Annette Diefenthaler
About Annette Diefenthaler
Annette Diefenthaler is an Executive Director at IDEO.org, focusing on child welfare. She has extensive experience in design education and has contributed to various innovative projects and resources aimed at enhancing educational practices.
Current Role at IDEO.org
Annette Diefenthaler serves as the Executive Director at IDEO.org, a position she has held since 2021. In this role, she focuses on child welfare initiatives, leveraging design thinking to address challenges in this area. Her work is based in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she collaborates with various stakeholders to develop innovative solutions that improve the lives of children.
Previous Experience at IDEO
Diefenthaler has an extensive history with IDEO, having held multiple roles over the years. She worked as a Senior Portfolio Director in the Design for Learning Studio from 2015 to 2018 and as a Senior Design Research Specialist and Project Lead from 2010 to 2014 in New York City. Additionally, she served as a Human Factors Specialist in München from 2008 to 2010. Her experience at IDEO has significantly shaped her approach to design in educational contexts.
Education and Design Expertise
Annette Diefenthaler studied at Cologne University of Applied Sciences, where she achieved a Diplom in Design from 2001 to 2007. She also studied Product Design at Hochschule für Gestaltung Schwäbisch Gmünd, earning a Diplom in 2004. Furthermore, she attended the University of Western Sydney, focusing on Industrial and Product Design from 2004 to 2005. Her educational background provides a strong foundation for her work in design and education.
Contributions to Educational Resources
Diefenthaler co-authored the 'Design Thinking Toolkit for Educators' in 2011, aimed at helping educators integrate design thinking into their teaching practices. In 2020, she guided the development of the 'Co-Designing Schools Toolkit,' which supports educators in collaboratively designing school environments. She also co-wrote the WISE-IDEO research report 'Thinking and Acting Like a Designer' in 2017, exploring the role of design thinking in K-12 education.
Artistic Pursuits and Community Engagement
In addition to her professional work, Annette Diefenthaler engages in artistic endeavors. She builds large-scale kinetic Origami sculptures with the art collective FoldHaus. Her creative projects often intersect with her professional focus on education, as demonstrated by her participation in a project that involved a bus taking middle schoolers on a virtual trip to Mars to inspire STEM learning.