Not every career path is linear — sometimes they take a twist or two (or more)! Leigh Gice, Senior Market Segment Manager at Lumenpulse, is a prime example. From a childhood moment of theatrical inspiration, through television production, lighting design, and finally, to her role today translating product ideas into reality at an international lighting manufacturer... let's just say Leigh may not have seen it all, but she's definitely seen a lot! Join us as she shares her insights about the common language of lighting, finding ways to bridge boundaries, and following your heart to job satisfaction.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be an athlete competing at the international level against Olympic champions? Now imagine living that dream — while ALSO climbing the career ladder as a rising star in the field of lighting design. That sums up a day in the life of Sebastien Payannet, international men's figure skating superstar and senior lighting designer at Oculus Light Studio. Join us as Sebastien talks about the similarities and differences between these two major parts of his world, and gives us his take on the mindset and discipline it takes to achieve big dreams.

What do lighting design and structural engineering have in common? Turns out, a whole lot more than one might initially think. John Roach, Associate Vice President, Structural Engineer, and Office Engineering Leader at CannonDesign, talks to us about the parallels between the professions and how through collaboration and a well-orchestrated design process, both lighting and structures can intrinsically augment the goals of a project.

"Solving complex problems by providing multiple solutions at the same time," that's Jon Penndorf's definition of truly sustainable design. Jon is Perkins&Will's Sustainability Leader and believes that great design outcomes are more than the sum of their parts — especially when designing sustainably. Listen in as he discusses the influential role that lighting designers play within the larger project team, setting meaningful project goals, guiding clients via education, and going way beyond LEED to achieve the next level in sustainable buildings and spaces.

Sustainability in lighting manufacturing is one of the community’s hottest topics. Following in the footsteps of the carpet, furniture, and building materials industries, owners and specifiers alike are asking for lighting products to be created with more than just energy efficiency in mind when it comes to sustainability. Join Sam as he talks through the fine points of Finelite’s sustainability journey with Jane White, president of the company, as she discusses the baby steps and the bold leadership needed for manufacturers to succeed.

The emergence of virtual reality (VR) technology for architecture and design has been making headlines in the past few years — in the future, they've said, VR will become an integral part not just of a client presentation but also of the design process. Well, the future is now. Ernesto Pacheco, Director of Visualization, and Coffield King, Senior Lighting Designer at CannonDesign, joined Sam on the LytePOD for an in-depth discussion on how VR applications can make a lighting design go from good to great and sell an idea better than any other medium can.

You can't miss the buzz in the lighting industry around material transparency, and in part that's thanks to people like Melissa Mattes, senior lighting designer and sustainability specialist at Sladen Feinstein Integrated Lighting. Melissa shares the "why" that fuels her passion for advancing sustainable lighting design practices and discusses how she took her sustainable values to help create a sustained voice in the design community — calling for improvement and change.

Update: There is now a LIVE light search engine that you can filter search for products with Declare Labels >> https://lightaz.com/led-luminaire-search

Other resources: https://www.mindfulmaterials.com/lighting-advocacy-letter | www.linkedin.com/in/mmattes

Moving the needle on climate change isn't something the lighting industry can do alone — but we can start by looking at what the AEC sector has put in place and build on that progress. DPR Construction's global sustainability leader, Ryan Poole, talks us through some of the real and perceived obstacles surrounding sustainability in the design and delivery of the built environment and offers his thoughts on the power of collaboration to help us rise to the challenge.

There's something seriously wrong with the way we specify and procure lighting today — ask any lighting designer, and you'll hear a horror story or two about packaging, substitutions, and pricing games that clearly show the system is broken. Enter Paul Boken, VP of Mulvey & Banani Lighting, and one of the contributors to Sourcery, a new content-sharing platform for the lighting design community. Paul talks to us about the need for a better way to manage the procurement piece of the lighting design process, so we can get back to having fun on the design side!

In part two of Sam's conversation with the Boston Lighting crew: Dan Weissman, Senior Associate and Director at Lam Partners, Kate St. Laurent, Associate Vice President at CannonDesign, and Sara Schonour, VP of Education and Engagement here at Lytei, the group dives into a new set of topics: what designers really want to see in new products, what they need as manufacturer and rep support, and new frontiers they see for lighting design services.