Erin McDannald, CEO and co-owner of Lighting Environments and its sister company, Environments, has been guiding clients throughout the entire lighting design and construction process for over two decades. Trained as an interior designer, McDannald joined Baltimore’s New Design Light firm in the sales department in 2003 before becoming co-owner in 2009. Under her leadership, the company was rebranded to Lighting Environments to reflect the company’s expansion into lighting technology offerings for all built environments. Now a pioneer for IoT integration, metaverse, and building and workplace management, McDannald is leading today’s workforce through powerful digital transformation with Environments’ Workplace of the Future solution. McDannald recently participated in The New York Times 2022 World Economic Forum Debate, arguing against the metaverse being the “opium of the masses”.