The Design Futures Student Leadership Forum in-person convening will be held at the University of Detroit Mercy in Detroit, MI, on June 1-5, 2026. Accepted applicants will be accommodated to attend the forum (meaning that the College of Design will pay for your airfare, room/board, breakfast, and lunch). They will be met with 70+ student leaders from across the nation representing design programs from leading academic institutions and over 25 academic and practitioner faculty from private and non-profit-based practices.

Interested CDES major/minor students are asked to apply by Tuesday, April 1st. Applications will be reviewed and applicants will be notified of acceptance by April 14th. To view previous years, visit www.designfuturesforum.org.

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2025 Student Cohort accompanied by Dr. Terresa Hardaway & Zenas Seiji Ikedaas
Bilal Mohamed Ahmed Architecture First Year Student	Kim Cao Pfeffer Graphic Design (MFA) Graduate Student	Riddhi Patel Architecture Graduate Student	Sadie Red Wing Graphic Design (PhD) Graduate Student	Peng Liu Graphic Design (MFA) Graduate Student

MONDAY, JUNE 2 

Opening Circle

• Sadie Red Wing: I enjoyed the icebreaker activities that allowed us to quickly meet many new friends through the prompted questions shared by Ezra. The wording of the questions enabled us to provide in-depth and relatable responses to others who share similar experiences, which helped us connect and open up more quickly than at other conferences that may not have the same diversity of student demographics. 
   
• Kim Cao Pfeffer: I appreciate Ezra's introduction to the forum. It was informative and set a thoughtful tone for the program. I’m glad they went over the agreement, as many of the points made me feel welcome and encouraged me to open up to others. The opening circle was a nice way to meet new people, and I appreciated how openly some participants shared about themselves right away. It made me feel less nervous to share my own story.
   
• Riddhi Patel: It was a good introduction to the conference and set the tone for the 5 days. It helped me orient myself and know what was to come as a first-timer at such an event.

Core: On this site

• Saie Red Wing: I appreciated the presenters starting their presentation by acknowledging the struggle for Indigenous sovereign rights and providing a tool that mapped Indigenous languages related to specific territories in the United States. This was a great way to encourage students to consider which Indigenous territories they may be near and learn about the names of various unfamiliar languages. 
   
• Kim Cao Pfeffer: I appreciate how both platforms use cartography to make visible the structural racism embedded in land ownership and housing policies, deepening our understanding of how past injustices continue to shape present-day inequalities. By using them, I was able to actively learn more about the topic, which I found especially helpful, as it made me feel more connected to the place I live now.
   
• Peng Liu: The entire presentation revealed the redlining policies that exist either invisibly or explicitly in society. When confronted with such situations, as demonstrated in the examples, the power of community solidarity is often the only way forward. In the case of Philadelphia's Chinatown, for example, even though the community's collective protests were effective in slowing down the renovation process, the Chinatown community appears to be facing a loss of culture and membership. More than a century ago, Chinatown was formed naturally by the influx of Chinese laborers, but more and more Chinese immigrants are no longer choosing to live here because of the lowered language barriers and the accumulation of wealth, and their willingness to take part in community activities is gradually decreasing, and Chinatown is in the process of becoming a historical district and a purely cultural symbol. I think designers should probably focus on helping communities like this mitigate the loss of community culture.
   
• Riddhi Patel: This core session added yet another perspective to the way I approach architecture and urban design. It was a resourceful talk that helped me understand the importance of culture in shaping places and the importance of placemaking in shaping cultures.

Local Talk 

• Sadie Red Wing: I loved learning about the southern Louisiana coast's Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), which I wasn't familiar with before. I didn't know how the Indigenous nations steward their ecosystems along the Mississippi River, so it was fascinating to learn that the lands of Louisiana influenced the identities/traditions/languages around the Gulf Coast. Coming from Minnesota, where the same river also flows, it was interesting to discover the different stewardship practices of the southern nations that are distinct from those of the northern Indigenous nations. 
   
• Peng Liu: Monique's presentation was very inspiring. I also checked the website of Land Memory Bank and noticed the various projects they promoted. From the project "Invisible Rivers", I am very interested in the concept of "live with fluctuation, live with uncertainty, live in symbiosis." While they pointed out that the land, river, and the whole earth are consistently changing, using design and art features (e.g., music, digital storytelling, theater, etc.) seems to be an interesting way that could help people realize how important it is to embrace these changes. Through such a perspective, designers could think even more broadly about what should be considered and incorporated into designs that can reveal and exhibit the inconsistent nature of the world to their audiences.
   
