Pioneering Design®

2024 PIONEERING DESIGN®

Untold Parallels in Design: An Intimate conversation between Cheryl & Cindy

Wednesday, April 10th, 2024 5:30pm – 9:00pm

Pioneering Design presents two Icons in our industry together for the FIRST TIME! Join us as we take a peek at their parallels, differences and unique design insights for what’s next?!

An exceptional communicator, innovator, and visionary leader, Cheryl S. Durst has spurred progress, driven change, and encouraged the expansion of the interior design industry. As the Executive Vice President and CEO of the International Interior Design Association, Cheryl is committed to achieving broad recognition for the value of design and its significant role in society. With 15,000 members across 58 countries, Cheryl oversees the strategic direction of IIDA, setting an agenda that leads the industry in creating community, advancing advocacy and continuing decades of work toward equity. Cheryl is a member of the International WELL Building Institute Governance Council; as well as a Trustee for Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art and the NYSID.

She has been referred to by Interior Design magazine as “an ambassador for innovation and expansion, and a visionary strategist.” Cheryl was inducted into the prestigious Interior Design Hall of Fame in 2016 as the recipient of its firstever Leadership Award. She is the first African American woman to be inducted into the industry’s Hall of Fame.

A lifelong knowledge enthusiast and voracious reader who has considered librarian, astronaut and journalist as potential careers, Cheryl never walks away from meeting someone without gleaning a bit of their story — a talent she currently employs on her monthly podcast, The Skill Set, which focuses on the intangible skills that make us good at what we do.

Cindy Allen | Editor in Chief at Interior Design

Cindy Allen is widely lauded as one of the most influential advocates for the interior design profession. With almost two decades as editor-in-chief of Interior Design, she champions the industry, promoting both the giants of design and its rising stars. Allen brings an unbridled passion for design that manifests in 18 print issues each year, a digital platform reaching a global audience of more than 9 million, and a robust events platform. With her direction, Interior Design is constantly evolving to best celebrate designers and their process.

Allen has published 10 books on design, with the latest edition covering a decade of the industry’s best. An early adopter of alternate platforms to share Interior Design’s content, she has also made more than 90 short documentaries on industry icons including Kengo Kuma, David Rockwell, India Mahdavi, Isay Weinfeld, and Paola Navone. Allen is a recipient of the 2009 Alpha Award by The Alpha Workshops, the 2010 Circle of Excellence Award from IFDA, the 2014 Open House New York Honoree Award, the 2015 Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation’s Scroll Award, and the 2019 AIA Stephen A. Kliment Oculus Award. Allen has served as juror for the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards and the Gensler Design Excellence Awards, among others, and is a board member for The Alpha Workshops. She is also chairman of the national board of Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA), where she is committed to helping those in need and galvanizing the design community to push the boundaries of what is possible.