Drum Roll Please... Announcing the 2013 Noah's ARC Design Challenge Team IDI

The Noah's ARC Design Challenge has begun with it's first official meeting last Friday and I'd like to introduce to you my amazing team representing Interior Designer's Institute (IDI).

 Left to Right: Pavitra Prabhakar, Rachel Bingham, Katherine Depew, and Me

Pavitra Prabhakar has a BS in Civil Engineering from UC Berkeley, and an MS in Civil & Environmental Engineering from Georgia Tech. She has over 15 years of experience in wastewater treatment planning, design and construction fields. She is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of California. After years working as an environmental engineer, Pavitra decided to follow her passion and study interior design at IDI. She was the ASID Student Chapter treasurer last year.

Rachel Bingham is a part-time design student at IDI, a property manager and an active member of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 53. She also has a full-time job as an Executive Assistant for a CPA firm in Huntington Beach, CA. Upon completion of the certificate program at IDI, she started her own design firm in 2010. Her goal is to specialize in residential design and complete projects in each of the 50 states. To date she has completed projects in California, Nevada, Texas and Washington. Upon graduation at the end of 2013, she hopes to expand her business and continue on with the B.A. program. She believes in giving back and wants to start doing pro-bono design work with animal care facilities.

Katherine Depew has earned a Bachelor of Science degree in both Marketing and Management from California State University, Long Beach. Katherine’s excellent time management skills, along with strong work ethic, have allowed her to hold a full-time marketing position while also attending classes at IDI. She is very excited to begin a new career in Interior Design once she graduates from IDI in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Genevieve Chambliss (that would be me!) is an enthusiastic and talented design student at IDI with a background in Civil Engineering. At an early age she developed an interest in art, architecture, interiors, fashion and style. She also excelled in more technical subjects and went on to attended the University of California, Irvine, where she obtained a BS in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in Structural Engineering. After working as an engineer for several years, Genevieve decided to go back to school to pursue her dream of becoming a designer. As a student at IDI, her eye for aesthetics along with her technical skills have repeatedly won her projects a spot in the school's Hall of Fame. She also blogs (right here!) in order to chronicle her journey from engineer, interior design student and amateur decorator to professional interior designer.

We plan on designing a nursery or kids room, so stay tuned for the hunt for furniture and fabric, DIY projects, and installation of our soon to be fabulous space!