Returning for its fourth year, NeoCon Talks unites influential voices for twelve thought-provoking 20-minute conversations on the 7th Floor Exhibit Hall. New this year, the series is presented in partnership with Design Milk, offering a platform for influential and emerging voices to share bold ideas.
Sponsored by:
Arnold C. Levin
Principal, CWI
Zoe Levin
Student, University of Washington
What began as a 2016 Work Design magazine article series—“What I Learned About Workplace Strategy from My Daughter” by Arnold Levin, Principal at CWI and past strategist at Gensler—has evolved into a powerful exploration of the real-world challenges neurodiverse individuals face at work. Inspired by his daughter Zoe Levin’s experiences navigating the workforce with severe ADHD and dyslexia, this talk brings Zoe and her father together to discuss what designers can do better to create workplaces for neurodiverse populations.
The session will also explore how Zoe’s lived experiences have impacted Arnold’s approach—both as a strategist and a designer—when uncovering and developing solutions that are truly informed by the 'user experience.' With an interactive approach, the talk will engage with the audience in order to record their experiences, share information, and challenge perceptions for developing accessible design strategies.
About the Speakers:
Prior to establishing CWI, a strategic design consultancy, Arnold C. Levin was the SW Regional Strategy Director at Gensler. He established CWI to provide clients with a unique organizational design driven approach to developing unique workplace solutions in a business environment that is in constant change. With over 45 years experience in design strategy, organizational design, workplace design and design research he has worked with a wide range of clients globally. This diverse range covers government and private sector organizations including GSA, blue Cross Blue Shield, Bloomberg, Caterpillar, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Microsoft, Capital One, GSK and the CDC. Arnold has worked with clients throughout the US, the UK and Asia. He is a frequent speaker at Corenet, Worktech, Neocon and IFMA World Workplace. With an undergraduate degree in design from Pratt Institute, he earned is MBA in Design Management and a M.Phil in Organizational Design from the Harrow Business School in London. His research on organizational design and design strategy has been published in the Journal of Facilities Management, The Journal of Design Management, WorkDesign and the Corporate Real Estate Journal. This research has been instrumental in developing proprietary tools that he uses to connect design strategies and organizational design to solve complex problems.
Zoe Levin is currently a graduate student at the University of Washington, pursuing a Masters in Social Work. She was previously an Early Childhood teacher specializing in teaching children with learning differences and neurodiversity. Having been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia in third grade, she went on to be a student at the Lab School of Washington, a school devoted to teaching neurodiverse children. By middle school she was in mainstream schools navigating the challenges of neurodiversity within a mainstream educational environment. Despite the odds against children with learning differences progressing to university, she was accepted in 5 of the universities she applied to and went on to earn a BA in Early Childhood education from Columbia College of Chicago. Upon graduation, she taught children with neurodiversity in Chicago and then in Seattle. She currently provides home care for neurodiverse individuals of all ages while pursuing her Masters in Social Work.
Brittany McNairy, ASID, LEED AP ID+C, WELL AP
Senior Technical Coordinator, Senior Associate, Perkins&Will
Timothy Anscombe-Bell, WELL AP, Fitwel Ambassador, ASID
Director, Sustainable Design Collective
One of the most frequently renovated spaces in the built environment, interior makeovers can generate as much carbon over a building's lifespan as its exterior. As the urgency to reduce emissions and material waste grows, interior designers are uniquely positioned to lead the transition from linear consumption to circular design.
Led by members of ASID’s Environment Health and Wellness Committee—Brittany McNairy of Perkins&Will and Timothy Anscombe-Bell of the Sustainable Design Collective—this talk will focus on the core principles of circular interior design: longevity, adaptability, material health, circular material flows and end-of-life planning—while addressing why interiors require strategies distinct from architecture. Grounded in real-world case studies, the session will demonstrate how circular principles can be applied today, not as abstract theory but as actionable, value-driven design decisions. Plus, a preview of the ASID Circular Design Guide 2026 offers additional tools for implementing circular design across project lifecycles.