• Riddhi Patel: Listening to Monique was interesting because I had taken a course in my undergraduate that also dealt with river systems and its preservation along with all the disruptive practices that are considered normal within the human realm. I particularly noted that no matter the part of the world, the principles that Nature and humans function on, are the same everywhere and mutually clashing. 

TUESDAY, JUNE 3 

Core Workshop: Insider/Outsider (KH + RH)

• Sadie Red Wing: Before the conference began, we received a reading titled “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference” by Audre Lorde. During the Insider/Outsider workshop, we discussed Lorde's work in depth and shared how relevant the text from the 1980s is today, based on how people are treated. Throughout the workshop, we defined “-isms” (age-ism, sexism, racism, etc) and provided scenarios about how the terminology affects our everyday lives as students, even if we don’t realize it. I left the workshop more aware of situations where I might receive negative responses in a space when I am unaware of it. 
  
  
• Peng Liu: I was deeply inspired by the workshop, especially after having insightful discussions with other members from the “Citizenship” group during the interactive group activity. Originally, I could only think of gender, race, and age-related discrimination, but after the discussion, I realized that there are still many areas that are overlooked. We discussed in depth how nationality and citizenship affect existing designs and the way people live their lives, and I began to reconsider the concept of “belonging” and “legitimacy” of people living in different social systems. It was an inspiring experience.
   
• Riddhi Patel: This workshop left a lasting impression on me because of various factors. The homework reading by Audre Lorde worded things I had been experiencing but didn’t realise until then. Khalilha and Rajan did such a great job of introducing the topic and making people feel comfortable and heard so that people can discuss the sensitive matters involving different aspects of identity and how one might feel privileged or not, and how it translates to problems to be addressed via design solutions.

Emergent Grounds: Resistance as Tradition (CD and MN)

• Kim Cao Pfeffer: The workshop began with a unique opening in which participants were given roses to use when answering questions and to share with one another. This activity invited us to remember our ancestors and reflect on our roots, as well as the oppression they endured in the past. During the workshop, we learned about the importance of campaigns, how they function, and how we can organize one ourselves. This was taught through two case studies: the Canal Street Campaign led by the New Orleans Congress of Racial Equality (1960- 1967) and the ACT UP, AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (1987-1993). After learning from these historical examples, we analyzed an assigned campaign using a specific framework. This exercise helped me better understand how to approach and design a successful campaign. One important lesson I took from the workshop is that lasting change requires both strategy and a strong sense of community. I was inspired by how past movements combined personal stories with collective action to challenge systems of power. It reminded me that design can be a powerful tool for organizing, educating, and resisting.

Anecdotes to Data Points- Examining the role of information collection and translation in community engaged design (AO, BD, and AM)

• Sadie Red Wing: This workshop began with an understanding of community design. I appreciate how all the presenters shared scenarios from local neighborhoods, highlighting values, power dynamics, conditions, and local experiences. For example, some neighborhoods may face food insecurity and encounter hazardous situations, such as uneven paved sidewalks, old bridges, road potholes, and constant wear and tear of accessible transportation that requires repair. One takeaway from the session is the amount of time and money it takes to overcome destruction, especially when displaced families are struggling to obtain resources while adjusting to their new environments. 
  
  
• Riddhi Patel: This workshop was a guide to the concept of community involvement in design. It discussed various strategies, methods, resources and ways of representation for better communication and knowledge sharing. It provided an insight on how to be a bridge between the community and the officials for the greater good. We also got a compiled list of all resources and methods that would come in handy throughout our careers.

Jugando Muuch. Generating Community Participatory Processes through Design (LD)

• Sadie Red Wing: The participatory design activity we practiced was an excellent tool for engaging diverse demographics in thinking about positionality. The presenter shared her case studies of using the game in Mayan Indigenous communities and then collected data from the game for design research aimed at social advancement after colonization. The presenter also prompted the question: What worlds does design create? This made me think about how our design practices curate experiences that may be colonial without our awareness. 

During the activity, each group received a map and tools to depict the participants’ positionality using cutout pictograms visually. Based on the locality of the group members and their experiences of injustices, the group raised awareness and relations of the experiences of other group members. 

