Making a Difference: Samantha brings 17 years of design experience with a focus on human-centered environments. She collaborates deeply with teachers to co-create emotionally meaningful and functional learning spaces.

Career Highlights:

• Published in Essentials Magazine on educator engagement
• EDspaces 2023 speaker and Learning By Design award recipient
• Co-created an innovative Teacher Wellness Space addressing burnout

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Making a Difference: As Regional Manager of Education Partnerships at AmTab, Harrison collaborates with educators and decision-makers to design and implement flexible, student-centered learning environments that break away from institutional norms.

Career Highlights:

• Built strong, lasting industry and educational partnerships that enable tailored, effective solutions
• Played a key role in transforming classrooms into flexible, engaging spaces that foster collaboration and success
• Expanded AmTab's reach in the education market, supporting more schools and students

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Making a Difference: Katie focuses on empathy in design, ensuring learning environments are inclusive, wellness-oriented, and budget-conscious. She has worked with PK-12 and higher education clients and brings certifications in wellness and sustainability to her projects.

Career Highlights:

• Designing for and supporting her local community through FGM Architects
• Volunteering with Rebuilding Together and STL Women’s Safe House
• Mentoring staff and growing the interior design team at FGM’s St. Louis office

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Making a Difference: Carly is dedicated to transforming educational environments by creating furniture that empowers student autonomy and fosters thriving learning experiences. She understands the crucial role that well-designed furniture plays in shaping positive outcomes for students of all ages.

Career Highlights:

• Led the rapid development and launch of a middle and high school furniture line that significantly expand her company’s market reach
• Conducted impactful qualitative research with educators, students, and administrators to inform product design that truly supports diverse student needs
• Successfully directed a team of eight product developers through a collaborative process resulting in a timely and innovative product launch

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Making a Difference: As Director of Communications at Quaker Valley School District, Michelle drives transparency, engagement, and community collaboration. Through strategic storytelling, she highlights district achievements, advocates for innovation, and keeps stakeholders informed—reinforcing Quaker Valley’s leadership in education.

Career Highlights:

• Led strategic communication efforts for major initiatives including a new high school project and the Portrait of a Graduate, earning recognition from the state school public relations association PenSPRA
• Contributed to advancing understanding of innovative learning environments through presentations at EDspaces conferences and sharing the district’s journey toward a 21st-century high school
• Built strong community connections by launching a communications periodical for non-enrolled residents and coordinating events like the Quaker Valley roundtable with the Sewickley Valley YMCA

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Making a Difference: shley transforms early childhood classrooms into developmentally appropriate, inclusive spaces that support all areas of a child’s development. She leads efforts to embed research-based environmental design into instructional strategies

Career Highlights:

• Expanded early childhood programs and launched a mobile preschool bus
• Redesigned classroom environments to support whole-child development
• Advocated for access to high-quality early childhood education and intervention

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Making a Difference: Emily contributes to marketing efforts that highlight how thoughtfully designed spaces enhance student outcomes. As a recent student herself, she brings authentic insight into how the physical environment impacts focus, collaboration, and wellness.

Career Highlights:

• Trusted with leadership of major projects within months of starting
• Helped coordinate showroom installations and logistics for NeoCon Built strong cross-functional relationships through reliability and initiative

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Making a Difference: Abby brings a fresh and passionate perspective to educational interior design, focusing on creating environments that foster student success and growth. With a deep understanding of student needs from her own recent experiences, she advocates for spaces that enhance learning, performance, and creativity.

Career Highlights:

• Developed strong connections with district leaders, educators, and decision makers to collaboratively drive education projects
• Contributed to a variety of K–12 projects, including elementary, middle, and technical high schools
• Built close partnerships with product vendors and representatives to identify the best solutions for student-centered design challenges

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Making a Difference: Jim helps shift traditional classroom models toward more engaging, student-centered layouts. A graduate of the ECLPS program, he focuses on flexible furnishings that support modern pedagogy and diverse learners.

Career Highlights:

• Graduated from the inaugural ECLPS program cohort
• Developed strong industry relationships through collaboration and initiative
• Advanced meaningful change through impactful school design partnerships

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Making a Difference: Greg brings a deeply personal, values-driven approach to sales. His strategy integrates authenticity, trust, and accountability to guide education clients in impactful purchasing decisions.

Career Highlights:

• Created and implemented a values-based business plan at Smith System Grew personally and professionally in communication and resilience
• Overcame a layoff by quickly networking into a new position at Smith System

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Making a Difference: Candice integrates teaching and mentorship into her design practice, leading innovative education projects while developing the next generation of architects. She prioritizes collaborative engagement with school stakeholders to ensure user-centered outcomes.

