# Providence 2026

World IA Day is the one day a year the information architecture, UX, design, and content communities get together for a global conference with many local celebrations, curated and organized by volunteers around the world.

## Date and time

Saturday, March 7, 2026

9am - 12pm

## Location

Providence Public Library

Seminar Room (3rd floor)

150 Empire St, Providence, RI 02903

**Getting there:** There is 2-hour and some 4-hour metered street parking and parking garages nearby. We recommend arriving a bit early or using public transportation if possible. Here are some options:

* LAZ Parking – 197 Fountain St (entrance across from the Hilton)
* Amica Mutual Pavilion Parking – 99 West Exchange St
* Providence Place Mall – $2 parking. Park on Macy’s side, take the skybridge, exit through the Omni Hotel. \~15 min walk to PPL
* Kennedy Plaza (bus station) – 10 min walk to PPL

More info can be found here: <https://provlib.org/visit-us/directions-hours/>

<figure><img src="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FxswICQbBmoNXNAvjYN9z%2FParking%201.png?alt=media&#x26;token=d94ec4b4-e3be-4e18-9345-80e948608af8" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

***

## This year's theme

[World IA Day 2026 #Global theme: Designing for Meaning](https://app.gitbook.com/s/WfyvOXbZrhAqKTUW8qog/events/world-ia-day-2026#global-theme-designing-for-meaning "mention")

***

{% columns %}
{% column width="50%" %} <a href="https://luma.com/03k0qcpc" class="button primary" data-icon="tickets">Register</a>

Registration is required to attend (it's free!)

{% endcolumn %}

{% column width="50%" %} <a href="https://opencollective.com/worldiaday-providence" class="button secondary" data-icon="hand-holding-heart">Donate or sponsor</a>

To make sure we can keep all our events free, make a donation today. All donations are tax-deductible.

{% endcolumn %}
{% endcolumns %}

***

## Speakers

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th>Name</th><th data-type="content-ref">Link</th><th>Company &#x26; title</th><th data-hidden data-card-cover data-type="image">Cover image</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Matt Arnold</td><td><a href="../community/matt-arnold">matt-arnold</a></td><td>Chief Catalyst, <strong>Spark Consulting Group</strong></td><td><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FTAgEnS3Z8SNvNkqoUTxN%2FMatt_Arnold_ReOps.png?alt=media&#x26;token=e62afe6e-8fde-4a1f-b1d1-b9a6443ecfe2">Matt_Arnold_ReOps.png</a></td></tr><tr><td>Erynn Petersen</td><td><a href="../community/erynn-petersen">erynn-petersen</a></td><td>CEO, <strong>Emme</strong></td><td><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FE5kruNXz6e6udValOyyB%2FErynn-Petersen.png?alt=media&#x26;token=7e7ce6d5-793e-4902-b2c3-a375b2412978">Erynn-Petersen.png</a></td></tr><tr><td>Lily Mathews</td><td><a href="../community/lily-mathews">lily-mathews</a></td><td>Strategist and Researcher, <strong>From Forward</strong></td><td><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FDLx0CRuOQzpK6qEoNUHE%2Flilymathews-headshot.JPG?alt=media&#x26;token=8dec6c31-1a2f-4803-b0af-f9807a266303">lilymathews-headshot.JPG</a></td></tr><tr><td>Alec Thibodeau</td><td><a href="../community/alec-thibodeau">alec-thibodeau</a></td><td>Lecturer,<br><strong>University of Massachusetts Dartmouth</strong></td><td><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FJoJYmOqDZjBReGXSr5he%2Falec-thibodeau-headshot-800px.jpg?alt=media&#x26;token=bf3b0cb5-ed98-4eb8-bffd-74caef8452b9">alec-thibodeau-headshot-800px.jpg</a></td></tr><tr><td>Drew Hicks</td><td><a href="../community/drew-hicks">drew-hicks</a></td><td>Senior Product Designer,<br><strong>CVS Health</strong></td><td><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FzAT0Bwc8nYXb9B3qGjXr%2Fdch_2025_headshot.jpg?alt=media&#x26;token=403ae62c-a50e-4c14-80f4-f21d3720bd58">dch_2025_headshot.jpg</a></td></tr><tr><td>Fiona O'Malley</td><td><a href="../community/fiona-omalley">fiona-omalley</a></td><td>Senior UX Research Consultant, <strong>UserTesting</strong></td><td><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FQk0AqHDV0HFe8PRwxGpC%2FFiona%20O&#x27;Malley.png?alt=media&#x26;token=9b0980a0-cf30-4ef8-91be-59afaf837488">Fiona O'Malley.png</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

***

## Program schedule

**Doors open at 9:00 am!**

We’ll start promptly at 9:15 am and wrap up at noon. There will be breads, spreads, coffee, and tea!

