SWID 2020 Year in Review
30 initiatives. 90 team members. 500 community members and alumni. 1 kickass year.
January — Back to It
We rang in the new year by inaugurating our 2020 Board of Directors and defining our vision for the year––a vision that would quickly evolve in the coming months.
These first few weeks emphasized building community through coffee chats, team brunches, workout classes, and board retreat. The highlight of January, though, was our trek to Google’s moonshot factory X, guided by Emi Kolawole, X’s Head of the Bureau of Troublemaking.
February — Non-Stop Excitement
What if you could get birth control through an app and have it delivered to your doorstep? What if you could customize your ideal sex toy? We hosted Stanford’s first FemTech Takeover to find out. Our panels of 11+ visionaries taught attendees about the innovative femtech products transforming the experience of womanhood.
Next up was the Makeathon — Stanford’s first-ever one-day design competition bringing together 70+ Stanford students of all backgrounds. This year’s theme was Sustainability: Make it Green, and teams focused on addressing sustainability challenges through the lens of design. Their final solutions were reviewed (and awarded prizes) by a panel of 10+ industry-leading judges and mentors.
Then, we trekked to IDEO.org in San Francisco, where we toured their office and gained insight into their mission to design a more just and inclusive world. We were kindly welcomed by Program Director Mary Katica, Senior Writer & Editor Emily Sadeghian, Program Coordinator of Economic Prosperity Dagmawit Mengestu, and Senior Interaction Designer Justine Sun Dela Cruz.
Last but not least, we helped d.school Designer-in-Residence Lisa Kay Solomon run Designing the President, an event to get clarity, individually and collectively, on the experience, values, and personal qualities that we desire in a president — and why. Using engaging, non-partisan, policy-agnostic tools, we discovered how design can be used to ignite our personal agency and become deliberative voters and agents of change.
March — The Pandemic
We started off March on a great note coming together for a SWID student designer showcase ft. charcuterie boards. We dove into each other’s passions, connecting through our common interests and getting inspired about different types of design. Our diverse group felt so alive at this last in-person meeting…then we went online.
April & May — Reset
Navigating virtual classes and our now-virtual organization, we increased our presence on Instagram (@stanfordwomxnindesign) to help our members and the broader community feel more connected, and we launched a #SWIDSunday spotlight series to feature SWID stories. Stanford’s (virtual) Admit Weekend took place in April as well, where we hosted SWID Zoom booths for incoming freshmen. We got to meet so many excited fresh faces––a highlight of Spring quarter.
June, July, & August — Fighting Back
June brought a host of social challenges on the national and global scale. We focused our energy on these issues by designing Stickers in Solidarity to raise funds to support the Black community. On Instagram, we highlighted 5 inspiring Black female and non-binary designers to intensify our effort to elevate Black voices — as only 3% of U.S. designers are Black (@aigadesign). We then published the SWID Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Action Plan to further our commitment to be a community inclusive to all female & non-binary designers.
September — Jump Back In
We launched a podcast! Introducing…“Mom, I Got This!”, SWID’s very own podcast co-hosted and co-produced by sophomores Emily Redmond and Isabel Arboleda. “Mom, I Got This!” asks creative women the question: When the steps are not explicitly defined, how do you find your passion and path? In Season 1, Em and Iz interviewed Lisa Kay Solomon, Morgan Mahlock, Iris Yan, and Jensen Neff & Ellie Chen. Check out the podcast here.
October — Better Than Ever
October was one of SWID’s most exciting months yet. We welcomed over 80 members, which brings our total community count to over 500 (!) We also launched two new programs plus a leadership cohort.
The Innovation Program equips 45 underclassmen in SWID with the design skills that they need to thrive. Each team of Innovators was paired with an upperclassman mentor who helped guide them through their journey of addressing a meaningful design challenge.
The Fellowship Program is our new initiative for 20 SWID upperclassmen to learn how to navigate the design world post-grad. Fellows forge connections with and receive mentorship from industry leaders and design recruiters, while simultaneously developing their own projects and mentoring a cohort of younger designers.
We welcomed 20 Project Managers across 5 teams: Design Partnerships, Design Education, Design Community, Marketing, and Professional Development. Each PM spearheaded their own initiative, from Adobe and Figma workshops, to the SWIDsters Mentorship Program, to our brand book and ever-growing marketing channels.
At the end of October, the Professional Development team hosted another Design Happy Hour: Designing for Sustainability, where we heard from three incredible women in sustainable design: Cayla Maki-Pittman (Harmless Studio), Beth Esponnette (unspun.io), and Saskia van Gendt (Rothy’s).
November — In Full Force
We finished the quarter with a bang. The Professional Development team’s “From Passion to Full-Time Offer” series was a resounding success, and fellows left this quarter with more confidence and understanding of the professional world of design.
The SWIDsters mentorship program fostered connections across teams and programs within SWID, as each underclassmen was paired with a mentor with similar interests.
We welcomed Knight-Hennessy Scholar Sonia Garcia to our Executive Advisory Board. Read her bio here.
And finally, the Innovators presented their incredible final projects. Seven weeks ago, these teams of Innovators took on one of 5 design challenges: Education in the Age of the Pandemic, Equity in Healthcare, Technology and Mental Health, Designing for Inclusion and Accessibility, Sustainability and Design. Their final presentations floored us. We are so proud of all that the Innovators have accomplished in such a short time, and we can’t wait to see where their design journey takes them next.
Looking Forward
At our End-of-Year Celebration, we announced our 2021 Executive Board of Directors. We’re pumped for what’s in store next year, continuing current projects like rebranding, SWIDsters, “Mom, I Got This!”, and more. Stay tuned to learn about our new initiatives geared toward consultancy.
We’re so thankful for all that our 2020 Board members have done to make this year so special. Through all of the uncertain times, they prevailed, making a positive impact on the SWID and Stanford communities. We can’t thank Nicole Orsak, SWID president, enough for her dedication to our organization over the years. She truly transformed SWID into the vibrant community that it is now with her unique drive and vision.
Over Winter break, we plan to host several bonding events, from a movie night to a virtual escape room. We can’t wait for what’s in store next year!
