Behind Our Work is a Team of Diverse Co-Creators

Equity Designer for Black Diaspora, Women's Rights, "Survivors" of Gun Violence

Design Ally for Youth, LGBTQIA+ Rights, People with Different Ability Statuses

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Antionette D. Carroll is a serial social entrepreneur having founded Creative Reaction Lab (CRXLAB) and the Institute of Equitable Design and Justice (Institute) and co-founded Design + Diversity LLC and &Design LLC. As the President and CEO of CRXLAB and the Institute, she’s pioneered the groundbreaking and award-winning problem solving framework Equity-Centered Community Design™ (ECCD™)(recognized as a Fast Company World Changing Idea Finalist in Urban Design and General Excellence) and a new leadership model called Redesigner for Justice™. Through this capacity, Antionette has received several recognitions and awards, including being named a PepsiCo and Doritos Solid Black Changemaker, Aspen Institute Civil Society Fellow, Roddenberry Fellow, Echoing Green Global Fellow, TED Fellow, ADCOLOR Innovator, SXSW Community Service Honoree, Camelback Ventures Fellow, Essence Magazine Woke 100 and more.

Through her volunteer leadership, she was a former AIGA National Board Director, St. Louis Chapter President, and Founding Chair of the national Diversity and Inclusion Task Force. During her tenure, she founded and launched several initiatives, including the Design Census Program with Google, Racial Justice by Design Initiative, Diversity and Inclusion Residency, and National Design for Inclusivity Summit with Microsoft. Additionally, She was a founding member of Adobe's Design Circle, providing youth mentorship support and consulting for their international inclusive design scholarship program.

In 2011, Antionette was named the inaugural Katherine Dunham Fellow at the Regional Arts Commission. (The Katherine Dunham Fellowship provides a career pipeline for African American youth interested in working within the arts administration and creative nonprofit fields.) In a full circle moment, a decade later, Antionette was named the director of the Katherine Dunham Fellowship, hosted within Creative Reaction Lab, to continue the legacy of the program.

Lastly, Antionette is a civic design and equity coach for city governments through the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University.

Her trailblazing work has been featured on several news outlets, including NPR, Fast Company, Bloomberg, BET, and in several publications including Empathy for Change (2020) by Amy J. Wilson, Fast Company Innovation by Design: Creative Ideas That Transform the Way We Live and Work (2021) by Stephanie Mehta, Beloved Economies: Transforming How We Work (2022) by Jess Rimington and Joanna L. Cea, and the upcoming An Anthology of Blackness: The State of Black Design (2023) by Terresa Moses and Omari Souza. Antionette is also the executive producer, director and host of the Reimagining and Redesigning with Antionette D. Carroll podcast.

Finance and Operations Director She/Her/Hers

Equity Designer for Black Women, Mental Health, and Survivors of Sexual Violence

Design Ally for LGBTQIA rights, Survivors of Gun Violence, Immigrant and Undocumented citizens

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Aleece Jones is a dedicated and values-driven operations leader with over a decade of experience shaping efficient, people-centered systems. She graduated from the University of Missouri–St. Louis with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, with an emphasis in Behavioral Neuroscience. Her academic work focused on the effects of traumatic brain injuries and dementia, which deeply shaped her ongoing commitment to mental health awareness—especially within Black communities where access to care and open conversations are often limited or stigmatized.

Throughout her career, Aleece has navigated both corporate and nonprofit landscapes, observing firsthand how entrenched systems are often designed to maintain existing power dynamics while sidelining the voices and needs of marginalized communities. These experiences have fueled her passion for operational justice—ensuring that internal systems and infrastructure not only function effectively but also align with equity-centered values.

At Creative Reaction Lab, Aleece brings her expertise in finance, logistics, and organizational development to strengthen the foundation of the organization during a period of transformation and growth. Whether it's redesigning workflows, managing cash flow, or leading strategic planning efforts, she approaches her work with intention, transparency, and care. She believes deeply in the mission to disrupt inequitable systems and is committed to ensuring that every operational decision supports that vision.

Aleece is not only focused on the “how” but also the “why”—working behind the scenes to make sure the Lab’s programs, people, and impact are supported by systems that are sustainable, equitable, and human-centered.