Description

Date: Thursday, January 15, 2026

Title: Market Chats: Strategies to Plan a Profitable Year 

Time: 2 PM - 3 PM 

Location: Building 1, Floor 15, 15-C-10, Designer Workspace

Description: 

Presented by S. Dawn Haynie, ASID Research Fellow; Ale Dunphy, founder and design director of Alejandra Dunphy Studio; and Melissa Wilson, founder of The Cultured Sphere

Join the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) as we discuss several key aspects affecting the profitability of your business. Learn the latest trends in the labor market, specific to salaries, benefits, and drivers of job satisfaction, recently published in the 2025 ASID Compensation & Benefits report, the importance of professional liability and how to tailor it to meet your needs, and effective marketing strategies to help you be more effective in developing your business and securing your pipeline.

About the Speakers:

Alejandra Martinez Dunphy

Alejandra Martinez Dunphy, LEED AP, ASID, NCIDQ, is the founder and creative director of AD Studio in Atlanta. With 20 years of experience, she has designed award-winning projects across a diverse range of sectors in the U.S and internationally.

Before establishing her own studio, Alejandra contributed her expertise to leading architectural firms, focusing on commercial and hospitality design. Alejandra has deep passion for travel, art, and sustainability. A graduate of SCAD, she now shares her knowledge and creativity as a part-time instructor at her alma mater. She is currently serving a 2-year position as Professional Development director with ASID Georgia Chapter.

Melissa Wilson

For more than 25 years, Melissa Wilson has provided comprehensive marketing and PR services to nationally acclaimed residential and commercial design firms and brands, including the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center, Harrison Design, HOK, and more.  From interior designers and architects to landscape designers, artisans, and makers, Melissa is a connector, storyteller, and advocate for imaginative minds and inventive products that help people live better and more beautiful lives.

Melissa is the founder of The Cultured Sphere, a boutique marketing and public relations firm that helps members of creative communities define their brands, elevate their authenticity, and determine the most effective strategies for reaching prospective clients, partners, and members of the media.

Dr. Dawn Haynie brings a distinctive, interdisciplinary approach to design, drawing on experience as a researcher, practitioner, and educator across interiors, architecture, urban, and graphic design. Her work blends research-based strategies with professional practice to enhance spatial experience.

As a Research Fellow for the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), she manages internal and external research on the interior design industry. She is also an adjunct professor at Georgia State University. Dr. Haynie holds a Ph.D. in Architecture, Culture, & Behavior from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Architecture from Auburn University.

IMPORTANT: This event requires registration to AmericasMart. You must already have access to AmericasMart to attend.