Sayonori Judges are set!

The slate of judges is set for the 38^th NORI Awards. The process of selecting judges starts soon after the previous year’s show ends. We solicit referrals from past judges, the Ad Club board, members and industry contacts throughout the country.  Dozens of potential judges are considered. We look for candidates with broad based design and advertising experience who have judged other shows and are deemed experts in our business. And they have to be interested in an all expense trip to Albany in March!

Here are this year's judges:



Jill Spaeth


Jill Spaeth is President and Director of Design at Citizen Creative http://www.citizen-creative.com/ , a firm she started in March 2010 where the name “Citizen” represents an allegiance to gorgeous and thoughtful design.  Jill has served on AIGA DC's Board of Directors and is currently completing her second year as the nation’s youngest chapter president. During her tenure as AIGA DC President, Jill worked with the board of directors to transform AIGA DC’s biennial design show, AIGA 50, into the most “exposed” show yet: http://aiga50.aigadc.org.  Additionally, she worked with the chapter’s education director to develop a student competition called Show Off http://aigadc.org/showoff/. Show Off was launched to get students more involved in the chapter and to “show off” their design talent. When not designing or volunteering, she's probably talking about her cats (Sirloin & Cipe Pineles), cycling in preparation for her 180 mile bike ride at the end of August or  fulfilling her status as a workout-aholic at the gym.

Bill Sobel

As principal of SobelMedia, Bill Sobel helps startup-up companies in the media and entertainment industries find digital media solutions. His client list includes Post Perfect/New York, Crawford/Atlanta and other leading media, advertising and entertainment industry clients. Sobel is also an active member of the New York Chapter of the National Television Academy, a consultant to the Convergent Media Program at the NYIT and, in conjunction with Ira Flatow of National Public Radio, a consultant to the Science Cable Network imitative under the jurisdiction of The Sloan Foundation. Bill is also founder of the New York: Media Information Exchange Group of media and financial professionals who meet monthly to explore ideas and offer wisdom on the profound changes that are forever changing the industry. He also teaches emerging technologies in media and entertainment, communications management, broadcasting and new media at Polytech University, the University of Albany's school of management, and at New York University.

Michael Chrisner hails from Richmond, Virginia where he is a Creative Director for Capital One. His background is in design and design history, as well as retail advertising, collateral and corporate communication. He graduated from Parsons School of Design, New York, after studying at VCU in Richmond and the American College in Paris. Over the years, his strategic design efforts have benefited such notables as Lowe’s, Qwest, GlaxoSmithKline, Bruegger’s Bagel Bakery, and Stride Rite. His work has been recognized with awards from the Vermont Ad Club, Print Regional Design Annual, New England DMA, International ECHO DMA, Graphic Design: USA and Creativity 40 International. He has taught design and branding at colleges and universities in New York, Vermont and most recently at Rhode Island School of Design/CE. See his work at designsmallplanet.com.

Nancy Brockman

Nancy Brockman began Chimera Communications, Inc., in 1993 in Albany, New York, and moved the business and her life to Durango, Colorado in June of 1996. She holds a BA in English and Business Administration from the University of New Hampshire. After launching her communications career at VOGUE magazine on Madison Avenue in New York as a features writer, she returned to New Hampshire and worked in the advertising industry for several years. Her career jumped to the client side of the fence when she was hired by Numerica Financial Corporation (a $1.1 billion holding company) as Vice President, Marketing and Corporate Communications. Before joining the ranks of the self-employed, Nancy held additional senior level positions with KeyCorp and National Savings Bank, and was also the Public Relations Director at General Electric's prestigious Research and Development Center in upstate New York. She thinks of headlines in her sleep, in the shower, and sometimes when her clients ask her to. She changes the channel to watch commercials...which is sick. Known as one of our area's "creative types" – she gave up her banking business suits for jeans, cowboy boots and sweatshirts. She can still talk like a Jersey girl, but keeps the accent at bay most of the time. A closet cowgirl and a garage motor head, Nancy enjoys horses, motorcycles, cars, running, rafting, scuba, travel, and the mountains.

Mike Joosse

Mike Joosse is the director of chapter development for AIGA, the professional association for design. Mike provides resources, information, design work, planning and support for whatever initiatives and programs chapters may undertake. He helps chapters to become more successful and self-sustaining through increased communication, board strategy and facilitation, coordinated initiatives and national events. Mike has worked in the design, marketing, and advertising industries in Washington, DC and North Carolina, for clients as diverse as IBM, Kodak, Oracle, PPD, the West Virginia Division of Tourism, Old Dominion Freight Lines, Capital Bank, Lab [3.2], Save the Children, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates, and many more. In 2000, he founded Listening and Speaking, a non-profit design and communication consultancy offering comprehensive and strategic design. Listening and Speaking has worked with Duke Medicine, the College of Design at NC State University, AIGA DC, AIGA Raleigh, AIA Baltimore, Evening Empire, ID w/ RF, and more. Mike's work has been recognized by numerous awards and publications, including 365: AIGA Annual Design Exhibition; BOOM, AIGA Raleigh's biennial design competition; AIGA 50, AIGA DC's biennial design competition; HOW Magazine's Self-Promotion Annual; and the American Advertising Federation's Raleigh-Durham chapter's Addy Awards. In addition, he was the last-ever recipient of the AIGA Student Medallion in 2001. 



Amy Bown

With more than 20 years experience in the ad business, Amy Bown has been a freelance copywriter/creative consultant since 1998. She has worked for a variety of consumer and B2B clients, including Guinness Imports, Darien Lake Theme Park and Camping Resort, Eastman Kodak, Pitney Bowes, University of Rochester Medical Center, Dartmouth College, Ryan Homes, Bausch & Lomb Sunglasses, Brueggers Bagels, The US Department of Energy and the Boys Choir of Kenya. Her work has garnered Addy and Telly Awards. Based in Rochester, Amy lives part time in Venice, Italy, where she can be found working from her other office- a cozy little trattoria on the Grand Canal.

Judging weekend is March 25th-27th.  We're excited to be hosting this group of talented individuals and look forward to sharing the best of your work with them. For entry details or for more information about the show visit http://www.sayonori.com/.