LightFair has announced its 30 mentor and mentee participants for the second annual LightFair Mentorship Program, a six-month program that aims to facilitate and foster meaningful, personalized professional connections that form the cornerstone of growth, learning and the future of lighting. “Our mentorship program grew nearly 30 percent in the one year since it launched, with up-and-coming lighting professionals eager to learn and veteran industry experts excited to share knowledge,” says Dan Darby, show director. “Education has always been a hallmark of the LightFair experience, and we are pleased to offer direct networking and learning opportunities to the next generation of lighting professionals.” All 15 mentees were placed with one of LightFair’s expert mentors based on their area of learning interest. LightFair’s mentee Class of 2022, selected from a pool of qualified applicants with one to three years of work experience, includes Miriam Bichsel, luminaire entrepreneur, creative and communications specialist at Agat; Saadia Cleve, undergraduate student at Kansas State University; Leslie Crapster-Pregont, lighting designer at Oculus Light Studio; Quincy Drane, design intern at The SEED; Samm Dubey, lighting designer at Hartranft Lighting Design; Kim Grist, VP of operations at Energy Optimization Services; Hamilton Guillen, production and lighting designer at HAMILTON DESIGNS; Alex Karoussos, sales president at Hamptons Lighting Design; Fahman Khan, energy engineer at Future First Energy; Robert Lodge, lighting control engineer at Best Buy; Nora Ludden, lighting designer at Hartranft Lighting Design; Dejan Simic, engineer of photometrics at Vossloh-Schwabe Serbia D.O.O.; Tina Vidaurri, commercial lighting quotations at Graybar Electric; Stela Xhiku, dean’s assistant and graduate student worker at New York University; and Anna Zielinska, sales agent at Topmet.Mentors were selected from a pool of qualified members of Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) as well as industry professionals with more than five years of experience. The 15 mentors for the 2022 program include five returning mentors: Jessica Krometis, senior designer at Hartranft Lighting Design; Mark Loeffler, principal at Mark Loeffler Design Consulting, LLC; Peter Ngai, lighting consultant at Peter Ngai Lighting Consultants; Kathy Prysgoda, founding principal at Light Studio LA; and Daniel Salinas, president | lighting design systems designer at Salinas Lighting Consult. The 10 additions to the 2022 mentor team include: Liz Arras, project manager at Envision Lighting Design; Deborah Burnett, president and CEO at Benya Burnett Consultancy; Laura Cowley, VP of electrical engineering at B&H Engineers; Andrea Hartranft, principal at Hartranft Lighting Design; Marc Langlois, lighting designer at Detroit Institute of Arts; Larry Lieberman, owner of Luma-Spec Lighting; Brian Rhea, principal at San Diego Lighting Associates; Michael Scalzo, executive director at National Contractors Association of America; Sara Schonour, VP and director of education and engagement at Lytei; and Jane You, senior associate at Oculus Light Studio.Over the course of the six months beginning in March 2022, mentor and mentee pairs check in once per month to share and absorb industry information and knowledge. They connect in-person at LightFair in Las Vegas halfway through the program and grow their educational relationship through September. This program additionally gives all participants access to an exclusive, private LinkedIn group and provides lifelong career connections.Participants in the second annual LightFair Mentorship Program can take part as a speaker in LightFair’s Mentorship Q&A Panel, moderated by Sam Koerbel, founder of Lytei, on June 23 at 10:30 a.m. Speakers will be selected in the following few weeks. Admission to the Mentorship Panel discussion is free with LightFair registration.“As a ‘pilot mentor’ last year, I greatly enjoyed and gained so much from that experience,” says Mark Loeffler of Mark Loeffler Design Consulting. “Lighting design is a collaborative pursuit that depends on shared knowledge, and I’ve had a long and rewarding career with advice and good stories about how to be an influential and successful lighting designer.”LightFair 2022 will showcase architectural and commercial lighting solutions from 310+ exhibitors, June 21 – 23, in the Las Vegas Convention Center’s new state-of-the-art West Hall. The 2022 edition will continue to follow LightFair‘s “Safer Floor. Safer Show.” protocols in accordance with local and state requirements as well as CDC guidelines and recommendations.
