Alumni Advisory Board
Committed to strengthening connections between CCAD alumni, the college, and each other.
About the Board
The Columbus College of Art & Design Alumni Advisory Board is a group of eight to 12 volunteers with broad and diverse backgrounds and experience.
This advisory group serves as a forum for the exchange of alumni points of view, identifies engagement opportunities for alumni, and explores ways to strengthen connections between CCAD alumni, the college, and one another.
The board meets on a quarterly basis and plays an active role in CCAD’s signature alumni engagement activities, including Big Mingles (local and regional social gatherings) and the annual Alumni Awards.
Meet Our Alumni Advisory Board Chair
Robert Coles (Retail Advertising, 1995) is senior director of creative and digital services at Stanford University and is an active leader in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, both at his employer and in his outside pursuits. Prior to Stanford, Coles held positions at Franklin University and at CCAD. He began his career at Victoria’s Secret and has since built his own company, Brand Creative Marketing, LLC, serving such clients as the Cleveland Cavaliers and Columbus Blue Jackets. Additionally, Coles is a published children’s book illustrator with five books to his credit, each featuring a person of color as the protagonist. In 2023, Coles established the Coles Diversity Impact Scholarship Fund to strengthen access and opportunities for incoming students at CCAD.
Current Advisory Board Members
Our board members for the 2024–2025 academic year are:
- Kristen Adams (Illustration, 2002) production designer, art director & scenic designer
- Chavilah Bennett (Advertising & Graphic Design, 2012), art director, Apple TV+
- Devin Goetz (Advertising & Graphic Design, 2017), senior art director, The Mars Agency
- Kristen Harris (Retail Advertising, 1991), COO & co-owner, Portfolio Creative
- Cathy Ann Johnson-Conforto (Illustration, 1989), managing creative director, Luv-it Studio LLC
- Susana Madrid (Fashion Design, 2006), founder & designer, Susana Madrid
- John McCutcheon (Fine Arts, 1979), gallerist & curator, Sean Christopher Gallery
- Christina Pucci (Fashion Design, 2003)
- Paitoon Ratanasirintrawoot (Industrial Design, 1993), president & CCO, Paitoon Ratan, LLC
- Pily Támara (Industrial Design, 2013), design research & insight translation director, Lextant
- Rose White (Interior Design, 2019), designer & graduate student, University of Texas at Austin
CCAD alums Ryan Green and Fawn Veerasunthorn traipsed unconventional paths and endured detours to careers as artists at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Learn how they did it, what it’s like to work in Mickey’s world, and what from their time at CCAD they use every day.
Vince Notaroberto (Advertising & Graphic Design, 1971) came to CCAD to find community with people like himself—those unseen. At CCAD, he built a chosen family. After a thrilling career, he’s making a gift to ensure generations of students have the same opportunities.
A short about Emily Dickinson has won a prestigious Telly Award—and Columbus College of Art & Design filmmakers helped make it happen.
Meet Serenity Strull, a Columbus College of Art & Design Film & Video alum carving her own creative career path as an editorial illustrator for the BBC.
