Workshops

About the Speakers:

Kimberle Frost, Ultrafabrics’ Director of Merchandising, has 25+ years of experience in textile design and styling, color consultation, and textile marketing. Her portfolio includes work for Robert Allen, Duralee, Mayer Fabrics, Momentum, and Arc Com.

Michael Christie is an internationally renown rug and carpet expert. He is an aficionado of modern Nepali-Tibetan carpetry and served as the Brand Ambassador of Handmade Nepalese Carpets for the Nepal Carpet Manufacturer's and Exporter’s Association. As an outspoken advocate for makers, his focus is on equitable collaboration to adapt carpetry to the needs of this era and the future. Christie has researched, designed, and built his own upright looms, teaching himself the craft of carpetry both as an artistic pursuit and to better understand weaving and the role individuals play in the commerce of utilitarian and luxury handicrafts.

Gaëlle Merlin is design manager at Aquafil, based in the headquarter in Italy. From 2000, Gaëlle has developed her career in the carpet industry, in Europe (France and UK). These experiences have given her a whole overview of the sector, working from the product concept, its design and technical development to its promotion. As designer in the industry, she has quickly realized the environmental impact of her choices. Today, as a designer, citizen, consumer, artist and nature lover, sustainability has become her main driver, trying to make the less impacting choices and leave in harmony with her surroundings.

Tannese Williams is a visionary leader at the intersection of color, design, and innovation. As the Head of Fashion, Home, and Interiors (FHI) at Pantone, she drives global color strategy, shaping how designers, brands, and creatives harness the power of color to transform products and experiences. With over 20 years of expertise at renowned brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Reebok, and Ralph Lauren, Tannese has been instrumental in fabric innovation, product development, and color strategy—ensuring that color is not just an aesthetic choice but a catalyst for innovation and brand storytelling. A recognized authority in textile technology, Tannese holds a Bachelor of Science in Textile Technology from the prestigious Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science (now Jefferson University) and an MBA in Marketing from Philadelphia University. Her expertise is further strengthened by a Product Management Certification from Cornell University, reinforcing her ability to drive market strategy, product excellence, and business growth in the dynamic world of fashion and design. Beyond her professional achievements, Tannese is a passionate advocate for color education and thought leadership, championing the emotional, cultural, and strategic impact of color in design and branding. Her insights continue to influence industries, inspiring a new generation of creatives to explore the boundless possibilities of color

About the Speakers:

Principal & Health Interiors Leader at CannonDesign, Margi Kaminski is passionate about making the connection between design and well-being, creating spaces that inspire and uplift the human spirit. She has led a wide range of notable projects for many of the healthcare industry’s leading systems and senior living providers. She is an award-winning designer with a holistic approach to design that ensures all aspects of a project embody the character of her client's brand and mission, while achieving robust human & environmental health. In addition to her leadership role at CannonDesign, Margi’s voice is also heard on the ASID National Board of Directors.

Julia Calabrese is an associate director of strategy and design at Interior Architects, an award-winning global interior design and architecture firm. In this role, Julia is responsible for crafting immersive brand experiences that keep users' physical and psychological needs at the forefront. She has a high level of strategy and experience design expertise and has worked with notable clients including Lincoln, Cadillac, and Walt Disney, among others. Most recently, Julia was the Global Design Manager of Workplace and Retail at the Ford Motor Company. In February of 2023, NASA invited her to consult on their organizational systems and complex problem-solving initiatives. Interior Design Magazine has recognized her design work as a 2022 “Best of Year” project, and she was named a 40-under-40 Innovator in the category of retail design by Retail Touchpoints. She was also selected as an ASID “Ones-to-Watch” Scholar in 2022.

Marianne Starke was born & raised in Mexico City and is now living in Chicago. Eldest of 3. Cross-cultural education and professional experience. She has lived in 3 countries and 5 cities, speaks 3 languages, and is always looking to challenge herself and push boundaries which allows her to open doors and tailor her own unique journey. Marianne is an Architect and Interior Designer – a hybrid background that helps her develop a different array of skills that push her to cross over on projects and design phases. Loves to travel and explore new cultures, photographer, music lover, golfer, – always pushing herself so she knows enough to create her own story. Passionate about creating new ways to challenge design. Thankful for all the places her life and work have taken her, the people she has gotten to meet, the ways in which she has pushed color, ideas, curiosity, and creativity to create new spaces.

Moderated by Khoi Vo.

