Hospitality Design has announced the honorees for HD Expo + Conference’s second annual Women in Design Awards. Presented during a breakfast session hosted in partnership with NEWH, the award celebrates five influential women who have helped shape the industry. The ticketed event will take place on Tuesday, April 30th at 8:30 a.m.
Congratulations to this year’s honorees:
Sarah Bonsall
Regional Director, the Americas, Architecture + Design, Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas
Beginning her career in hospitality design at the Four Seasons, Bonsall now works on growing the Six Senses portfolio in the Americas, including creating visioning documents for projects—spanning dense urban centers to remote island destinations—and spearheading the technical standards for the groundbreaking Six Senses Place concept. A trained architect, her 25-plus years of technical services experience covers projects from New York and London to Iceland and Bora Bora.
Gulla Jónsdóttir
Owner + Principal, Atelier Gulla Jónsdóttir
Across a span of 15 years, Iceland-born Gulla Jónsdóttir has held design roles at Richard Meier & Partners, Walt Disney Imagineering, and Dodd Mitchell Design before starting her own firm in 2009, helming projects including China’s Macau Roosevelt and the renovation of Hollywood’s Chinese Theater. Known for her sensual, dynamic designs that integrate with their surroundings, Jónsdóttir creates unique spatial experiences that exist at the intersection of organic beauty and function.
My Nguyen
Director of Interior Design, Holland America Line + Seabourn
Settling in Seattle as a Vietnamese refugee, Nguyen began her 22-year design career as an intern for Holland America Line followed by nearly nine years at NB Design Group. Now, Nguyen leads the interior design and interior asset management teams for Holland America Line and Seabourn fleets. With diversified design achievements in both land and sea hospitality, she is an active leader in the design community, serving as chair of the advisory board for Cruise Ship Interior Expo, advisory board member for the Sustainable Design Summit, and BrandEd ambassador for NEWH.
Staci Patton
Creative Director, Davidson Hospitality Group
Recognized by Boutique Design as Designer of the Year in 2021, Patton serves as the creative director of Davidson Hospitality Group, where she works on defining guest experiences through visionary strategies encompassing art direction, branding, and design. Prior to joining Davidson, she founded the DLR Group hospitality interior design studio as principal and hospitality director, leading to the creation of design concepts for new brands, including Spark by Hilton, Sonesta Select by Sonesta Hotels & Resorts, and apartment-style hotel brand Catbird.
Meridith Zimmerman
Vice President Design, RLJ Lodging Trust
As the vice president of design and construction of RLJ Lodging Trust, Zimmerman oversees annual capital project budgets, due diligence processes, renovation and conversion project execution, and contract compliance. In her 15 years with RLJ, she has effectively raised the firm’s reputation of quality lodging through strategies, technology, and the latest industry standards. Prior to RLJ, Zimmerman held roles in the architecture and construction division of Marriott International and the interior development department at the Library of Congress.
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