2023 Design for Freedom Summit

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2023 DFF Summit

The 2023 Design for Freedom Summit was held on Thursday, March 30th, 2023 at Grace Farms. This second annual event gathered over 500 participants representing industry leaders in architecture, interior design, manufacturing, engineering, and construction, as well as policy makers, owners, and developers.

The Agenda

9:00 am | Registration, Breakfast, & Exhibits

9:30 am | Music by the hummingbirds

Marcus G. Miller, Grace Farms, Saxophone
Florian Idenburg, SO-IL, Drums
Liany Mateo, Bass
Nick Roseboro, Architensions, Trumpet
Peter Nelson, Keyboards

10 am | Welcome Address

Sharon Prince, CEO and Founder of Grace Farms

10:15 am | Accelerating The Movement | Pilot Projects

Sharon Prince, Grace Farms
Curtis Clay, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations
Diana Kellogg, Diana Kellogg Architects
Jing Liu, SO-IL
Nina Cooke John, Studio Cooke John
Pete Hamill, Turner Construction

11 am | The Business Case for Design for Freedom

Richard Lui, MSNBC/NBC News
Ana Hinojosa, Former US Customs & Border Protection and Oritain
Debbie Propst, MillerKnoll
Maha Khan, Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking, United Nations University Centre for Policy Research
Raphael Sperry, Arup

11:45 am | Mid-Morning Break

Adam Thatcher, Grace Farms Foods

12:15 pm | Supply Chain Transparency

Nora RIzzo, Grace Farms
Cristina Villegas, Pact
Jim Vallette, Material Research L3C
Paul J. Bradley, Lendlease Americas
Dr. Shawn Macdonald, Verite

1 – 2:30 pm | Lunch & Architectural Tours

Toshihiro Oki, Grace Farms

2:30 pm | Roundtables

Building Materials and the Climate Report by Yale CEA & UNEP

Anna Dyson, Yale Center for Ecosystems + Architecture
Jim Vallette, Material Research L3C
Dr. Mae-ling Lokko, Willow Technologies and Yale School of Architecture
Dr. Mohamed Aly Etman, Yale Center for Ecosystems + Architecture

Converting Textile Transparency to Interiors

Ana Hinojosa, Former US Customers & Border Protection and Oritain
Buxton Midyette, Supima Cotton
Gabe Wing, MillerKnoll
Hayes Slade, Slade Architecture
Rachel Berkin, Tarkett
Rebecca Best, Material Bank

Global Policy as a Driver

Sharon Prince, Grace Farms
Amy O-Neill Richard, State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
Angel Dizon, Public Buildings (Great Lakes Region)
Dr. Lee Schwartz, U.S. Department of State and Office of the Geographer and GLobal Issues
Luba Nikulina, IFM Investors and UK Task Force for Social Factors
Peter Swartz, Altana AI

Material Circularity + Tech Innovation

Brigid Abraham, Grace Farms
Chris Sharples, SHoP
Diana Kellogg, Diana Kellogg Architects
Felix Heisel, Circular Construction Lab, Cornell University
Florian Idenburg, SO-IL

Timber Studies

Rod Khattabi, Grace Farms
Alina Reynolds, Grace Farms
Ben Dreith, Dezeen
Dr. John Hermanson, University of WashingtonCenter for Environmental Forensic Science
Luciana Varkulja, uma architecture & design

Tools for Material Transparency

Annie Bevan, Mindful Materials
Barbra BatShalom, Building Ease
Evelyn Ritter, Toxnot
James Slade, Slade Architecture
Monica Becker, Cradle to Cradle Products INnovation institute
Raphael Sperry, Arup
Nora Rizzo, Grace Farms

4 pm | Inspiration & Action

Featuring Platon, Platon Photo, founder of The People’s Portfolio, Peabody Award-winning photographer, storyteller, and human rights activist
Joanna Hall, SustainChain
Kai-Uwe Bergmann, BIG

5 pm | Cocktail Hour

2023 Design for Freedom Summit Speakers

Panels and roundtables led by experts in fields such as architecture, law, and construction are centered around our core topics: corporate ethical responsibility, government policies, Design for Freedom Pilot Projects, and the future of the AEC industry.