Marisa is a recent graduate from the Fashion Institute of Technology’s graphic design program. (She’s also a sagittarius, serial outfit repeater, Adventure Time fan, and candy wrapper collector). Outside of her school and freelance work, she has also been serving as creative director at the Collegiate Association for Artists of Color. She loves how graphic design allows her to research complex topics like race, mental health and identity. Projects she enjoys the most are ones that allow her to learn a little more about the world, herself, and how we all interact with one another.

Our sincerest thanks to our jurors and all who applied, especially to our finalists. It was a pleasure and honor for us to get to know and showcase so many amazing emerging designers!

What’s the Fellowship for Change in Design?

The CUP Fellowship for Change in Design is an effort to do our part to support the development of a pipeline of skilled individuals from marginalized communities into the design fields, and to dismantle the systemic biases that stand in the way of their advancement as leaders in these fields. We created the Fellowship as a way to leverage CUP’s unique position at the confluence of design and social justice to promote change in the design fields.

The program supports Fellows in gaining the skills, contacts, and experience to help them excel in their design careers. The Fellow works at CUP full-time for a year, collaborating on our community-engaged design projects as part of the CUP team, working as an in-house designer, and participating in mentoring opportunities.