Board of Directors
Officers
Directors
Deborah Steinmetz, President
NCIDQ Certificate No. 001707
Debbie Steinmetz is the 2009 President of NCIDQ. She is the founder and principal of Steinmetz and Associates. Over the past 30 years, she has concentrated her business on tenant service needs of ongoing lease management. Her corporate projects have received design awards and national publication. She is licensed as an interior designer in Louisiana and Georgia. Steinmetz & Associates maintains offices in both New Orleans and Atlanta.
Debbie has served two two-year terms on the NCIDQ Board of Directors as well as on the International Board of IIDA and ASID. She has been active in ASID, IIDA and FIDER (now known as CIDA) over the years in both local and national capacities. In 2006, she served on NCIDQ's Continuing Education Committee and was the liaison to that committee in 2007.
Debbie's long-term support of licensing efforts has led to her active participation in legislative efforts in Louisiana as well as nationally. As president of the Louisiana Interior Design Coalition, she worked to educate designers, the public, state legislators and other professionals on the importance of interior design and the need for certifying those practicing professionals. She has been actively involved with Louisiana legislation since the law's enactment in 1983. She currently sits on the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Interior Designers and served as the Board's delegate to NCIDQ for many years.
Debbie received a bachelor of interior design degree from Louisiana State University.
Kimberly Marks, President-Elect
NCIDQ Certificate No. 007012
NCIDQ's President-Elect, Kimberly Marks, has been principal and owner of The Marks Design Group, Inc. a commercial interior design firm providing commercial interiors and architecture since 1985. As a stable force in San Antonio through both good and bad economies, her firm has designed major commercial interiors projects in the diversified areas of corporate, healthcare, education, government, commercial real estate, retail, hospitality, banking and law.
Kim is a nationally recognized speaker, having participated in panel discussions and speaking engagements across the United States, including ASID national conventions, regional NeoCon trade conferences, Baylor University, St. Mary's University and the University of the Incarnate Word. She has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Texas, San Antonio where she continues to mentor students. Kim has developed an expertise in building codes through her volunteer involvement in the development of the International Building Codes. This effort led her to deliver building code workshops that emphasize codes specific to the interior designer's role in the design team. She is also a past president of her state coalition, the Texas Association for Interior Design.
Kim has a passion for advancing the profession through improving the education of its constituents. She is the author of the NCIDQ continuing education monograph, Structures in Interior Design and previously served on the NCIDQ Board of Directors from 2006 through 2007. Prior to her service on the Board, Kim volunteered as a member and chair of the Model Language Task Force for a number of years and on the MEPS (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Structural) Exam Committee for Alabama's Sealed-Level Registration.
She attended Florida State University where she received her bachelor of science degree in interior design. She is a Registered Interior Designer in the state of Texas.
Sandra Friend, Past President
Certificate No. 004855
Sandy Friend is principal of Interior Planning + Design, a space planning and lighting design firm in Ashland, OR. She has served as an NCIDQ Director from 2004 to 2006 and as President-Elect in 2007. Pursuing a midlife career change from work as a bilingual interpreter, Sandy completed a degree program in interior and environmental design at Otis/Parsons College of Design in Los Angeles in 1984.
Prior to her election to the Board, Sandy served first on the NCIDQ task force charged with developing the model for the current Practicum examination and subsequently was both member and chair of the Practicum Development Committee. Sandy has also served on the Exam Validation and Nominating Committees and as the Board liaison to the Model Language, Exam and Policies & Procedures Committees. In 2001, NCIDQ honored Sandy's volunteer work for the Council with the Louis S. Tregre Award.
A strong advocate for state regulation of interior designers, Sandy served in the leadership of the California legislative coalition during the early '90s and worked in support of passage of the interior design law that provided for self-certification. As president of the Oregon Coalition for Professional Interior Design, Sandy and her team drafted and submitted title registration bills to the Oregon legislature in 1999, 2001 and 2003. Additionally, Sandy has facilitated strategic planning sessions to jump-start legislative coalitions in Arizona, Washington and Oregon, all of which are currently or have recently been in the legislative process.
An ASID Fellow, Sandy is a former chair of the National Legislative Coalition for Interior Design and a past member of ASID's Legislative Advisory Council and Education and Training Council. In addition to her degree from Otis/Parsons, Sandy holds a bachelor of arts in Spanish from Bucknell University.
Sandy's two overriding passions are advocating for state regulation of interior designers in Oregon and racing with the Ashland Rowing Club master's crew.
