Mark Fairbanks

About Mark Fairbanks

Mark Fairbanks joins mesh to explore opportunities in technology design to create inclusion. His keynote will focus on learning experiences and neurodivergent creativity. 

Mark is currently the co-founder and Executive Director of Milwaukee-based Islands of Brilliance, a creative program for autistic individuals that pioneers the use of art, creativity, and creative technologies to spark self-confidence, encourage independence, and build pathways to employment.

At mesh, Mark will share insight on neurodiversity and creativity, and how the combination of design process and lean methodology can be applied to create meaningful, measurable, and sustainable social impact.

Islands of Brilliance was started in 2012 by Mark and his wife Margaret who have guided the organization through constant evolution and growth, and today the organization has students from around the United States enrolled in all three layers of programming access.

The inspiration for the program originates with his youngest son Harry, who was diagnosed on the autism spectrum just before the age of three. 

The organization is now the subject of a research study being conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Michigan State University funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Prior to Islands of Brilliance, a 27-year career in advertising, design, and digital saw Mark working for notable creative boutiques in Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Chicago. During this period his work appeared in The One Show, Communication Arts, Graphis, and The Obies, while also receiving acclaim in Adweek, Creativity and The New York Times.

He was a member of the Creative Alliance, a cohort of notable agency creatives and agencies working on social impact initiatives during the final two years of the Obama Administration. 

Mark also currently serves as the Entrepreneur in Residence for Social Innovation at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Lubar Entrepreneurship Center, devoting time to working with undergraduate students on design methodologies, business model canvas, and thinking through prototypes of their ideas focused on social impact.