Colin Coltrera

Background

About Colin Coltrera

I got my start in design as a curriculum designer, while working as an English as a Second Language teacher. As a teacher I worked with a diverse and global set of populations to design high impact classes adapted to their needs, beyond English. Life skills and entrepreneurship for immigrant teenagers in New York City. Art and personal creativity for elementary students in Taiwan. Intercultural communication for Tibetan Buddhist monastics in India. The core project was empowering my students to use language to meet their goals and transform the world around them. To deepen my understanding of design and learning I got a Master’s in Learning, Design and Technology from Stanford University. The graduate work was interdisciplinary and inter-departmental. The science of learning and behavior change at the Graduate School of Education. Design and research at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, the Computer Science department, and the Bioengineering department. Business design and entrepreneurship at the Graduate School of Business. I have worked as a designer, design researcher, strategist, and coach. My focus has been on programs, tools, and services that drive long lasting behavior change and cultural transformation. I have collaborated with and coached teams during every phase of human centered design, from the development and implementation of research strategies and interview guides, to early prototyping and more sophisticated experimentation, to building and testing business models and crafting compelling narratives to drive adoption.