Design Visionary to Address Design Community at Leaders Breakfast®
Now in its 37th year, the IIDA NY Leaders Breakfast® is an annual design series that brings over 800 people in our community together to celebrate the significance of design and honor an individual whose excellence has shaped our industry, environment, and the broader community.
The International Interior Design Association’s New York Chapter (IIDA NY) is set to welcome Ingrid Fetel Lee, designer, author, and founder of The Aesthetics of Joy, as the keynote speaker for its highly anticipated 37th annual Leaders Breakfast®, taking place Thursday, May 14, from 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers.
A globally recognized voice at the intersection of design and emotion, Fetel Lee will headline the event with an inspiring keynote exploring how design can spark personal transformation and elevate everyday experiences through joy. Drawing from her groundbreaking work, she will reveal how elements like color, form, and playfulness can reshape not just spaces but how we feel within them, unlocking creativity, connection, and well-being.
Fetel Lee founded The Aesthetics of Joy in 2009 to explore how our environments influence emotion and behavior. She is the author of Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness and a former design director at IDEO, where she led programs for brands including Target, Condé Nast, and American Express. Her TED talk, Where Joy Hides and How to Find It, has garnered more than 17 million views worldwide, cementing her as a leading voice in design’s emotional impact.
Now in its 37th year, IIDA NY’s Leaders Breakfast® series convenes more than 800 members of the New York design community, celebrating the impact of design, honoring industry leaders, and featuring remarks from IIDA NY’s President Elisabeth Mejia on the state of the interior design industry. Hosted in major cities across North America, the series has become a cornerstone event for professionals, students, and emerging designers alike.
“Leaders Breakfast® continues to be a highlight of each year, bringing together the design community for a morning of inspiration, connection, and celebration,” said Anne Drysdale, Co-Host of IIDA NY’s Leaders Breakfast® Committee. “We are especially excited to welcome Ingrid to our stage,” added Currie Gardner, Co-Host. “Her work exploring how design shapes our emotions and inspires joy perfectly embodies the spirit and values of our series.”
Leaders Breakfast® is hosted by seven local IIDA chapters with the support of IIDA Headquarters, international benefactor MillerKnoll, and media partner Interior Design magazine. The event will offer 1 IDCEC CEU unit for participants. Tickets can be purchased here.
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About IIDA NY
The IIDA New York Chapter (IIDA NY)—an inclusive community of creative and diverse professionals, industry partners and students—celebrates design, encourages collaboration, shares knowledge and advocates for the interior design community. This professional networking and educational association provides invaluable resources to more than 700 members in 10 specialty forums to enhance their expertise, knowledge and contacts. IIDA NY is proudly committed to design advocacy, sustainability, civic engagement, student mentorship and development, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. For more information, visit: http://www.iidany.org/.
