As the global Vice President and Chief Creative Officer at Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA), Aki leads with vision, creativity, and a deep commitment to making public spaces for learning impactful and meaningful. She shapes the firm’s creative direction, providing insight and feedback on projects, while ensuring design work aligns with RAA’s core values and objectives. Aki is not just a leader within RAA; she is a thought leader across the design space, championing holistic approaches to planning and design and using her platform to inspire inclusivity and empathy in the museum and narrative environment sectors.

RAA, the world’s largest multidisciplinary design studio for museums and narrative environments, benefits from Aki’s expertise in creating immersive, socially relevant experiences. She currently leads major exhibition design projects, including the museum at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, and advises the International Slavery Museum and Maritime Museum in Liverpool. Her recent work includes guiding the creative direction and exhibition design for the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., and the International African American Museum in Charleston, SC.

Aki’s passion and experience is dedicated to the development of national and international cultural institutions, with a focus on issues- and mission-based projects — with a focus on creating spaces that address social value, justice, and community. Beyond her design practice, Aki serves on the SEGD Board of Directors and co-founded the BIPOC Directors Collective, a community dedicated to empowering current and future Directors of Color. She is also a founding member and Creative Director of Ripple Effect, a New Orleans based start-up focused on educating K-12 students about climate change and socioecological issues.