Launch of Cross-Sector Pledge to Foster and Strengthen Equitable Accountability for the A&D Industry
The International Interior Design Association’s New York Chapter (IIDA NY) is proud to announce its partnership with the newly formed Equity Council, an independent consortium of designers and industry professionals unified in fostering engagement and accountability toward meaningful change in the design industry.
Equity Council’s mission is to create a more just and equitable design industry by focusing on four key pillars in the workplace: 1) cultures of inclusion, 2) increased racial diversity, 3) education, and 4) communication. Guided by a deep belief in Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI), Equity Council strives to transform the design industry to better represent the broader community while promoting engagement.
To assist organizations open to conversations about racial equity, Equity Council has established a cross-sector pledge tailored specifically to the architecture and design community. The Design Industry Pledge is an agreement that outlines actionable goals and includes an assessment tool for signers to measure their progress annually. The Pledge is open to the entire design community and industry partners alike (members and non-members of IIDA NY), including professional associations, project managers, consultants, contractors, and others.
In collaboration with Racial Equity Partners (REP), Equity Council has put together an industry assessment survey for signers of the pledge to document baseline data and current efforts on racial equity benchmarks. Additionally, the Council has established an annual reporting process to measure progress towards racial equity.
Equity Council was founded in 2020 in response to concerns about inequities within the design industry that were catapulted following the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent protests and conversations inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. The Council was forged by four leaders in the interior design community who include:
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Yetta Banks, Former VP of Design and Construction, VIACOM;
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Hana Getachew, Creative Director, Bolé Road Textiles;
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Erin Ruby, IIDA NY President (2020-2021) & Founder of Erin Ruby Design, LLC;
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Elsie St. Léger, IIDA NY President-Elect (2020-2021) & Assistant Project Manager, Interiors; NYU Langone Health.
“Historically, people of color in the United States have endured inequities deeply rooted in systems of injustice that are continued to be manifested in all manner of ways today, including the built environment,” said Banks, Getachew, Ruby, and St. Léger in a joint statement. “Within the past year, organizations have begun examining more closely their work and workplace as individuals who identify as people of color continue to confront racism, discrimination, and violence in their daily lives. We believe it is imperative that the design industry engages in focused work to address inequities for all people with specific attention to those who are underrepresented.”
IIDA NY publicly launched its partnership with Equity Council during a virtual roundtable discussion with the four founders as well as Kavita Singh Gilchrist and Jeff Olivet of Racial Equity Partners, on Tuesday, June 22nd. The event was moderated by Alethea Cheng Fitzpatrick, Principal & Founder of Co-Creating Inclusion, a diversity, equity, and inclusion firm with a focus on shifting culture and driving equity through strategic consulting, leadership & team development, workshop facilitation, and business integration. All proceeds from the event will be donated to Youth Design Center, a Brooklyn-based youth creative agency and innovation hub providing a gateway for young people to learn marketable hard skills in STEAM, access post-secondary education, achieve economic mobility and engage in place-based community revitalization.

About IIDA NY
The IIDA New York Chapter (IIDA NY) is a professional networking and educational association of more than 800 Members in ten specialty Forums. IIDA NY provides its Members with the resources to reach expertise, knowledge and contacts. Networking events allow professionals and industry members to connect on more personal terms that encourage trust, collaboration, and innovation. The Chapter is proud to have been recognized as IIDA Large Chapter of the Year in 2011, 2008, 2001 and 2000. For more information, visit: http://www.iidany.org/.
About Equity Council
Equity Council was formed in June 2020, when Founding Member Hana Getachew began calling her friends and colleagues to demand action and accountability in our industry. Though Equity Council was formed within the IIDA NY Chapter with the then President and President-Elect, it is intended to be an independent, open and inclusive body of participants who may or may not be members of IIDA.
About Yetta Banks
Yetta Banks is a New York-based architect, interior designer, and real estate executive. For nearly two decades, Banks served as Vice President of Design & Construction and Strategy for VIACOM, where she oversaw 3.5 million square feet of projects, new construction, and expansions. She previously served as an architect and project manager for an Atlanta-based architectural firm. An Atlanta native, Banks earned degrees in architecture and interior design from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the American Intercontinental University in Los Angeles. She completed the last year of her architecture training at Ecole de la Villette in Paris. Banks deeply values community outreach, serving as a board member for Housing Works as well as co-chair and designer for its fundraiser, Design on a Dime. Additionally, she participates as a designer for DIFFA’s Picnic by Design.
About Hana Getachew
New York based-designer Hana Getachew started Bolé Road Textiles out of a desire to merge her love of Ethiopian handwoven fabrics with her career in interior design. During her 11 years at a major New York City architecture firm, Hana realized her affinity for vibrant colors and graphic patterns was a direct result of her upbringing in a home filled with amazing traditional Ethiopian textiles. Her designs for Bolé Road are an homage to that cultural inheritance and a reflection of her own personal global modern aesthetic. Hana was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. After a few years in Montreal, her family settled in New York. A graduate of Cornell University with a degree in interior design, Hana was formerly Associate Principal at Studios Architecture in New York City. During her time there she helped design the flagships and headquarters of some of the city’s most prominent companies.
About Erin Ruby
Erin Ruby, CID, IIDA is the founder of Erin Ruby Design, a multidisciplinary practice based in Harlem, New York, which specializes in product design, strategy and commercial interiors. Ruby has built a vast portfolio through her own practice as well as having worked for esteemed firms TVS Design in Atlanta, TPG Architecture, and Studios in New York, where she led projects for Interface, Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal, Orrick, The Johnson Company, and IMG Worldwide.Her product collaborations with such celebrated international and US based manufacturers Tuohy, HALCON, HBF Textiles, Decca, Gunlocke, MCONTRAST and Johanson have garnered numerous accolades. In 2019, Ruby was recognized as the New York Honoree and recipient of the IIDA Leadership Award of Excellence for her dedication to and advancement of the Interior Design profession. She currently serves as Chapter President of IIDA NY for the 2020-2021 season. Through her work with IIDA NY, she advocates for systems level change to advance racial equity in the design industry. Ruby is an alumni of the Pathways To Equity training program offered through Open Architecture Collaborative, which provides designers and activists with educational opportunities to engage in community partnerships. Ruby graduated from Virginia Tech in 2000 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Design.
About Elsie St. Léger
After a successful career in magazine editorial, Elsie St. Léger chose to pursue a path in interior design. Although interested primarily in institutional design, specifically education, a temporary detour into healthcare design became a vocation. Now an interior designer and assistant project manager at NYU Langone Health, St. Léger also believes in giving back to the industry that has given her so much. She is president-elect of IIDA NY and was until recently part of the leadership of LMNOP, a New York City–based professional development and networking organization. She also plays a vital role in IIDA NY’s push toward accountability and diversity within the A&D community.