Christin Weaver initiated her involvement in the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) New York Chapter by showing up and stacking chairs. “I was interested in the Pioneering Design [speaker] series, so I was constantly campaigning for a ticket. I stuck around till the bitter end every night,” Weaver recalled. “I found it such a fascinating group! So I ended up putting away chairs with the committee for about three years before then–co-chair Jessica Goadec tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘Christin, just join the group so you can attend any time,’” she laughed.
Over the next few years, Weaver became heavily involved with volunteer coordination and additional committee roles, and eventually became vice president of IIDA NY Member Services. This past July, Weaver was inaugurated as chapter president for the 2024–2025 term. i+s caught up with her to learn more about the chapter’s role as well as her vision for supporting design professionals and growing engagement throughout the greater New York area.
i+s: Tell us a little about the overall directive for IIDA NY. Did I read correctly that you are about 800 members strong for the NY chapter alone? How do you get active participation?
Christin Weaver: Yes, we’ve got 800 members. Our chapter includes New York City and the four city centers — Albany, Buffalo, Syracuse, and Rochester. [IIDA] is a volunteer organization, so I want to make sure it’s enjoyable for people. I want everyone to be passionate about what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. A lot of that has come with my time on member services. We established processes to make sure that we weren’t just pairing someone because they said they really wanted to be on one committee, and then later they realized how much work that committee was.
People have been grateful to be given a solid footing for what to expect and connect with the event and committee co-chairs. We’ve reduced our turnover and are bringing in more members. We want to make sure this organization is one of joy, especially considering that next year is our 30th anniversary.
i+s: How does the chapter mentor new members and help those new to the profession?
Weaver: There’s a hard truth about coming out of college and design school: The first two years that you’re working are an intensive, because there isn’t a lot of conversation about how to interact with consultants, or how to work with reps and design specialists, while you’re in school. As a young designer, you’re figuring out how to communicate and who to ask the right questions. At the same time, you’ve just finished school, probably with some student debt; you’re trying to find work and trying to hit the ground running.
So we reach out across the student and professional level to let them know they have support. We’re proud to create safe spaces for in-depth discussions with emerging designers, where they have the freedom to ask anything. Those questions are the key to how you move forward in the industry.
We lead WELL and NCIDQ study groups, and we also have LMNOP [Leadership, Mentoring & Networking Opportunities], which helps to address some emerging topics for young professionals. For example, they just talked about social media and branding at an event this past year. It’s an exciting time for professional development.
For me, personally, offline conversations are such an important mentorship opportunity. With interns, for instance, I try to make sure those are tailored to the individual. You have to know who you’re talking to and how they like to receive information. Some may be quiet and prefer not to open up in a group setting. With one intern I had a lot of Starbucks conversations! And some are ready to jump into conversations at their desk, out in the open. I love working with such a diverse field of new people all the time.
I’ve had excellent mentors every step along the way, some of whom pushed me outside my comfort zone and it was positive for me. I’m proud that we have so many members who want to be that mentor, too.
i+s: Could you share some plans or goals for IIDA NY for the next year, as well as your own?
Weaver: Personally, I feel like everyone’s been saying this for years, but this is the first year where I’ve seen that a full program is back [post-COVID]. As an industry, we are in flat-out run mode. I work for Ted Moudis Associates, and we just moved to an incredible new office. People are in four days a week; we have a multitude of seating arrangements and we can just play again. It’s refreshing to have that dynamic energy around you.
But we still have areas where you can pull back and reset when you need concentration instead of interaction. We’ve all had a reset, and with those new priorities that have come out of COVID, people aren’t willing to not be heard anymore. It pushes us to take a more mindful and appreciative approach for all different perspectives, work styles, and strengths.
That translates to the association work as well. IIDA NY has able to expand our interactions with other organizations within New York, like New York by Design; we did an event with them last year. We’re seeking out opportunities for more collaborative events with other organizations this year.
Student development has been crushing it the last three years; and that is strictly up to Robin [Reigi] and Elizabeth [Mejia], our amazing VPs. Elizabeth is our president-elect for next year. Now the focus is getting professional development the same attention that student development has had. We’re working on a transition point for everyone who is participating in student development, so they’ll have a full transition plan for the first 5 to 7 years of their career in professional development. Once we get past about 5 to 7 years, then we’ve got leaders. And once we’ve got leaders, then we’ve got populations for all the other committees to start to work with and see where this grows.
The conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity. An abridged version of this interview is featured in the November/December 2024 issue of i+s.
