Description

This hands-on immersive course will allow you to experience design thinking first-hand and bring the framework and mindsets back to your program development (and other) efforts.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Learn a reproducible design thinking framework. 
2. Learn mindsets of design thinking to support a new way of problem-solving and working. 
3. Acquire essential skills to apply the framework: 
   • Uncovering user needs
   • Framing the problem/opportunity through creative synthesis
   • Brainstorming to think differently 
   • Prototyping approaches 
   • User testing
4. Experience problem-solving through creative teamwork.

Cost: $204 Members, $408 Non-Members

*If you are part of either the in-person or virtual 2025 Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership cohort, this workshop may be used to fulfill your Mission Delivery elective requirement. To receive elective credit for attending a workshop, participants must be present for at least 80% of each workshop meeting date with time spent in attendance measured consecutively.

Instructor: Ioulia Kachirskaia

With a background in design thinking from Stanford's d.school, Ioulia brings over 15 years of experience in applying and teaching this creative problem-solving methodology. She has coached healthcare nonprofit leaders serving underserved populations, supported budding entrepreneurs, and practiced design thinking to develop and improve patient-facing programs and consumer solutions. Ioulia has led organization-wide initiatives, empowering professionals to use these methods for program development and quality improvement. She has also created frameworks and co-design recipes that have been implemented internationally. Ioulia believes in the flexibility of design thinking and encourages adapting the tool to fit the needs and goals of each participant. She also loves to brainstorm how to help you apply design thinking to your work - and life.