Faculty

Profile

A practitioner-scholar, academic administrator and design strategist, Mariana Amatullo joined The New School as full-time faculty in the School of Design Strategies (SDS) at Parsons School of Design in 2017. In addition to her teaching in SDS where she is also part of the core faculty of the university's Graduate Minor in Civic Service Design, she is the Vice Provost and Academic Dean for Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) at The New School. In this role she provides academic leadership, strategy, integration, and development for CPE. Her work encompasses integrating academic development and academic administrative functions for the division to operate as a continued source for teaching and learning innovation, new partnerships, profitability, and sustainability. A recent focus has been to scale the university's executive education division in line with The New School’s preeminence in the creative and design fields and building open-enrollment executive education programs, global executive masters, and bespoke large-scale programs tailored for corporate and enterprise partners. Learn more by watching Mariana articulate "The Return on Design" conceptual framework for Parsons Executive Education here.

Prior to joining The New School, Mariana led the award-winning social innovation department, Designmatters at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California which she co-founded in 2001. Mariana writes and lectures internationally about design, design management and social innovation and serves on a variety of international juries, and executive and advisory boards in design and the arts. She is Honorary President of the Cumulus Association, the leading global association of art and design education and research (served as President 2019 through June 2022); in January 2022 she joined the Board of Aalto University in Finland.

Mariana’s academic research and publishing bridge the design and management fields and examine the role of a design attitude as a cognitive approach to social innovation and organizational learning. Her editorial projects include Design for Social Innovation: Case Studies from Around the World, (with Bryan Boyer, Jennifer May and Andrew Shea, Routledge, 2021); LEAP Dialogues: Career Pathways in Design for Social Innovation as lead editor and the open-source LEAP Dialogues: The Educator’s Guide. A Global Fellow with the Royal Society for the Arts (RSA) and Salzburg Global, Mariana is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Inaugural DELL Award for Outstanding Social Innovation Education (2012).

She holds a Ph.D. in Management (Designing Sustainable Systems) from Case Western Reserve University, an M.A. in Art History and Museum Studies from the University of Southern California, and a Licence en Lettres Degree from the Sorbonne University, Paris, where she also studied Art History at L’Ecole du Louvre. A native of Argentina and the child of a diplomat, Mariana grew up around the world.

Degrees Held

PhD, Management (Designing Sustainable Systems), Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University. M.A. Art History and Museum Studies, University of Southern California. License en Lettres, Paris IV, Sorbonne.

Professional Affiliation

Board Service and Service to The Field 

• Board Member, Aalto University (2022-2025 term).
• Honorary President, Cumulus, the global association of art and design education and research (President from 2019 to 2022). Board Member for 2 consecutive terms (2016-2019) and (2013-2016).
• TNS Faculty Representative and Advisory Board Member, The New School Vera List Center for Arts and Politics (2018- 2021).
• Founding Circle and Advisory Council Member, Winterhouse Institute, Symposium on Design Education for Social Change, (2009-present).
• Editorial Board Member, DIID Journal, University of Bologna (2021- present).
• Editorial Board Member, Revista Diseña, Universidad Catolica, Chile (2017-present).
• Editorial Board Member, Journal of Design Research (JDR) (2018- present)
• Fellow, Royal Society of the Arts (RSA)
• Fellow, Salzburg Global
• Betta Gamma Sigma Honors Society 

Juries 

• Juror, The Index Award, Diseño Responde, 2022.
• Juror, Design Frontier Prize, Shanghai, 2022. 
• Juror, IF Talent Design Award, 2022.
• Juror, JumptheGap, ROCA competition, 2021.
• Juror, The Index Award, Diseño Responde, 2021. 
• Juror, The One Show Award, 2020.
• Senior Management for the CumulusGreen2020: For a New Circular Economy Competition, 2019-2020 
• Juror, Human City Design Award, Seoul Metropolitan Government in collaboration with UNESCO’s Cities of Design Network, 100,000 US dollars prize, Seoul, September 2019.
• Juror, “Play Everywhere Challenge,” national design competition for community-driven solutions that integrate play into urban spaces. Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Target, The US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the National Endowment of the Arts and Playworld, (2016).
• Chair and Juror, National Design Awards. Smithsonian Design Museum, Cooper-Hewitt, New York, (2016).
• Juror, World Design Impact Prize, International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID). Biennial Award that celebrates industrial design excellence for a better world, (2015).
• Panelist, National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works 2015 Grant-Making cycle,
  in the category of Design.
• Juror, 2012 Sappi Ideas that Matter Design Competition.
• Jury Captain, Educational Initiatives, CORE77 2012 Awards.

Recent Publications

Amatullo, M. (co-edited with Bryan Boyer, Jennifer May and Andrew Shea). Design for Social Innovation: Case Studies from Around the World, Routledge, 2021

Amatullo, M."Mariana Amatullo on Leadership," Design Observer Collective Newsletter, March 2021.

Amatullo, M. Invited Paper, “Innovation and Resilience: The Global Design’s Community Response to COVID-19.”  Strategic Design Research Journal, Vol 13, No. 3, 2021.

