Each Design Catalyst participant is paired with a volunteer mentor for the duration of the program. Mentors provide invaluable one-on-one guidance, helping emerging entrepreneurs refine their skills, clarify goals, and strengthen their business strategies.

Design Catalyst mentors play a critical role in supporting creative entrepreneurs as they build sustainable, financially viable businesses. Mentorship opportunities range from six-month weekly or bi-weekly commitments to single, industry-specific conversations, offering flexible ways to engage.

Your expertise can make a meaningful difference in an entrepreneur’s journey.

MEET THE MENTORS

Ryan Dean
LUMUKU

Sara Ossana
Ossana Design & Consulting

Vanessa Boynton Taylor

Yemi Sekoni
Donahue Models & Talent, LLC and Rhode Island Fashion Week

MEET THE INSTRUCTORS

Kristine Merz (she/her) is a versatile entrepreneur and expert in human-centered research and design, passionate about driving impactful transformations in people’s lives. As the founder and president of Orange Square, a certified WBENC woman-owned business, she has been delivering award-winning brand transformations for over 20 years, using tried-and-true methods to help organizations discover, define, and deliver new brand strategies and identities. Kristine is also a co-founder of Joyuus, a digital health innovator that focuses on creating accessible well-being for mothers and those who care about them during the 12 months postpartum. She is also the author of “Shift,” a book that explores how to lead change through human-centered innovation. In addition to her entrepreneurial endeavors, Kristine serves as the board chair of Farm Fresh RI, demonstrating her commitment to the community striving towards a shared vision of a better, more equitable future for all.

Dwayne Keys works at Compass Working Capital, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending asset poverty with a focus on Black and Latina women-led households specializing in HUD’s Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program. Dwayne joined Compass as a financial coach working one-on-one with Compass clients, worked as a Financial Coaching Manager supervising a team of financial coaches, and is currently the Director of Programs, Multifamily in which he oversees Compass’s partnerships and growth of FSS with multifamily owners. Prior to joining Compass in 2017, he spent 13 years working in for-profit banking and financial services, holding roles in customer relationship management, service, and sales. Dwayne is also the Managing Director of D Key Solution, a consulting firm he launched in 2015 that provides services in meeting facilitation, community engagement, and change management with low-to-moderate income Black and Brown communities in areas such as zoning, urban planning, preservation, community development, neighborhood revitalization, small businesses, and overall economic inclusion. Dwayne attended Johnson & Wales University where he earned his A.S. in Retailing, B.S. in Marketing and M.B.A. in International Trade. He is an Accredited Financial Counselor® (AFC®), certified in Financial Social Work and is pursuing his designation as a Certified Associate in Program Management (CAPM). For over 20 years Dwayne has advocated on behalf of historically excluded communities for economic justice and full inclusion in economic prosperity, with a focus on eliminating poverty, preventing displacement, and supporting anti-racism initiatives.

Blake Johnson (she/her)
Attorney Blake Johnson is a Rhode Island native, born and raised in Providence. She was a part of the 3+3 program at Roger Williams University with an undergraduate degree in Legal Studies and Philosophy, graduating cum laude in 2019. She then graduated from Roger Williams School of Law in 2021. While in law school, Blake focused on business and transactional classes and was a part of the Business Start-up Clinic. She was also a student ambassador and Vice President of the Alliance. She is a member of the Rhode Island Women Bar Association, Cannabis Justice Coalition and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. She is licensed to practice in New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. In her practice, Blake focuses on cannabis, as well as arts and entertainment, but has worked for clients in almost every industry.

Blake is also the founder and co-owner of Black Dragonfly Events LLC, a full service event planning and design company that specializes in fundraisers and social events. She, with her co-owner Andersson, plan, design, and decorate any event from baby showers, to weddings, to retirement parties and anything in between, as well as setting up photoshoot backdrops and the like. Providence is considered the Creative Capital of New England and, through her business and legal practice, Blake wants to help this little big state live up to that name.

She enjoys reading, baking, amatuer pohtgraphy, and spending time with her dog and turtle.

C. Alexander Chiulli represents varied businesses, non-profit organizations, emerging companies, educational institutions, management and consulting organizations, and individuals. Often serving as outside general counsel, Alex regularly assists clients on formation, corporate, contract, governance, employment, regulatory, policy, governmental, real estate, insurance, transactional, and general liability matters. Alex additionally devotes a significant portion of his practice to advising clients on intellectual property, entrepreneurship, Internet, privacy and information, non-profit, and First Amendment law. An experienced litigator, Alex regularly appears before state and federal courts and agencies in Rhode Island and Massachusetts on wide-ranging civil, appellate, and administrative matters, as well as before the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Before law school, Alex worked for Fortune 500 and start-up businesses in the areas business development, project management, and market research.

Galen Mooney is a web designer, educator, and marketing strategist helping creative business owners attract their ideal clients online. She combines design best practices with personalized marketing strategies to help businesses connect with clients they love. Galen is the founder of Local Creative, a web design agency specializing in personality-driven design and small business marketing. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, Galen is an accomplished writer, speaker, and virtual event host passionate about sharing what she’s learned through her blog and video content.

Matt Cavallaro is an industrial designer living and working in Providence. His professional experience ranges broadly to include designing both hard and soft goods for clients like the US Military, Target, and various start-ups. He is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design (2010) and has been a teacher in the Industrial Design department since 2014.

Matt has extensive knowledge within the design and production processes for cast iron goods and has worked to deepen this tactile knowledge over the past 14 years. He has founded and currently operates two businesses in the cast iron space, Nest Homeware (www.nesthomeware.com) and Ares Iron (www.aresiron.com), which produce cookware and furniture components, respectively.

Devin Samuels

As the Senior Program Manager at Social Innovation and Change Initiative at Harvard University, Devin Samuels leads the New World Social Innovation Fellowship as the program’s resident educator, program designer, and implementer with the aim of fostering an exemplary learning experience that drives impact. Prior to this role, Samuels was Programs and Events Manager for DESIGNxRI where he led the small-business accelerator program, Providence Design Catalyst, and created Equity x Design RI, a multi-business program which led to the creation of new equity-based protocols within the field. Devin continues to bring this level of intentional program creation, management, and facilitation into his work at SICI.

Concurrent to this, Samuels has been an arts educator teaching and performing poetry nationally for the past 15 years. With a strong investment in community, Devin Samuels has spent years cultivating youth and adult arts education spaces. His pedagogy utilizes poetics and the radical imagination to grow critical thinking, self-reflection, and empathy as primary drivers of social change. Devin is a 2017 Poetry Foundation Incubator Fellow and his work can be found in City & Sea Poetry Anthology, Slag Review, Wayne Literary Review 2018 and Systemic Crises of Global Climate Change: Intersections of Race, Class, and Gender.

Devin Samuels currently serves on the board of Detroit Jews for Justice, is the Co-Director of the Providence Poetry Slam, and an active member of multiple movement and arts organizations.