ASID Presents Highest Honors to Top Design Professionals
Winners of the 2022 National Awards and the College of Fellows To Be Recognized for Contributions to Interior Design Industry at GATHER, the National Conference by ASID, September 2022
The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) has announced the recipients of the organization’s highest honors: the 2022 National Awards and the College of Fellows. The honorees will be recognized at GATHER, the National Conference by the American Society of Interior Designers, Sept. 21–24, 2022, in Miami, Fl.
The National Awards recognize four design companies or individuals for their work and careers dedicated to furthering the interior design practice and changing the world in one of four distinct categories. The winners of the awards are Designs for Dignity, Design for Humanity; The Obsidian Virtual House by the Black Artists + Designers Guild, Design Innovation; Katherine S. Setser, Design Luminary; and Jocelyn Stroupe, Designer of Distinction.
The College of Fellows is a membership offered to ASID members who exceed the standards of the design industry. This year, ASID welcomes eight new inductees into the College of Fellows: Dana Nunn, David Cordell, Leslie Shankman, Lynn Vogeltanz, Sharlyn Thacker, and Susan Morgan; along with two honorary fellows, Suzanne Tick and Bryan Soukup. Through these awards, ASID celebrates design professionals and the industry’s ability to make an impact on those for whom they design.
“A core characteristic of the design profession is our work’s ability to touch lives,” said ASID CEO Gary Wheeler, FASID. “ASID is proud to recognize designers advancing the practice through every facet of their work. We are honored to be able to highlight many of these professionals with the annual induction of our College of Fellows and National Awards today and during a special presentation at our National Conference, GATHER. We hope that the recognition of their work continues to fuel and inspire others to strive for design excellence.”
The 2022 ASID National Awards
The 2022 Design for Humanity award recipient is Designs for Dignity. The Design for Humanity award commends an individual or organization that has harnessed design to improve the greater good with far-reaching activities.
Designs for Dignity is a nonprofit organization with the mission to transform and empower lives through design. With a team of talented design volunteers, Designs for Dignity integrates donated goods into designs that have touched the lives of nearly 765,000 people. Prioritizing sustainability since the organization’s start in 2000, they’ve redeployed over $17 million in furnishings and finishes to more than 254 nonprofit facilities. Accessibility is another principle that guides Designs for Dignity as they partner with other nonprofits to create spaces that reflect their mission, and help staff provide excellent care for clients and make them feel valued as employees.
The 2022 Design Innovation award recipient is Obsidian Virtual Concept House by the Black Artists + Designers Guild (BADG). The Design Innovation award recognizes an original and noteworthy product, project, service, or initiative with high potential to positively impact the interior design profession.
As a community of independent black artists and designers, BADG launched Obsidian, a virtual concept house designed to encourage conversations about the home as a growing hub for one million Black families. Tackling decades of injustice with opportunities for creators to share their ingenuity and Afrocentric perspectives, the spaces within Obsidian were structured around four principles: innovation, technology, sustainability, and futurism alongside seven fundamentals of wellness, identity, sustenance, terra, legacy, ancestral futures, and dwelling. The project is another example of BADG’s commitment to celebrate Black culture and creativity through design.
The 2022 Design Luminary Award recipient is Katherine S. Setser, ASID, IIDA, IDEC, NCIDQ. The Design Luminary Award recognizes an individual or organization for advancing the interior design profession through outstanding education, advocacy, research or promotion. The award honors the legacy of Nancy Vincent McClelland, an ardent advocate for the professional recognition of interior design and the first woman president of the American Institute of Decorators (now ASID) from 1941—1944.
Katherine S. Setser has been a passionate leader and member of industry associations including ASID, CIDA, CIDQ, and IIDA for over 25Â years. She receives the Design Luminary Award in recognition of her work to advance the interior design profession, protect public health, safety and wellness, and inspire future generations of designers. She is an essential representation of the interior design discipline in technical development of international codes, and she engages in interdisciplinary and joint organizational efforts on behalf of the profession. Setser has provided extensive evidentiary research and advocacy-related assistance for interior design legislation in over 15 states along with critical studies and methodologies that explore new ways to assess the health, safety and wellness impact of design practice.
