For the first time in the organization's decade-long history, a self-selecting roster of board members for the Design Leadership Network has been formed. The group of industry pros represent all sides of the industry including top design and architecture firms and lighting and fabric manufacturers.
Unlike boards that appoint members, the DLN board is made up of those who, as founder Peter Sallick says, are particularly engaged and committed. “The DLN Leadership Board was formed over the course of 2016 with all members proactively volunteering from among our membership and partner group. Our objective was to invite our members to contribute rather than use the more topical approach of asking specific individuals if they would be willing to serve. We want members who feel a personal interest and bring independent ideas to our organization and are willing to devote time on a volunteer basis rather than simply lend their names,” he explains.
In turn, members find in the organization “a strong platform through which our creative and accomplished board members can run with their ideas rather than pursue them independently without the infrastructure we have built.”
Some of those ideas can now be found on this year’s calendar: six regional dinners; a trip to Italian workshops, mills, and cultural institutions; a two-day workshop forum with a moderator and behind-the-scenes access to an innovative urban redevelopment program in the United States; two events produced in coordination with LCDQ and 200 Lex; a members-only program at the Judd Foundation in NYC; and VIP access to multiple shows and fairs, as well as to the Design Leadership Summit, to be held in San Francisco.
“Our community will grow further,” says Sallick, “and our message will become stronger if we work together in this way.”
Board members include:
Matthew Berman, Workshop/APD
David Calligeros, Remains Lighting
David Cohen, The I-Grace Company
Catherine Connolly, MERIDA
Elizabeth Dinkel, Elizabeth Dinkel Design Associates
John Edelman, Design Within Reach
Michael Imber, Michael G. Imber Architects
Frank Ponterio, Frank Ponterio Interior Design
Magd Riad, Marmi Natural Stone
Gary Searle, Kravet
Beth Webb, Beth Webb Interiors