### Welcome & Opening Speakers

`9:15 - 10:00 am`

*Confirmed Talks (10 minutes each)*

### [**Matt Arnold**](https://providence.worldiaday.org/community/matt-arnold)**, “**&#x44;esigning Meaning Together: The Need for Collaborative Sensemakin&#x67;**”**

Information architecture has always been about helping people make meaning and support understanding, but today's complexity demands that we design meaning together. Matt will introduce collaborative sensemaking as a critical layer of infrastructure for cross-disciplinary work and share the Group Bullseye framework as a practical takeaway for improving communication and collective clarity.

This keynote perfectly captures this year's global theme: Designing for Meaning — exploring how we create information experiences that resonate, connect, and create real value.

### [**Fiona O’Malley**](https://providence.worldiaday.org/community/fiona-omalley)**, “**&#x50;ractically Scaling User Research to Non-Researcher&#x73;**”**

Fiona will share practical, actionable ways to integrate UX research into everyday workflows, no large budgets or dedicated research teams required. She'll cover simple methods for embedding research into existing processes, strategies for involving non-researchers in meaningful ways, and approaches for conducting impactful research even when time and resources are limited.

### [**Lily Mathews**](https://providence.worldiaday.org/community/lily-mathews)**, “**&#x57;hat Lingers and Wh&#x79;**”**

What happens when we ask machines to decide what matters? Lily will share insights about research, noticing, and the grunt work where meaning gets made. A thought-provoking exploration of how we determine what information persists and why.

### Coffee break

`10:00 - 10:15 am`

### Discussion, networking, and activities

`10:15 - 11:00 am`

### Lightning talks (5 minutes each)

`11:00 - 11:40 am`

*Pre-scheduled Talks*

#### [**Drew Hicks**](https://providence.worldiaday.org/community/drew-hicks)**, “**&#x54;he Interface You Never Se&#x65;**”**

Drew will explore how the video game Arc Raiders uses an invisible feedback system to reshape the experience around player behavior and what that reveals about IA shaping experiences, not just interfaces. A fascinating look at how information architecture works behind the scenes to create meaningful interactions.

#### [**Erynn Petersen**](https://providence.worldiaday.org/community/erynn-petersen)**, “**&#x48;uman Connection as a P0 Design Requiremen&#x74;**”**

There is an opportunity in Information Architecture right now to drive the development of major systems to incorporate people and connection instead of treating connections between people as friction. Erynn will explore how we can seize this opportunity to design systems that prioritize human connection at their core.

#### [**Alec Thibodeau**](https://providence.worldiaday.org/community/alec-thibodeau)**, “**&#x4D;oon Space: Designing an Interactive Lunar Calenda&#x72;**”**

Alec will share how he designs, builds, and maintains Moon Space, a digital lunar calendar with real-world data that users can interact with online. This is a great example of designing meaningful experiences that connect people with information in engaging, accessible ways.

*Day-of Impromptu Talks*

### Synthesis, wrap-up, door prizes, good-byes

`11:40 am - 12:00 pm`

***

## Sponsors supporting Providence 2025

<table data-column-title-hidden data-view="cards" data-full-width="false"><thead><tr><th>NAME</th><th data-card-target data-type="content-ref">LINK</th><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-cover-dark data-type="image">Cover image (dark)</th><th data-hidden data-type="image"></th><th data-hidden data-card-cover data-type="image">Cover image</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Bentley University - <em>Master’s in Human Factors in Information Design</em></td><td><a href="https://www.bentley.edu/graduate/landing/ux-hfid">https://www.bentley.edu/graduate/landing/ux-hfid</a></td><td></td><td></td><td><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FfozKIFv3aiiZ8lcutqKL%2Fbentley_logo_shield_only_blue.svg?alt=media&#x26;token=8a06bc47-8da1-4f4a-bb1e-6f7028008141">bentley_logo_shield_only_blue.svg</a></td><td data-object-fit="contain"><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FfozKIFv3aiiZ8lcutqKL%2Fbentley_logo_shield_only_blue.svg?alt=media&#x26;token=8a06bc47-8da1-4f4a-bb1e-6f7028008141">bentley_logo_shield_only_blue.svg</a></td></tr><tr><td>Humans Make Tech</td><td><a href="https://humansmake.tech/">https://humansmake.tech/</a></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FaHpBHLoxgfLpHSl7JMCk%2FHumansMakeTech-logo-optimised.png?alt=media&#x26;token=d9a603ed-aa27-41a8-a132-64990683cac3">HumansMakeTech-logo-optimised.png</a></td></tr><tr><td>DESIGNxRI</td><td><a href="https://www.designxri.com/">https://www.designxri.com/</a></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td data-object-fit="contain"><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2Fco9S0PPl6JSkZ7y2MaeZ%2FDxRI%20logo.png?alt=media&#x26;token=02a169cb-4d59-4cf9-85e7-cad38c295622">DxRI logo.png</a></td></tr><tr><td>Oomph</td><td><a href="https://www.oomphinc.com/">https://www.oomphinc.com/</a></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FwNAs9xgGEfWWaxeUaC5G%2Foomph.png?alt=media&#x26;token=ce37e85b-6757-42ac-b273-9a5de98c9040">oomph.png</a></td></tr><tr><td>Brown Center for Digital Scholarship</td><td><a href="https://cds.lib.brown.edu/">https://cds.lib.brown.edu/</a></td><td></td><td data-object-fit="contain"><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FkYyYzsJh2lHdPbiLb3YW%2FCenter%20for%20Digital%20Scholarship.jpg?alt=media&#x26;token=ddc83aad-3f7f-4c50-b460-39d01eb365ca">Center for Digital Scholarship.jpg</a></td><td></td><td data-object-fit="contain"><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FfOPJeJbL6InsYtQh6VZu%2FCenter%20for%20Digital%20Scholarship.png?alt=media&#x26;token=7d8acddf-2485-47a8-8cd7-c99ec9e680b7">Center for Digital Scholarship.png</a></td></tr><tr><td>IxDF</td><td><a href="https://ixdf.org/">https://ixdf.org/</a></td><td></td><td data-object-fit="contain"><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2Fzi1SD6VMR83loOQgLxgD%2Fixdf-logo-full-expanded--white.png?alt=media&#x26;token=e443649f-0957-4554-b13b-a5c965443c69">ixdf-logo-full-expanded--white.png</a></td><td></td><td data-object-fit="contain"><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FesBvVn53AAxR0Rx4tNp4%2Fdownload.webp?alt=media&#x26;token=ca1ac561-2157-4191-a52f-2953ed0d2c26">download.webp</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