The Designer of Distinction is awarded to Jocelyn M. Stroupe, ASID, CHID, EDAC, IIDA. The Designer of Distinction award celebrates the achievement of an interior designer who exemplifies a commitment to design excellence as demonstrated by a significant, high-quality body of design work that has advanced the profession.
As CannonDesign’s health interiors practice director, Jocelyn M. Stroupe is a champion of the physical, mental and emotional benefits of quality healthcare interior design and its influence on revenue, branding and patient experience. With over 40 years of experience, Stroupe has been an advocate for health and wellness in interior design on a global level. She promotes evidence-based interior design approaches to impact vulnerable communities, and she played a large role in the development of The Center for Health Design’s initial Evidence-Based Design and Certification program. Through her leadership, contributions to creating restorative healthcare environments, and membership in significant industry organizations and mentorships, Stroupe continues to highlight the importance of design.
The winners of each award were determined by a jury of select industry leaders including Roz Cama, FASID, NCIDQ, EDAC, president, Cama Inc.; Jason Schupbach, dean, Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design at Drexel University; Amanda Schneider, LEED AP, president, ThinkLab; Joey Shimoda, ASID, FAIA, founder, Shimoda Design Group and last year’s Designer of Distinction winner.
College of Fellows
ASID’s College of Fellows is the Society’s most prestigious program, honoring ASID members who embody the highest level of ethical conduct and professionalism and exhibit consistent and demonstrative leadership. Less than one percent of ASID members are Fellows. This year, ASID will induct six Fellows and two Honorary Fellows:
Dana Nunn, ASID, NCIDQ, CCS, LEED AP, WELL AP, RID | As Bettisworth North’s interior design director, Dana Nunn nurtures client relationships, mentors design staff, and leads the firm’s integrative design approach. Her commitment to advancing the interior design profession drives Nunn’s ongoing industry involvement. Nunn has served as committee member, chair, board member, and chapter president with ASID’s Alaska chapter since 2003. She engages in volunteerism and leadership nationally within ASID and in allied organizations, and she actively supports design programs across the country. She is also a past chapter support team member, and as part of ASID’s Advocate By Design Council (AxD), she advanced national policy and codes development for the profession. Nunn is currently involved with ASID’s IMPACT Committee and volunteers with the Council for Interior Design Accreditation.
David Cordell, ASID, LEED AP, WELL AP, Fitwel Ambassador | David Cordell is an associate principal at Perkins&Will. With over 20 years of experience as project designer and technical coordinator on ground- breaking projects, Cordell brings a particular focus on interior environments and their interaction with occupant health and wellness and sustainability. Cordell’s experience includes a variety of corporate, nonprofit, healthcare, and science and technology projects for clients of various sizes. For more than ten years he has been the sustainability leader for the interiors practice in Perkins&Will’s Washington, D.C. office. Cordell has worked on numerous LEED projects, several of which earned Platinum certification, including ASID’s headquarters, the first project in the world to also earn Platinum certification under the WELL Building Standard. Cordell speaks regularly on topics related to healthy interior environments, diversity and inclusion and sustainability.
Leslie Shankman-Cohn, ASID, NCIDQ, RID, CAPS, CGP | Leslie Shankman-Cohn is a partner in the firm of Jill Hertz Interior Design, a division of Eclectic Interiors located in Memphis, Tenn. Her specialties include custom designed furniture, space planning, furnishings and finishes specifications, universal design, and sustainable design issues. In addition to her service on the boards of two local non-profit environmental groups, Shankman-Cohn has served on ASID’s national committee on “Aging in Place”. The governor of Tennessee appointed Shankman-Cohn interior design representative on the 2008 Tennessee Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners, where she served until 2012. She was the Tennessee delegate to the NCIDQ national board and continues to participate in reviewing dossiers for the “Broadly Experienced Interior Designer” program path. Shankman-Cohn also teaches the certified aging in place specialist and universal design courses for the National Association of Home Builders.
