Get ready to cast your vote for the next leaders of the AIGA Houston chapter.

In accordance with our chapter bylaws, the next group of AIGA Houston board and committee members to serve the local community will be elected by a majority vote of the members of the AIGA Houston chapter. As a chapter board, we are made of the members, by the members, for the members. Only votes by active AIGA members will be counted in the election.

This year’s elections will elect the chapter’s next team of executive officers to serve AIGA Houston’s community during the 2024–2026 term. Learn more about the process to become a chapter leader.

Design: Rita Jia  

Election Period

Monday, May 13, 2024, 12:00 a.m. CT–Friday, May 31, 2024, 11:59 p.m. CT

Results will be announced Friday, June 7. Incoming, outgoing and continuing members will be listed in the announcement.  

Eligible Voters

The AIGA Houston chapter board is made of the members, by the members, for the members.

• Must be an active AIGA member for your vote to count.
• Duplicate votes and votes by nonmembers will not be counted. 

Not a member? You can support our mission and programming by joining today.  

2024 Nominating Committee

Thank you to the 2024 Nominating Committee for their time in reviewing this year’s nominations.

• Henry Ngo, President emeritus, chapter advisor and former Nominating Committee member
• Rachel Flores, former officer and former Nominating Committee member
• Lauren Yanko, former AIGA Boston president, AIGA Incoming Presidents Council Chair and community member with board governance expertise

2024 Chapter Slate

We are excited to present this year’s chapter slate for consideration. Learn more about each nominee below.

Executive

President | Sara Iqbal
Sara Iqbal is a Pakistani American and an alumnus from University of Houston Graphic Design program. She’s the owner, Creative Director of Graphic Matters, a full service creative design practice, where graphics become important matters of communication for small businesses and non-profit organizations. She specializes in branding and strategically designing mindful experiences while advocating for Design as a tool to solve complex problems. Sara currently serves as AIGA Houston’s Design Advocacy Director and is a founder of Indus Arts Council, a non-profit whose mission is to foster a cross-cultural exchange between the Pakistani diaspora and the diverse communities in the U.S. through arts, Urdu classes, immersive cultural events, films, and theater. She’s a boy-mom of 3. One of them is a gray tabby.

Membership

Membership Director | Melton Bell
Melton Bell III is a digital designer and Creative Director based in Houston, Texas. He currently serves as AIGA Houston’s Programming Director. His overall focus is quality design and delivering unique and original ideas. Creating thoughtful, simple visual identity assets for brands of all sizes. Melton’s career launched in 2011, taking root in his genuine desire to amplify the work of friends and family who were in need of someone who could adequately meet the visual needs of their businesses. From his partnerships at the beginning of his career, he immediately saw his niche as a digital visual artist is in delivering problem-solving multimedia executions that are commercially viable for businesses, but also totally unique and original to his clients’ businesses. In other words, he has a deep desire to create products that are demonstrably non-derivative, but also to raise both the floors and ceilings of his clients’ brand identities and their overall presences in the industries in which they reside.

Membership Chair | Felicia Mesadieu
Felicia Mesadieu is a motivated graphic designer and creative professional that excels in a results-driven environment and consistently provides exceptional customer service. Extremely competent with an advance application of digital media management, internet research, and online advertising. Strong oral and written communication with experience in effective business writing.

Membership Coordinator | Isabel Almaguer
Isabel Almaguer graduated from the University of Houston – Downtown (UHD), with a B.S. in Computer Science, along with two minors, one in Math, the other in Art. She served as President of the UHD Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) student chapter, where our mission was to connect UHD’s CST students with valuable skills to prepare them for industrial endeavors. Isabel was a Business Intelligence Analyst for 4+ years, where she researched solutions, visually communicated data, and collaborated with several stakeholders across departments. She then decided to transition careers into User Experience (UX) and now works at an innovation lab as a UX Researcher. Isabel currently serves as AIGA Houston’s Membership Coordinator.

Membership Ambassador | Emma Simoni
Emma Simoni is an experienced professional instructional and graphic designer passionate about accessibility and creating high quality learning content and graphics. She worked closely with subject matter experts in higher education to create accessible, easy to navigate online courses. Emma advocates for the best possible learning experience for students and takes great joy in working in instructor-led projects as well as through the creation of E-learnings. Her background in computer graphics and graphic design lends a strong sense of design and harmonious user experience to everything she creates.

