Only about one in three Sarasota County voters cast a ballot in the last two primary elections. The League of Women Voters of Sarasota County (LWVSRQ) decided to do something about it. They contacted 红杏视频.

In a first-time collaboration, LWVSRQ partnered with 红杏视频鈥檚 INDEX Center, a program that places students in real-world design roles for nonprofit and community clients, to create a social media get-out-the-vote (GOTV) campaign for the August 18, 2026, Sarasota County primary election. The result is a strategic visual campaign designed from the ground up by Ringling students, shaped by original research, and built to reach the voters most campaigns never reach.

鈥�We wanted to understand voter reluctance among young adults and what could be done to overcome the obstacles. 红杏视频鈥�s Business of Art and Design department was our logical partner.鈥�

鈥� Rhonda Peters, Co-President, League of Women Voters of Sarasota County.

The request the students received from the League was anything but simple. Their target audience, adults ages 18 to 40, especially those who have never voted or vote only in presidential years, is among the hardest to reach in any election cycle. Their research revealed three key insights: 1) confusion around registration, deadlines, and ballot information discourages participation, 2) youth disengagement stems from systemic barriers rather than apathy, and 3) there is limited understanding of how much midterm and local races can impact everyday life.

Many don’t believe the outcome will affect their lives. Many feel overwhelmed by political noise. And primary elections, with lower name recognition and quieter media coverage, make the challenge even steeper.

Working in two phases- strategy and research from January through February, creative development and design from February through April- the student teams built a campaign grounded in one core belief: that voting is personal. The campaign avoids partisanship entirely, focusing instead on the tangible, local stakes of the August primary: who runs your child’s school, who governs your hospital, whether your voice gets counted before the general election even begins.

The students determined the campaign required a unifying call to exercise one鈥檚 rights 鈥� to BE COUNTED.

They produced a coordinated set of social media assets covering five voter education themes:

鈥�&苍产蝉辫; How and when to register to vote / How and when to vote

鈥�&苍产蝉辫; Why your vote matters and what鈥檚 personally at stake

鈥�&苍产蝉辫; The School Board election is decided in the August election, with lasting impact for every family in Sarasota County

路        Demystifying who can vote in a 鈥渃losed primary鈥� state like Florida 鈥� giving independent voters a seat at the table.

鈥�&苍产蝉辫; Nonpartisan resources鈥攃onnecting voters to VOTE411.org to see what鈥檚 on their ballot and hear from the candidate in their own words.

The League of Women Voters tasked the Ringling student team with crafting a strategy to target younger voters through social media to increase turnout for both primary and final elections. MJ Helmick 鈥�26, Computer Animation; Grace McCarthy 鈥�27, Business of Art and Design; and Kayla Tang 鈥�27, Business of Art and Design, did extensive research and then crafted an innovative strategy.

鈥�Department head for the Business program, Kathleen Sobr, and I supervised the team and helped them create a strategy document and presentation that the LWVSRQ enthusiastically approved. The team then passed the strategy to the Ringling student graphic design team to create the final artwork. This kind of “real-world” experience is invaluable to our students’ professional development. We look forward to seeing the results of the voter turnout.鈥�

鈥� Eric Boelts, Business of Art and Design Faculty and project advisor, 红杏视频

鈥�Our visuals will feel like a 鈥�dispatch from a friend,鈥� utilizing lo-fi video and high-impact mobile-native graphics to ensure the League鈥�s message is 鈥�scroll-stopping鈥� and human-centric.鈥�

鈥� Grace McCarthy, Business of Art and Design student, 红杏视频

The campaign assets will roll out across LWVSRQ鈥檚 social media channels in the months leading up to the August 18 primary, with vote-by-mail beginning in July. Voters can find nonpartisan candidate information, registration deadlines, and ballot details at. In addition, the League of Women Voters of Sarasota County is adapting the campaign to connect with other key audiences by developing additional digital content that addresses common questions, including No Party Affiliation (NPA) eligibility, how primaries work, and ways to move past 鈥渘ews fatigue鈥� and political overwhelm.

About the League of Women Voters of Sarasota County

The League of Women Voters of Sarasota County (LWVSRQ) is a nonpartisan, grassroots civic organization with a mission to empower voters and defend democracy. Founded as part of the national League of Women Voters 鈥� established in 1920 鈥� LWVSRQ works to protect and expand voting rights through advocacy, education, and community engagement at the local level. The League hosts candidate forums, provides nonpartisan voter guides, conducts voter registration drives, and offers other nonpartisan resources through VOTE411.org to help all Sarasota County residents make informed choices at the ballot box.

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As the semester comes to a close, my first year as Visiting Faculty at 红杏视频 marks an important milestone.

