The submission process for The 2021 Next Work Environment Competition is your opportunity to gain global recognition and exposure to top organizations. Entries are welcome from students through retired thinkers. Together with our esteemed group of expert jurors, we look forward to hearing the most innovative ideas for future work environments everywhere.
MEET THE JUDGES:
Joyce Bromberg
Co-Founder and Managing Principal
Vanguard Collaborative
As a Co-Founder and Managing Principal of The Vanguard Collaborative, Joyce Bromberg brings 40 years of Design and Strategy experience to what she believes will be Real Estate’s most challenging and exciting era.
Ms. Bromberg began her career as an Interior Designer and spent the first half of her 28 years at Steelcase designing award winning showrooms and trade shows exhibits. Subsequently she was tapped to bring IDEO’s Human Centered Design methodology to Steelcase and as Director of Research she led the work that resulted in the creation of Steelcase’s Health Care and Education subsidiaries as well as her being the lead creator of Space Planning Methodology called Community Based Planning.
Joyce left Steelcase in 2010 and started a consultancy called The Bromberg Group. It was during this time that she began consulting with Sentry Centers, a small startup that eventually became Convene. Credited with being the “third founder” Joyce created the strategy that led to the company’s focus on Work and The Workplace. While at Convene she held the roles of Chief Strategy and Chief Design Officer.
Jessica Cooper
Chief Commercial Officer
International WELL Building Institute (IWBI)
Frank Cottle
Executive Publisher
Allwork.Space
Frank Cottle is an expert and a thought leader on the intersection between flexible working, technology, and the future of work. A frequent speaker on the conference circuit and a highly sought-after guest for podcast interviews, Frank has become an authority on the dynamics and practicalities of the future workplace.
His unique vision can help business leaders, workers, and those interested in the future of work to understand the changing landscape of the workplace, and the people it impacts.
Whether you’re leading a team of five or five thousand, we’re all moving towards the future workplace together. What matters, and what sets your brand apart, is how you get there. Preparation is key, and through his relaxed yet authoritative Southern Californian style, Frank will utilize over three decades of experience and leadership as an entrepreneur, investor and flexible workspace expert, to lead a thought-provoking and engaging discussion on the future of work and what we can expect to find there.
As founder and CEO of the Alliance group of companies, Frank has been building flexible workspace brands since 1979, establishing himself as an advocate for new ways of working that empower people to work better, smarter, and more productively.
Yasmien Fadl
Head of Workplace Design & Experience
TD Bank
Yasmein grew up in the in UAE & Canada and is originally from Sudan. She has been working as an interior designer for 17 years, working in consulting and client side. She has worked overseas and in Canada in multiple design sectors (retail, hospitality and workplace). Yasmein is currently the Head of Workplace Design, Experience & Change management for TD Enterprise Real Estate and is focused on global workplace design, strategy, and creating resonant, inclusive experiences.
Josh Glynn
Director of Workplace Strategy
Google
As Director of Workplace Strategy at Google, Josh leads a team that focuses on how to deliver spaces and services which enable high levels of creativity, productivity, and well-being across a diverse set of business units, locations, and users. Josh has been at Google since 2007 and during that time has led large teams of employees and vendor partners in positions that included Workplace Programs, Real Estate and Workplace Services business Partner organization, and his current role in Workplace Strategy. He has a deep interest in human and team performance as well as business strategy and seeks to combine those in his work.
Airason Heard
Workplace Strategist
Facebook
With an impressive record of leading large transformation workplace design, change, and experience initiatives for several large companies and institutions, Heard has shown himself to be a gifted leader with a talent for future-focused design thinking and strategic direction. He has successfully managed multidisciplinary design teams yielding results across a wide portfolio of projects including his own entrepreneurial pursuits. Together with stakeholders, he utilizes integrative design solutions to drive creativity, collaboration, and to solve complex organizational problems. His advanced training in agile management allows him to anticipate and adapt to ongoing changes. Faithful commitment to creative research and the ability to digest a matrix of perspectives and insights allows him to rise above competing internal and external interests to connect the dots. His vision is to employ the true power of design to evolve the workplace, push the boundaries of ancillary integration, and excite a culture of imagination.
