President’s Message
July 2010

by Jodie Leppa, IIDA, LEED AP,
IIDA Northland Chapter President

On my mind for some time has been the question, “What do you do?” as in “What do you do for a living?”  My father jokes that, whatever it is, I must not be very good at it because I work so many evenings and weekends.  Several of my neighbors have asked “What is it, EXACTLY, that you do?”  Some of them have asked the question more than once which implies either my explanation wasn’t very clear the first time or they were distracted by the kids playing hockey in the street.  At the June IIDA Chapter Leader’s Conference, held at IIDA Headquarters, this question was asked of a room full of people who do what I do.  The reaction?  Silence.  Sure, Webster’s has a definition. So does Wikipedia for those of you without a trusty, dusty hardcover on your desk.  And if you’ve visited the NCIDQ website lately you know that the definition is quite…well… thorough.  My intention is not to minimize the value of the official definition of Interior Design.  But what I really want to know is… What is your 8 second “elevator speech” when someone poses the question, “What do you do?”

Clearly, the silence in the room at CLC was an indication of how difficult it can be to sum up the interior design profession.  It may also be a product of the diverse nature of design and the myriad of avenues from which design is derived.  But if the people who practice this profession every day can’t succinctly define it, how can we expect the general public, our colleagues in other disciplines or our legislators to understand it?   

I had the opportunity to ask the same question of the 2010-2011 IIDA Northland Chapter Board recently.  I can tell you the room was not silent and I, for one, was thrilled.  Not only does this indicate to me we have yet another fantastic Board in place to serve our members but it also is an indication of the passion and diversity of our members who are represented by these individuals.  The extraordinary dialog that ensued from this one question spawned creative ideas, challenges, a list of evocative, descriptive words and many more questions. We agreed that this was not a futile exercise.  It is of great importance for our organization to represent a strong and consistent voice for our profession and in support of our members.  To that end, we have challenged ourselves with asking this question of others in an effort to keep the dialog going.  Ultimately, with your help, we will work to define in straight-forward, easy to understand terms what is a significant, diverse, complex and ever-evolving profession. 

As I step into the role of IIDA Northland Chapter President, I am humbled by our chapter’s successes and the deep and meaningful footprints left by my predecessors.  I am also keenly focused on the future of our profession and the chapter’s role in supporting our members now and for years to come.  The strength of our discipline is founded in our unique role in the creation of place.  Our collective confidence in the value we bring to the built environment is paramount to the continued growth of interior design as a viable, recognizable profession. 

I would be remiss if I did not publicly thank the 2009-2010 IIDA Northland Chapter Board for their dedication, ingenuity and collaborative spirit over the last year.  It is my hope that I and the 2010-2011 Board will honor your efforts by leaving behind our own deep and meaningful footprints.