The AIGA Design Educator Conference New Ventures: Intersections in Design Education kicks off their two-day conference with an opening night keynote presentation by Maria Giudice, Director of Product Design at Facebook and Co-author of the Rise of the DEO. Maria has pursued a vision of intelligent, elegant, people-centered design throughout her professional life. Her grasp of the pragmatic, the authentic, and the essential have kept her at the forefront of the intersection of design and business for over 20 years. Maria holds a BFA from Cooper Union. She was recognized as Woman Entrepreneur of the Year by the Women’s Initiative, a Bay Area non-profit that helps provide economic opportunity and education to low income, high promise women. In 2012, Maria was named an AIGA Fellow in recognition of her impact in raising the standards of excellence and conduct within the design community.