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Meet the Team

Sabrina Katz is an Industrial Designer, educator, and co-founder of Wave Design Collective. With over three decades of contribution to Chicago’s design community, she enters this new chapter with great respect for collaboration, mentorship, and purposeful design.

For ten years, Sabrina served as Foundation Master, Instructor, and Internship Coordinator at the UIC School of Design, where she shaped the drawing curriculum and built an internship program that connected hundreds of emerging designers with meaningful opportunities. During this time, she also collaborated with local firms and manufacturers to develop user-centered solutions for clients including Taylor Seville, Skil/Bosch, Swanstone, Innovet, Radio Flyer, and AbbVie.

She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. Sabrina also holds a Master of Product Design and Development Management (mpd²) from Northwestern University, where she continues to teach as an Adjunct Professor, specializing in visual communication, design processes, circular design, sustainability, and materials. Through Wave, she brings her experience into dialogue—with students, collaborators, and clients—to co-create systems that are not only functional, but intentional.

Michael Saubert, co-founder of Wave, is a product innovation leader driven by the belief that "product development exists to get to the next best thing." He views design as a critical force for improving quality of life, propelling economies, and alleviating pressing societal issues.

With a three-decade career in design, Michael is an inventor on 42 patents and previously served as the Director of Design for Kenmore Appliances. This unique background, which also includes service as a US Army Blackhawk helicopter pilot, allows him to blend rigorous discipline with human-centered creativity.

Michael holds a Master of Product Design and Development Management (mpd²) from Northwestern University, where he now serves as an award-winning adjunct lecturer at the Segal Design Institute, shaping the next generation of design innovators.


Michael Saubert and Sabrina Katz
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