Faculty

Profile

Rhea Alexander is an Assistant Professor of Strategic Design & Management in the School of Design Strategies (SDS) and Assoc. Director of the undergraduate BBA Strategic Design and Management Program, and she also served as Co-director of the MS Strategic Design and Management program until Summer 2018. She is the Founder and Director of the Parsons Entrepreneurs Lab, a design-driven lab dedicated to the research and practice of entrepreneurship. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses, is a mentor to fellows and, conducts research around new educational models and support for design-driven impact entrepreneurship.

Publications Include: Practice What We Teach, Journal of 21st Century Education, 2016, [ISSN 2330 1236] Design-entrepreneurship in the post-recession economy: Parsons ELab, a Design School Incubator, Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios de Diseño y Comunicación Nº 64, 2016 [ISSN: 1668-0227] Prior to her faculty appointment, Rhea practiced architecture and product design before becoming an award-winning impact entrepreneur in the lifestyle sector. For over 25 yrs her clients included many top retailers and museum stores such as Barney’s, Lane Crawford, MoMA Store and Mandarin Oriental.

With over 25 years experience pioneering design-driven triple bottom line values, she consulted for NGO’s in the int’l economic development sector as well as USAid working with SME’s and artisans in over 16 countries, her work took her from Nicaragua to Tanzania, from West Bank to Vietnam and beyond. She currently serves on the board of advisors for Strategic Design Lab and for Jaiyou, serves on the Board of Directors for NYC Innovation Collective and is a Strategic Design Consultant where she uses human-centered design principles rooted in business rational to innovate and create sustainable growth for her clients. Rhea received a BFA in Environmental Design from Parsons School of Design and an MA in Media Studies from The New School.

Recent Publications

Practice What We Teach, Journal of 21st Century Education, 2016, [ISSN 2330 1236]     Co-authors Rhea Alexander and  Aaron Fry

Design-entrepreneurship in the post-recession economy: Parsons ELab, a Design School Incubator, Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios de Diseño y Comunicación Nº 64, 2016 [ISSN: 1668-0227] Co-authors Rhea Alexander, Aaron Fry and Samar Ladhib

Breaking Boundaries: A Unique Inter-University Program Addressing the 21st Century Skills Gap
Co-authored by Rhea Alexander, Matthew Stewart and Shane Snipes https://www.academia.edu/40757691/Breaking_Boundaries_A_Unique_Inter-University_Program_Addressing_the_21st_Century_Skills_Gap

Managing Vulnerability and Uncertainty: Building designerly ways of doing within non-designer teams https://www.academia.edu/40757689/Managing_Vulnerability_and_Uncertainty_Developing_design_competencies_within_an_American_healthcare_non_profit_20191027_111886_1iiogdk   Co- Authors: Rhea ALexander, Sarah Jones and Vinay Kumar Mysore

Future Pathways for Design-Driven Entrepreneurship Education Future Pathways for Design-Driven Entrepreneurship Education (pp 365-378)

Strategic Design and the Future of Work-and-Wellness https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/t2K99IfB52yfQ3xNynfp/full?target=10.1080%2F24735132.2019.1584024&  Co-authors Rhea Alexander and  Aaron Fry