Notable at NYSID: Summer 2023
BOARD UPDATES
Young Huh Was Appointed to the NYSID Board
Young Huh
Celebrated designer Young Huh has joined NYSID’s Board of Trustees. As the principal of Young Huh Interior Design, Huh has established herself as a prominent figure in the design industry. Her accomplishments are many and include: AD100 Designer 2023, 1stDibs 50 Honorees 2023, Elle Decor’s A-List, Andrew Martin Design Review finalist, Connecticut Cottages & Gardens Innovation in Design Award winner, and her selection as the 2022 recipient of NYSID’s Larry Kravet Design Industry Leadership award. Huh is an active member of the local and international design community, and heavily involved in multiple charitable organizations and industry events. Huh most recently served as a vice chair for the Kips Bay Decorator Show House President’s Dinner, is a Co-Chair of Housing Works Design on a Dime Benefit 2023, is a founding member of AAPIDA, and serves on the Board of Directors for NKBA (The National Kitchen + Bath Association). About Huh’s appointment, Ellen Kravet, NYSID chairman of the board stated, “Young is a perfect addition to the NYSID board, as it is comprised of some of the best individuals working in the design profession today, all working strategically together to fulfill the college’s mission,” says Kravet. “In addition, Young’s vast experience will bring great inspiration to our students.”
CURRICULUM/ACADEMICS
NYSID Tests Out a Revamped Undergrad Curriculum
After three years of developing a new curriculum for the undergraduate programs, NYSID’s Office of Academic Affairs will begin testing it this fall (2023). NYSID’s Dean and VP for Academic Affairs Ellen Fisher, Associate Dean Daniel Harper, and Assistant Dean Todd Class updated and refined the curriculum. Now, embedded in every undergraduate class will be themes of 1) research-informed human centered design, 2) inclusivity and diversity, 3) technology, 4) sustainability, and 5) accessibility.
NY State Approves New MPS in Digital Practice Management
Samuel Mikhail
New York State has approved NYSID’s MPS in Digital Practice Management, which will be the first program of its kind in the nation. The College is now recruiting its inaugural class for this program that will begin in Fall 2024. The larger firms are currently hiring and promoting experts in Digital Practice Management; it’s become an area of opportunity. Digital technologies, tools, and software have changed the way the built environment is designed, documented, constructed, and operated post-construction. These technologies are driving the industry to use the most efficient techniques to coordinate between design and construction processes. NYSID will launch its a one-year Master of Professional Studies in Digital Practice Management (MPSDPM) under the auspices of program director Samuel Mikhail, AIA, LEED AP, managing director at 4iD—4 Ideal Design. The post-professional MPSDPM will prepare candidates to lead digital project management for design firms by strategically managing professional teams; developing and implementing best-practice workflows and software; and coordinating design, documentation, and construction planning at the highest level. For more information, reach out to program director Samuel Mikhail at samuel.mikhail@nysid.edu.
An Expansion of Pre-College
One of NYSID’s institutional priorities is to help make a career in interior design accessible to a broader and more diverse demographic—namely to high school students who are unfamiliar with the field, and do not see themselves in the design profession. The College has established a Pre-College Scholarship fund and an “Open Doors to Design’’ initiative to provide an introduction to interior design for high school students in underserved communities. Thanks to the generosity of our funders, the program expanded both geographically and numerically this summer. NYSID awarded 19 scholarships through partnerships with nonprofit community organizations, including Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club, YWCA-NY, Harlem Children’s Zone, and the ASID Florida South Chapter. For the first time, three ASIDFS scholarship students from
across Florida will join their peers from around the world in online Pre-College classes. NYSID’s Director of Pre-College, Francisco de Leon, has a vision to bring in-person sessions of Pre-College to Florida and California next summer (2024). He says, “If we want to broaden who knows about interior design and understands what it is, we need to plug into organizations that are helping students in underserved communities.” Major support for NYSID’s Pre-College fund has been provided by Brian McCarthy, Bunny Williams, Charlotte Moss, Cullman & Kravis, Decorator’s Club, Donghia Foundation, Jamie Drake, James Druckman/New York Design Center, John Rosselli & Associates, Kravet Inc., and Studio Designer.
