Executive Vice President and CEO

Cheryl Durst, Honorary FIIDA, LEED AP

Cheryl is currently the Executive Vice President and CEO of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA), and has overall responsibility for guiding the efforts of the 12,000 member Association.

Joining the Association as a Headquarters Project Manager in 1997, Cheryl rapidly rose through the ranks, becoming Senior Director of Education and Professional Development, and in that capacity had supervisory responsibility for continuing education, government and regulatory affairs and conference management.

As EVP and CEO, Cheryl has successfully navigated the Association and its Board, through a serious debt crisis and 18-month financial turnaround, and has implemented policies, procedures and an operational structure that has put the Association on firm financial footing.

Cheryl has extensive background in product and program marketing development and implementation, and has created sales and marketing programs for Reff, Inc. and the Federal Sales division of Knoll. She headed Meeting Planning for the Washington Design Center/Washington, D.C. (a division of Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc.). In 2001, in recognition of Cheryl’s accomplishments within the Association and her contributions to the industry at large, the IIDA Board of Directors conferred Honorary Member status to her.

Cheryl is a former Docent for the Museum of African Art and Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, and is an active member of the Organization of Black Designers. She is past President of the Kohl Children’s Museum Women’s Board. She is a graduate of Boston University, where she received dual bachelors in Print Journalism and Economics. Cheryl is a LEED-accredited professional and a past Executive Board Member of the Chicago Chapter of the US Green Buildings Council.