Gala 2024: The Second-Highest Grossing Fundraiser in NYSID’s History
Nate Berkus, Ann Pyne, Ellen Kravet, Erick Espinoza, Carissa Pintello, David Sprouls
On Tuesday, March 5, the New York School of Interior Design held its Gala 2024 in a private club in New York City, securing more than $667,000 for the College’s scholarship funds. The event was the second-highest grossing gala in NYSID’s history, surpassed only by Gala 2022 (when the interior design community rallied to help NYSID students after two years of pandemic hardship). This year, NYSID honored Erick Espinoza ’13 (BFA) with the Rising Star Award; Ann Pyne with the Albert Hadley Lifetime Achievement Award upon the 100th anniversary of McMillen, Inc.; and Nate Berkus with the Larry Kravet Design Industry Leadership Award.
“Perhaps one of the reasons we’ve been so successful this year is the respect our three honorees command in this industry,” said NYSID President David Sprouls. “At NYSID, we have a core commitment to educating the most diverse student body possible in an academically rigorous environment of belonging. Our progress on this front is directly connected to the support this community provides.”
Three hundred twenty-four people attended Gala 2024. At a lively cocktail reception under high, coffered ceilings, old friends embraced, and new connections were forged. Jeremiah Brent, the interior designer and TV star (who will be one of the “Fab Five” in the next season of Netflix’s “Queer Eye”), came to the gala to see his husband Nate Berkus receive this accolade. He said “We have a rule in our house to leave the world more beautiful than it was the day before. I get to witness all Nate does to contribute to the world every day. I am so pleased to see him get this recognition.”
NYSID Trustee Alexa Hampton was the award ceremony’s emcee. Talking about why she’s been an active member of NYSID’s board for 12 years, she said, “I care about the future of design. Institutions like NYSID have elevated the seriousness of our profession. . .That’s why I put my money where my mouth is and hire NYSID-educated designers whenever I get the chance.”
Alexa Hampton, Zach Gibbs, Ellen Kravet, Erick Espinoza, David Sprouls
NYSID alum Erick Espinoza ’13 (BFA) won the Rising Star Award, intended for a designer who has hit their stride in the profession, a person who demonstrates great promise and vision. Espinoza became Creative Director of Anthony Baratta Inc. at the age of 24. Years before that, he was the recipient of NYSID’s Albert Hadley Scholarship, which provided him with a full ride to the College. Zach Gibbs, CEO of The Shade Store, the company that has sponsored the Rising Star Award since its creation in 2019, introduced Espinoza.
“This scholarship, in the most meaningful way, meant EVERYTHING to me. I wouldn’t be here without it,” said Erick Espinoza in his acceptance speech. “I feel tremendous gratitude, and a sense of pride that I am living up to the incredible honor that was given to me with the Albert Hadley Scholarship so many years ago.”
David Netto, Alexa Hampton, Ann Pyne, David Sprouls, Ellen Kravet
NYSID awarded Ann Pyne, President of McMillen Inc., with the Albert Hadley Lifetime Achievement Award, intended for individuals who have made contributions of outstanding artistic significance to interior design. This honor was particularly significant because it marks the 100th anniversary of McMillen Inc., the oldest interior design firm in the country. Interior designer, design journalist, and author David Netto introduced Pyne.
Pyne started her professional life as a schoolteacher and writer, so her acceptance speech was modeled on a MariAnn Moore poem called What Are Years?. She thanked everyone at McMillen, and then shared a meditation on what it means for a firm to survive and design for a century, including the insight that, “For us. . . .100 years means we have decorated for clients who grew up without electricity or an automobile.” Pyne observed, “Decorating is the most ephemeral art form imaginable. To decorate is to disappear yourself. . . .Students of NYSID. . . what we have chosen to engage in is to be reminded, every day, that what we make won’t last, yet it is to experience what it means to be human and alive.”
Wendy Goodman, Nate Berkus, Alexa Hampton, Ellen Kravet, David Sprouls
TV personality and interior designer Nate Berkus received the Larry Kravet Design Industry Leadership Award, intended for an individual who has helped advance the field of interior design and who is a leader in the industry. He was introduced by his friend Wendy Goodman, longtime Design Editor of New York and Curbed. Berkus said, “As parents, we really want one thing, and that is when we send our kids out into the universe, we want to know there are people who will care about them and shepard them along the way. Every experience I have had at NYSID. . . how it’s part of the New York design community, how the teachers stand up and make personal connections with their students and introduce them to people like me and those of you in this room, has shown me this is a place that gives kids a chance–more than a chance–to succeed. So thank you very much for supporting NYSID tonight.”
For the second year, NYSID’s Alumni Council banded together to raise funds for the Alumni Scholarship Fund, and to award a scholarship at the gala. This year, the Alumni Council set an initial fundraising goal of $10,000, and it exceeded that annual goal, raising more than $18,000. Said NYSID Alumni Council President Marie Aiello, “We’ve not only created an annual tradition of giving an outstanding student a scholarship, we’ve also put away a grand total of $38,000 for the fund over two years, a significant step toward endowing the Alumni Council Scholarship.”
Alexa Hampton, Ellen Kravet, Carissa Pintello, David Sprouls, Marie Aiello
This year’s Alumni Council Scholarship recipient was Carissa Pintello, a second-year MFA1 student and former public school teacher who has received scholarship support every year since she started at NYSID. Pintello was inspired to pursue a first career as an ESL teacher for at-risk youth because her mother is an immigrant from a rural village in Korea. While she worked full time as a teacher, Pintello decorated her first home entirely with vintage finds and started a side-business in antiques, discovering along the way that interior design is her passion. “Without this scholarship and the others, there’s no way I would be able to attend NYSID,” Pintello said. “NYSID has surpassed my dreams. I have been mentored, challenged and supported at every single stage. . .When you grow up with less, it’s easy to feel that there is no space for you in a career like interior design. At NYSID, every teacher and mentor has made me feel that I belong, and that there is no ceiling on what I can accomplish.”
Said Ellen Kravet, the Chair of NYSID’s Board of Trustees, “I’d especially like to acknowledge this year’s gala co-chairs. Chesie Breen, Ingrid Edelman, Alexa Hampton, Young Huh, David Kleinberg, and Betsey Ruprecht, thank you for making this evening a success!”
President Sprouls said to the attendees, “Thank you. . . You enable us to shape the future of interior design.”
NYSID’s Scholarship Funds include a Pre-College Fund, a Study Abroad Fund, a Diversity Scholarship Fund, a General Scholarship Fund, the Alumni Scholarship Fund, and more. For information on the ways to give and a link to online giving, click here or reach out to giving@NYSID.edu.