Faculty

Douglas Van Praet

Doug Van Praet

Executive Director / School of Brand Communications

Doug is a leading branding expert, brand strategist, management consultant and industry best-selling author. He’s recognized as a pioneer in the application of behavioral science to brand and marketing innovation. Doug’s applied psychology methodology for inspiring and optimizing data-driven brand growth and change management draws from Unconscious Behaviorism and is grounded in evolutionary and social psychology, behavioral economics, and cognitive science.

Doug has positioned some of the world’s most iconic brands through results-oriented, award-winning campaigns with demonstrable financial and social ROI (Return on Investment). His proprietary approach has helped generate billions of impressions in earned media and hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue growth. He has worked with leading advertisers and brands like Volkswagen, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, General Motors, Toyota, Lexus, Nike, Burger King, AB InBev, Dr Pepper, Snapple, Neutrogena, DIRECTV, Bank of America, City National Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Mitsubishi, etc. He has also worked with leading nonprofit brands including World Vision, Mercy Ships, Concern Worldwide, International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, etc.

Anna Vilano

Anna Villano

Executive Director / School of Brand Communications

Anna is a trained graphic designer with a background in architecture. From managing design departments to leading creative teams at digital agencies her career has spanned many areas in marketing communications. She’s been on the forefront of the evolution from pre-digital to post-digital and the use of various social media platforms for ad campaigns. 

She was a Creative Director at VaynerMedia, a disruptive award-winning social media agency led by digital pioneer Gary Vaynerchuk. At VaynerMedia Anna oversaw multiple creative teams to create some of the most innovative and successful ad campaigns. She’s an expert in understanding how the social media and ad machine really work and how they influence viewers’ buying decisions.

In addition, she’s worked at top-tier agencies such as Deutsch, FCB and Rapp. She’s worked with big name clients like Volkswagen, Taco Bell, Microsoft, Neutrogena, Unilever, Naked Juice, Sonic Drive-In, Toyota, City National Bank and P&G, to name a few. She was a judge for The Addy Awards, one of the leading award shows in advertising.

Our Faculty

Anna Villano
Executive Director School of Graphic Design
Mary Scott
Director Emerita School of Graphic Design

Part-Time Faculty

Faculty MemberEducational Background
Amy BroadbentMaryknoll College, Maryknoll, New York (Bachelor of Arts, Psychology)
Amy Segal-Burke17+ years exp in Graphic Design
Chip SheeanArizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Art (Graphic Design))
David BlankenshipSan Diego State University, San Diego, California (Bachelor of Arts, Art)
David HakeUniversity of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio (Bachelor of Science, Design)
Fiona BlankenshipArt Center College Of Design, Los Angeles, California (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Graphics & Packaging)
Gregg FosterUniversity of West Florida, Pensacola, Florida (Bachelor of Arts, Communication Arts)
Hunter WimmerVirginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Communication Arts & Design)
Irena MilevUniveristy of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California (Bachelor of Arts, Design)
Jeff CarinoEastern New Mexico University, Portales, New Mexico (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Art w/ Emphasis in Graphic Des ign)
Jeremy StoutCalifornia College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, California (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Graphic Design/ Painting)
John NettletonVirginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia (Master of Fine Arts, Design Visual Communications)
Laurie MakelaCranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (Master of Fine Arts, Visual Communication)
Lloyd MitchellArgosy University, Orange, California (Master of Arts, Education)
Nancy CutlerState University of New York, College at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York (Bachelor of Science, Graphic Design)
Patrick Fraser20+ yrs. as Director and designer in brand and corporate identity
Peter Chun25+ years experience as designer
Rick GranadosSchool of Visual Arts, New York, New York (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Photography)
Sandra IslaAcademy of Art University, San Francisco, California (Master of Fine Arts, Graphic Design)
Sherry LambieArt Center College Design, Pasadena, California (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Graphics/Packaging)
Thomas McNultyArt Center College Design, Pasadena, California (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Graphics/Packaging)
Thomas MungovanGoddard College, Plainfield, Vermont (Master of Fine Arts, Interdisciplinary Arts)
Troy AldersCalifornia Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Art)
Angie WangCalifornia College of the Arts (BA, Graphic Design)

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