TCDL Team

As RISD’s first vice provost for strategic partnerships, Sarah Cunningham works to support research development and special projects, collaborating with national and international partners that range from community organizations and arts nonprofits to higher education entities and corporate design leaders. Her work involves pursuing pioneering opportunities that demonstrate the catalytic role that design and the arts play in developing new knowledge, building just societies and contributing to innovative modes of sustainability across social, cultural and business sectors.

At RISD, Katherine Cooper facilitates strategic partnerships in the areas of art, design, fashion, technology and more. Focusing on LGBTQIA+ experiences, social equity, grief and healing in their creative work, Cooper has held roles at a number of organizations and nonprofits, including Worthless Studios, Pioneer Works, Abrons Art Center in NYC and Ballroom Marfa (TX). They have been awarded several fellowships and their writing has appeared in such notable art and design publications as Architectural Digest, BOMB and Hyperallergic.

As creative director for RISD’s TCDL team, Vrinda Mathur helps drive the vision and message for the college’s participation in the global initiative. In her independent practice, she pursues projects that embody purpose, innovation and impact, with work spanning from design objects, installations and exhibits to community engagement and participatory design. Mathur’s clients include Altimeter Design Group, Democracy 2076, Hyundai Motor Group and many others, and she was pivotal in cofounding and leading Studio Wood, an award-winning furniture and interior architecture practice based in New Delhi, India.

Sara Ossana brings to the TCDL team their expertise in design, manufacturing and business development—enabling participants to “build a business around their idea”. At RISD, they have taught in both the Furniture Design and Interior Architecture departments, and served as a guest critic in several others as well as for the Center for Complexity. The cofounder of the award-winning O&G Studio, Ossana has worked with William Kentridge and the Centre for the Less Good Idea, the Brown Arts Institute, Williams-Sonoma and Tommy Hilfiger, and their work has been published in The World of Interiors, The New York Times, Metropolis and Vogue.