Aki Carpenter

Creative Director

Vice President and Chief Creative Officer, Ralph Appelbaum Associates

Aki is the Creative Director for Ripple Effect. She has close to two decades of experience in the design industry, she has opened over ten award-winning museums and cultural institutions worldwide. In her current role as Creative Director at Ralph Appelbaum Associates in New York City, she is leading the design team for the Obama Presidential Center, located in Chicago, Illinois and the Freedom Rides Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. Aki was Creative Director for the exhibits at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in D.C., which opened in 2016. Aki graduated from Pratt Institute in 2004 with a degree in communication design, with honors.

Aki is a founding member of Ripple Effect and works with Chris Huban on Ripple Effect’s identity, website, outreach materials, and institutional collateral.