Chōkdee Rutirasiri
Associate Director/Head of UX
The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Chōkdee Rutirasiri has been designing solutions, systems, and experiences since 1995. He utilizes a human-centered approach to create experiences that are holistic, inclusive, equitable, and scalable. He has designed solutions for a variety of users, industries, and outcomes including: K-12, higher education, health & human services, healthcare, population health, marginalized and underserved populations, human resources, arts & museums, financial services, manufacturing, government, technology, startups, nonprofits, and DEI.
Currently, Chōkdee is an Associate Director/Head of UX for The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Additionally, he is an adjunct professor at Boston College where he teaches Design Thinking; a member of Equity Innovation Lab at BC School of Social Work; and an affiliate of the SafeLab at UPenn.
Chokdee believes that thoughtful design can change the world for the better, and he is fully committed to eradicating racism from the design industry.
Case Study: How a Fortune 500 tackles institutional, interpersonal, and internalized racism through Design Thinking
“Racism is deeply ingrained in our society—and as a result, it’s deeply ingrained in our workplaces, too.” — World Economic Forum
Racism holds certain groups down and favors others. However, racism has negative & harmful consequences for all people, organizations, economies, and society. Unknowingly, many organizations and leaders reinforce racism through their own unconscious bias. That unconscious bias leads to unfair policies, practices, and culture, leaving many employees feeling marginalized, unseen, unsafe, unsupported, and undervalued. And being marginalized often leads to feelings of isolation, anxiety, and depression which impacts people’s professional and personal growth, wellbeing, and lives.
In this case study, Chōkdee will look at how one Fortune 500 company tackled racism as a “business imperative” utilizing Design Thinking, Co-design, and Rapid Prototyping. He will explore this company’s strategic approach to empathizing, educating, and empowering its people leaders on the impact of institutional, interpersonal, and internalized racism, and their role in helping to create more equitable and inclusive environment and outcome.
