ASID Launches Ones to Watch Program
Society to Award and Accelerate Diversity in Design Leadership
The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) is pleased to announce the inaugural launch of its Ones to Watch program, an initiative that seeks to ensure that diversity is reflected at all levels of the design industry.
Supported by Steelcase, the ASID Ones to Watch program will recognize rising leaders in the interior design profession who demonstrate exceptional leadership potential and a willingness to push the boundaries of the industry. ASID will honor up to 20 applicants as ASID Ones to Watch award winners within four unique categories: Design Excellence, Education Leadership, Manufacturing Leadership, and Volunteer Leadership. Emphasis will be placed on applicants whose backgrounds are currently under-represented in management roles in the design industry, including women, members of racial and ethnic minority groups, LGBTQ, and persons with disabilities.
“Steelcase is honored to participate in the Ones to Watch program with ASID,” said Rich Isphording, LEED AP, MCR.w, VP of Strategic Alliances and Applied Research + Consulting, Steelcase. “The program aligns with our corporate philosophy as represented by Steelcase’s perfect score in the Corporate Equality Index for the third year, and the organization being named a ‘Best Place to Work for LGBT Equality’ by the Human Rights Campaign.”
Designers from every professional career stage are encouraged to apply. Awardees will gain national recognition while establishing valuable professional connections and accessing a variety of leadership opportunities.
Additionally, ASID will select up to four scholars to participate in a two-year leadership development training program that will educate them to lead with authenticity through experiential learning, coaching, and mentoring.
ASID will accept applications for the Ones to Watch program through April 26, 2017, and will announce the award winners and scholars at The Leadership Experience in San Diego, July 13- 15, 2017. To be eligible, applicants must be actively employed in and have five to fifteen years of experience in the interior design industry, and be on the path to a senior or executive-level position. Applicants must be part of an under-represented group in industry management roles including women, members of racial and ethnic minority groups, LGBTQ, and persons with disabilities.
To review eligibility and application requirements and to apply, please visit asid.org/resources/awards/ones-to-watch.
About ASID
The American Society of Interior Designers believes that design transforms lives. ASID serves the full range of the interior design profession and practice through the Society’s programs, networks, and advocacy. We thrive on the strength of cross-functional and interdisciplinary relationships among designers of all specialties, including workplace, healthcare, retail and hospitality, education, institutional, and residential. We lead interior designers in shared conversations around topics that matter: from evidence-based and humancentric design to social responsibility, wellbeing, and sustainability. We showcase the impact of design on the human experience and the value interior designers provide.
ASID was founded over 40 years ago when two organizations became one, but its legacy dates back to the early 1930s. As we celebrate nearly 85 years of industry leadership, we are leading the future of interior design, continuing to integrate the advantages of local connections with national reach, of small firms with big, and of the places we live with the places we work, play, and heal.
About Steelcase
For over 105 years, Steelcase Inc. has helped create great experiences for the world’s leading organizations, across industries. We demonstrate this through our family of brands — including Steelcase®, Coalesse®, Designtex®, PolyVision® and Turnstone®. Together, they offer a comprehensive portfolio of architecture, furniture and technology products and services designed to unlock human promise and support social, economic and environmental sustainability. We are globally accessible through a network of channels, including over 800 dealer locations. Steelcase is a global, industry-leading and publicly traded company with fiscal 2017 revenue of $3.0 billion.
