Margarita Barrios Ponce

Margarita Barrios Ponce has been teaching at Northeastern University since 2003 and is an Associate Teaching Professor of Art and Design in the College of Arts, Media and Design (CAMD) and holds a courtesy appointment from the D’Amore McKim School of Business. Her practice explores the intersection of design, entrepreneurship and social innovation and for over two decades this has been the focus of her professional work. As Faculty Advisor to Scout (Northeastern University’s Student Led Design Organization), she has guided students to exemplify the interdisciplinary, experiential learning, entrepreneurial, and innovation tenets that define Northeastern University. She is a Core Faculty member of Northeastern University’s Center for Design, a strategic contributor to Mosaic (Northeastern University’s Peer to Peer Network for Builders and Leaders and Community-based Entrepreneurship) and Program Director of Pathfinder, co-sponsored by CAMD and the D’Amore-McKim School. Pathfinder has evolved out of her previous work on the Mosaic Freshman Pilot task force to foster entrepreneurship among first-year students. Margarita is also the founder of Plural – a strategic communications firm focusing on mission-driven branding.

Throughout her career, Barrios Ponce has worked with a wide range of clients across a broad spectrum of industries. In the course of her education and career she has been a teacher, advisor, co-op student, co-op employer, manager to a wide-range of designers, and coach to client-side, in-house designers. As a result, nurturing students and helping their growth and lifelong learning is a central and constant purpose of her practice. In 2018 she was the recipient of CAMD’s Excellence in Teaching Award.