• Peng Liu: I really enjoyed the participatory design workshop, and through the group activities, it not only made me think about my own positionality in a visual way but also allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of other people's life experiences. Since I come from a different cultural background, I shared my own perspective during the group discussion and heard about the injustices and oppression experienced by many people who grew up in different geographic locations in the United States. This process of information exchange made me become more empathetic and realize that design can be a powerful tool to connect with each other's experiences and to promote social justice.

Data for Civic Action: Accessible Tech Tools for Spatial Justice and Community Design (NO, AR)

• Riddhi Patel: This workshop was an incredible introduction to the mapping tool ArcGIS. It started with an example of why mapping is important and how it can help us understand the demographics of a place and the relation among them. The next exercise involved a tutorial for ArcGIS after which we had to make a New Orleans map ourselves with at least 4 parameters overlapping and find relations between them, how they inform each other.

Keynote

• Sadie Red Wing: I enjoyed the keynote speaking session as a panel to include more voices engaged in local community events. Brandan shared a great recap of his art (graffiti) with the intention of bringing liveliness to the neighborhood affected by Hurricane Katrina. I appreciated his perspective on needing more artists to brighten up areas containing unsightly buildings. I find it inspirational for other artists to use their creativity to demonstrate greater visual representation in “dull “spaces or negatively impacted by injustice and inequitable support. Rebecca shared her experiences working in film to generate more voices of local artists and to inform audiences about Indigenous sites around the Mississippi River. Lastly, Dasjon shared a great diagram of collective histories, equitable development, and cultural geography that demonstrated his strategic urban planning as a small business owner. I think the diagram is an excellent tool for inspiring business and architecture in spaces that face inequitable challenges.  
   
• Peng Liu: I am fully attracted to this session about community engagement. The most interesting part to me was when Brandan mentioned using his designs to support post-disaster recovery in communities. From his story about Katrina, I thought of a paper I had read about utilizing social capital to help a community in St. Bernard Parish after Katrina had significantly damaged the local economy and facilities. In this paper, they focused on analyzing collective narrative as a primary method within the close-knit, family-oriented community formed of diligent people. Comparing Brandon's design, which arouses revitalization of a fading local community, leveraging social capital, mainly connections between community members, is another area worth paying more attention to.
   
• Riddhi Patel: This keynote by DJ, Bmike and Rebecca was an eye opener for me as to how arts play a role in placemaking, shaping cities and communities. It was inspiring to see and hear the measures taken by the city and communities to recover from Hurricane Katrina. In today’s world where there is such great environmental imbalance, natural disasters are getting more frequent and for that, such examples form the base of hope, belief and something to look up to.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4 

Core Workshop: Embedding Equity through Universal Design (AB and BD)

• Kim Cao Pfeffer: One activity involved closing our eyes while the speaker read a scenario. Afterward, they asked us what kind of people we pictured. I’ve done this kind of activity before, but it still has an impact every time. The images that come to mind are often the ones shaped by the media—white men, able-bodied people, and others who fit what society often calls “normal.” This reminded me how important it is to question those automatic assumptions. We need to stay aware and keep challenging those defaults so we don’t forget to include everyone.
   
• Sadie Red Wing: One of my favorite conference workshops was "Embedding Equity through Universal Design." The workshop shared how designers can incorporate more design research focusing on demographics that require greater accommodation to feel included in spaces. One super fun activity was a game called “Hosting a Dinner.” The game's concept was that one group member was designated as the dinner host, while the other members received prompts and accommodations to feel included at the dinner. What made the game enjoyable was that the dinner host had no idea what each group member’s card stated and had a great time trying to guess how to make the dinner enjoyable for everyone. I thought this was a great activity to consider others' accommodations that we don’t always recognize as much as we should. 
  
  
• Peng Liu: In this session, there were a few activities that I really enjoyed, especially the “imagine practice.” In this activity, we were asked to close our eyes and imagine being invited to a dinner. After we opened our eyes, the facilitator asked a few prompts, such as “did you imagine the host being a Black woman,” or “did you imagine the newlywed couple next to you are two men.” That moment made me realize how often we fall into default thinking. What we consider “normal” is actually shaped by our perceptions—something that defines how we interpret and make sense of the world in psychology. This exercise helped me recognize my own unconscious biases and rethink what true inclusivity looks like.
   