Lynn Vogeltanz, ASID, NCIDQ, IIDA | Lynn Vogeltanz is an interior designer dedicated to improving communities for seniors, their families, and caregivers. A graduate of Mount Mary College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in interior design, Vogeltanz has focused her energy on creating spaces, developing relationships, and servicing the design community. Her interior design career began at Schroeder Solution, where she focused on corporate spaces, before working for Direct Supply, and ultimately landing in her current role as account executive with EF Contract Flooring. Vogeltanz partners with designers, architects, dealers, and end users to provide flooring solutions for project success. She served the profession as Wisconsin’s ASID President and on the National ASID Board as director at large. Currently, Vogeltanz is co-chair of ASID Wisconsin’s government affairs committee where they recently passed stamp-and-seal legislation in the state in spring of this year. She continues to be active in the local design community by working with professional associations and colleges as she fulfills her national committee roles with ASID.
Sharlyn Thacker, ASID, LEED Fellow, CID, WELL AP | Sharlyn Thacker runs her own business providing green strategy and green building consulting. Thacker has been an ASID member for almost 30 years and currently serves as the Virginia chapter administrator. Thacker has held numerous board positions within ASID including past president of ASID’s Virginia chapter. She served as one of six members on ASID’s national Sustainable Design Council and was a juror for the 2020 ASID National Honors. She is past-chair, a position she held for three years, and a founding board member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Southwest Virginia chapter (now part of the Greater Virginia chapter). She served on the Greenbuild Special Programs Working Group for four years and was a Greenbuild session reviewer. She continues to serve the USGBC as an education pro reviewer.
Susan Morgan, ASID, NCIDQ, RID, CAPS, LEED AP | Susan Morgan is an award-winning real estate associate and principal designer of Susan Morgan Interiors. Her dedication to the advancement of the industry has inspired her decades-long commitment to legislation advocacy for the profession. Morgan’s past ASID roles have included Florida South chapter president, “Aging in Place” councilmember, member-at-large on the national board, and recipient of the ASID Medalist award. She is currently the incoming chair-elect of the AxD Council, chair of the Accessibility sub-committee, chair of the newsletter/communication sub-committee and member of the Sustainability sub-committee. She has been on the board of the Interior Design Associations Foundation’s Florida coalition. Morgan has received the Janet Gable Mentor to the Interior Design Industry Award and is currently volunteering on USGBC’s Healthy Workplace Coalition, the Alliance of Design & Construction Professionals. She is also a member of the International Code Council on the A117.1 committee on the 2023 edition of “Accessible and Usable Buildings.” She is also a CIDQ ambassador.
Honorary Fellows are avid supporters of ASID and the interior design industry who are not interior designers by profession. ASID will induct two honorary fellows this year:
Suzanne Tick | Suzanne Tick maintains a distinguished career as a CEO, textile designer, weaver and Vedic meditation teacher in New York City. She is currently the creative director at Luum and a design partner with Skyline Design. Suzanne’s sensitivity to nature and the environment is reflected in her fiber-to-finish approach to product and fiber development and the use of cutting-edge technology, with the goal of empowering designers and end-users to make the most sustainable possible choices. In 2021, Suzanne designed Grid State and Ecotone, the contract textile industry’s first and second textiles made of 100% biodegradable, post-consumer recycled polyester for Luum Textiles. Suzanne Tick Inc., an NYC-certified Women Owned Business, operates out of Tick Studio in the East Village where Suzanne works and lives. In addition to her industry work, Suzanne maintains a hand weaving practice and creates fine art woven sculptures from repurposed materials with her work exhibited in New York’s Museum of Modern Art, Cooper Hewitt, New York’s Museum of Arts and Design, and Miami’s Art Basel, as well as collected by private and corporate clients.
Bryan Soukup | Bryan Soukup leads the public policy and government affairs functions for the world’s leading carbon negative materials and chemicals company as the director of policy and legislative affairs for Origin Materials. He previously served as ASID’s vice president of government and public affairs, where he led strategic efforts to advocate for the interior design profession and industry from a legislative, regulatory, and policy perspective before the federal and state governments. Under his leadership, ASID achieved historic levels of government affairs success. Bryan has worked in law, politics, and government relations nationwide with work on statewide political campaigns in Tennessee, chief legislative advocacy for a variety of national organizations and charities, and authorship on several law and policy subjects.
About GATHER
GATHER, the National Conference by the American Society of Interior Designers, will be held Sept. 21– 24, 2022, in Miami, Fl. The community-wide national design conference will feature the most influential and inspirational in the design community. Learn more and register here.
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 human-centric design to social responsibility, well-being 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. Learn more at asid.org.