About the Speakers:
Brittany McNairy is a Senior Technical Coordinator and Senior Associate in Perkins&Will’s Washington, DC office. She has 15 years of experience with a variety of corporate, government, and education projects ranging from small interior renovations to campus workplace planning. As a sustainability leader, she specializes in sustainable interior environments that advance health, wellness, and sustainability. Brittany co-leads the office’s Embodied Carbon and Living Design initiatives and serves on the American Society for Interior Designers (ASID) National Committee for Environment, Health, and Wellness. She speaks regularly on topics related to healthy interior environments and sustainability.
Timothy Anscombe-Bell is a design and sustainability consultant, who has spent his career collaborating with architects, designers, developers and manufacturers on the creation of healthy and sustainable interior spaces. A former magazine editor and sustainability communications strategist, Tim has spent the past decade helping to deliver complex commercial and residential interiors projects across the United States, and his native UK. He has produced two exhibitions at London’s Design Museum with a focus on sustainable innovation and writes on the intersection of health and sustainability within architecture and design. Tim also serves as a strategic advisor to several health and wellbeing start-ups and is known for connecting people, ideas, and initiatives across the industry.
Dwayne MacEwen, AIA, NCARB, RAIC
Founder, Principal & Creative Director, DMAC Architecture & Interiors
Great design doesn’t come from following rules; it comes from knowing when and why to break them.
Presented by Founder and Principal of Chicago-based DMAC Architecture & Interiors Dwayne MacEwen, this talk challenges designers to ask better questions, interrogate assumptions, and identify the missing information needed to reach solutions. The session will explore how the strongest ideas are rooted in deeper stories—of brand, place, and community—and why those narratives matter more than surface aesthetics. It will also make the case for rigor and courage in the creative process, citing that the most impactful ideas are rarely the first ones approved and are often the ones pushed to their edge; tested, refined, and picked back up off the floor, where real innovation lives.
About the Speaker:
Dwayne MacEwen is the Founder, Principal and Creative Director of DMAC Architecture & Interiors, a Chicago-based studio recognized for transforming hospitality and branded environments through narrative-driven design, craft, and experimentation. With more than 30 years of experience, MacEwen leads projects that span hospitality, lifestyle, aviation, sports, and large-scale urban environments, consistently challenging conventional typologies to create immersive, high-performance experiences. He is the designer behind American Airlines’ reimagined Premium Lounges, widely recognized for humanizing the airport lounge experience through intuitive design and thoughtful materiality. His work on The Concours Club in Miami established a new benchmark for luxury lifestyle destinations, blending motorsport culture with hospitality. Under his leadership, DMAC’s portfolio has expanded across North America and includes the award-winning Midtown Athletic Club & Hotel, a transformative urban wellness destination honored by the AIA and international design organizations. MacEwen began his career in London at Building Design Partnership and in Barcelona working on an Olympic aquatic center before relocating to Chicago in 1992. He founded DMAC in 1995, bringing together the discipline of a builder and the imagination of a storyteller. His process emphasizes rigorous testing through models, prototypes, and material exploration to push ideas beyond the written program. His work has been recognized by Fast Company, the AIA, Interior Design, Architizer, LIV Hospitality, and the Chicago Building Congress. A member of the Fast Company Impact Council, MacEwen is a dynamic speaker at events including NeoCon, BDNY, Hospitality Design, and other leading industry forums.
Janet Simpson
President and CEO, TVS
As architecture and design firms race ever faster to meet client needs, leadership rooted in people, purpose, and culture has emerged as a clear competitive advantage.