• Riddhi Patel: This session involved some fun and impactful activities like imagining and acting out scenarios. It served as a realisation of how our perceptions are shaped by the narratives aiming for discrimination and sense of superiority. It also talked about how universal designs concern far more groups of people than those just physically disadvantaged, something that designers need to actively realise and urgently implement in their design process, not as an afterthought.

Local Day

• Kim Cao Pfeffer: For my local tour, I visited Lafitte Greenway, a long linear park that was once an underused rail line and canal. Today, it has been transformed into a lively space for daily activities and neighborhood gatherings. What stood out to me is that the project was completed with limited resources and funding, yet it became a great success thanks to strong community involvement. Local residents were invited to share feedback during the planning stages, and nearby schools and companies helped design and build the space with people’s needs in mind. This kind of community-based project shows how important it is to include the voices of those who actually live in and take care of the area. These residents carry knowledge, memories, and experiences tied to the environment, the space, and its history. When their stories and needs are part of the process, the result is a space that reflects, connects, and serves the community.
   
• Sadie Red Wing: The Broad Street, Bayou Road, and the Free People of Color Museum tour was an excellent highlight of the trip. We learned about the origins of the food chain Whole Foods and how the famous grocery store started in New Orleans. After the Whole Foods visit, we took a bus to the Free People of Color Museum, where we explored how ethnicities were classified when documented in Louisiana censuses. Following the museum, we walked along Broad Street, which featured many beautiful, colorful murals on the buildings. We visited local bookstores and businesses, which made us feel like part of the community as well. This tour deepened my appreciation for the community builders in NOLA and the motivations of local members striving to create a better, safer, and healthier environment.
   
• Peng Liu: The Lafitte Greenway tour had a strong impact on me. It was inspiring to see how a once-abandoned rail line was transformed into a vibrant, accessible public space through community-centered planning and design. What impressed me most was the way the project involved local residents throughout the process—listening to their needs, valuing their lived experiences, and creating a space that truly reflects the community. The Greenway isn’t just a park; it’s a symbol of connection, equity, and sustainability. This visit made me realize how powerful design can be in fostering belonging, improving daily life, and strengthening neighborhoods.
   
• Riddhi Patel: I went on the Broad Street Corridor local tour that dealt with catalyzing reinvestment along historic commercial corridors - the Bayou street. It started with us visiting BCC’s office where DJ told us about how it came to be and the work they are doing which was very inspiring. We then visited the Whole Foods store in the same building and talked about how it originated in New Orleans and ultimately came to be what it is today. Then we went to the only museum of free people of color. It blew my mind to realise how little we know about the oppressed and even that is incorrect as it is the narrative told by the oppressors. It was heartbreaking to know how Black people were denied all their rights and being labelled according to their appearance and darkness of skin complexion. Then we walked on the Bayou street - the original trading corridor of the black and indigenous people - and admired more murals telling their part of the story. We also supported the very first black owned business - the community book center and explored the others as much as possible.

THURSDAY, JUNE 5 

Seeding Design Practices for the Pluriverse (AH and AH)

• Sadie Red Wing: I resonated with this session because the topic included how plant life influenced design processes. As a Lakota designer, most of my design process, methods, and visuals are influenced by the ecosystems of the Great Plains in the United States. We discussed how our relationship to the timelines of a plant's life cycle reflects our energy in a project, why we might use florals ufor a specific visual language, and how symbolism connects plants (nature) and design. At the end of the workshop, we all received seeds and materials to begin the planting process. The seed symbolizes a personal goal, such as obtaining my PhD degree. As the seed grows, so will the personal goal. My seed of choice was the Cayenne Pepper. 
   
• Peng Liu: This session was especially interesting and impressive. We discussed the similarity between the cycle of nature and the cycle of the design process. I think about the food chain in nature, which typically starts with a small species and progresses to larger species. I compared the thought to my design process, which usually draws inspiration from a daily phenomenon and then relates it to a social problem. They all start with micro and progress to macro. 
   
• Riddhi Patel: This workshop revolved around the concept of alternative world building through the practice of gardening and cultivating. It discussed the intersections and parallels between that and the design process. We talked about how gardening was a part of everyone’s story and one person makes all the difference. I particularly talked about a small flowering plant locally called the “office time” in my region that grows flowers but they only bloom from 10 am in the morning till 6 pm in the evening and then again the next day. I take it as an indication that it is okay to take rest and not be blooming with ideas and designs all the time, that we should take this down time to recharge ourselves in order to shine bright the next day.