The First Year of Study Abroad in Italy Was a Success
In Fall 2022, NYSID launched its first study abroad semester program. In partnership with SRISA, the Santa Reparata International School of Art, NYSID provided BFA students the chance to absorb the rich arts, culture, and history of Florence. The students were accompanied by NYSID instructor Warren Ashworth, who taught them NYSID courses in person in Italy, while the students took other courses with SIRSA and online with NYSID. Four students attended the Fall semester, and five attended the Spring semester. None of it would have been possible without the support of NYSID donors who helped provide travel grants (for additional expenses) to make the program accessible to students already struggling to afford tuition. Thanks to the generosity of NYSID’s supporters, Study Abroad in Italy is up and running and will be offered again in Fall 2023. Ashworth will once again be the faculty member on site at SRISA in Florence. To inquire about Study Abroad, reach out to Associate Dean Daniel Harper at daniel.harper@nysid.edu.
Two-Week Study Abroad Trips Resume & Sell Out
For the first time since the pandemic forced NYSID to make its travel study experiences virtual, the two-week study abroad trips resumed this past May/June with courses in Paris and Great Britain. “Paris and Environs: Modernism & Parisian Style” was taught by Thomas Mellins, author, curator, historian, and a faculty member who teaches Design Theory at NYSID. “Classical Contrast: Architecture, Interiors and Gardens of Great Britain,” a look at the gardens and interiors of Scotland and England, was led by architect David Burdette. Both trips filled rapidly.
STUDENTS
NYSID Students Shine at Housing Works’ Design on a Dime Showhouse
NYSID students joined the ranks of top interior designers from all over the country to design a vignette for the Housing Works Design on a Dime Showhouse, which opened to the public April 20-22, 2023, in NYC. The result was a gorgeous vignette that paid tribute to women designers of color throughout history. The home décor, furniture, art, and housewares in the “vignettes” were being sold to benefit Housing Works’ healthcare and housing for New Yorkers living with HIV and other chronic illnesses. NYSID alumna and faculty member Claudia Tejeda ’08 (AAS) supervised the team of student designers, which consisted of Ashley Abaunza (MFA1), Paulina Castillon Gomez (BFA), Isabella Hamilton (BFA), Kayla Lowry (MFA1), Nour Saedeldine (MFA1), and Melida Valera (MFA1). “We created a patchwork mural of bright colors pulled directly from a Peruvian Amarra textile, and through our selections, we wove together a tapestry of diverse styles,” said Abaunza on behalf of the team. “It has been such a fun experience and we are grateful to NYSID and Housing Works for allowing us to contribute to DOAD2023.”
Student Designs for Lavelle School for the Blind Will Be Built
NYSID’s unique MFA1 Service Learning Studio, led by faculty member Terry Kleinberg, gives students the opportunity to work on a real project for a real nonprofit client, and do tremendous good. The Summer 2022 project served Lavelle School for the Blind, a private, state-supported school in the Bronx for children who are blind or sight-impaired and have other significant disabilities. Twelve NYSID students divided into three groups and designed three spaces: a training apartment for students to learn how to cook, clean, make a bed, and do laundry; a sustainable garden and greenhouse where students will learn to grow vegetables and flowers; and a sensory garden with outdoor classrooms where students can enjoy all the non-visual aspects of nature. The complete team of MFA1 students from NYSID was Ashley Abaunza, Sherry Guo, Charles Li, Vivienne Liu, Louis Lu, Ranjetha Bomma Reddy, Albee Wang, Sara Watson, Wenfei Xu, Zeinab Youssef, Connie Zhang, and Alessandra Zucchi. The Lavelle School for the Blind just received full funding to build the training apartments, and the project is in early phases with the architect. The team at Lavelle is also aggressively pursuing funding to build the sensory garden and classrooms.
FACULTY & STAFF
Two of NYSID’s Newest Faculty Are Accomplished Artists
Aliyana Gewirtzman is an artist originally from upstate New York. She holds a BA in Studio Art from Pomona College and has ten years of experience in the New York art world. Her landscape paintings focus on the tension between the natural world and built environment. She teaches art foundation courses at NYSID, including Visual Concepts, Color for Interiors, and Drawing & Hand Rendering.