In this session, Janet Simpson, President and CEO of Atlanta-based architecture, interior design, and planning firm TVS, shares how she has guided the firm’s growth by empowering diverse voices, cultivating emerging leaders, and intentionally strengthening culture as a core business strategy. Drawing from firmwide programs and leadership practices, Simpson explores how a values-led approach to leadership has enabled the firm to deliver iconic cultural and civic projects that enrich neighborhoods while creating meaningful community impact. Simpson will also discuss how fostering innovation, agility, and performance within the firm has positioned TVS to respond to a rapidly changing industry.
About the Speaker:
As the third president to serve TVS since it opened in 1968, Janet Simpson aims to design better human experiences: places where people can thrive, grow, learn, and flourish. During her tenure, Simpson has executed a complete refounding plan to set the firm on a trailblazing path to sustained growth and exceptional performance, increasing year-over-year revenue while expanding into new markets and adding to the firm’s global portfolio of remarkable design and impact. Simpson currently serves as Chair of the TVS Board, and is a board member of the Innovation Design Consortium (IDC) and Woodruff Arts Center Board of Trustees. Additionally, she is a member of several design, cultural, and community organizations, including: AIA and the AIA Large Firm Roundtable, ASID and the ASID Nexus Roundtable, IIDA, Rotary Club of Atlanta, and the Metro Atlanta Chamber. She has been a panelist for industry-leading events such as AIA’s annual conference, AEC Tech, ICSC Centerbuild, and Design NXT Week, discussing innovation and leadership in design firms. Her thoughts on productivity, leading a 21st-century design firm, and design technology have been featured in Curbed, Marie Claire, Design Intelligence, and more.
Tanner Woodford
Founder, Iterative Work
Join Tanner Woodford, the Founder of the Design Museum of Chicago, and a selection of 2026 Designing a Better Chicago grantees for an engaging series of lightning talks that spotlight innovative, community-driven design initiatives taking root across the city. Bringing together a diverse group of practitioners using design as a powerful tool for social impact, these talks will address Chicago’s most pressing challenges. Each speaker will highlight findings from their work that use design principles to creatively tackle social problems—from food insecurity to expanding access to educational opportunities.
About the Speaker:
Tanner Woodford is the founder of Iterative Work, a narrative-driven design studio working at the intersection of civic life, culture, and visual storytelling. For fourteen years, he served as the founding Executive Director of the Design Museum of Chicago, where he built one of the city's most accessible and community-centered cultural institutions from the ground up.
As an artist, Tanner paints optimistic, typographic, and larger-than-life murals. His work has appeared at the WNDR Museum and Soho House Chicago, and is permanently installed at Weber Shandwick in the John Hancock Building. His practice spans public murals, illustration, painting, and civic design, work that lives in communities as much as in galleries.
In 2020, Tanner was appointed to the City of Chicago's Cultural Advisory Council. He has taught, lectured, and led workshops on design, social change, and design history in classrooms and at conferences across the country. He has taught Design Thinking for Social Change at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and received his Bachelor of Science in Design from Arizona State University in 2009.
Tanner believes design is a civic act, that form, function, and content, working together, have the capacity to fundamentally improve the human condition. That conviction runs through everything he makes, from institutional identity systems to hand-painted street murals to the printed matter he most loves to hold.
He is happy to be scrappy, irrepressibly optimistic, and deeply at home in the space where art, design, and everyday life overlap.
Mette Shenker, LEED AP, IIDA
Senior Principal, Design Director, SmithGroup
Why does walking in the forest feel so fulfilling? It’s more than fresh air—it’s fractals.
Nature is full of patterns—from rippling water to the veins of a leaf. Our brains naturally respond to these repeating forms with calmness, focus, and restored creativity. Neuroscience shows that fractal-rich environments can reduce stress and support cognitive performance, yet indoor spaces often feel flat and rigid. When we bring in local expressions of biophilia—textures that echo organic forms, lighting that mimics dappled sunlight, graphics inspired by branching rivers—spaces begin to feel different. These elements quietly signal to the brain: you’re safe, you can breathe.