Amatullo, M and Shea, A (2020). "Human Rights,"  in Designing in Dark Times edited by Staszowski E. & Tassinari, V., Bloomsbury.

Amatullo, M. (2020). “Caring for what we leave behind: Ethical Considerations in Design for Social Innovation Pedagogy,” in  Ethics in Design and Communication: New Critical Perspectives, edited by Scherling, L. and deRosa, A., Bloomsbury. 

Amatullo, M. (2019). Designing the Future We Want, in Dialectic: a scholarly journal of thought leadership, education and practice in the discipline of visual communication design, Vol.2, Issue 2.

Amatullo, M., Lyytinen, K., and Tang, Jing (2019). Measuring a Design Attitude in Accelerating Social Innovation: Scale Development and Validation. Academy of Management Annual Conference Proceedings, Boston. 

Penin, L.; Staszowski, E.; Bruce, J.; Adams, B. and Amatullo, M. (2019). Public Libraries as Engines for Democracy: A research and pedagogical case study on designing for reentry, Nordes 2019 Proceedings, Who Cares? Espoo, Finland.

Buchanan, C., Amatullo, M. and Staswoski, E.(2019): "Building the Civic Design field in New York City," Revista Diseña, 14 (158-183), Escuela de Diseño of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. 

Amatullo, M. (2018). “Design for Play in Social Innovation,” in Designing for Kids: Creating for Playing, Learning, and Growing  by Krystina Castella, Routeledge.

Amatullo, M., Gottlieb, D., Herscovitch, P. and Ramshaw, S. (2018)  Book chapter: “Educating the Next Generation of Social Innovators: Designmatters at ArtCenter, ” in Public Interest Design Education Guidebook: Curricula, Strategies, and SEED Academic Case Studies, edited by Lisa Abendroth and Bryan Bell. Routledge.

Amatullo, M. and May, J.(2018). "Embedding Designers in Government: A Case Study about Complexity," in Proceedings of Emerging Practices: Design in Complexity, the Design Research and Education Conference 2016, Tongji University, School of Design and Innovation.

Amatullo, M., May, J., and Shea, A (2017): LEAP Dialogues: The Educator's Guide,(Designmatters at ArtCenter.

Amatullo, M. chapter. Organizational Design in a Social Innovation Context, in Yee, J, Jefferies, E. & Michlewski, K. (2016). Transformations: 7 Roles to Drive Change by Design. Amsterdam: BIS.

Amatullo, M. (2016). LEAP Dialogues: Career Pathways in Design for Social Innovation (Lead editor with eds. Bryan Boyer, Liz Danzico and Andrew Shea. Designmatters at ArtCenter College of Design.

Amatullo, M. (2016). "Insights from Integrating a Design Attitude Approach to the Ecosystem of International Development,"  20th DMI Academic Design Management Conference. Inflection Point: Design Research Meets Design Practice, Boston.

Amatullo, M and Fabian, Christopher. Chapter: The UNICEF Experience of Innovation, A Conversation, in Ramalingam, B. and Bound, K. Innovation in International Development: Insights for Navigating the Paths and Pitfalls. April 2016. NESTA, UK. 

Amatullo, M. (April 2014). “Codifying Practices in an Emergent Space: Insights from the LEAP Symposium on the New Professional Frontier of Design for Social Innovation.” Journal of Design Principles and Practices: Annual Review Issue. Common Ground Publishing.

Performances and Appearances

[SELECTED]

2022

Sustainable and Regenerative Futures by Design. Design Muscat, Oman, June 2022.

Design for the Un-Imagined. Word Design Organization, Design Research and Education Forum, February 22, 2022.

Aalto Leaders’ Insight. “New Leadership Perspectives.” Vol.10.   German DDCAST. Podcast Episode 86. “What is Good? Mariana Amatullo, the Chief Diplomat of Social Design,” with Georg-Christof Bertsch,  April 2022.   The Deep Dive. Podast Episode 107. Design for Social Innovation: A Conversation with Dr. Mariana Amatullo, Bryan Boyer and Andrew Shea. With Philip McKenzie, April 2022.

2021

The New School Blog, Mariana Amatullo Aalto University Appointment.  December 6, 2021.

Invited Keynote, Design for Social Innovation Today: Case Studies from a dynamic global field, Cumulus +Adada Educational Symposium, December 4-5, 2021.

Opening Remarks, Cumulus Guayaquil: Arts Imagining Communities to Come, Universidad de las Artes, November 2021.

Mariana Amatullo appointed to Aalto University Board, Aalto University, October 28, 2021.

Design for Transition Podcast, Carnegie Mellon, El Potencial del Diseno para potenciar un cambio de actitudes en educacion y redes, October 2021.

Podcast Interview, Mariana Amatullo on Design For Social Innovation with Roy Sharples, Unknown Origins Podcast, August 2021. 

Opening Remarks, Cumulus + New European Bauhaus Initiative, Cumulus Connects Global Conversation, (Virtual) August 26, 2021

Podcast Interview, Mariana Amatullo on Design for Social Innovation and Maintaining a Design Attitude, Shaping Chaos Podcast, March 2021.