Khoi Vo is the chief executive officer of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). Since taking the helm at ASID, Vo has led the association to broaden inclusivity through expanded membership to the entire design community, and elevated visibility for the association as a thought leader through its prestigious research, which has been acclaimed in top national and international publications. Vo has over two decades of experience across interior design, architecture, and education. In 2002, he founded Studio Four Los Angeles. He later founded Khoi Vo Design and was the studio’s design director for 12 years. Vo began his career at California State University as an assistant professor for the interior design program. He later became a professor and chair at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)’s department of interior design before teaching at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Vo later returned to SCAD to head its former Hong Kong campus. Vo became CEO of ASID in 2022. He is also serving on the governance council of the International Well Building Institutes (IWBI). Vo’s awards include the 2015 Honorable Mention for the CIDA Award for Excellence in Teaching, the 2017-18 DesignIntelligence Top 25 Most Admired Educators, and a SCAD Presidential Fellowship. He has served on competition juries including VMark Interior Design Awards, Vietnam, Society of Interior Designers, Singapore 2020 Competition and 7th IIDA Annual Best of Asia Pacific Design Award. Vo earned a Bachelor of Arts with a design focus in architecture from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fl., and a Master of Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles. A first-generation American, Vo was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and immigrated to the U.S. with his family as a child. He currently lives in Savannah, Ga., with his wife, son, and two dogs.

About the Speaker:

Charles Cannizzaro is a founder and Principal at Crate Architecture, and a Registered Architect. With over 25 years of experience, Charles has guided some of the top national and international companies through successful projects with award-winning designs. He has focused his career on Corporate Interior Architecture, particularly workplace and branding. Charles is also an avid Urban Sketcher and was featured as the November Spotlight Artist for the NYC Urban Sketchers.

About the Presenters:

Dylan Coonrad has a lot in common with the moon: he’s a star-gazing dreamer, kind of pale-skinned and a force-of-nature wavemaker. Dylan’s mission is simple: think differently, make beautifully. He brings new levels of creativity to every type of project while also leading CannonDesign's in-house graphic design team. His way of uniting human-centered methodologies and active design exploration makes working with him a masterclass in optimism, storytelling and joy.

Curiosity, empathy and experimentation are core values of Anne Gibson’s work. She fuses a passion for impact with the experience of connecting people to purpose. In her role, she focuses on connecting strategy with design translation. Trained as an industrial designer, she brings deep expertise in health, workplace, brand and product development at all scales across the globe. Anne works across essentially all sectors, bridging interior design and experiential design to bring forth solutions to our communities’ and clients’ toughest challenges.

As an experience strategist for Blue Cottage of CannonDesign, Agata Malkowski is fueled by her passions for design, curiosity about the world, and drive for simplifying complex ideas. For over a decade, she has taken a dynamic approach to weaving visual communication, change management, and experience strategy into meaningful outcomes.

About the Speakers:

Verda Alexander is the co-founder of Studio O+A, Editor-at-Large at Metropolis Magazine, and co-host of “Break Some Dishes,” a podcast exploring design solutions for climate change. With 30 years in the industry, she reimagines workplaces to foster sustainability and well-being. Her work embodies design activism, challenging norms to create meaningful social and environmental impact. Verda’s innovative approach earned her induction into Interior Design Magazine’s Hall of Fame and the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Interior Design in 2016

Suzanne Drake’s career has focused on commercial interiors, specializing in creating healthy environments and being the conduit for healthy materials knowledge dissemination. As an interior designer, she draws on over two decades of experience in workplace, health care, and laboratory environments to support client initiatives and sustainability goals. Currently, she is leading Revel’s firmwide sustainability initiative. She was instrumental in developing the Precautionary List, and has co-authored three installments of the Healthy Environments whitepaper series. In her book EcoSoul: Save the Planet and Yourself by ReThinking your Everyday Habits, she makes her expertise available on a personal level.

Over his career, Antonio Holguin has created a community through sustainability. Earning his BFA in Interior Design from the Art Institute and Master's of Education at the University of North Texas he continues to pursue his passion for creating healthier environments. Antonio founded the Texas Materials Initiative, a task force of architect and design firms that have together developed healthy environments through education on material transparency and advocacy. He's currently the national market director of A&D for Material Bank and recently published his first book: Adventure of the Arroyo Amigos a book that takes children on a journey to discover sustainability

Tori Wickard studied Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin and completed her Residency Program at Kohn Pederson Fox in London. After the passing of her mother to breast cancer in 2014, Tori has become an advocate of transparency and optimization around building materials. She leads the Material Performance Taskforce in the Dallas Studio of Perkins & Will, participates in the Health Product Declaration Collaborative Technical Committee, and serves on the Advisory Board for the American Cancer Society. She firmly believes as an architect it’s her mission to address challenges in the built environment including human health impacts.

Jessica Rosales, a registered interior designer with over 12 years of experience in the field, currently holds the position of Senior Interior Designer at BOKA Powell. Her expertise is primarily centered around hospitality and workplace design. Jessica is actively engaged in projects from their initial concept stages through construction, overseeing design intent, team coordination, and the selection of material specifications and FFE. She's a driving force within her firm, championing sustainability initiatives and dedicated to educating her colleagues on the significance of specifying healthier materials.