Jennifer Ingram
CEO and Founder
Calibrated Lens
Living and leading by example, Jennifer A. Ingram’s career has been forged through her greatest passions – inspiring others to embrace their journey, live their truth, and thrive authentically while promoting a unified vision for more equitable and inclusive communities. She is the Founder and CEO of Calibrated Lens, LLC, a boutique consulting firm with the mission of helping clients facilitate sustainable change by centering equity and inclusion. Prior to launching her consulting firm, Jennifer demonstrated success in bringing together leadership and key stakeholders to advance Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) strategies across industry and sector. She previously held leadership roles and inspired change across the United Way Network and two nationally ranked academic medical centers, Mayo Clinic and Henry Ford Health System.
She embodies the qualities of servant leadership, driven by an unwavering commitment to strengthening inclusive experiences. She is a nationally sought-after presenter and well-respected DEI thought leader with extensive experience captivating audiences around the globe. Throughout her career, Jennifer has been the recipient of several awards and accolades. A native of Metro-Detroit, Jennifer earned a graduate degree from Central Michigan University and completed undergraduate coursework at Eastern Michigan University. She is a strong proponent of volunteerism and mentoring youth from marginalized communities. Jennifer enjoys spending time with her fiancé and mini Sheepadoodle- Greyson, traveling, the arts, and experiencing different cultures.
Shawn King
Director Design and Construction
UnderArmour
Shawn relocated to Baltimore in 2007 to join Under Armour (UA) as director of design for retail store and fixture design. He returned to living in Maryland after leaving the state in the early 70’s. Shawn is married with 3 children, living in Harford County.
Shawn represents UA on most community related issues and resides on the board for the BCTB, Baltimore Convention & Tourism.
Shawn is the Director of design for the UA Global Real Estate, over seeing the design, development and execution of office and showrooms space to meet the projected growth of the company. Shawn’s primary role is the daily oversight of all Baltimore real estate design and branding initiatives along with direct engagement with the city Planning Department and the Locust Point Civic Association.
Shawn has over 30 years of design and marketing experience, with expertise in Architecture, Interiors, Retail Branding and Marketing, Tradeshow Design and Fabrication, Signage and Graphics.
Sharon Klotz
Museum Planning
and Design
Sharon Klotz has been an exhibit designer and leader in museum education for more than two decades, with key roles at Discovery Place (Charlotte), The Tech Museum of Innovation (San Jose), Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Royal Alberta Museum (Edmonton), and currently with Smithsonian Institution as part of a team focused on invention and innovation. Sharon’s award-winning museum work has included cross-disciplinary exhibitions for visitors of all ages; online and immersive tech; and innovative events and community gatherings.
Sharon holds a Physics degree from MIT and a certificate in nonprofit Board leadership from BoardSource. She has taught design at all levels, including as an instructor in Museum Studies programs at Seton Hall, Bank Street, and Pratt Institute, where she also led a graduate-level Toy Design Studio. She currently serves on the Design Advocacy Board for University of Kentucky’s School of Design.
I believe that in all the spaces we inhabit and pass through – personal, professional and public spaces – design tells us how to behave, how to interact, and even how to feel. In a very real way, design can shape the very possibilities we perceive, so bringing more innovation and courage to our design options is a form of future-casting.
Hanns Lee
Managing Director, Office of Innovation
Hines
Hanns Lee is a Managing Director with Hines in its Office of Innovation where he is leading strategic new economy initiatives within Hines’ global portfolio including the launch of its flexible workplace platform. Hanns has nearly 20 years of experience in acquiring, developing and managing Class A office buildings, office campuses and office-anchored mixed-use projects. Previously he served as the Irvine Company’s and Lowe Enterprises’ top executive for their respective Northern California regions. Hanns earned his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania after serving as a military officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and earning his B.S. in civil engineering from Stanford University.
