Cheryl Heller
Culture Designer, Strategic Advisor, Educator, Author, Artist
- Role
- Founding Partner at Commonwise
- Location
- Norfolk, CT, US
- LinkedIn followers
- 500 followers
About Cheryl Heller
I help organizations design the future they want to live in—by aligning purpose with action, and people with possibility.I’m a strategist, creative director, and educator with deep experience in participatory design, culture change, and program development across industries—from Fortune 100 companies to social impact startups.My work focuses on helping leaders and teams reframe challenges, build collaborative capacity, and drive innovation that’s grounded in human insight and systems thinking.As the founding chair of the MFA in Design for Social Innovation at SVA, I’ve taught hundreds of entrepreneurs how to navigate complexity and lead with clarity. I also advise corporations, foundations, universities, and startups on how to turn vision into momentum.My clients have included Ford Motor Company, American Express, Reebok, Mariott International, MeadWestvaco, StoraEnso, Medtronic, Mars Corporation, Discovery Networks International, Herman Miller, Bayer Corporation, Seventh Generation, L’Oreal, Hearst Publishing, The World Wildlife Fund, Ford Foundation, Lumina Foundation and the Girl Scouts of America. I\'m the former Board Chair of PopTech and a Senior Fellow at the Babson Social Innovation Lab. I created the Ideas that Matter program for Sappi in which has since given over $14 million to designers working for the public good, and partnered with Paul Polak and the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum to create the exhibit, “Design for the Other 90%.”
Experience
Founding Partner
May 2011 — Present
Education
RMIT University
PhD , Design
Ohio Wesleyan University
BFA, English, Fine Art
Goddard College
MFA, Creative Writing
2014 — 2016
Skills
- Public Policy
- Corporate Communications
- Communication Design
- Social Impact
- Public Speaking
- Email Marketing
- Writing
- Sustainability
- Graphic Design
- Branding & Identity
- Start-Ups
- Creative Direction
- Indesign
- Program Development
- Social Media
- Social Entrepreneurship
- Project Management
- Strategic Planning
- Integrated Marketing
- Public Relations
- Strategic Partnerships
- Strategic Communications
- Design Thinking
- Marketing
- Art Direction
- Event Planning
- Copywriting
- Editing
- Design Strategy
- Photography
- Brand Development
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Social Innovation
- Entrepreneurship
- Nonprofits
- Advertising
- Social Networking
- Event Management
- Workshop Facilitation
- Grant Writing
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