Design New England - July/August 2017

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2017

MENTORS

IN DESIGN

time I’ve ever seen,” says fellow NESAD pro-
fessor Mark Brus. “There’s a personal inter-
est she takes in her students that far exceeds
her professional obligations. Her example sets
the bar.”
It’s Clarke’s personal mission to push
students beyond the classroom, to encourage
them to network with professional organiza-
tions, and to identify the strengths they can
bring to the workforce. “She knew my passion
about lighting,” says former student Sherry
Abtahi, “and she recommended one of Bos-
ton’s best lighting designers to be my the-
sis adviser.” The designer ultimately offered
Abtahi a full-time job after graduation.

Now, thanks to Clarke’s recommendation, Abtahi is also an adjunct instructor at NESAD. “My goal is to support my students the way Karen has supported all her students,” Abtahi says. Like so many others, Abtahi has become one of those colleagues Clarke likes to help become their best professional selves. —larry lindner

the keepsake given to this year’s mentors was designed and crafted by Mark Brunke, a Boston-based woodworker who specializes in design/build projects as well as custom furniture and cabinetry for designers, architects, and their clients. He has benefited from mentors in his life and drew from those memories for inspiration for the design of the pieces. The base is made of ebonized ash, its solidity symbolizing the foundation the mentor can give the mentee to draw from. The orb of quilted maple represents the optimism and creativity that arises from these relationships.

SELECTING OUR MENTORS The Mentors in Design (MiDDIES) program began in 2011

with our desire to recognize the spirit of collaboration and support we witnessed throughout the design industry. We saw mentoring on many levels — boss to apprentice, teacher to student, peer to peer — and across all disciplines. Each year, Mentors in Design begins with a call for nominations. Then we ask a panel of judges to sort through them and select our honorees. It can be a daunting task with more than 50 nomination letters submitted for dozens of worthy candidates.

The call was taken most seriously this year by three industry professionals: Lucy Dearborn, owner of Lucía Lighting & Design in Lynn, Massachusetts; Karl Ivester, president of New England Shutter Mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and president of the Builders and Remodelers Association of Greater Boston; and Dee Elms, principal of Elms Interior Design in Boston. We thank them and everyone who nominated a mentor for their effort and look forward to MiDDIES 2018.