Keep Fighting, keep dancing: Protecting Cultural Third Spaces in an Age of Rising Authoritarianism (CD and MJ)

• Riddhi Patel: We talked about the concept of “third spaces” and their importance in daily lives. After a brief introduction, we identified our third spaces growing up individually and drew collective conclusions. We went on to talk about the cultural importance of these spaces and how it makes a community and keeps it alive. However, so many of these spaces are under a threat of extinction. I enjoyed this session as it taught me about the importance of design in something as minor as a street and how that also functions as a third space.

Make People FEEL: Speculative Fiction as a Tool for Healing and Joy (HC + AH) 

• Sadie Red Wing: For this activity, we selected groups with the prompt to create a community in the year 3035. Everyone was assigned a role in the community-building exercise; for example, I defined myself as the first line responder, which correlates with my cultural value of being a warrior. After everyone assigned their roles, the goal was to create a visual representation of how our community will function and to provide a deliverable to share with other communities. We named our community the Fighting Canaries, who demonstrated leadership and role model duties. We anticipated sharing them with different communities needing training in how to be better leaders and role models. 
   
• Peng Liu: I was deeply engaged in this workshop’s activity, which used a playful and imaginative approach to help us explore future possibilities. It was exciting to envision a community in the year 3035 and think creatively about how we might address future challenges. Our group worked together to create a visual representation of our imagined society, highlighting ways we could respond to crises with care, connection, and collective action. This speculative process not only sparked creativity but also offered a powerful reminder that design can be a tool for healing and hopeful change.

Leading from Where You Are: Rethinking Leadership for Equity  (JD and AS)

• Riddhi Patel: I particularly loved this session for its simplicity and depth. We got to analyze our own behaviours and experiences so that we can identify the values that shape us an individual. It talked about the three methods of leadership and compared their effectiveness side by side. In the end, we had to think of a situation where we are leading and choose the method of leadership that would help us become the best leader, depending on our set of values. I appreciate both the facilitators so much as they were very energetic, enthusiastic and openly embraced their inner child to make it fun despite being grown adults and professionals.

Practice Practice: Consensus Building for Liberation (AD and KH)

• Peng Liu: The presentation is meaningful overall, and the most impressive part for me is the “We xx, We commit” activity. Even though I could not clearly get the essence of the logic of this sentence structure, with some further discussion with my group, I deeply felt the capability of detecting the existing issues the sentence structure brought. For example, I think we could effectively delve into the systematic barriers of international students, and establish an expected outcome and promising future improvements, thus think of potential solutions that can facilitate achieving the goal. After all, as the presentation exhibits, I learned a novel way of identifying issues and solving them.

Bringing it Home

• Riddhi Patel: This was the first and official closing circle with Ezra facilitating, concluding the fruitful week and prompting us to think about how we are different than what we were on Monday morning. We were also asked to gather with the group from our university with our faculties to talk about what all we learned, identify two major ideas and their assets and challenges in implementing them in our own lives and academics. It put everything into perspective and compress the 5 days into bullet points as a summary.
   
• Peng Liu: During our group reflection with faculty, we summarized key takeaways from the past five days. Among the many insightful ideas, two stood out to me the most. First, the importance of learning to imagine the future we want—this mindset encourages intentional design and long-term thinking. Second, the theme of "connection with community" deeply inspired me. It made me realize how essential relationships and local knowledge are, and this will strongly influence my future projects.

FRIDAY, JUNE 6 

Student Led Reflections

• Riddhi Patel: It was fun and inspiring. We talked about one thing we gave and one thing we gained in that week. Then we went on a speed-networking exercise to connect with even more people we didn’t get a chance to talk to during the 5 days. After that we had some informal awards for the different student cohorts and began the block party!
   
• Peng Liu: The student-led reflection allowed us to share our weekly takeaways in small groups. I was deeply inspired by everyone’s different positionalities during the whole week. We all come from diverse cultural backgrounds, and each person faces unique obstacles, which helped me reflect on my own experiences in a new way. Before this, I mostly understood my own country and culture, but connecting with other students this week truly broadened my perspective and helped me see the value of diverse voices and lived experiences.