Haelo is a multidisciplinary design practice founded in 1994 by Helen Maria Nugent and Ron Kirkpatrick.

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Helen Maria Nugent has a BFA in Environmental art and an MA in design from Glasgow School of Art in Scotland.

She is currently a tenured professor and Dean of the Design Division at California College of the Arts in San Francisco where she oversees 9 programs including 3 graduate programs: MBA in Design Strategy, MFA in Design and MDes in Interactions Design; and 6 undergraduate BFA programs in Fashion Design, Furniture Design, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Illustration and Interaction Design.

She founded the influential Designed Objects programs (MFA, MDes, and BFA) at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) where she lead the design of innovative curricula for twenty years. She began her career at SAIC as the Director of the First Year Program (now Contemporary Practices) where she lead the creation of the groundbreaking Research Studio model.

Previously, she was co-director of the Workshop for Art Research and Practice at the University of Florida under the leadership of Wallace Wilson and John Catterall.

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Ron Kirkpatrick studied history, economics and architecture at the University of Florida.

He is currently the Director of Capital Planning and Special Projects at San Francisco State University overseeing projects including the new Science + Engineering Innovation Center, and a 750 bed Student Housing Complex.

Previously he was the Executive Director of Design and Construction at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where he oversaw projects such as the LeRoy Neiman Student Center, and a renovation of Career Services which won an AIGA award.