Lesley-Ann Noel, author of Design Social Change, is a designer, researcher, and educator whose work challenges hegemonic design traditions and centers the voices, experiences, and knowledge systems often excluded from mainstream design research. Her practice is grounded in equity, social justice, and community-led inquiry, drawing deeply on her Caribbean roots and a lifelong commitment to expanding who gets to participate in knowledge-making and design.
Dr. Noel’s research focuses on people who have been historically marginalized in design-based learning, public health, and social innovation. She champions frameworks and teaching practices that foreground critical theory, positionality, and decolonial thought, and she actively highlights the work of designers outside Europe and North America to broaden global awareness of diverse design traditions.
Lesley-Ann holds a BA in Industrial Design from the Universidade Federal do Paraná in Brazil, an MBA from the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago, and a PhD in Design from North Carolina State University. Her leadership in the field has been recognized with honorary doctorates from the University of the Arts London (2023) and the Pacific Northwest College of Art (2021). She is also a co-editor of The Black Experience in Design and an active member of the Design Research Society.
In August 2024, she became the Dean of Design at OCAD University. Before joining OCAD-U, she taught at North Carolina State University, Tulane University, Stanford University, and the University of the West Indies.
