Who we are
Don Buckley
Cofounder, Executive Director
Don Buckley has transformed learning spaces so they work for teachers and students and not just architects, he has transformed textbooks so that they work for students and teachers and not just publishers, and transformed new media resources so that they work for students and teachers and not just programmers. He has advanced degrees from leading European universities, is a former industrial chemist, published photographer, and consultant to MOMA. As well as teaching a graduate course at Columbia Teacher’s College in Educational Technology, he is an author for Pearson’s Interactive Science Program (a K-8 Science series for 21st century schools). Most recently Don has worked with aruliden on multiple design thinking projects to rethink education.
Don is passionate about Travel, Architecture, Design, Change, The Future and Innovation.
He is a scientist, technologist, educator, author, traveler, design thinker, innovator and dual citizen of Ireland and the United States.
Rinat Aruh
Cofounder
Rinat Aruh is the co-founder of New York-based product design and strategy firm, aruliden. With her non-traditional approach to design and brands, Rinat has led industry-provoking projects for companies that include PUMA, BMW Group, Microsoft, Lacoste and Motorola Solutions.
Through aruliden’s approach of producting benchmarks for products that enhance user experiences and change consumer behavior. aruliden’s globally recognized work focuses on bringing innovation to everyday objects, from healthcare devices to classroom furniture and even fishbowls.
TM the studio has set new Rinat’s passion lies in introducing design into early education as a problem solving tool; a program the studio has pioneered at The School of Columbia University since 2007. Since then, she has been invited to speak on her innovation education initiatives with such notable platforms as TEDxNYED, IDSA International Conferences and the National Association of Independent Schools conference.
Johan Liden
Cofounder, Design Director
Johan Liden, originally from Sweden, Johan began his US experience by working for clients such as Birkenstock, Nike, BMW, Nissan, Herman Miller, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft and Toshiba during his tenure at fuseproject.
Johan later joined MAC Cosmetics, a division of the Estée Lauder Group, where he was responsible for developing multiple product lines. He was also invited to develop special product categories, including the Sean Jean fragrance, resulting in one of the most successful fragrance introductions to date. He was then recruited by Nike’s Converse division, where he shaped some of our favorite products in the marketplace. Bringing new design directions and explorations within the company’s core product line as well as introducing new platforms.