I can’t believe it. HOW Design Live is once again right around the corner, April 30-May 3 in Boston.

And the Early Bird deadline is tomorrow, Thursday, March 15.
http://howdesignlive.com/

There are tickets for everyone: 1 day, 2 day, 3 day and the Big Ticket (for all 4 days). Plus, get an extra $100 off with my “MENTOR” promo code when you register here. 

Here's what I’m looking forward to at this year’s big event.

As a programming partner, I’m pretty excited about the program we’ve put together over the past year (yes, we work on it for a year!). It’s more diverse than ever, there are more women than ever and we are putting the “how-to” back in HOW Design Live. (Scroll down for of the sessions I programmed, plus links to podcasts with this year’s keynote speakers.)

I’m especially looking forward to these 3 keynotes (all women!):

• Day 1: Opening keynote, Susan Cain, best known for popularizing an embrace of introversion through her books, including “Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts”
• Day 2: Dorie Clark, author of Reinventing You. (Listen to the podcast here)
• Day 3: Giorgia Lupi, author of Dear Data. (I just interviewed her for the podcast so watch for our fascinating conversation about using data to get to know ourselves and each other -- amazing! Listen to her on Design Matters here.)

My role on the programming team is to recruit speakers for the HOW-to sessions. Here are a few of the ones I chose for this year – the names may not be familiar but the topics (not the same ol’, same ol’) are timely and relevant:

• Rock the Boat, Baby! The Art of Saying No with Emily Cohen
• Habits that Hurt with Eleanor Handley (listen to our podcast here)
• Supporting Design: Using Research to Inspire Designers with Meena Kothandaram
• Critique and The Design Process: Facilitating Better Feedback with Aaron Irizarry
• Inspiration or Infringement: What’s What and How Can You Tell? with Katie Lane (listen to our podcast here)
• Contemplative Inquiry: Mindfulness in the Design Studio with Rhonda Schaller (listen to our podcast here.)
• Stand Up: How to Advocate for Your Ideas, Leave an Impression, and Make People Laugh (even if you’re not funny) with Terri Trespicio
• Designing with Real Time Data with Chris Hyde
• Open for Business: Vulnerability in the Workplace with Devin O’Bryan
• Approaching Design with Accessibility in Mind with Regine Gilbert

I also helped choose speakers for the new HOW Marketing Live, which is happening on Days 1-2 of the event. I blogged about that here.

So I hope to see you in Boston - don't forget to use my promo code (MENTOR) for an extra $100 off when you register here:
http://howdesignlive.com/attendees/register-to-attend/

Plus, I am raffling off a 2-day ticket next week. So throw your hat in the ring by sending an email message (ilise at marketing-mentor.com) with "I want to go to HOW" to me and I hope to see you in Boston!