Leigh Hoffman is the Faculty Director of Designmatters where she dedicates her professional and educational expertise to the department, with a focus on supporting faculty, students, and partners in the classroom, to create change in the world. In her role, she works to continually amplify the curricular and pedagogical rigor associated with the department, including the advancement of scholarship and research methodologies in the field.
Leigh has a deep understanding of brands and design from her extensive professional experience in advertising and marketing from Young & Rubicam and Universal Studios. She is the co-founder and Principal Brand Strategist at March Studio, which creates brand-defining buildings and spaces, a keen mash-up of brand savvy and progressive design through a community lens.
As a full-time Professor in the Humanities & Sciences department, Leigh leverages her experience in brand strategy, design, and social impact in transdisciplinary academic classes such as Brandmatters and Designmatters studios, including Strong Apart: Resilient+Connected, The Girl Effect, and Branded: How Brands Shape Ideas, Identities, and Society. She was a key faculty lead in the 2013 LEAP Symposium, and is a lead facilitator of DesignStorms, workshops with multidisciplinary teams of designers and partners, such as SHE (Sustainable Health Enterprises).
Leigh brings a critical perspective and consistent strategic approach to her professional and educational work, creating insights that add value and meaning. She has a BA in economics and Spanish from Tulane University, and a MBA in marketing and international business from New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business.
A selection of Leigh’s recent courses:
TDS-432C “BRANDED: How Brands Shape Ideas, Identities, and Society” (Summer 2022)
TDS-457 “Service for Community Change: Recruiting Mental Health Professionals of Color” (Spring 2021)
TDS-307C/ENV-310-05 “STRONG APART: Resilient + Connected” (Summer 2020)
TDS-307E “STRONG APART: Humane + Connected Aging” (Fall 2020)