Spotlight on Diversity and Heritage - March 2022
Colin Conroy
LC, MIES Lightcraft
Growing up in Ireland, my desire to be part of the design community was instilled in me at an early stage. As a kid, I used to spend time sketching design ideas I had for my bedroom, followed up with grand designs for our small home in the west of Ireland. I remember all sorts of extensions and added floors, as if money were no object.
But at that time in Ireland, there was a lack of opportunity in the design industry, and most other industries, for that matter. Those were the days before Ireland had decided to join the European Union. At that time, Ireland was not a wealthy country, and job prospects were bleak. It is a stark contrast to what Ireland has become in these past few decades. For me, back then, attaining a stable job after college was high on my list. Well, computer science became my practical pursuit in academia and was encouraged by all.
After graduating in Dublin, with my qualifications in hand, I was lucky enough to win a Green Card visa to the United States. Yes, you read that correctly: I won a Green Card in the lottery. The program was known as the Diversity Immigrant Visa and was created to make visas available to countries that currently don’t send a large number of immigrants to the US. The program benefited me and almost 4,000 other lucky Irish people. With a Green Card and education in hand, I embarked on a new life to the beautiful city of San Francisco. It was there that I fell in love with a country that had so much to offer.
After several years in the Bay Area, it was time to make a bold move to New York City. This move encouraged me to be even bolder and examine what I really wanted to do in life. With a lot of research, I decided to study interior design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. It was such a great decision and a new beginning as a second career! In those early classes, lighting stood out, and I felt an affinity toward mastering the art of architectural lighting. After graduation, I found myself employed in the design community that I dreamed of back when I was a young Irish kid.
New York City is such a great place to be in the field of design, where we are surrounded by so many astonishing projects with amazing lighting. I have had great fortune to be able to live in America and to be living in New York City and to be part of the lighting community.
I am proud to be Irish, and proud to be American. And I am very proud to be an Irish American Lighting Designer.
JoAnne Lindsley, FIESNA, FIALD
Lindsley Consultants Inc.
My family came east in 1978 after many Midwest moves following my husband’s career. The richness of New York inspired thoughts of finally beginning to work in my chosen field, interior design, but 15 years was a long hiatus. I decided to get back into design by taking a class. At Michigan State, lighting was just another layer on the drawing, like HVAC. So when I saw a lighting class listed in the Parsons catalog I was intrigued…and that’s how I met James Nuckolls. Jim used the draft manuscript of his textbook, so we all were his willing proofreaders. Jim recommended me to Bonvini/Kondos, a nascent firm of two lighting designers who began their careers with iconic designers Lesley Wheel and David Mintz.
Alex Bonvini, as President of the IES New York Section, was offered the opportunity to create a lighting trade show. He included local IALD members in Lighting World—the precursor to LightFair. Alex managed it, and I, as his employee, was his go-fer, which began my participation in the IES.
My next job came when a fellow Parsons student suggested I interview for his job at Syska and Hennessy Engineering. My boss, Jeff Milham, was IALD President, so I began working with that group too.
I believed that volunteer participation was an important “give-back” for help in my new career, and I met so many enthusiastic, evangelistic lighting people. But that wasn’t the half of it! Attendance at the many programs offered by IESNYC can help a person to grow in their field and learn, but I discovered that active participation is the key to many more benefits.
Starting with Lighting World, volunteer work became a source of real-time fun, growth, and accomplishment. I met and worked with people who would become lifetime friends and associates. An old friend, Sonny Sonnenfeld, took me to lunch one day to encourage me to become Section President, the 75th and first woman in section history. That job was immensely rewarding but also a challenge. Our industry was transitioning from an old boys’ network, reluctantly. I was often the only woman in the room, struggling to be taken seriously. The camaraderie gained in working with committees and projects served me so well, both in my career and in organization management.
Through IES, I have been able to teach and travel to promote the benefits of good lighting and energy effectiveness. I chaired the lighting committee for DOE/IES Energy Code, writing to assure the consideration of design needs. Eventually, I went back to Parsons to chair the MFA in architectural lighting. I’m sure Jim Nuckolls would’ve been delighted.
The volunteer activities that were so important to me came mostly because somebody who was already involved asked me to help. This is the very best way, I think, to involve new people: ask them to participate!
Right now, as an elder, after the pandemic confinement, I’m looking for ways to continue involvement in the lighting that I love. Suggestions?
