Jessica Burnham is and has been many things in her storied career- college professor, executive director, graphic designer, and above all, full-time advocate of the power of design to impact and change communities. After an unexpected series of encounters with and through design, Jessica realized that design thinking can do more than make things pretty, Design can also provide opportunities for connection and communication and bring people together to solve problems that have challenged people for years. From her time shepherding a business community in a transitioning entertainment district in Dallas, to going on to become one of the leaders of Dallas’ vibrant and culturally impactful Deep Ellum community, Jessica has always been focused on how to use design to make lives better. Currently serving as the Director of Southern Methodist University’s MADI program, Jessica now has the responsibility of training up a generation of leaders to think differently about the problems they face, and to apply design and creativity to turning those challenges into experiences that impact entire cities.
Curiously Creative
