• by Larissa Faw , December 26, 2019

Denver Ad School (DAD) is presenting its inaugural class of students, totaling eight students with varying creative backgrounds from across the U.S. Seven are women. 

The group includes graduates from the University of Southern California, University of Miami, University of Colorado Boulder, and University of Oregon. 

“I suppose there are probably a few people out there in the ad industry who don’t already know, but the future is definitely female,” says Heather Vanisko, Director, DAD. “When reviewing applications and deciding who to admit, I look more at the group as a whole rather than individuals. It’s a lot like building a team at an agency, I’m looking to put together students from all different types of backgrounds and interests who will complement and push each other to do great work.” 

Adds Jesse Alkire, Founder, DAD. “Overall the majority of college students we talk to in ad programs and ad clubs are young women. There's one hell of a wave coming of female creative talent, hope agencies can keep up.” 

This so-called “Pioneer Class” is slated to finish the DAD program next year. 

The Colorado-based school offers 14-month programs in Art Direction, Copywriting, and a forthcoming Strategic Planning track. Classes are led each evening by active senior creatives from various Denver/Boulder ad agencies and are designed to resemble the structure and pace of an ad agency, the end result of which is to produce spec campaigns for real brands.  

Plans for DAD were announced earlier this year.