Career Highlights:

• Chairs a K–12 architecture awareness initiative with Oklahoma City Public Schools and the University of Oklahoma
• Mentors interns and new graduates through NCARB and firm-led sessions
• Serves as lead designer and project manager for Capitol Hill High School and Oklahoma Aviation Academy

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Making a Difference: Michelle leads brand strategy, thought leadership, and sustainability advocacy at Smith System to shape innovative, student-centered learning environments. Through compelling storytelling and collaboration, she helps schools design flexible, engaging spaces that promote student success and well-being.

Career Highlights:

• Drives strategic marketing initiatives that elevate Smith System’s presence among educators, designers, and school decision-makers, strengthening its reputation as an innovator in ergonomic, flexible furniture
• Champions sustainability efforts, advancing eco-friendly materials and responsible manufacturing in school furniture, influencing the broader education industry
• Supports real-world classroom transformations by connecting research-backed marketing strategies with strong industry partnerships

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Making a Difference: With 15 years in education—including 11 as a teacher—Nicole combines research, advocacy, and practical experience to drive positive change in school design. She helps create flexible learning environments aligned with modern pedagogy and student wellbeing.

Career Highlights:

• Inspired a former student to become a summer intern on her company’s marketing team
• Earned a master’s degree in education while managing multiple leadership roles, including department chair and coach
• Led a school’s intentional, four-year classroom renovation plan focused on research-based design and wellbeing

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Making a Difference: Claire prioritizes understanding educators’ and learners’ needs by listening carefully and designing learning environments around those core functions. Her customer-focused approach drives purposeful, impactful design.

Career Highlights:

• Has grown in her passion for listening to educators who are shaping the future
• Designs inclusive learning environments that support neurodivergent students
• Inspired by seeing how her designs cultivate lifelong skills and care from students

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Making a Difference: Alyssa designs learning environments through a lens of neurodiversity and universal design. She merges research with design to prioritize belonging, wellness, and equity in educational spaces.

Career Highlights:

• Received a Rising Professional Award from Kansas State University
• Applied healthcare design strategies to behavioral health-informed school spaces
• Led a mass timber CTE high school project combining sustainability and specialization

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Making a Difference: Miranda leads a mission-driven marketing team that connects educators with tools to improve student outcomes. She drives thought leadership and equity-focused campaigns across education sectors.

Career Highlights:

• Evolved Lakeshore’s brand to become a trusted K–12 partner
• Pivoted campaigns during the pandemic to meet urgent educator needs
• Adopted a servant-leadership model to mentor and promote her team

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Making a Difference: Kathryn brings 7 years of experience designing sustainable, wellness-focused learning spaces. She champions recyclable, low-emission products to create healthier, more inclusive environments for students and educators.

Career Highlights:

• Helped Schmidt Associates earn WBE certification
• Reimagined Ossian Elementary with flexible, mobile classrooms that boosted collaboration
• Designed an inclusive Early Learning Center with natural light, calming zones, and barrier-free access

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Making a Difference: Petra channels her personal experience with dyslexia into work that champions inclusive, adaptable learning environments. She facilitates cross-sector collaboration to support equitable education facility planning.

Career Highlights:

• Co-founded a nonprofit startup focused on education policy and support
• Worked closely with stakeholders from legislators to superintendents
• Gained diverse experience in media, grant writing, and content development

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Making a Difference: Hannah leads evidence-based educational environment projects that transform learning spaces in subtle but profound ways. By focusing on developmental research and implementation, she helps create spaces where learners engage, move, and relate in new and meaningful ways.

Career Highlights:

• Built lasting bridges between school operations, specifying parties, distribution, and educational leadership to foster truly human-centered environments
• Advanced research-based design alignment that supports monumental outcomes in self-actualization, processing, and language development for K–12 learners
• Successfully leveraged over 12 years of classroom special education experience to inform and enrich her current work in education design

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Making a Difference: Will supports school districts by recommending flooring solutions that promote wellness, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness. His work has helped improve indoor air quality and reduce maintenance across various school projects.

Career Highlights:

• Named top-performing Account Executive in the Chicago office in 2024
• Founded and leads Tarkett’s sales internship program with the University of Dayton
• Led a full flooring transformation for Bellwood School District 88

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Making a Difference: Ann designs inclusive learning environments that serve students of all abilities and backgrounds. She fosters inter-firm and cross-sector collaboration to develop solutions rooted in shared knowledge and community voice.

Career Highlights:

• Co-authored Inclusive Design for Special Education best practices guide
• Set to earn ALEP designation from A4LE in 2025
• Co-led a district-wide engagement for gender-inclusive locker room design

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