Presented by Mette Shenker, Principal at Smith Group, this talk blends emerging science with the lived experience of design. As hybrid work evolves, subtle, nature-aligned choices can make workplaces feel more human—and fractal fluency is a way to create environments that truly restore us.
About the Speaker:
A Design Director at SmithGroup, Mette Shenker has devoted her 20-year career to creating dynamic and inclusive environments that promote well-being and enable spaces to flex and thrive as markets change. Her approach to design is deeply influenced by her early pursuit of film direction in Denmark, drawing creative inspiration from cinematic storytelling and everyday experiences. She excels at listening to clients and creating a rich tapestry of design solutions. Mette holds credentials from the International Interior Design Association and is a LEED Accredited Professional. Mette received a Master of Interior Design from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.
Kristin Cerutti, NCIDQ, Well AP, LEED AP ID+C
Regional Design Leader, Workplace, NELSON Worldwide
There are two types of people in this world: those who are disabled and those who are temporarily abled.
For Kristin Cerutti, Regional Design Leader at NELSON Worldwide, this mantra helps explain a fundamental issue within the design space and beyond: the invisibility of disability. As a designer of physical space for over twenty years, Cerutti had always designed her projects with the occupants in mind—or so she thought. Two years ago, the way she moves through the world abruptly changed and forever altered her understanding of “people-first” design thinking. In this talk, listen to Cerutti’s personal journey of adversity and perseverance—and how it made her a better designer.
About the Speaker:
As a licensed commercial designer with more than 20 years of experience, Kristin Cerutti serves as a Regional Design Leader across a wide variety of projects. She has become a leader in amenity, financial, and legal workplace design. Kristin is often asked to write publications, speak on podcasts, and give webinars on the topics of the legal workplace, neurodiversity, designing for inclusion, and the workplace of the future. Making other people's lives better is what drives her, and her passions lie with being an adviser to and advocate for others.
Laura Guido-Clark
CEO, LOVE GOOD COLOR PBC
Color is often treated as a finishing layer—but what if it’s actually one of the most powerful tools designers have to shape human experience?
Join color strategist and founder of LOVE GOOD COLOR, Laura Guido-Clark, for a thought-provoking conversation on how color operates beyond aesthetics—impacting emotion, behavior, and our sense of belonging within a space. Drawing from her work with leading global brands and her pioneering methodology that integrates science with the senses, Laura will explore how color functions as a language—one that influences how we move, connect, and feel in the environments we inhabit.
This session will also discuss assumptions that color is experienced universally. In reality, individuals—especially those who are neurodivergent—perceive and process color in vastly different ways. By understanding color as a multi-sensory and neurological experience, designers can begin to create spaces that are not only beautiful, but empathetic and inclusive.
Through real-world examples and actionable insights, attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how intentional color strategies can support focus, calm, energy, and connection—ultimately transforming environments into places that truly resonate with the people who use them.
About the Speaker:
Laura Guido-Clark is a renowned expert in the "skin" of consumer products—specifically the colors, materials, and finishes that define our physical world. With over thirty years of experience, she has dedicated her career to analyzing the conscious and unconscious influences that drive human behavior and buying decisions. Often referred to as an "Experience Consultant," Laura possesses a unique ability to translate complex human emotions into concrete applications for global giants such as Herman Miller, Samsung, and Toyota.
In 2017, she launched LOVE GOOD COLOR, a groundbreaking methodology that integrates science with the senses. This language-based system empowers designers to use color as a tool for human understanding, ensuring that every palette carries a specific intention and emotive response.
In 2011, she founded Project Color Corps™, a nonprofit dedicated to the idea that color is a powerful change agent for social equity. Through "optical optimism," the organization brings color and design to under-resourced communities, working alongside students and residents to co-create vibrant, transformed spaces. Laura continues to share her insights on the power and humanity of color on national and international stages.
