Carissa Carter

Artist, Athlete, Designer, Educator/Teacher, Parent, Scientist, Writer/Editor

Carissa Carter (she/her) is the Stanford d.school’s Academic Director. In this role she guides the development of the d.school’s pedagogy, leads its instructors, and shapes its class offerings. She is the author of The Secret Language of Maps: How to Tell Visual Stories with Data and the co-author of Assembling Tomorrow: Harnessing the Hidden Forces of Design to Shape the Future. Carissa teaches design courses on data, emerging technologies, and climate change. Carissa was a co-leader of Stanford 2025, a multi-year d.school project that envisioned the future of higher education. Her work on designing with machine learning and blockchain has earned multiple design awards. Carissa previously worked as a geologist, and she continues to pursue projects at the intersection of design and science. Beyond Stanford, Carissa serves as board chair for Learning Economy Foundation, an organization committed to empowering learners around the world to own and utilize their unique learning credentials. She is also an athlete, mom, sculptor, and lover of kumquats and stone fruits.