Chemin Hsiao has joined the faculty to teach Visual Concepts, Drawing in Situ: New York, and Drawing in Situ II. In 2021, his artist banners proposal “Dandelions Know” was selected as the winner for the Noguchi Museum to raise awareness to the anti-Asian violence surging during the pandemic. He was also a recipient of the New Work Grant & ArtSite Public Art Commissioning from Queens Council on the Arts. Since 2019, he has completed several commissioned murals for Queens communities, including Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, and Flushing.
Welcome Director of Marketing Communications and Engagement, Bay Brown
Bay Brown has joined the NYSID community as Director of Marketing Communications and Engagement. Brown has worked over 20 years in the communications field, with 11 of those years in higher education. As the senior editorial director in the Office of Communications at Pratt Institute, Bay oversaw the creation of a new brand identity across campus platforms, relaunched Pratt’s website, and was the chief strategist for Pratt’s content. Bay was also the head of external relations at Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, where she worked closely with campus leadership to develop a strategic communications plan for the new Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island. Bay worked as a senior editor for Architect magazine and a contributing journalist for The New York Times. She has an MA in Architectural History from the University of Virginia, as well as a BA in History from Barnard College. “I am excited to be in a role at an institution that allows me to marry my interest in both design and storytelling,” she says. “NYSID’s mission reflects my belief in the value of a rigorous education directed by established practitioners, a curriculum that prepares graduates to be tomorrow’s leading designers.”
Bay Brown
Rebecca Yu
Director of Counseling Services Rebecca Yu’s Door Is Open
Rebecca Yu recently became NYSID’s Director of Counseling Services. Yu, a licensed mental health counselor, has over 6 years of experience in individual/group counseling, crisis intervention, and clinical supervision. She started her career at Lafayette Medical Approach as a substance abuse counselor. Most recently, she worked at the Fortune Society as a director, where she was responsible for the operation and clinical management of the agency’s MAT (Medication Assisted Treatment) program to help treat substance abuse patients. Yu also has her own private practice. “One of my main priorities is to increase awareness of the services that the counseling center provides,” she says. “I want the students to know that they can come to counseling services for any kind of support, whether that’s related to school, work, or personal stressors.”
Meet International Student Services Specialist Karen Kalriess
Karen Kalriess has joined the NYSID community as International Student Services Specialist. With over 25 years in the higher education field, Kalriess’ career focus has been supporting international students to ensure they succeed in their studies. Prior to coming to NYSID, Kalriess worked at St. John’s University’s School of International Education where she served as assistant director of Inbound and Exchange Programs. “After many years of working in international education, I find that many administrators just cannot put themselves in the shoes of inbound international students,” she says. “Even motivated, mature students will find relocating to NYC and diving into American education intimidating. I’ve lived and worked abroad, and I can sympathize. NYSID offers strong support for the international enrollees, and I’m inspired by that.”
Karen Kalriess
Career Services Coordinator Karen Singh Wants to Launch the Brand of You
Karen Singh, NYSID’s new Career Services and Internship Coordinator, has an MFA in Interior Design from Pratt and over 26 years of experience in interior design and design journalism. She has worked as a design director for Janson Design Group and as a senior market editor for Interior Design magazine. When asked why she wanted to move into a role that’s all about helping designers find employment, she thought about her first design job as a materials librarian and designer at Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer where she worked on the old Windows of the World interior and the Rainbow Room. “I loved identifying an object or textile and solving the mystery of its place and its purpose. I loved organizing things within the pantheon of design. This is what I want to do with students!” Singh says she has two major goals for the career services department. “My goal for the students who are career changers is to help them merge the skills they have from their last careers with the education they have in design,” she says. About her second goal, Singh notes, “As we work together on portfolios, resumes, and cover letters, I want to get students to dig deep and become their own unique brand, so no two portfolios walk out of NYSID looking the same.” Need guidance on the brand of you? Reach out to Singh at karen.singh@nysid.edu.