***

## Our team

Questions? Contact us at <providence@worldiaday.org>

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th>Name</th><th>Role</th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref">Link</th><th data-hidden data-card-cover data-type="image">Cover image</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Erin White</strong></td><td>Lead Organizer</td><td><a href="../community/erin-white">erin-white</a></td><td data-object-fit="contain"><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FSdRGSFHZlxGkERD47IOe%2F1747682503147.jpeg?alt=media&#x26;token=e4e35fe5-ae55-4d5b-a497-a05b566b2d11">1747682503147.jpeg</a></td></tr><tr><td>Gregory Kimbrell</td><td>Sponsorship</td><td></td><td data-object-fit="contain"><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2F8ihli1Q6c21UsB9FfDo2%2F1714510262089.jpeg?alt=media&#x26;token=f0be3535-6e70-468d-914b-f31fec4330fd">1714510262089.jpeg</a></td></tr><tr><td>Jen Davinack</td><td>Programming</td><td></td><td data-object-fit="contain"><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FHJN8GOa8hy3rJ7Yvq27a%2F4wECILSm_400x400.jpg?alt=media&#x26;token=846eb76b-6749-4e00-887f-0b32fbcc6d9f">4wECILSm_400x400.jpg</a></td></tr><tr><td>Mary Der Kosrofian</td><td>Outreach</td><td></td><td data-object-fit="contain"><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FFHNw0rqOYLEm2SwZJBkd%2F1756309061781.jpeg?alt=media&#x26;token=7315742e-8d97-4305-a433-7e48ae19cc21">1756309061781.jpeg</a></td></tr><tr><td>Drew Hicks</td><td>Location and Programming</td><td></td><td data-object-fit="contain"><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FiTzZbnmF8UPN94Pt7kEc%2F1739392871358.jpeg?alt=media&#x26;token=9e036631-ea12-47e0-89ed-c52d5da67ce0">1739392871358.jpeg</a></td></tr><tr><td>Brett Johnson</td><td>Programming</td><td></td><td data-object-fit="contain"><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FmHb8cLTHHAm0UNsZ9iUq%2F1631820420318.jpeg?alt=media&#x26;token=ac64950f-21d1-4cc1-afa2-e378ecac23e3">1631820420318.jpeg</a></td></tr><tr><td>Cayte Licazali</td><td>Outreach</td><td></td><td data-object-fit="contain"><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FXqKdVY6V5lUNVMrYtCaW%2F1659997244590.jpeg?alt=media&#x26;token=4fed90d5-1adc-450f-9ac3-834de688da07">1659997244590.jpeg</a></td></tr><tr><td>Nick Scappaticci</td><td>Logistics</td><td></td><td data-object-fit="contain"><a href="https://3718999948-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FjdcgaVArTdDf1jeV4a5s%2Fuploads%2FEnEDI7xB91g51hRHVjpV%2F1640794962234.jpeg?alt=media&#x26;token=00b75228-bc27-4696-9105-b47cee052ea0">1640794962234.jpeg</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

*Don’t live near Providence?* [*Find a World IA Day event in your area.*](https://www.worldiaday.org/events)