Nolonda Jones
DDes Candidate
njone75@lsu.edu
MFA Columbia College Chicago
Nolonda Jones is an assistant professor of interior design at Louisiana State University. She received a B.S. from Florida A&M University and an MFA in interior architecture from Columbia College Chicago, with a concentration in art-based community development.
Interested in the intersection between design, social change, and culture her professional life has been an exploration of the ways in which these topics inform one another. In 2016 she moved to Nairobi, Kenya and completed a fellowship in Social Innovation Management at the Amani Institute. While in Kenya, she explored art-based social change and helped create community-led initiatives ranging from cultural preservation in the Maasai Mara, arts education programs, and product development with artisans working in traditional art forms.
Nolonda continues to find opportunities to bring awareness to the importance of cultural heritage protection. She is currently pursuing her doctoral degree of design in cultural preservation at LSU, with a focus on the ecologies and material culture of underrepresented communities. Her guiding questions are always: a.) How does cultural preservation become social justice and b.) what role does design play in the process?
As a professor of design, she enjoys getting students excited about the possibilities in their field. Her intention is to create a learning environment that is collaborative, supportive, and inclusive.