April 17, 2015

 Each year, the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) bestows the title of Fellow to individuals who demonstrate outstanding service and contributions to the Society, the profession, and the interior design industry. It is the highest distinction a member can receive from ASID.

“The 2015 ASID Fellows are recognized for their significant contributions toward improving the built environment and its effect on the human experience,” said Sonya Dufner, FASID, chair of the ASID Council of Fellows and principal and director of workplace strategy at Gensler. “The designers selected for this honor are trailblazers in our industry and, through their contributions to our profession and their dedication to design, they each have made a far-reaching impact on the quality of our lives.”

The 2015 ASID Fellows are: Edward Bottomley, ASID; Trudy Dujardin, ASID, LEED AP+D+C; Joan Kaufman, ASID; Jean Pinto, ASID, CID; and Patrick Schmidt, ASID, RID. They will be inducted on July 18, 2015, at Celebration: The ASID Awards Gala at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

Edward Bottomley
With a staff of 10, CAMA, Inc. is a small design firm. Yet it counts three past-presidents of the ASID Connecticut Chapter among staff members, and is responsible for countless hours of volunteer work on the chapter’s behalf. Craig Smith, a Connecticut designer and chapter member, credits Edward Bottomley, one of the firm’s partners, with creating a culture of volunteerism at the New Haven health care design firm.

Trudy  Dujardin
Trudy Dujardin has built a reputation for designing interiors defined by eco-elegance and sophisticated style. In addition to managing her firm, Dujardin Design Associates, with offices in Westport, Conn., and Nantucket, Mass., Dujardin frequently presents her seminar “Holistic House,” on building sustainable homes, and serves as an adjunct professor at Fairfield (Conn.) University. She recently published the book Comfort Zone: Creating the Eco-Elegant Interior.

Joan Kaufman
Joan Kaufman, principal of Interior Planning & Design, Inc., Naperville, Ill., approaches design projects as creating a total environment through lighting, color, space planning, texture, furniture and fabric. She brings numerous disciplines to her design, including feng shui, which links space design to how a person experiences the world. In addition to being a certified feng shui practitioner, Kaufman is LEED accredited. She earned bachelor’s degrees in interior design and art from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and studied art and architectural studies at the Loyola University Rome Center.

Jean Pinto
Jean Pinto’s interior design career has spanned more than a half century, beginning with her first post-college position establishing a design department for a retail furniture store. Although she has experienced decades of change in the interior design industry throughout her career, she has consistently been committed to advancing the profession through ASID.

Patrick Schmidt
Patrick Schmidt’s volunteer achievements and activities fill pages. In addition to holding various offices with the ASID Indiana Chapter over the past 20 years, he has served the organization on the national level and is currently a member of the ASID Board of Directors. He’s earned recognition and honors for his volunteer work as well, including four National Presidential Citation Awards. Outside of ASID, Schmidt has worked with a number of charitable organizations, including food pantries and for a Rotary Club program drilling water wells in Sierra Leone. He received a Distinguished Hoosier Award for volunteer service from former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels in 2006.