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Design For Health: A Convening

March 13th 2026 9:30 am - 3:00 pm

University Center Starr Foundation Hall

What to Expect

Parsons School of Design is developing “Design for Health,” an exciting new educational and career development initiative for students, faculty, and the broader university community. This leadership convening brings together a select group of academic pioneers, industry leaders, and research specialists to collaborate on the future of this initiative and explore how design can be a proactive force for preventative health and human flourishing. Participants will engage in high-level strategic planning to define how Parsons can uniquely bridge the gap between design practice and healthcare systems. The convening balances visionary thinking with operational planning, ensuring that the initiative’s boldest ideas are backed by sustainable curricular and research frameworks.

The convening is designed to move the initiative from vision to reality through two primary lenses:

❋ Visioning

Identifying radical new opportunities for design to intervene in health "upstream," focusing on environments, materials, and narratives that support life before medical care is required.

❋ Modeling

Defining the concrete infrastructure, such as curriculum, research labs, institutes, incubators,  and industry pipelines, needed to implement and scale this initiative across Parsons’ schools and the programs from the newly integrated College of Performing Arts.

March 13th 2026

Convening Schedule

The sessions focus on "dreaming big" about the role that design can play in the future of preventative health while establishing the concrete infrastructure needed for institutional implementation. 

Opening: The Future of Health Design at Parsons
Morning Sessions 
9:30 - 12:15 pm 

Anne Gaines & Michael Donovan: Setting the ambition for the initiative as a cross-disciplinary pillar of the school.
Introductory Remarks: Clive Meanwell
Speaker: Clive Meanwell
Delivering remarks on the importance of  innovative approaches to the global healthcare industry.
Work Session I: Visioning
Facilitators: David Mastronardi, Cotter Christian, Jeongki Lim 
A blue-sky session on the radical intersections of design, wellness, and preventative care and the key collaborations needed to make  true innovation possible. General tone-setting, expert engagement, and table top break out discussions.
Lunch
12:15 - 1:00 pm
Informal discussion and stakeholder alignment.
Work Session II: Modeling 
Afternoon Sessions
1:00 - 3:00 pm
Facilitator: David Mastronardi 
Transitioning ideas into action. Explore lab integration and student professional tracks. Inviting broad exploration around the formation of a dedicated institute. Facilitated conversation followed by a tabletop breakout session.
Synthesis: Roadmap
Closing Panel: Finalizing the immediate next steps for institutional implementation and partnership commitments.
Reception
Reception
5:00 - 8:00 pm

Private Reception hosted by Michael Donovan, Chairman of  Parsons Board of Governors.

Invested Stakeholders

Initiative Leadership

Anne Gaines, Executive Dean of Parsons School of Design
Michael Donovan, Chairman of Parsons Board of Governors
Cotter Christian, Dean, Parsons School of Constructed Environments
Jeongki Lim, Dean, Parsons School of Design Strategies

Industry & Clinical Pioneers

Clive Meanwell, Population Health Partners
Rosalyn Cama, Cama Design 
Kay Unger, Kay Unger Design & Parsons Board of Governors 
Deeksha Gaur, TDF
Ginger Bartkoski Meagher, TDF

Parsons Research & Academic Leads

Stephen Brown-Fried, Performing Arts
Jermaine Hill, Performing Arts
Cheryl Clark, Performing Arts
Jonsara Ruth, Healthy Materials Lab
Alison Mears, Healthy Materials Lab
Michele Kahane, Care Lab
Jen van der Meer, Financing Narrative Lab
Victor Dadras, Reimagining Care
Marisa Jahn, Intergenerational Design
Sugandha Gupta, Accessible Fashion Design
Patty Beirne, Design of Living and Dying

Organizers

Jason Nu
Krista Manrique
Siri Comeau McDonald
Anthony Curry