Advisory board

Antonio Alcalá
Owner, Studio A

Antonio Alcalá graduated from Yale University with a BA in history and from the Yale School of Art with an MFA in graphic design. After working as a book designer and freelance graphic designer Alcalá opened Studio A in 1988. Since then his studio has won awards of excellence in design from local, national and international design institutions including AIGA, Print, Communication Arts and Graphis. His clients include: the National Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, National Portrait Gallery, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Folger Shakespeare Library, The Phillips Collection, the Walters Art Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution. Alcalá is an adjunct faculty member of the Corcoran College of Art + Design and founder of the design education program DesignWorkshops. He serves on the board of the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association, and is a past president of the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington. He is also responsible for the design of US postage stamps as an art director for the United States Postal Service. Alcalá’s work and contributions to the field of graphic design were recognized with his selection as the 2008 AIGA Fellow, Washington DC Chapter. In 2011, Alcalá was nominated for two National Design Awards from the Cooper-Hewitt Museum. His work is represented in the AIGA Design Archives and the Library of Congress Permanent Collection of Graphic Design.

Mira Azarm
Past President, AIGA DC
Graphic Designer, University of Maryland

Ethel Kessler
Creative Director, Design Consultant, Kessler Design Group

Ethel Kessler is a nationally recognized design leader and art director with over 30 years of experience in the Washington, DC area.

She is on the United States Postal Service’s art director team interpreting stamp subjects and creating award winning designs. This process brings together an interest in American History, marketing strategy, education and design innovation. Her first stamp design was the Breast Cancer Semi-Postal Stamp, which launched in 1998 and has raised $73 million dollars for breast cancer research. Over 300 additional stamps for the Postal Service have been issued under her art direction including: the Library of Congress, Frederick Law Olmsted, Louise Nevelson, 50 Year Celebration of Civil Rights, Alzheimer’s, the 12-year Nature of America series, Abstract Expressionists, Latin Dance, Latin Music Legends, American Scientists issued in 2011, and many more.

Other projects of her firm, Kessler Design group, include health and wellness issues focusing on underserved and multi-cultural populations, book design, and the environment.
She is a graduate of Maryland Institute College of Art and an AIGA Fellow of the Washington DC Chapter.

Tom Osborne
Design Director, Viget Labs
Member since 2010

Tom is a Design Director at Viget in Falls Church, VA where he has been since 2008. Viget is a Strategy, Design, and Development agency specializing in interactive experiences. His leisure time is spent with his wife, Ty, and their two children. 

Rodney Williams
President, RCW Communication Design Inc.

Rodney has over 40 years of experience in the field of visual communication. Founded in 1987, RCW Communication has grown into a recognized and respected full service graphic communication company that provides to a diverse marketplace in the areas of branding/identity, advertising, graphic design, marketing, publications, exhibit graphics, internet and multimedia design.

Additionally, Rodney has continuously employed, encouraged, and mentored young designers just starting out in their careers. He continues to make design an integral part of his life and career as well.

Rodney Williams was proudly named as one of the AIGA DC Fellow Award recipients for 2010. His work has been recognized by prestigious competitions and publications including, AIGA, American Graphic Design & Advertising, Art Directors Club, Graphic Design USA, Print Regional Design Annual, and the American Association of Museums.

Stephanie Yoffee 

Stephanie F. Yoffee has been a creative professional since 1989 in the Washington, DC area where she has practiced graphic design and design research, and been a small business owner. She received a BFA in graphic design from The Rhode Island School of Design, and a Masters in Business Administration from The George Washington University. She is most interested in the development of design policy.