Adam Sandow and Kia Weatherspoon to Speak At New York School Of Interior Design 2021 Virtual Commencement Ceremony
Sandow and Weatherspoon to receive Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts in Interior Design Degrees at ceremony; Will give keynote speeches to class of 2021
New York, New York – April 16, 2021 – The New York School of Interior Design will celebrate more than 120 graduating students in a virtual tribute at 10:30 AM on Thursday, May 27 2021. The College’s second video-based Virtual Commencement Ceremony will recognize and celebrate the hard work of the College’s talented graduates who are finishing their education in incredibly challenging times.
Media industry leader Adam Sandow and Washington, DC-based interior designer Kia Weatherspoon will address the Class of 2021, and will be conferred with Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts in Interior Design degrees. Each year, nominees for the honorary doctorate degree are selected from a distinguished pool, and each have demonstrated leadership in the interior design industry and values that are consistent with the goals of the College’s mission and higher education.
Our graduating students who have worked so hard during their time at the college, never more so than during this past year,” said David Sprouls, NYSID president. “This is the second Commencement exercise that we’ve hosted virtually, and it grows from a tradition of many, many in-person ceremonies. We're extremely proud of our graduating students who proved themselves to be unstoppable in their drive to learn and consistently deliver exceptional design work, and to have Adam Sandow and Kia Weatherspoon impart their unique wisdom to the class of 2021.”
For more information, contact commencement@nysid.edu.
About Adam Sandow
As Founder of SANDOW, Adam Sandow has created what is today one of the largest design media companies in the world. Starting in 2003 with a single office and no employees, Adam built a privately-held, industry-leading portfolio of media and technology companies, all driven by a focus on innovation and execution. Through a series of organic start-ups and strategic acquisitions, Sandow has always approached media as not only a strong category of business, but more importantly as a platform to launch or acquire tools and services that serve the design industry.
Sandow has been a driven entrepreneur from his earliest days, launching his first business in high school and scaling it as he entered the University of Miami. That early graphic design company gave him the foundation to build his first consumer magazine business in the 1990’s, well known for the brands Honeymoon and Adventure Journal.
Expertise gained from building Honeymoon, the best-selling travel magazine on newsstands at the time, led Adam to The XO Group, a woman’s lifestyle-focused digital company. He joined the company with the sole mission of scaling the business to go public. Adam was instrumental in driving rapid change in the organization and scaling revenue to meet the demands of its 1999 IPO. After the success of The XO Group and its public offering, Adam went back to his entrepreneurial roots to found his namesake company, SANDOW.
SANDOW’s 400+ employees produce over 150 different publications a year, host 350+ design events annually and has over 13 million social media followers across its diverse portfolio of holdings include Material Technologies Corporation, comprised of global consultancy, Material ConneXion, and revolutionary sampling and logistics platform, Material Bank; as well as The SANDOW Design Group, a powerful ecosystem of design media and services brands, including Luxe Interiors + Design, Interior Design, Metropolis, DesignTV by SANDOW, research and strategy firm, ThinkLab, and digital and creative consultancy, The Agency by SANDOW. SANDOW Design Group is the official operator of NYCxDESIGN, a non-profit committed to powering the growth and continued success of New York’s design community, per an agreement with the New York City Economic Development Corporation. Other SANDOW brands include definitive authority on all things beauty, NewBeauty; luxury sampling platform, Test Tube by NewBeauty; Leaders Magazine; and exclusive private airport newsstand network, MediaJet.
Today, Adam focuses on leveraging his extensive portfolio of businesses to build disruptive platforms where his media foundation gives him an unfair advantage.
About Kia Weatherspoon
As the design voice of impact and change, Kia Weatherspoon, NCIDQ, ASID, has spent the last 15 years defying every design stereotype. The most damaging: interior design is a luxury reserved for a few. Her voice, advocacy for Design Equity™, and design practice have shifted the narrative, making interior design a standard for all. Weatherspoon is challenging the lack of these standards in economically challenged communities. Her presence and leadership have created ripples, prompting housing developers, agencies, and industry partners to not just take notice of her work – but to do better.
As an advocate and educator in business leadership, equity, and diversity, Weatherspoon has been recognized by Interior Design Magazine as a HiP Design for the Greater Good – Small Firm and selected as a GlobeSt.com Real Estate Forum 2020 Woman of Influence. She was honored as part of the 40 under 40 classes for both Washington Business Journal and BD+C Magazine. She also received the International Interior Design Association Luna Textile/ Anna Hernandez Visionary Award and the CREW DC Raise Up Your Voice Award.
For over a decade Weatherspoon has led her firm, Determined by Design, in creating elevated equitable design outcomes for over 3,500 hundred families, 25 communities, and designed over 165,000 square feet of interior spaces for affordable and low-income housing. Communities where the average median income was below $35,000/year per family. Communities that mirrored her, with 95% of the residents being black and/or of color. Weatherspoon believes Interior Design should be in service to all people, so every person and community is uplifted by the spaces they inhabit. No matter the project type, her focus is elevating communities — a path that requires advocacy and empathy.
Weatherspoon’s advocacy is challenging and changing the basis that exists within national and local housing policies. She is addressing head-on the discriminatory practices and language used by real estate developers. She is forcing transparency in predatory mark-ups from general contractors/subcontractors — that diminish design outcomes. And she is educating architectural counterparts on the necessity of empathic design solutions rooted in a community and historical design concepts, not trends or styles.
Weatherspoon is steadfast in not allowing dignity to be the benchmark for design excellence in communities of color. Determined by Design’s work, legacy and team are the embodiment of humanity as they are direct reflections of the communities they serve and the future of the industry.
Weatherspoon believes in service-based leadership, and her commitment is demonstrated beyond the work of Determined by Design. She is an Adjunct Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and a sought-after speaker and leader working with design students, industry professionals, corporations and organizations across the country. She serves on various boards and advisory councils: Moore College of Art & Design, the Council for Interior Design Qualification (CIDQ), Madame Architect, Van Alen Institute and The Boutique Lifestyle Leaders Association (BLLA). She is the newly appointed Chief Development Officer for the Black Interior Designers Network (BIDN).
Kia is adamant change is possible when difficult conversations happen. She has them every day as a female leader of color, speaker, educator and mentor, who exemplifies what’s possible for those who are determined by design.
About New York School of Interior Design
New York School of Interior Design is a private, nonprofit college focused exclusively on interior design. The college offers certificate, undergraduate, and graduate programs for students at all stages of their careers—whether they’re just becoming familiar with the discipline, considering a career change, or looking to deepen knowledge in a particular area. Consistently ranked one of the top interior design programs in the United States, students study both residential and commercial interior design, some with specialties in sustainable design, lighting, and healthcare interiors. NYSID students enjoy a small class size and sharp focus, a great deal of personal attention from dedicated faculty, and they go on to practice at the highest levels of the profession. To learn more, visit NYSID.edu.
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