Meet Our Member

The IESNYC spotlights a member each month whose volunteerism, perspective or personal story helps advance our goals, piques our curiosity, and makes the IESNYC become a more vibrant and diverse lighting community. We value their expertise and thank them for volunteering their time and energy for the betterment of the section and NYC Lighting Community. #the_iesnycmom

March 2025

Kenny Schutz
Principal, Focus Lighting

Q: How did you first get started in the lighting industry?
It’s a fairly typical path… I fell in love with lighting when I discovered theater in the tenth grade. Then college. Then grad school.  And then I returned home to New York to begin my lighting design career.

After about ten years of working on all kinds of projects, I realized that my theater career wasn’t giving me everything I wanted. For instance, my 23-year-old son still remembers the time I spent 11 weeks working in Europe when he was only 3. I could see that my career wasn’t going to go as far as I wanted it to: Hal Prince never called.

I needed a change, but I knew that I had to stay in lighting. Theater was optional. So, I began to look in other parts of the lighting world and ended up at Focus Lighting. That was 18 years ago, and I’ve never looked back.

I get to spend every day with talented, passionate, nice people (many of them from theater). And Paul Gregory has been an unbelievably great mentor and continues to be my – our – North Star. I am fortunate to have worked for him all these years. 

Q: How did you first get involved in the IESNYC?
I wish my answer to this question was more noble, but the truth is, simply, that I joined online. Once I decided to find a steady job in architectural lighting, my search began with a lot of Googling. The IES and IESNYC websites popped up and I immediately realized that joining was an important step.

Early on I just attended local programs, and now I’m gobsmacked that sometimes I’m the one presenting or speaking. I’m more involved with IES on the national level, through service on the Progress Report, but I was pleased to contribute to the new NYControlled show.

Q: How do you see your role as a member of the IESNYC?
Paul was always about teaching, and I am proud to carry part of that legacy into the future, by advancing the technical aspects within an otherwise creative field. The products and systems we use now are incredibly complex – and every bit as important as the artistry. 

Here’s the situation: The lamp in Edison’s 1880 patent had about six components. Today’s LED sources may have 100+. I mean, an LED is a semiconductor, for crying out loud.

So, if you’re not able to stand on your own on technical matters, it can gut your lighting design. You need to know enough to argue your corner, and maybe some of theirs, to protect your project. Wherever you lack technical knowledge, you’re relying on someone else’s. (I learned that lesson the hard way and decided it would never happen again.) And when we run into unforeseen conditions, lighting designers need the knowhow and resources to solve problems quickly.

I’m thrilled that the IESNYC – through scholarships, seminars, trade shows like NYControlled, and more—is so interested in fostering that technical acumen too.

Q: In your opinion, what are the best assets of the IESNYC?
Megan Carroll and Shoshanna Segal. Next question?

Well, really, the entire IESNYC membership.

Seriously: New York has the largest and most vibrant architectural lighting community, and the IESNYC is a cornerstone of that. At every IESNYC event I am reminded that I have the great good fortune to be part of this incredible group of creative, friendly, funny (looking at you, Craig Fox), supportive, and interesting people.

In part, that’s because the lighting design profession is chock-full of former theater people. (My people!) I was thrilled to find at Focus, and in the IESNYC, so many “fellow travelers.” The IESNYC members are generally so lovely that I can’t tell whether they’re theater folk or not. They’re just the type of people I’ve been most comfortable with, ever since I was 16 years old. 

And the Lumen Awards!  It’s my favorite night of the year. I am so grateful for the work of past chairs Clara Powell and Adrienne Shulman, with a shout out to my Focus colleague, Christine Hope, who is the current chair. I love getting together and celebrating everyone’s great projects. I’ll bet those Downtown financiers and tech bros don’t have a community anything near as wonderful as ours.

That culture of mutual support springs from our Section’s leadership. Which brings me back to… Megan and Shoshanna.