Design Futures Council Names Emerging Leaders

DuPont Building Innovations Sponsors Program's Scholarships

DuPont Building Innovations Sponsors Program's Scholarships  

The Design Futures Council has named six professionals its Emerging Leaders for 2011. These individuals will receive registration scholarships to attend the 10th Leadership Summit on Sustainable Design in Boston Oct. 9-11. The scholarship is sponsored by DuPont Building Innovations.

"At DuPont, we're focused on reducing the world's dependence on fossil fuels, and that's one of the reasons why the Design Futures Council is important to us," said Doug Baker, Americas director of DuPont Building Innovations and a Design Futures Council Executive Board member. "Providing scholarships for the Emerging Leaders initiative is our way of investing in the energy, talent, and fresh perspective of these young professionals who will influence and shape the future of sustainable design."

The Design Future Council's annual Leadership Summit on Sustainable Design brings together a delegation of 100 people from the world's most influential architecture, engineering, and construction firms to identify change drivers, analyze emerging data, and explore innovation in sustainable design.

One of the Design Futures Council's missions is to identify and recognize future leaders who are having - and will increasingly have - an impact on design practices, design professions, and the community. The Emerging Leaders scholarship program, now in its fifth year, addresses this goal by selecting individuals who represent the future of design practice in terms of its broadening scope, service to society, sustainable design, and technological innovation.

The 2011 Emerging Leaders are:

• Liz Blazevich is director of the Sustainable Cities Design Academy for the American Architectural Foundation in Washington, D.C. She works with public- and private-sector leaders to increase the sustainability of projects across the country.
• Carolyn Choy is the analytics and insights manager at KIPP. KIPP, the Knowledge Is Power Program, is a national network of free, open-enrollment college-preparatory public schools preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and life.
• Brad Leibin is the design lead for San Francisco-based nonprofit Public Architecture. Leibin was highly involved in the development of the "Design for Reuse Primer" publication funded by a grant from the U.S. Green Building Council, making him one of the foremost thinkers on material reuse.
• Ashley Marsh is an associate at Cannon Design in Chicago. She is helping to lead the development of the firm's Open Hand Studio and its larger internal umbrella, Engage, a group focused on increasing the firm's exposure to and engagement with design communities.
• Jessy Olson is a project manager with the Farmworker Housing Development Corporation. She works to build capacity and increase the portfolio of the organization as it seeks to improve the lives of farmworkers and their families in Oregon.
• Casius Pealer is president of Oystertree Consulting in New Orleans. He consults with housing authorities nationally as well as the Department of Housing & Urban Development on affordable housing, community development, green building, and energy efficiency.

About the Design Futures Council

The Design Futures Council is an interdisciplinary network of design, product, and construction leaders exploring global trends, challenges, and opportunities to advance innovation and shape the future of the industry and environment. Members include leading architecture and design firms, dynamic manufacturers, service providers, and forward-thinking A/E/C firms of all sizes that take an active interest in their future. DesignIntelligence, a bi-monthly journal of cutting-edge research, practical advice, and peer-to-peer information exchange, is the Design Futures Council's official publication, published by Greenway Communications.

About the DuPont Building Innovations

DuPont Building Innovations, a strategic business unit of DuPont (NYSE:DD) helps residential and commercial builders, architects, general contractors, engineers and their teams determine the best, highest-performing solutions that meet the unique needs of their projects. From DuPont™ Tyvek® Weatherization Systems to DuPont™ Corian® solid surfaces, DuPont™ Zodiaq® quartz surfaces and more, DuPont Building Innovations is committed to increasing the performance of building systems and creating more sustainable structures.


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