Featured Jury
Architecture & Design
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Deborah Berke Deborah Berke & Partners
BiographyDeborah Berke
Deborah Berke & Partners
Deborah Berke is an American architect and academic. She is the founder of Deborah Berke & Partners, a New York City-based design firm. In July 2016, she became the dean of the Yale School of Architecture, making her the first woman to head the university's School of Architecture. In 2013, Berke received the Berkeley Rupp Award for her contributions to the advancement of women in the design profession. She is particularly known for her hospitality and institutional projects including: Bard College Conservatory of Music, the New School of Performing Arts, Lewis International Law Center at Harvard Law School, the Yale University School of Art, and the 21c Hotels.
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Eran Chen Founding Principal, ODA
BiographyEran Chen
Founding Principal, ODA
Eran Chen is the founding principal of ODA. Since establishing the office in 2007, he has become one of the most prolific and influential architects in New York. Amongst others, his work has been recognized by the American Institute of Architects and the Society of American Registered Architects. Chen is a frequent speaker at design and development forums around the world, as well as architecture schools including Columbia University, Clemson University, Syracuse University, Carnegie Mellon School of Architecture, and The Technion Israel Institute of Technology.
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Jeanne Gang Founding Principal, Studio Gang Architects
BiographyJeanne Gang
Founding Principal, Studio Gang Architects
Jeanne Gang is an American architect and MacArthur Fellow. She leads Studio Gang Architects, an architecture and urban design firm based in Chicago and New York. Studio Gang was awarded the 2013 National Design Award from the Cooper Hewitt and Gang was named the 2016 Woman Architect of the Year by the Architectural Review. Gang’s numerous other honors include the Louis I. Kahn Memorial Award, election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and International Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Her projects in include the Gilder Center at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, a new campus for the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, and a US Embassy in Brasilia, Brazil.
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Mónica Ponce de León Dean, Princeton University School of Architecture
BiographyMónica Ponce de León
Dean, Princeton University School of Architecture
Mónica Ponce de León is a Venezuelan American architect, educator and Dean of the Princeton University School of Architecture. A Cooper Hewitt National Design Award winner, Ponce de León is widely recognized as a pioneer in the application of robotic technology to architectural design and education. Ponce de León previously served as Dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan and as a Professor of at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Ponce de León has received numerous accolades including the Emerging Voices Award from the Architectural League of New York, a fellowship in the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and co-curator of the American Pavilion at the 2016 Venice Biennale.
Arts & Culture
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Jane Chu Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts
BiographyJane Chu
Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts
Jane Chu is the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Chu holds a master's degree in business administration from Rockhurst University and a PhD in philanthropic studies from Indiana University. Prior to joining the NEA, Chu was the president and CEO of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri, overseeing a $413-million campaign to build the center. In addition to awarding more than $240 million in grants during her tenure to-date, Chu has issued new research reports on arts participation and the impact of the arts and cultural industries on the nation's gross domestic product; has made hundreds of trips to communities across the nation to see first-hand how the arts are impacting people and places; and launched the Tell Us Your Story project that demonstrates the importance of the arts in our lives.
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Olafur Eliasson Artist
BiographyOlafur Eliasson
Artist
Olafur Eliasson is an Icelandic-Danish artist known for sculptures and large-scale installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer’s experience. In 1995, he established Studio Olafur Eliasson in Berlin, a laboratory for spatial research. Olafur represented Denmark at the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003, and later that year opened The Weather Project, a major installation at the Tate Modern in London. His work includes numerous projects in the public realm, including the Serpentine Pavilion 2007 in London and the New York City Waterfalls, commissioned by Public Art Fund in 2008, as well as works for Denmark’s Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, SFMoMA in San Francisco, and the Harpa Reykjavik Concert Hall, in Iceland.
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Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy Academy Award Winning Documentarian
BiographySharmeen Obaid Chinoy
Academy Award Winning Documentarian
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy is a two time Academy Award and an Emmy Award winning documentary filmmaker. In the past 15 years, she has made over a dozen multi-award winning films in over 10 countries around the world. Her films include A Girl in the River, Song of Lahore, Peacekeepers: A Journey of a Thousand Miles and Saving Face. In 2012, Time Magazine included Sharmeen in their annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2013, the Canadian government awarded her a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her work in the field of documentary films and the World Economic Forum honored her with a Crystal Award at their annual summit in Davos.
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John Varvatos Founder, John Varvatos
BiographyJohn Varvatos
Founder, John Varvatos
John Varvatos is a contemporary menswear designer and the founder of John Varvatos. He has received numerous awards for his work in fashion, including the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Perry Ellis Award for Menswear in 2000 and their Design of the Year Award in 2001. He also received the CFDA’s 2005 Menswear Design of the Year and was named GQ’s Designer of the Year in 2007.
Media & Technology
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Piera Gelardi Creative Director and Founding Partner, Refinery 29
BiographyPiera Gelardi
Creative Director and Founding Partner, Refinery 29
Piera Gelardi is Executive Creative Director and founding partner of the award-winning lifestyle digital media company, Refinery29. She leads a growing team of creatives who bring the brand to life online and IRL through original content, branded campaigns, video, and events. She and her team have won numerous awards and honors including CLIO Image, American Illustration, Webby's, Digiday Publishing, and a spot on the Inc 500 list of most innovative companies. In 2014, Piera co-authored Refinery29's first book, the New York Times best seller, Style Stalking. Piera was also a jury member for the 2015 CLIO Image Awards and holds a seat on the AIGA/NY Board of Directors.
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Joe Gebbia Co-Founder, Airbnb
BiographyJoe Gebbia
Co-Founder, Airbnb
Joe Gebbia is the co-founder and CPO of Airbnb, serving on the Board of Directors and Executive staff. An entrepreneur from an early age, Airbnb's groundbreaking service began in his San Francisco apartment and spread to 2,000,000 listings in over 191 countries, creating a new economy for thousands of people around the world. He is involved in crafting the company culture, shaping the design aesthetic, and innovating future growth opportunities. Joe has spoken globally about both entrepreneurship and design, and received numerous distinctions such as the Inc 30 under 30 and Fortune 40 under 40. His lifelong appreciation for art and design led him to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he earned dual degrees in Graphic Design and Industrial Design. Gebbia now serves on the institution's Board of Trustees.
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Robin Chase Co-Founder, Zipcar
BiographyRobin Chase
Co-Founder, Zipcar
Robin Chase is a transportation entrepreneur. She is co-founder and former CEO of Zipcar, the largest carsharing company in the world; Buzzcar, a peer to peer carsharing service in France (now merged with Drivy); and GoLoco, an online ridesharing community. She is also co-founder of Veniam, a vehicle communications company building the networking fabric for the Internet of Moving Things.
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Guy Raz Journalist and Radio Host
BiographyGuy Raz
Journalist and Radio Host
Guy Raz is the host and editorial director of the TED Radio Hour, a co-production of NPR and TED that airs on more than 600 radio stations across the US and in more than 16 countries. Since its launch in 2013, TED Radio Hour has become the fastest growing program in public radio history and one of the top podcasts in the United States. Previously, Raz was weekend host of NPR News' signature afternoon newsmagazine All Things Considered. For his reporting from Iraq, Guy was awarded both the Edward R. Murrow Award and the Daniel Schorr Journalism prize, and has received numerous other honors including an NABJ award and contributions to a Peabody Award with NPR.