Lisa Gralnek
Global Head of Sustainability & Impact, US Managing Director, iF Design
The contract furniture industry is at a pivotal moment. Geopolitical tariffs, supply chain volatility, the rise of AI, and growing expectations around climate accountability are reshaping the systems that have long supported commercial furniture design and manufacturing. In this talk, Global Head of Sustainability & Impact at iF Design Lisa Gralnek explores the existential questions the industry faces and highlights the opportunities emerging from this period of disruption.
Drawing on iF Design’s global perspective, Gralnek examines how shifting trade dynamics, material scarcity, and digital automation are redefining value, authorship, and responsibility in contract furniture. She explores how AI is transforming not just how products are made, but also how choices about labor, materials and ethics are decided. The discussion will also emphasize that sustainability can no longer sit alongside business strategy—it must be central to product development, sourcing, and client relationships as regulatory, economic, and cultural pressures intensify.
About the Speaker:
Lisa Gralnek is the US Managing Director and Global Head of Sustainability & Impact at iF Design, the host of the prestigious iF DESIGN AWARD. A passionate advocate for sustainable design, Lisa has been instrumental in aligning iF Design’s commitment to design excellence with a focus on environmental impact. With over 15 years of experience tackling social and environmental issues across industries, she is uniquely positioned to lead this charge. Since stepping into her role, Lisa has successfully integrated environmental criteria into the application and jurying process for the 2025 iF DESIGN AWARD. She also played a pivotal role in assembling the award’s esteemed global jury, leveraging her extensive network of design leaders to bring together a truly exceptional judging committee.
Prior to iF Design, Lisa held leadership positions at renowned brands such as Chobani, Walmart, adidas, moo.com, and The Boston Consulting Group. She also runs her own consultancy, LVG & Co., where has been pioneering future-forward growth and transformation initiatives since 2017. Additionally, Lisa is the host of Future of XYZ, a popular weekly podcast now in its sixth season, which recently joined the SURROUND Podcast Network from Sandow Design Group, further cementing its place among the architecture and design industry’s leading shows.
Quána Madison
Multi Disciplinary Artist, ArtLifting
Stephen Brown
Senior Vice President of Global Market Development, International WELL Building Institute (IWBI)
In fast-paced and high-pressure work environments, supporting employee wellness has become a strategic imperative.
This session explores how the integration of art and creative design practices transforms the workplace into more than just a productivity center; it becomes a space for healing, belonging, and human flourishing. Drawing on insights from recent International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) research on how design impacts wellness and real-world applications, learn how immersive, inclusive art strategies advance culture, community, and purpose within intergenerational workforces. Led by wellness expert Stephen Brown of IWBI and disabled artist and healing practitioner Quána Madison, this discussion reimagines workplace design through the lens of accessibility, emotional resonance, and net-positive business outcomes—inviting attendees to design workplaces that feel as good as they function.
About the Speakers:
Quána Madison (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist, wellbeing advocate, and designer of wearable art whose creative work is rooted in healing and resilience. While pursuing her Ph.D. at the University of Colorado Boulder, she began experiencing early cancer warning signs that led to multiple life-saving surgeries, including a hysterectomy, oophorectomy, and double mastectomies. After surviving serious post-operative complications and a profound near-death experience, Quána rebuilt her life while navigating surgical menopause, autoimmune illness, chronic pain, and PTSD. Creative expression became a vital force in her recovery, inspiring her abstract artwork, mixed-media pieces, and sustainable hand-painted fashion. Today, she collaborates with organizations including the Denver Art Museum, National Pain Advocacy Center, NIH HEAL Initiative, and Envision: You to support mental health, social justice, and community wellness. Quána also works part-time at the Clyfford Still Museum and facilitates arts engagement programs across Colorado. A former teacher in Brooklyn and expatriate in Shanghai, she now lives in Denver with her husband, Zach, and their three cats.
Stephen Brown brings over 25 years of global experience in interior solutions and workplace strategy across commercial markets. As Senior Vice President of Global Market Development at the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), Stephen works closely with senior stakeholders who recognize that human health and well-being significantly influence key corporate performance metrics – including productivity, engagement, and resilience.