Rex Miller
Author, Speaker, Principal and Thought Leader
Mindshift
Rex Miller started his career as a project manager in the architecture and construction department for Southwestern Bell now AT&T, in 1978. He has worked as an owner, manufacturer, distributor and sub-contractor. His background has given Rex unique insight into the current and future challenges owners and providers face. He works at the intersection of numerous complex challenges including the common nightmare of delivering capital projects, workplace disengagement, toxic shadow cultures, workplace health, and well-being. Rex believes that healthy teams are the secret to strong teams. Rex has written numerous books including The Commercial Real Estate Revolution: Nine Transforming Keys to Lowering Cost, Cutting Waste and Driving Change in a Broken Industry; Change Your Space, Change Your Culture, The Healthy Workplace Nudge and WHOLE. He has won the CoreNet Global Innovator Award, Industry Excellence Award and IFMA’s Award for Excellence. Rex holds a master’s degree as a futurist and entered consulting after 25 years as a corporate leader. His unique experiences and skills allow Rex to guide leaders into new conversations forming new relationships that result in new realities. Some of his clients include Google, GoDaddy, Intel, MD Anderson, Atrium Health, UHS, DPR, FOX Architects, One Global Design, Haworth, and many others. When project teams hit a wall owner will cal on Rex Miller to quickly get to root issues, rebuild broken trust and realign the team around its mission. Rex lives in North Texas and recently celebrated 40 years of marriage and has three children, almost off the payroll, and three dogs.
Federico Negro
Founder
Canoa
Federico is a designer and entrepreneur based in Brooklyn, New York.
He founded CANOA as a response to his own industry’s environmental failings which he hopes to spend the rest of his career helping to improve.
He was previously the Head of Design for WeWork, running their internal global design studio of more than 900 architects, interior designers, engineers and more.
Federico came to WeWork in 2015 through their acquisition of his first startup, CASE, an 8 year-old digital design consultancy based in New York City that focused on developing and implementing technology into Built Environment businesses. Once at WeWork, Federico became the Head of Design for its physical spaces working alongside the Chief Creative Officer. He helped grow that product from 30 or so locations to more than 600 in 3 years. Federico is originally from Uruguay and has been living in New York since 2002.
Primo Orpilla
Principal and Co-Founder
Studio O+A
Primo Orpilla is the co-founder of Studio O+A, a multi-disciplinary San Francisco design firm that has changed the way we think about work and workplace. O+A’s groundbreaking designs for Facebook, Microsoft, Yelp, Nike, McDonald’s, Slack and many other companies have demonstrated the power of design to make the work environment a catalyst for creativity and a vehicle for change. As Global Chair of Student Experience at IIDA, he works to promote design education and expand opportunities for young people in the profession. A frequent lecturer on design and the future of workplace, Primo speaks at schools and design conferences globally, empowering the next generation of designers. In 2016 O+A won the Cooper Hewitt Design Award for Interior Design. In 2017 FRAME Publishers released a comprehensive retrospective of the firm’s work: Studio O+A: Twelve True Tales of Workplace Design. Most recently the American Society of Interior Designers’ honored Primo with its 2019 Designer of Distinction Award.
Kai Reynolds
Chief Development Officer
JBG SMITH
Mr. Reynolds has served as our Chief Development Officer since December 2018, prior to which he served as our Co-Chief Development Officer since the formation transaction. Mr. Reynolds worked at JBG from May 2003 until the formation transaction, serving as a JBG partner and on the Management Committee and was responsible for overseeing the development group. Mr. Reynolds has over 20 years of real estate experience. Prior to joining JBG, he worked in development for Gables Residential.
Mr. Reynolds received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Michele Schneider
Senior VP, Global Workplace Services
Salesforce
Michele is the Senior Vice President of Global Workplace Services at Salesforce.
Ben Waber,
Co-Founder & President
Humanyze
Kia Weatherspoon
President
Determined by Design
The design voice of impact and change. Kia Weatherspoon, NCIDQ, ASID, has spent the last 15 years defying every design stereotype. The most damaging: interior design is a luxury reserved for a few. Her voice, advocacy for Design Equity™, and design practice have shifted the narrative, making interior design a standard for all. Kia is challenging the lack of these standards in economically challenged communities. Her presence and leadership have created ripples, prompting housing developers, agencies, and industry partners in economically challenged communities to not just to take notice of her work – but to do better.
As an advocate and educator in business leadership, equity, and diversity. Kia has been recognized as a HIP Designer for Good by Interior Design Magazine, a part of the Washington Business Journal’s 40 under 40 Class and the International Interior Design Association Luna Textile/Anna Hernandez Visionary Award recipient.
Kia is adamant change is possible when difficult conversations happen. She has them every day as a female leader of color, speaker, educator and mentor, who exemplifies what’s possible for those who are determined by design.
Ken Wilson
Principal, Interior Design Director
Perkins&Will, Washington, D.C.
Ebbie Wisecarver
Vice President, Global Head of Design
WeWork
Amina Moreau
CEO and Founder
Radious
A special thank you to our sponsors: