NeoCon East Announces Four Keynotes

Furniture World News Desk on 8/19/2017

NeoCon recently announced that registration is now officially open for NeoCon’s sister show, NeoCon East, November 15-16. Held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, it will feature nearly 200 companies with products across vertical markets such as Workplace, Healthcare, Education, Public Space, Hospitality, Retail and Government. Programming will include more than 25 CEU accredited seminars, as well as keynotes: Alex Gilliam, Founder and Director, Public Workshop; David Insinga, AIA, Chief Architect, US General Services Administration’s Public Buildings Service; Suzette Subance Ferrier, IIDA, Studio Design Director at TPG Architecture; and Zena Howard, Managing Director at Perkins & Will, AIA, LEED AP.

Monica DeBartolo, Director of Programming, NeoCon East, states, “From varied backgrounds, the 2017 NeoCon East keynotes all share a common thread of inclusive, human-centered design for the greater good. We are thrilled to showcase these inspirational thought leaders--four influencers over two days--at the 15th annual edition.”

In detail, the 2017 NeoCon East keynotes are:

Suzette Subance Ferrier, IIDA,
Wednesday, November 15 at 11 AM
Suzette Subance Ferrier, Studio Design Director at New York–based TPG Architecture and 2017 Contract magazine Designer of the Year recipient, demonstrates her ability to empathize with her clients in order to turn their needs and visions into truly inspired projects. Ferrier has evolved this insightful and collaborative approach into an art form while working with TPG over the past five years. In the past, Ferrier has also worked with companies such as HLW and Gensler. Throughout her career, Ferrier has shown her ability to pair her own personal vision with an inclusive design process that allows her to create workplace interiors that illustrate the finest balance between productivity and unique expression.

Zena Howard, AIA, LEED AP,
Wednesday, November 15 at 2:30 PM
Zena Howard, Managing Director at Perkins & Will and Senior Project Manager for the Smithsonian Institution’s new National Museum of African American History and Culture, is experienced in environmentally sensitive artifact exhibit areas, historically and culturally significant buildings and locations, and sustainable design in pursuit of LEED® certification and other high performance building goals. Howard has led many significant and often AIA award-winning projects including The International Civil Rights Center & Museum, Greensboro, NC, Durham County Human Services Complex, Durham, NC, several Durham County Public Libraries, Durham, NC, and the District of Columbia Anacostia and Tenley-Friendship Libraries, Washington DC. She has lectured at multiple institutions including MIT, Howard University, Mississippi State University, Louisiana Tech University, and Tuskegee University.

David Insinga, AIA,
Thursday, November 16 at 11 AM
David Insinga joined the General Services Administration, Public Buildings Service in Washington, DC in 2007, and is currently the Chief Architect. In his position, Mr. Insinga is the Senior Advisor to the Administrator of GSA and to the Commissioner of the Public Buildings Service (PBS) regarding federal architecture and design policy and innovation. Prior to assuming his current position, Mr. Insinga served as the Director for Design Excellence in the Office of the Chief Architect. Previously he served as the Acting Assistant Commissioner for Project Delivery. His work focuses on the planning, design and construction of federal courthouses, land ports of entries and federal office buildings. Current work includes almost $1 billion of courthouse projects funded in FY16. Prior to joining GSA, Insinga was a Program Manager at the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. Mr. Insinga has over 35 years of experience in both the private and government sectors. Before becoming part of the federal workforce in 2002, he worked as a Director at Gensler in their Washington, DC and Boston offices.

Alex Gilliam,
Thursday, November 16 at 1 PM
Alex Gilliam is Founder and Director of Public Workshop, an organization that helps clients and partners throughout the United States create uniquely engaging opportunities for youth and their communities to shape the design of their schools, neighborhoods and cities. He believes that great design, empowerment, innovation, and having fun are not mutually exclusive. Uniquely combining his skills as a designer, teacher, expert builder and social entrepreneur, Gilliam leads multigenerational design-build community projects, develops creative placemaking initiatives that bring people together in new ways, constructs makerspaces for people of all ages, devises transformative youth design leadership programs, and creates innovative participatory design tools. Recent projects include leading the designing and building of a makerspace in Chester that is dedicated to empowering citizens to ‘rebuild their main street’; developing play and building-based STEM curriculum while leading the design-building of an outdoor classroom for a school in Arizona; helping clients create citizen science programs in Chicago and New York for measuring the impact of green infrastructure and green affordable housing; and transforming vacant lots into playgrounds and exercise courses in Philadelphia, Flint, Cleveland, and Camden.

Online registration for the show and keynotes is free and now available at www.neoconeast.com. CEU seminar registration will be available online September 6.

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