Finance (Partnerships)

Partnerships Chair | Stephanie Areche-Franco
Stephanie Areche-Franco graduated from the University of Houston – Downtown (UHD), with a B.S. in Social Science. She then transitioned into marketing and is versed in event coordination and partnership negotiation. Stephanie believes in the connective power of design human relationships and enjoys tying the knot between brand marketing and partnerships.

Communications

Communications Director | Sabrina Smith
Sabrina Smith is a graphic designer based in Houston, Texas. She graduated from St. Edward’s University with a BFA in Graphic Design. She wants to create meaningful design in a visually saturated world. Sabrina currently serves as AIGA Houston’s Communications Director. She loves giving back to her design community through creating graphics and running AIGA Houston’s communications strategy. Sabrina also runs a small business of laser-cut jewelry and decor.

Communications Chair | Alan Nguyen
Alan Nguyen is a results-driven marketing professional with a proven track record in multi-channel campaign management, brand development and creative direction.

Communications Chair | Rita Jia
Rita Jia is a graphic designer and visual communicator experienced in visualizing ideas and creating innovative solutions. With a keen eye for aesthetics and a deep understanding of client needs, Rita excels at creating visually captivating and empathic work. She works across various mediums and genres including digital and print design, static and motion graphics, as well as experiential and conceptual designs. Besides graphic design, she is also into photography and mix media art which keeps herself inspired!

Design Advocacy

Design Advocacy Coordinator | Jocelyn Randolph
Jocelyn Randolph is a highly skilled leader and ‘go-getter’ with a proven track record overseeing multimedia production projects from concept to completion. She owns a small video/animation studio and manages cross-functional teams, optimizes workflows, and ensures the delivery of high-quality branded multimedia content. Joceyln has extensively worked with nonprofits, started a nonprofit and volunteers.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)

DEI Director | Claire Elestwani 
Claire Elestwani is a Lebanese/Filipina graphic designer and educator based in Houston, Texas. She specializes in organizing complex information, creating flexible visual systems and guiding teams of designers from concept to execution. Claire values joyful, thoughtful work that treats clients and audiences with respect. She is deeply invested in creating a culture of equity within our design community.

Programming

Programming Director | Melton Bell
Melton Bell III is a digital designer and Creative Director based in Houston, Texas. He currently serves as AIGA Houston’s Programming Director. His overall focus is quality design and delivering unique and original ideas. Creating thoughtful, simple visual identity assets for brands of all sizes. Melton’s career launched in 2011, taking root in his genuine desire to amplify the work of friends and family who were in need of someone who could adequately meet the visual needs of their businesses. From his partnerships at the beginning of his career, he immediately saw his niche as a digital visual artist is in delivering problem-solving multimedia executions that are commercially viable for businesses, but also totally unique and original to his clients’ businesses. In other words, he has a deep desire to create products that are demonstrably non-derivative, but also to raise both the floors and ceilings of his clients’ brand identities and their overall presences in the industries in which they reside.

Programming Chair (DEI) | Ingrid Rincón
Ingrid Rincón is a proud Latina Colombian with more than two decades of invaluable experience within the marketing and advertising domain. As a dynamic, accomplished Marketing Manager, she delivers personalized business plans and strategic promotional tactics to industry leaders. Ingrid has a proven track record of quickly solving problems and making decisions under pressure to optimize quality and meet strict deadlines. She is known as a motivational, influential leader and collaborator who guides team members to achieve demanding performance standards and projects.

Programming Chair (Education) | Amy Truong
Amy Truong graduated from St. Edward’s University with a BFA in Graphic Design. She is a Visual Designer, Photographer, and UI Designer passionate about telling stories visually for brands and businesses, designing for social impact, and making the user’s experience more inclusive and accessible. Amy also holds experience with improving and extending the branding and marketing strategies of companies in publishing, real estate, nonprofit organizations, small businesses and academia. She is passionate about utilizing design to think forward about accessibility, sustainability, and inclusivity.

Ready to Vote?

Questions?