Stephen plays a pivotal role in guiding organizations on how to begin and scale their WELL journey, aligning WELL strategies with broader ESG goals, including GRESB, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and social sustainability reporting.
Before joining IWBI’s New York City headquarters in 2016, Stephen was based in Hong Kong as a Senior Global Account Manager, overseeing markets in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa, with a focus on clients in the financial services sector.
Outside of work, Stephen enjoys hiking with his family, traveling internationally, and watching his daughter perform on stage. Passionate about personal wellness, he actively integrates healthy practices into daily life and connects with like-minded professionals through LinkedIn.
Elettra De Pellegrin, Architect
Founder and CEO, SLALOM Acoustics
In interior design, color is often seen as purely aesthetic, while acoustics are treated as a technical requirement. But what if these two elements could collaborate to shape how we experience a space—emotionally, sensorially, and functionally?
Presented by architect Elettra De Pellegrin of Slalom Acoustics, this talk examines the evolving relationship between color and acoustic performance in contemporary interiors across corporate, hospitality, and hotel environments. Drawing on Slalom’s acoustic expertise, the talk offers insights for professionals seeking innovative ways to balance performance and aesthetics, where sound-absorbing elements are not hidden necessities but expressive design tools that enhance spatial identity.
Emphasizing process and design thinking, the session will explore how color influences mood and perception, and how acoustic materials can amplify these effects while improving comfort and well-being. Attendees will gain insights into emerging color trends, strategies for integrating color and acoustics, and ways to reinforce brand identity.
About the Speaker:
Elettra de Pellegrin graduated in Architecture from the Politecnico di Milano in 2012. After earning her degree, she specialized in Acoustics at RWTH Aachen University (Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen). This experience sparked a strong passion for the field, which she developed into an entrepreneurial venture. Immediately following her specialization, de Pellegrin founded Slalom, which is now a leading company in sustainable acoustic design.
Jill Stewart
President, Office Revolution
Kelly Colón
Founder, Coach, Educator, and Author of "Life Interrupted", Eledex Consulting
Many workplaces focus on efficiency or utility but neglect how design physically and psychologically supports well-being. This is where salutogenic design changes the game—by prioritizing factors that enhance health, resilience, and joy.
Presented by Jill Stewart, President of Office Revolution, and Kelly Colon of Eledex Consulting—also known as “The Neurospicy Professor”—this talk will explore how to evaluate design through a salutogenic lens, three furniture strategies to support thriving occupants, and ways to measure impact on well-being. As NeoCon continues to spotlight human-centered design, sensory well-being, and the future of work, this session challenges a common industry pattern: treating wellbeing as a feature rather than a foundation. By positioning salutogenic design as a basis of design, not an add-on, we shift from reactive fixes to proactive workplace strategies that use furniture and space to support health, engagement, and the desire to be present.
About the Speakers:
Jill Stewart brings over 25 years in the contract furniture industry to the role of President at Office Revolution. Her focus is building high performing operational teams to fully support our clients’ needs. With extensive contract furniture experience in operational, design and sales positions, Jill translates her experience to better understand how to support her team to support our clients. Jill brings insight both nationally and globally into the collaboration of the business segments to better support the overall customer experience.
Kelly Colón, known as “The Neurospicy Professor,” is an executive function and ADHD coach, educator, author, and neurodiversity advocate focused on designing systems that work for real human brains. She is the founder of Eledex Coaching & Consulting, a neurodivergent-focused practice supporting individuals, schools, and organizations in building more neuroinclusive environments. Kelly also serves as Head of Neuroinclusive Practice and Trustee at Pathway Communities, where she integrates Whole-Body Design™ into housing, policy, and community development. As a professor in higher education, she teaches and advises students at the intersection of business, construction, real estate, and resilience, translating neuroscience into practical, human-centered design strategies that support learning, focus, and wellbeing.