Patty Blaser
NCIDQ Certificate No. 005705
Patty Blaser is a full professor at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, NJ. She currently manages the Interior Design program at the College. From 1985 to 1998, she also ran her own business, Blaser Interior Design Group, Inc., focusing on commercial space planning and interior design.
For the past three years, Patty has served on NCIDQ committees and task forces focused on establishing educational standards. In 2005, she served on the Interior-Design-Related Coursework Task Force; in 2006 she served on the Education Committee; in 2007 she was a member of the Educational Equivalency Task Force. She is a member of the New Jersey Board of Architects Interior Design Examination and Evaluation Committee and was instrumental in getting legislation passed in New Jersey through her involvement in the New Jersey Coalition for Interior Design Legislation, serving as President in 2003-2004.
She attended Brookdale Community College before receiving a BA in art history and interior design from Kean University where she later received an MA in Studio Art Education.
James L. Brothers
Public Member
James L. Brothers is the public member for 2009. Brothers brings to the Board a vast knowledge of public protection and standards in areas of building codes. He has more than 23 years of experience working for the city of Decatur, AL. He is the Building Director for the city of Decatur, a position he has held for more than 19 years. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the International Code Council, where his experience in administering a building department and codes on a local level has reached national exposure.
Brothers attended the University of Alabama, where he also received his certification as Regional and Urban Planner. He currently serves on the State of Alabama Residential Energy Code Board and the U.S. Fire Administration's Public/Private Fire Safety Council, and has served on a number of committees and councils focusing on the interests of public safety in the building environment. Residing in Decatur, AL with his wife, Curtisa Brothers, he enjoys outdoor activities including golf and fishing, and studies foreign policy and international politics in his leisure time.
Kim Ciesynski
NCIDQ Certificate No. 013427
Kim Ciesynski is the owner and principal designer of Spaces Design & Planning in Reno, NV. The full-service design firm focuses on hospitality, healthcare and residential projects in the western United States. Kim has more than 17 years of design experience and is a Registered Interior Designer in Nevada and Oklahoma.
She previously served on the Nevada State Board of Architecture, Interior Design and Residential Design's Continuing Education Committee. She has served as a volunteer for NCIDQ as a member and chair of the Policies and Procedures Committee, as a member of the Continuing Education Task Force, as a member of the IDEP Policies Task Force and as an ambassador presenting the Your Journey to Professionalism Webinar. She has been active in her local chapter of ASID and is very involved in her community through design projects and other volunteer activities.
She received her bachelor of science in interior design from the University of Nevada Reno in 1991 and established her own design firm in 1996.
Mary Jane Grigsby
NCIDQ Certificate No. 007134
Mary Jane Grigsby is the founder of Adesso Design, Inc., a licensed interior design firm in Port Saint Lucie, FL. The firm provides commercial and residential interior design services throughout Florida and the Caribbean. She has been designing in South Florida since 1975.
She received her baccalaureate degree in Biology/Pre-Med from Duke University, followed by her master's degree in interior design at the University of North Carolina - Greensboro. She has been practicing for more than 34 years, both locally and abroad, which has led her to be acknowledged as one of the most sought-after designers in the region. Her local, state and national awards, along with magazine cover stories, attest to her ability to provide exceptional design solutions for varied projects and for outstanding contributions to the interior design profession and her community. In 2002, Mary Jane was appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush and then reappointed by Gov. Charlie Crist to serve on the Florida State Board of Architecture and Interior Design, which regulates the two professions.
Mary Jane served as Chair of the Board of Architecture and Interior Design in 2007. She has served on NCIDQ's Education Task Force and Model Language Task Force. In 2004-2005 she served as Chair of ASID's College of Fellows and has served on numerous ASID committees. She is presently on the local U.S. Green Building Council Board as Membership Chair.
Suzy Regitz
NCIDQ Certificate No. 007842
Suzy Regitz is President of Suzy's Interiors in West Chicago, Illinois. She has owned and operated her own business for 44 years. Her firm does residential and contract design, specializing in renovations, home offices and southwest design.
Suzy is a registered interior designer in Illinois and was a member of the Illinois Board of Interior Design Professionals from 2001 until early 2007. She served as the Board's delegate to NCIDQ in 2005 and 2006. In 2007, she served on the Council of Delegates/Board of Directors Task Force. Her past experience with NCIDQ includes service as an Examination juror, master juror and member of the Examination Validation Committee. She is a professional member of ASID and has served the Illinois chapter in a variety of roles including service on their Board of Directors and as their Treasurer.
She holds a BFA from the University of Denver and has taken additional courses at the University of Hawaii and the International Academy of Design in Chicago.
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