Sonia Davis Gutiérrez

Founder; Instructor of Adobe Creative Suite, HTML/CSS

Sonia Davis Gutiérrez grew up in Central Arkansas and has lived in Northwest Arkansas for almost 20 years. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville with a bachelor of science in microbiology in 1996, and bachelor of art in graphic design in 1998. During that time she spent a year abroad in Salamanca, Spain at the Universidad de Salamanca where she studied art history and graphic design with a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship. In 2000, she was accepted to the design and technology masters program at Parsons School of Design in New York, New York. She completed her studies in 2002, and a year later returned to Fayetteville, Arkansas with dreams of founding the first design school in Arkansas.

By 2005, New Design Center, a nonprofit center for professional development where creativity and technology intersect was established and a year later, New Design School received its license from the Arkansas State Board of Private Career Education to offer a certificate program in graphic design.

In May 2009, she was invited by the mayor to lead a creative economy citizen action group, CEAG, for the city of Fayetteville with the goal of growing the creative economy.

Today, Davis Gutiérrez practices, 3c21 Design and teaches graphic design. When she is not in front of a computer she enjoys hiking, traveling and listening to live jazz and electronic music.

Lee Guthrie

Instructor of Photo Essay

Lee Guthrie is a Freelance Photographer living in Northwest Arkansas. She left Northwest Arkansas in 1984 and this past summer of 2011 returned; she lived in Maui, Hawaii for 21 years. She traveled to Turkey and Israel, and all along the West Coast photographing the Whirling Dervishes for almost 6 years. A book is scheduled for release the fall of 2012 of her work with the group. Lee learned the art of the photo essay from her teacher David Alan Harvey; other teachers such as Ralph Lee Hopkins rounded out her skills. Her work currently involves product, real estate, event, documentary and teaching; anything but weddings. Her motto for her business: "Photography--capturing life. What's not to love?" You can see her work at http://leeguthriephotography.com or http://journeywiththewhirlingdervishes.com.

Colin Shaw

Speaker and Instructor of Arduino

Colin Shaw is a renaissance entrepreneur who is interested in everything, with a position in enterprises ranging from software and electromechanical engineering development to healthcare economics to the development of personal care products. He is a principal of two technology corporations that develop a wide range of solutions ranging from assistive products for the handicapped to a semi-autonomous robot for design analysis of terrestrial piers. Colin has also started the venture Shaw Naturals to provide high quality personal care products.

An outdoor enthusiast, Colin enjoys hiking, bicycling and swimming. He holds two degrees from the University of Arkansas in mathematics and physics, and a graduate degree in healthcare management, policy and leadership from Yale University. When not engaged in these pursuits, Colin enjoys designing analog electronics, reading economics and ancient histories, and has an avid interest in international relations and geopolitical strategy.