Now in its 37th year the IIDA NY Leaders Breakfast is an annual design series that brings over 800 people in our community together to celebrate the significance of design and honor an individual whose excellence has forged a profound impact on our industry, environment and the broader community. The event also features a renowned guest speaker with a program that engages, enlightens and inspires.

Leadership Award of Excellence Honoree (To be announced live at the event)

Keynote Speaker

Ingrid Fetell Lee
Designer, Author of "Joyful" and Founder of The Aesthetics of Joy

Ingrid Fetell Lee is a designer and author whose groundbreaking work reveals the hidden influence of our surroundings on our emotions and wellbeing. As a former design director at IDEO, author of Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness, and the founder of The Aesthetics of Joy, she empowers people to find more joy in life and work through design. Her immensely popular TED talk “Where Joy Hides and How to Find it” has been viewed more than 17 million times.

Lee has over fifteen years of experience in design and branding, she was a founding faculty member in the Products of Design program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Her design work has been exhibited at imm Cologne, Germany. Lee holds a Master’s in Industrial Design from Pratt Institute and a Bachelor’s in English and Creative Writing from Princeton University. She loves pancakes, polka dots, and rainbow sprinkles, and has an extensive repertoire of happy dances for any occasion.