Leaders Breakfast


September 9 2022

Event Recap

Leaders Breakfast

Four Seasons, San Francisco
Click on image to enlarge to read all 100 things

On September 9, 2022 our design community joined together in person again at the Four Seasons in San Francisco for breakfast. Former IIDA Northern California Chapter President, Donald Cremers was honored as a with the renowned Red Eames Stool presented by MillerKnoll. Our keynote speaker, New York Times best-selling author, game designer and futurist, Jane McGonigal, led us through some exercises in future tripping to instill a sense of urgent optimism. The legendary Cheryl Durst joined Jane on stage for a Q&A, diving into Jane’s story and how her futurist thinking can be utilized in the design industry.

In her keynote, Jane challenged us to think of 100 things that are (relatively) true about our industry today and how those things might be different in 10 years. Verda Alexander took that challenge to the airwaves (Zoom that is) and invited folks from our industry to a two-part series of virtual meetings where we brainstormed 100 things about Commercial Interior Design that are true today.

In part 2, we narrowed down a couple of things from the list of 100 to see how we could think like futurists and image how things might be in 10 years.

In the future we turn these things around

Being Misunderstood >>

  • We educate the public on our value 
  • We revamp HGTV
  • We promote design beyond just ‘a beautiful space’
  • We are called Interior Architects

Being Client Focused >>

  • We are stakeholder focused
  • We address environment
  • Stakeholders are at the table with a range of diverse voices 
  • We engage our communities
  • We consider our global impact

For more information on Leaders Breakfast, this year’s keynote address and bios for Jane and Donald, see the event page. If you are interested in being a part of the Leaders Breakfast planning committee for 2023, please reach out.


Event Photos

Full photo album