Keynote Speaker, Imagination Summit,” Flourish Together,” Lancaster University, UK (Virtual), March 18, 2021. 

Keynote Panelist, “Design Education and Play: the Social Innovation Imperative,” Industry Panel, “Toy’Ing with Design,” Ahmedabad Design Week (ADW 2021), February 3-7, 2021.

2020

Ministerio de la Cultura, las Artes y El Patrimonio, Chile, Keynote Panelist, "Design Attitude & El Nuevo Compromiso del Diseño," Mes del Diseño,  November 5, 2020. 

Open Design Afrika Festival, Cape Town, Keynote Inspirator Presentation, "The Power, Role and Future of Design Education, October 29, 2020 

CumulusConnects,  Panelist, "The Changing Needs of Design Education: A Global View," September 11, 2020.

ArchiNet, Keynote,"Designing for Reslience in Uncertain Times," August 6. 2020

2019

Milano Management Brown Bag Series, "Why a Design Attitude Matters: Measuring the Impact of Designers in Organizational Change," The New School, New York, October 3, 2019.

Human City Design Award keynote lecture, September 26, 2019, Seoul, Korea. 

Design Thinking Research Center, Yonsei University invited lecture, " Towards a Design Attitude for Social Innovation and Organizational Change," September 24, Seoul, Korea. 

Regenerating Good International Symposium keynote lecture, "Bringing a Design Attitude to Social Change," September 11, New York. 

Design and Diaspora Podcast, “El Diseno Importa: Una charla con Mariana Amatullo,”  February 24, 2019.https://anchor.fm/disenoydiaspora/episodes/Ep14-El-diseo-importa--Una-charla-con-Mariana-Amatullo-e3a4lm.

Television Regional Channel Canal 4, Expert Interview on design for social innovation. Cali, Colombia, February 22, 2019.

2018

The Design of Business, The Business of Design. Podcast Interview with Michael Bierut and Jessica Helfland, Yale School of Management and Design Observer, New Haven, CT., September 2018.

Eye on Design. The World Most Sustainable Corporations Might Surprise You and Other Lessons from Design Educator Mariana Amatullo. Interview by Billie Muren. September 2018.

Salzburg Global Seminar Report. Interview. The Shock of the New: Arts, Technology and Making Sense of the Future, September 3, 2018. https://www.salzburgglobal.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Documents/2010-2019/2018/Session_593/SalzburgGlobal_Report_593__email_.pdf

El Clarin, ARQ (Argentina). OpEd. Mariana Amatullo. “El rol cambiante del diseño en el contexto de innovacion social,” August 2018.

Base Diseño e Innovacion Journal. (Universidad del Desarrollo, Facultad de Diseño, Santiago, Chile). International Interview: Mariana Amatullo, Diseño en IberoAmerica. Issue 3, July 2018.

http://diseno.udd.cl/publicacion/numero-3/ and http://diseno.udd.cl/files/2018/07/05_B3_Entrevistas.pdf

Oslo Manifesto. Q&A with Dr. Mariana Amatullo. Sustainable Design is not a choice but an imperative, March 2018.  http://oslomanifesto.org/qa-with-dr-mariana-amatullo/

2017

Eye on Design AIGA, What will a designer + their job look like in 2025?, Emily Gosling, October 25, 2017. https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/what-will-a-design-job-in-2025-look-like/.

Dot Magazine, Mariana Amatullo: A legacy of creativity and compassion, by ArtCenter President Lorne Buchman, October 27, 2017. http://www.artcenter.edu/connect/dot-magazine/articles/mariana-amatullo-legacy-compassion-creativity.html

Revista Diseña Magazine, Safe Niños y Fresh Eyes Cuba: Mariana Amatullo y el Diseño de Innovacion Social, por Catalina Mansanilla, Renato Bernasconi y Ximena Ulibarri, October 2017, http://www.revistadisena.com/numeros/once/

Research Interests

Design for social innovation, public sector design, leadership and design innovation, design and organizational culture, design management, strategy, design theory.

Awards And Honors

[Selected]

_  Recipient (with coeditors Bryan Boyer, Jennifer May and Andrew Shea) of the 2019 Sappi Ideas that Matter Award for Design for Social Innovation: Case Studies from Around the World (Routledge, 2021). 

_ Recipient, Design Incubation Educators Award, Service category (with Jennifer May and Andrew Shea, co-editors), for LEAP Dialogues: The Educators  Guide (Designamtters at ArtCenter, 2017)

_ Global Fellow, Salzburg Global Seminar (since 2018)

_ Fellow, Royal Society for the Arts (RSA) (since 2017)

_ Innovation and Non-Profit Fellow, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University (2011-2015)

_ Recipient, 2014 Core77 Awards, Educational Initiatives Category, for the Media Design Practices: Field Program curriculum (with former MDP at ArtCenter Chair Anne Burdick and ArtCenter MDP faculty).

_ Recipient, 2012 Fast Company, “50 Creative Pioneers: Designers Shaping the Future.”

_ Recipient,  2012  Inaugural Dell Social Innovation Award in Outstanding Social Innovation Education.