Social Enterprise Executive and Innovation Designer--- cultivating enriching learning experiences for our students and partners
Ise Lyfe is a Social Enterprise Executive, Professor, and Artist with 20 years of experience in specified audience engagement, project development, transportation innovation, design, and advocacy. He is appointed as Head of Strategy for Affiliates and External Partnerships at the Stanford d.school, appointed Senior Associate at Fehr & Peers, and is Chief Executive Officer at Lyfe Productives.
As a product developer + designer he’s highly proficient in analysis and implementation of measurable outcomes aimed at the reversal of fundamental human rights violations and advancing progressive approaches to health disparity prevention. Ise is highly sought after by private and public organizations developing built environments and ecosystems for social good, namely in transportation, systems + fund development, and strategic approaches to major convenings.
His work with at the d.school began as a co-instructor in 2020 before becoming a fellow a year later, and then accepting an appointment as Designer-in-Residence + Instructor in 2022. Since then his work at the d.school has spanned across teaching, co-leading efforts to advance products and publishing generated by/at the d.school, as well as co-leading affiliate partner collaborations that bridges student learning with real-world companies and innovations.
Notably, he created a new exploration space and course at the d.school, Forbidden Design, that engages students around the design of products, systems, and policy that in the recent past were forbidden due to law, taboo, or tech capacity, and now are permissible.
The course and exploration space function on the premise that when what was once forbidden becomes permissible, immediately gaping voids in infrastructure, access, and safety design are revealed with an urgent need for solutions. To date, Forbidden Design has completed over 5 different course editions, including industry studies of Electric Vehicles, Legalized Cannabis, Death, Marriage, Artificial Intelligence Policy, and Human Migration.
In 2025, his appointment was elevated to Head of Strategy for Affiliates and External Partnerships at the Stanford d.school, as he leads our collaborative work to build lasting and mutually beneficial human-centered partnerships between our school, students, and global industries.