"A friend is someone you share the path with"
-African proverb
The EVOKE team is thankful to share their path with a distinguished Advisory Board. The Board lends their collective expertise, guidance and support to help EVOKE achieve their vision.
As the VP of Design at Airbnb, Tim uses design to help bring people together and power Airbnb’s continued evolution. Tim’s focus for his world-class staff is on creating human-centered, compelling experiences that influence behaviors and add value to people’s lives. As an additional outlet for his passion around design thinking, Tim instructs at schools around the country.
Tim’s work has been recognized with several of the industry’s most esteemed awards, including multiple Cannes Cyber Lions, D&AD, ANDY, Webby and OneShow awards. Named in the Creativity 50, Creativity magazine’s 2013 list of the year's most inspiring and influential creative figures, he also played a key role on the award-winning R/GA team who created Nike+, the platform named Campaign of the Decade by AdWeek magazine, Nike’s first ever iOS App, Nike Training Club, and Nike.com. Tim has also been named One Club | ADCOLOR Creative of the year, a tribute honoring and celebrating diversity in design and marketing.
Previously, Tim has been a Partner at Microsoft and led Amazon's Product Design Studio as Executive Creative Director leading the experience design for Echo, FireTV, and Kindle products. He also led R/GA's 100+ UX designers as a Global SVP/ECD. Earlier at Adobe, Tim directed design and strategy for products across Creative Suite & Acrobat. Through innovative work with Adobe, Red Hat, and IBM, Tim holds seven patents related to software design, ranging from chat interface modeling to mobile device synchronization.
Brett is the Senior Director of Global Design and Build for LinkedIn. In this position, he is charged with curating amazing workplaces and environments for LinkedIn offices across the globe.
Improving environments is nothing new to Brett—he has been doing this in one form or another for almost 20 years. A licensed architect, Brett began Vernacular Studio, his own award-winning architectural practice in 2005 in Raleigh, NC., where he honed his craft by creating exceptional spaces for residential and commercial clientele. In 2011, he transitioned to Office Director + Design Director for the global architecture firm Gensler, further expanding his reach and impact on improving the built environment.
Brett thrives at infusing great design into the lives of a broad range of people. An ardent designer, his passion is infectious and leaves a lasting impact on all who encounter him.
Valerie Rawlston Wilson is director of the Economic Policy Institute’s Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy (PREE), a nationally recognized source for expert reports and policy analyses on the economic condition of America’s people of color. Prior to joining EPI, Wilson was an economist and vice president of research at the National Urban League Washington Bureau, where she was responsible for planning and directing the bureau’s research agenda.
Wilson has written extensively on various issues impacting economic inequality in the United States—including employment and training, income and wealth disparities, access to higher education, and social insurance—and has also appeared in print, television, and radio media. In 2010, through the State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs, she was selected to deliver the keynote address at an event on Minority Economic Empowerment at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway. In 2011, Wilson served on a National Academies Panel on Measuring and Collecting Pay Information from U.S. Employers by Gender, Race, and National Origin.
Gary is a national leader in the planning, design and construction industry and specializes in health and wellness initiatives and projects. As a forty-four year seasoned professional architect, he is an advocate for the architectural profession and related professions. This advocacy takes a variety of forms including mentoring the next generation of architects, improving the collaboration of all architectural industry components, and providing strategic insights to firm leaders.
Gary’s accomplished career has been highly recognized with many awards and honors from the planning and construction industry, his peers, and his alma mater. He has been elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects and the College of Fellows of the American College of Healthcare Architects. He has received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Architecture & Planning at Ball State University, where he earned his Bachelor of Architecture. In addition, he was awarded the highest professional service award from AIA Indiana, the Edward D. Pierre Award.
Gary thrives in his role as a professional mentor for future, young and seasoned professional architects and individuals in the in the related professions. In addition, he serves the design profession as a mentor for design firms, companies who work with architects and those companies who provide services and products to the architectural industry. He serves his alma mater on the Executive Advisory Board of the College of Architecture & Planning and the Ball State University alumni council. He and his family have created a children’s book series—the acclaimed Kid Architect—about architecture with the expressed goal of introducing architecture and design to young people in grades K thru 12.
A master strategist, Lew Myers has a rich history of experience that is as colorful, personable, and outgoing as he is. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, with formal education at universities located in Lancaster, PA, Cambridge, MA and Chapel Hill, NC, Myers directed educational programs at Franklin & Marshall College and Harvard University. He provided oversight in marketing and management of a new community in Warren County, NC. He served for eight years as Assistant Secretary in the NC Department of Commerce and was a sole proprietor of his own business for 15 years. He holds memberships in organizations ranging from the Society of Marketing Professional Services and the Society of College and University Planning to the NC Economic Developers Association and the Association of African American Museums.
Lew is very active in NC state and local communities having served on the board of advisors for NC State University’s Industrial Extension Service, chair of the board of directors for the Center for Community Self-Help, board member and founder of the NC Institute of Minority Economic Development and chair of the board for the Museum of Durham History. Additionally, he has served on the boards for Preservation Durham and Downtown Durham, Inc. Lew received his BA from Franklin & Marshall College and earned an MBA from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. He holds a certificate in economic development from UNC Chapel Hill and completed the UNC Government Executive Institute.
Most recently, Myers was interim President and CEO of Downtown Durham Inc.
Vice President and Executive Director, North Carolina Central University (NCCU) Foundation Inc.; formerly Vice President HR Operations, WH, BP Americas; Vice President of HR Operations - Extended Portfolio, Fidelity Investments; HR Business Operations Manager, Center Manager, US Operations for Employee Records & Applications; Corporate Appeals Program Manager; and RTP HR Programs and Area Equal Opportunity, IBM Corporation.
AFFILIATIONS: Diaconate Chair; Ex-Officio member of Budget, Finance and Trustee Ministries; Sunday School Teacher and formerly Christian Institute Superintendent; member of Outreach, Worship, and Hospitality Clusters for White Rock Baptist Church; Senior Advisor for North Carolina University Motivation Task Force; formerly Deacon Chair and Sunday School Superintendent for Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church; Board Chair, Central Carolina Red Cross Association; and member of Orange County Community in Schools.
EDUCATION, AWARDS, AND PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS: North Carolina Central University, BSC (Accounting) and MBA (Financial Management); IBM Diversity and Inclusion, Management Matters, Executive and Senior Management Schools, IBM Division Excellence Awards, Vice President and General Manager's Distinguished Contribution Award.