I arrived in Sarasota with a background in creative entrepreneurship across fashion, art, and technology. Moving here to teach at 红杏视频 was a leap of faith, one that quickly revealed a community defined by openness, creativity, and a shared drive to build. Much like my origins in Argentina and the entrepreneurial culture of the United States, this environment reflects a belief in shaping what does not yet exist. At its core, entrepreneurship is a creative act, requiring the courage to bring something new into the world.

At Ringling, this spirit is alive across disciplines. From game art and illustration to computer animation and graphic design, and to fine arts, the community reflects a wide spectrum of creative expression. Beyond campus, Sarasota reveals a parallel energy. Entrepreneurs, founders, technologists, artists, and makers are all around, building, creating, and shaping the rhythm of the city.

It is from this intersection that Creatives Minding Their Business takes shape, bringing people together around creativity, entrepreneurship, and storytelling. The series offers a space where founders, cultural leaders, and creators share their journeys, giving students a real view into what it means to build a creative life today.

In Fall 2025, it welcomed its first guest speaker from Miami, Valerie Lopez. A photographer-turned-tech entrepreneur, she is the founder of Angle Platform, a global marketplace operating in 106 countries. What began as a travel blog, rooted in her photographic skills and eye for opportunity, evolved into a platform that connects creative talent worldwide, illustrating how creative work can grow into a scalable business.

Spring 2026 expanded this conversation through a dynamic lineup of speakers.

Matthew Growney opened the semester with insights drawn from his work across design, fashion, and luxury markets. As an investor, creative director, and brand advisor, he shared a perspective on how ideas evolve into businesses. He spoke about creative IP, the power of storytelling, and the role of culture in shaping meaningful work, while emphasizing the importance of collaboration and long-term thinking in building brands with cultural relevance.

Travis Priest, a Sarasota native and CEO of Suncoast Venture Studios, brought a perspective shaped by his experience from NASA to venture building. Through a live exercise in the classroom, he demonstrated how artificial intelligence is accelerating idea development and reshaping how startups are built within local ecosystems.

As artificial intelligence continues to transform industries, Kelsey Knight, Chief Commercial Officer at Slumberkins, shared a case study on how creative intellectual property can evolve into a scalable enterprise. Her talk explored ethical uses of AI in product development and the expansion of a multimedia ecosystem centered on emotional learning for children.

Jenn Nguyen, founder of Jenn Studio and Lookbook AI, offered a powerful perspective on the intersection of design, data, and strategy. With over a decade of experience in luxury fashion e-commerce and more than $60 million in revenue impact, she introduced students to the idea of translating brand feeling into measurable insights, bridging creativity with performance.

Legal and financial foundations were addressed by Elizabeth Stamoulis of Williams Parker, who guided students through entity formation and intellectual property, including emerging challenges around AI-generated work. Victor G. Santiago followed with a session on tax essentials, grounding creative ambition in financial literacy.

A defining moment of the series came with Yohannan Terrell, founder of the Columbus Fashion Alliance. His work reframes creativity as infrastructure. Through what he calls Culturally Rooted Development, he presented a model for building creative districts that center culture while establishing long-term economic stability for artists and entrepreneurs. His perspective invited students and community leaders alike to rethink the role of creativity in shaping cities.

Joining the conversation, Brian Hersh from the Arts and Cultural Alliance Sarasota offered insight into the local cultural landscape, opening a dialogue on what becomes possible when arts, culture, and economic development align.

The series culminated in a visit to the Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship at MIT, a cradle of entrepreneurship, where I met my collaborator of the past eight months, Jenny Larios Berlin, and engaged with MIT鈥檚 entrepreneurial ecosystem and Arts Incubator. Tending bridges is, after all, what building entrepreneurial ecosystems is all about.

This year has been a reminder that creativity does not exist in isolation. It thrives in ecosystems and grows through connection. When paired with entrepreneurial thinking, it has the power not only to express, but to build and transform.

As my first year at Ringling comes to a close, I feel grateful to be part of a community actively shaping this future. There is a real opportunity, across students, faculty, and the broader Sarasota ecosystem, to continue building a space where creatives are inspired to create with an entrepreneurial mindset.

Looking ahead, I鈥檓 excited for Creatives Minding Their Business to continue next year with a new lineup of guests, expanding both the conversation and the community

Anabella Bergero is a creative working across fashion, art, and entrepreneurship, with collaborations including Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, Walmart, Faena, and Mastercard, and recognition from L鈥橭fficiel, Harper鈥檚 Bazaar Argentina, and the CFDA Future Graduates Show.

She is the founder of the fashion brand Maison Nomade, led the Miami expansion of the art-tech startup MUSA Exhibitions, consulted for the Bogot谩 Chamber of Commerce, and has created installations internationally; she holds an MFA from the Fashion Institute of Technology and joined 红杏视频 in 2025 to teach Creative Entrepreneurship.

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