UNEARTHED // Belonging through Design
Discover how design can promote belonging in the built environment, focusing on accessibility, identity, and inclusion for all.
How do we create belonging for othered people in the built environment? Accessibility, safety, and embracing identity are key factors to creating belonging. When these concepts overlay with hot topics such as neurodiversity, creating space for people outside the gender binary, and design for the disabled, we’ve found ourselves at an interesting place in the history of the built environment. And it is clear more than ever that people seek out belonging in the spaces they inhabit. As designers what additional ideas and concepts can we explore to better enhance the sense of belonging in the spaces we create? Please join us for this important conversation while we look at space development from a different lens.
Questions:
Please contact edi@iidanc.org
Date
Wednesday, September 20 2023
Time
5:00-7:00 pm
Location
Haworth SF Showroom
220 Bush Street, Suite 975
San Francisco, CA 94104
Organizer
UNEARTHED is an EDI focused conversation series to inspire conversation and provoke thought around important topics that touch and influence our profession and our connected industries.
After each conversation revolving around a dynamic topic, attendees will leave with a series of actionable items and tangible points they can take back to their firms, friends, and community to help continue the conversation.
Moderator
Roderick Allen
VP of EDI
Panelists
Gayle Roberts
Chief Development Officer
Larkin Street Youth Services
From organizing a backyard carnival at age six to now leading regional fundraising efforts that have garnered over $200M, Gayle Roberts has been a force in nonprofit leadership now for over 35 years. As the Chief Development Officer at Larkin Street Youth Services, she’s pivotal in the mission to end youth homelessness in San Francisco. An active board leader in the Association of Fundraising Association’s diversity initiatives and a proud trans individual, Gayle embodies the essence of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Today, she’s here to share insights from her transformative journey. Join us in learning from her unparalleled experience.
Leah Bauer
Project Director for Sciences
Gensler
Leah Bauer, ASID, IIDA, IFMA, NCIDQ, Project Director for Sciences at Gensler, is a global interior architectural design leader who has played an integral role in a wide variety of commercial projects including corporate, research and lab planning, workplace strategy, hospitality and healthcare. Leah excels at connecting great design with a client’s vision and budget to deliver world-class solutions.
Chris Diming
Anthropologist & Design Researcher
Chris Diming is an applied anthropologist and design researcher with a people-centric outlook and expertise in the urban built environment. Originally from Richmond, Virginia, he obtained a BA on Political Science from Christopher Newport University in 2011. In 2012, Chris moved to Durham University in the United Kingdom, where he completed an MSc in Defense, Development, and Diplomacy. In 2017 and also at Durham, Chris completed a PhD in Anthropology, which focused on public space and culture in Pristina, Kosovo. Following his studies, he moved to Budapest, Hungary, where he lived while working for a proptech start-up. Chris returned to Virginia in early 2020 and freelanced in design research until joining Hines to support Meta’s workplace design and research team in June 2021. Chris joined CBRE’s workplace consulting practice in January 2023, where he continues to support the Meta team.