CHICAGO - Cheryl S. Durst, Honorary IIDA, LEED AP, executive vice president and CEO of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA), is slated to be a featured speaker at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI, on Tuesday, February 19, 2009. This talk is part of the MLK Lecture Series, sponsored by the National Organization of Minority Architecture Students (NOMAS).
Durst's "The Future of Design," presentation creates an interactive, impassioned exploration of the implications and expanded horizons for Power of Design and its influence and impact on social, global and economic issues. Durst leads an evocative debate on measuring the value of design, the communication and transformation of this value, and the responsibility of future designers to protect and ensure the future of the profession. This program is .1 CEU accredited.
The MLK Lecture Series at the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning has featured prominent individuals in the past, including Hector Lasala, Lee Bey, Marshall Purnell, FAIA, and Alison Williams. The series is sponsored by NOMAS, a subset the National Organization of Minority Architecture, established in 1971 by 12 African-American architects during an AIA Annual Convention in Detroit, in recognition of the need for an organization dedicated to developing and advancing minority professionals.
As executive vice president and CEO of IIDA, Durst has overall responsibility for guiding the efforts of the 13,000 member Association. She has successfully navigated the Association and its board through a serious debt crisis and 18-month financial turnaround, and has implemented policies, procedures and an operational structure that has put the Association on firm financial footing over her 12-year tenure at the Association.
Durst has extensive background in product and program marketing development and implementation, and has created sales and marketing programs for Reff Inc. and the federal sales division of Knoll. She headed meeting planning for the Washington Design Center/Washington, D.C. (a division of Merchandise Mart Properties Inc.). In 2001, in recognition of Durst's accomplishments within the Association and her contributions to the industry at large, the IIDA board of directors conferred Honorary Member status to her.
Durst is also a former Docent for the Museum of African Art and Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, and is an active member of the Organization of Black Designers. She is past president of the Kohl Children's Museum Women's Board; a LEED-accredited professional; and a past executive board member of the Chicago Chapter of the U.S. Green Buildings Council. Durst graduated from Boston University where she received dual bachelor's degrees in journalism and economics.
The International Interior Design Association (IIDA) works to enhance quality of life through excellence in interior design and to advance interior design through knowledge, value and community. IIDA is a professional networking and educational association of more than 13,000 Members in 10 specialty Forums in 30 Chapters around the world. Additional information is available on IIDA's Web site at www.iida.org.
