In 2020, when the IES Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect (DEIR) Committee was created—in response to the murder of George Floyd and other pivotal events—its mission was to serve as an advisory committee to the Board of the IES at large on how to make our Society a place where everyone felt welcomed and safe and had the ability to learn. This work started with a membership survey to uncover hard data of the composition of the Society and why people in the industry do or do not participate in IES events. The answers and comments given led to partnerships with other groups and associations creating the sparks that ignited groundbreaking programs like the WILD Mocktail Initiative and The Lamplighter Coalition.
“As Members of the IES, we challenge each of you to question the projects on which you are working”
We have also partnered with other associations to create education programs such as Light Justice Symposium: Outdoor Spaces in 2022 and Indoor Spaces in 2024 and The Business of Lighting: Why Diversity Matters, which can be viewed on the IES eLearning portal. We’ve helped create social networking opportunities such as The Social Advocacy Social held at LightFair 2023 in New York City and LightFair 2025 in Las Vegas. These socials led to an exchange and alignment of resources and ideas; for example, advocacy tables have been shared by WILD, NACLIQ, Light Justice, BUILD, and IES DEIR both at IES25: The Lighting Conference and other events. We encourage you to visit their websites, engage with these organizations, as well as learn about their missions and how you can support their work.
We have also worked on advising and coordinating with the IES Illumination Awards Committee on how we judge our awards and what kind of projects we are celebrating, encouraging the industry to be conscious of how lighting design impacts the community it is serving. As of 2025, a new impact statement was added to the questions submitters must answer: “How does this project positively enhance or impact the community it is serving?” This additional scored question has replaced the discretionary points judges could previously award a project.
These seem like big strides, but they don’t come without smaller, persistent steps toward incremental progress; progress that we could not achieve without the support of the IES Board and Membership and that is propagated by our alliance with other organizations. We believe that in times of division, acts of unity are important and necessary.
We ask you to look around at your office and your places of recreation, worship, and education. Not everyone feels safe. Many in our community didn’t attend this year’s conference because they were afraid of traveling at this moment. If we really intend to be an international, welcoming organization, we need to create that space and be that model.
If you have questions on how to keep your workers safe, there are resources available from state attorneys’ offices, law firms, and nonprofit organizations that are doing this work. If you are feeling concerned or threatened, we can share resources and a safe space—please reach out to the DEIR Committee Members or visit our website at www.ies.org/about/diversity-equity-inclusion-respect/.
Navigating workplace challenges and advocating for equity can be complex. These resources are here to support individuals and organizations in fostering safer, more-inclusive environments across the lighting industry and beyond.
Immigration
Legal aid: Organizations are available in nearly every state. Reach out to your local chapter if you need legal services related to job or immigration.
Immigration Center for Women and Children: http://www.icwclaw.org
National Employment Law Project—What to Do If Immigration Comes to Your Workplace: http://www.nilc.org/resources/a-guide-for-employers-what-to-do-if-immigration-comes-to-your-workplace/
National Immigrant Justice Center—Know Your Rights: If You Encounter ICE: https://immigrantjustice.org/for-immigrants/know-your-rights/ice-encounter/
Sexual Harassment and Violence
The Lamplighter Coalition—providing awareness around sexual harassment in our industry: https://womeninlightinganddesign.org/lamplighter/
Right to Be—bystander training: https://righttobe.org/training/bystander-intervention-training/
Equitable Lighting Resources
Light Justice: https://lightjustice.org/resources-all
Equity in Lighting: https://www.equityinlighting.org/
Affinity Groups:
Black United in Lighting & Design (BUILD): https://www.buildlighting.org
North American Coalition of Lighting Industry Queers (NACLIQ): https://nacliq.org
Asian Lighting Community: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12829337/
One of the obstacles we have faced as a committee is motivating membership to do more diversity and inclusion work, push boundaries, and question pre-conceived notions, while acknowledging that it’s neither easy nor convenient. With that in mind, a call to action: As Members of the IES, we challenge each of you to question the projects on which you are working.
Are you incorporating responsible design and light justice into your daily practice?
Ask yourself, how can you advocate through your work for sustainability principles that benefit everyone, not just stakeholders?
As an individual, how can you support those who don’t have a voice? How are you encouraging empathy and equity in your workplace and in your community?
On a personal note, I would like to thank the committee that does this amazing work for allowing me the honor of serving as its chair for the past two years: Edward Batholomew, Quincy Drane, Mariana Guzman, Peter Hugh, and Elizabeth Williams as well as Colleen Harper for her unwavering support. It has been a privilege.
Mariel Acevedo, LC, Member IES, has served in the lighting industry for more than 20 years and currently works as specification sales for ALR in Portland, OR. She is the chair of the IES Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect Committee; vice-chair of the IES Steering Committee; and a 12-year Member of the IES Leadership Forum.
