attending Pratt Institute, David Wright worked as a packaging assistant at the graphic design firm, DBD | Daniel Burton Dean.  He chose to study Industrial Design at Pratt Institute to follow his passion for furniture and packaging design.  David continued working for DBD and interned for Escalade Sports, where he applied for and received two patents on gaming equipment.  David graduated Pratt Institute with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design and, after freelancing, co-founded David Zachary, LLC with Zachary Feltoon.

Zachary Feltoon

Zachary Feltoon attended Pratt Institute for Industrial Design and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2008. While at Pratt, Zachary interned for David Weeks Studio and Knoll Inc. in 2007-8 and 2005 respectively.  After graduation Zachary joined Custom Resource Ltd. working on furniture, lighting and tabletop design before leaving at the end of 2008 to co-found David Zachary with partner David Wright. Zachary has spent time abroad studying product design and experimental ecology at the Bauhaus Universe in Weimar, Germany. Zachary has maintained a close relationahip with Pratt Institute and returned to assist Professor Karen Stone in an course teaching three dimensional abstraction.

Kevin McElroy

Kevin McElroy, a designer and entrepreneur develops product, furniture and graphic concepts independently and for clients as varied as New York University, Columbia University, Hasbro, General Mills, IceStone, SMIT and IglooPlay, to name a few. He recently launched Cerca Studio, a multi-dimensional design consultancy specializing in sustainable product development. In addition to consulting, Cerca weaves strategic alliances between clients and regional vendors in efforts to facilitate localized, environmentally-minded production models.

Kevin holds a bachelor's degree from Pratt's Industrial Design program and did a stint in Copenhagen at the Denmark International Design School. He gained a great deal from the exposure to Scandinavian design, and coupled with a keen interest in form, sustainability and design research, took part in many conceptual design projects and collaborations at Pratt. He was a winner of Umbra's Product Design Competition, and interned with Umbra in Toronto, Ontario. He developed a concept for, curated and oversaw the Young Americans Design Exhibition at Pratt, showcasing design work from students from over 10 U.S. colleges.

Kevin has independently created an expanding line of signature products like the award winning, internationally distributed Urbano® wastebasket, and new Urbano® Flat-Pak. His work has been exhibited at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, the Fellissimo Gallery, Brooklyn Designs, The Brooklyn Art Center, and Open Haus Philadelphia. He has shared his enthusiasm for design, teaching high-school students. He was invited to write segments and event coverage for Core77, and has had his work profiled on television, print and the web.

Diane Ruengsorn

Diane Ruengsorn brings a diverse background of experience that informs her current initiative, the socially and environmentally responsible home furnishings company Domestic Aesthetic.

After graduating from Smith College, she began her career as a writer covering technology and business trends. Interviewing political leaders and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies gave her great insight into the issues shaping industry and the environment. Switching to design and receiving a master’s degree from Pratt’s Design Management program, the idea for Domestic Aesthetic was born from Diane’s experiences in the furniture industry. While apprenticing with a furniture designer/manufacturer, she witnessed the chemicals and materials that workers were exposed to on a daily basis. It led her to believe that home furnishings could be produced with people-friendly materials and methods that didn’t harm anyone in the process. By considering the social and ecological ramifications of a product and its development, Domestic Aesthetic aims to educate consumers while providing well-designed, affordable options that are currently lacking in the mainstream marketplace.

George Estreich

George Estreich is a Brooklyn-based designer and artist.  His work has been used by major television networks including AMC and MTV, textbooks by MacGraw Hill and has been featured in over 30 design blogs including Make: Magazine and ArtMoco.  He is currently developing prototypes for an innovative modular backpack design to be used by medical specialists in their field-work, along with parallel pack concepts for a variety of activities including hiking, photography and cycling.

While earning his Masters degree in industrial design from the Pratt Institute, George was awarded the prestigious Rowena Reed Scholarship.  George’s other passions include science and photography.  He holds a degree in Biological Anthropology from Binghamton University.  After 5 years as a science teacher in Queens, NY, Mr. E was voted “most missed”.

Look for progress and updates at www.georgehermandesign.com

Christopher Ranjitkar

Christopher Ranjitkar is a public relations professional with expertise in media relations, investor communications and writing for both established and start-up companies.  Currently, he is an assocate at a Boston-based investor relations consultancy where he works with high tech companies, pharmaceuticals and biotechs, and professional service firms.  Prior to joining Sharon Merrill Associates, he was an account specialist at another Boston-based PR firm specializing in media relations for financial services firms.
 
Christopher maintains relationships with several business and lifestyle reporters and bloggers in Boston and New York.  He has garnered coverage for his clients in mainstream press including the Barron's, Investors Business Daily, BusinessWeek, The New York Times DealBook, The Boston Globe, The Boston Business Journal and through the AP, Reuters, Dow Jones and Bloomberg news wires. 
 
Christopher is an active member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the Publicity Club of New England and the Social Media Club of Boston.  He also is Editor of PRSA Boston's monthly News & Views newsletter, and a Director of the McGill Alumni Association of Boston.  Christopher holds a Bachelors of Commerce in Finance from McGill University.