LightFair Announces 2023 Mentorship Pairings

LightFair has announced 14 mentor and mentee participants in its third- annual LightFair Mentorship Program, a six-month program which facilitates and fosters meaningful, personalized professional connections between industry veterans and emergent professionals. Students and emergent professionals also can prepare for a successful career in lighting at the LightFair Career Fair 2023, on Wednesday, May 24, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

“LightFair’s mentorship program serves as a cornerstone of growth and learning for the lighting industry’s feature leaders,” said Dan Darby, show director. “This successful program, as well as the at- market Career Fair, is a catalyst for connection and community between the current and next generation of industry professionals.”

The seven selected mentees, each with 1-3 years’ experience, were paired with one of LightFair’s expert mentors based on area of learning interest. Mentors for the 2023 program include Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) members as well as industry professionals with more than five years of experience.

The seven mentor and mentee pairs, drawn from a pool of qualified applicants, are:

Mentor: Elizabeth Williams, Lighting Design Associate, Illuminart
Mentee: Amber Wu, BIM Manager + Lighting Designer, Gwen Grossman Lighting Design

Mentor: Rachel Fitzgerald, Principal and Discipline Lead, Lighting, Stantec
Mentee: Anna Zuercher, Lighting Designer, Stantec

Mentor: Billy Tubb, Theatre Consultant, Lighting Controls Specialist and Lighting Designer, Billy E. Tubb
Mentee: Cad Apostol, Lighting Intern, Buro Happold

Mentor: Kimberly Mercier, MBA, PE, P.Eng., LEED AP Principal, Lighting Design Innovations
Mentee: Jessica Pignataro, student

Mentor: Anthony Lee, Product Manager, Douglas Lighting Controls
Mentee: Levi Johnson, student, Kansas State University

Mentor: Nancy Clanton, CEO, Clanton & Associates
Mentee: Lucianna Savaris, Lighting Design Intern, ThinkL

Mentor: Daniel Salinas, President and Lighting Systems Designer, Salinas Lighting Consult
Mentee: Raquel Sauer, Lighting Designer, Rocky Mountain Consulting Engineers

The six-month program kicked off on May 1, and includes 1:1 mentorship with monthly calls, a program customized to each mentee’s career goals, access to an exclusive LinkedIn group and lifelong career connections. Participants will have the opportunity to meet at LightFair, on Tuesday, May 23, at 2:00 pm in the Special Events Area for an in-person networking event.

LightFair Career Fair Offers Opportunities for Networking & Career Direction

Students and emergent professionals can prepare for a successful career in lighting through two educational sessions with portfolio reviews on Wednesday, May 24, at LightFair. Q&A, resume and portfolio reviews Q&A, resume and portfolio reviews will follow the presentations, which run 12 noon – 1:30 pm, in LightFair’s Special Events Area.

Jill Cody, principal with Dark Light Design and an IALD Trust member, leads a Careers in Lighting presentation and portfolio review. Cody has 25 years of lighting design experience including a wide variety of project types, from highly detailed historic landmarks to urban-scale master plans. Her other work includes corporate, education, civic, hospitality and site projects that have been recognized with numerous awards for design and sustainability. Shel is a member of the IES and IALD; a LEED Accredited Professional, Lighting Certified and a Certified Lighting Designer.

Interview and Resume Tips will be led by Paul Pompeo and Joseph Vigil with the Pompeo Group, an organization specializing in searches for upper sales, marketing and general management professionals since 2003. Pompeo has 25+ years of experience in executive search, focusing on lighting, electrical, IoT and controls and has won multiple recruiting awards. Vigil is a Senior Recruiter Associate specializing in electrical and lighting distribution who was named Pompeo Group’s Recruiter of the Year for 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

From May 23-25, LightFair offers students a free Expo pass and discount of 50% off Conference session registrations; and a 30% discount on Conference registrations for emergent professionals. All conference registrations include free access to the Trade Show.

The 2023 LightFair Trade Show and Conference will focus on future-shaping innovations and an incredible attendee experience driven by new product discovery, networking and on-floor education, Sunday, May 21, through Thursday, May 25, at the Javits Center in New York City. Registration for LightFair 2023 is open now, with complimentary Trade Show access for IALD and IES members, at www.lightfair.com.

About LightFair

LightFair, North America’s largest architectural and commercial lighting trade show and conference, is owned by the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD), the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and is produced and managed by International Market Centers (IMC). For its 2023 edition, LightFair has partnered with NYCxDESIGN as a key sponsor of the Festival to bring curated NYC lighting tours and on-site panel discussions to the LightFair show floor. For more information, visit LightFair.com. Follow LightFair on Facebook, Twitter @lightfair, Instagram @lightfair_international, LinkedIn and YouTube. To stay up to date on lighting industry news leading up to LightFair, visit the LightFair Blog at https://www.lightfairblog.com/.

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