How can we effectively integrate community outreach and collaboration into our design process? Join the BSA Project Management Roundtable for a conversation on practical steps for incorporating community engagement into project planning, we will discuss setting up outreach, managing budgeting, workflow and design process. We will be joined from Lya Osborn and Leena Ismail who will share best practices from their work.

Panelists

Lya S. Osborn is a multidisciplinary designer, writer, literary translator, and the founder of a collaborative workshop in Seattle, WA. Lya also serves as the North America Regional Director for Unolai Lighting Design, where she has contributed to a broad range of award-winning international design projects over the past eight years. Lya received a double MFA in Lighting Design and Interior Design from Parsons The New School for Design, where her thesis work challenged industry incentives which have long defined a designer's role in society and proposed alternate modes of directing design resources to historically disadvantaged populations. Lya is a co-founder of LightJustice.org, an online forum offering resources that further social equity around lighting design. She is a member of the International Association of Lighting Designers, the Illuminating Engineering Society, and the International Dark Sky Association, and is Community Friendly Lighting Certified.

Leena Ismail
As Senior Project Manager at Studio Luz, Leena's passion for inclusion, diversity, and culture is deeply rooted in her upbringing as a first-generation Palestinian-American. Leena is most interested in design that has a social responsibility to the environment it’s built upon and enjoys solving complex details at a smaller scale.

Leena is a graduate of the University of Memphis and the Boston Architectural College. With over 18 years of experience, she has worked on research laboratories, K-12 schools, retail, residential, and higher-education projects. Prior to joining Studio Luz, Leena was at HMFH Architects where she worked on the swing spaces at Arlington High School and Josiah Quincy Upper School. Prior to that, she worked at HGA for 12 years working on laboratory design and academic projects for clients such as MIT, Boston College, Boston University, Pfizer, and Harvard. Since joining Studio Luz, Leena has been managing the multi-family housing projects and provides support for younger staff. In her free time, Leena likes to spend time with her family, travel, and make ceramics inspired by architecture at a local ceramic studio.