Charrisse Johnston, ASID, LEED AP, Assoc. AIA
Interior Designer | Gensler - Los Angeles | ASID National Emerging Professionals Advisory Council Member
A graduate of Johns Hopkins University and Columbia Business School, with a BA in Behavioral Sciences and an MBA in Management and Marketing, Charrisse was a Wall Street strategic planning executive before turning to interior design. She joined Gensler in 2006 after graduating from UCLA Extension’s Professional Level Program in Interior Design as Class Valedictorian. The following year, she passed the NCIDQ examination and became a LEED Accredited Professional. An Associate at Gensler’s LA office, Charrisse designs corporate offices and educational facilities, and leads licensure, internship and community service/pro bono initiatives.
Outside of Gensler, Charrisse served two terms on the ASID Student Advisory Council, then became a Director-at-Large on ASID’s National Board from 2008-2010. She is now serving her second term on the new ASID National Emerging Professionals Advisory Council, a new group whose mission is to develop programming and provide support specifically for designers in the first five years of their careers.
In 2009, Charrisse helped develop a standardized exam for high school interior design programs for the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences and contributed a chapter to The State of the Interior Design Profession. She presented at NeoCon in June 2010 and was selected by the Design Futures Council as one of six Emerging Leaders of 2010, representing young design professionals at the annual Leadership Summit on Sustainable Design. In 2011, was a panelist for the interior design keynote at Buildex: Vancouver. She is a guest lecturer at UCLA Extension, SCI-Arc and Woodbury University, and speaks to students across the country about multi-disciplinary design and the profession of interior design.
Outside of Gensler, Charrisse served two terms on the ASID Student Advisory Council, then became a Director-at-Large on ASID’s National Board from 2008-2010. She is now serving her second term on the new ASID National Emerging Professionals Advisory Council, a new group whose mission is to develop programming and provide support specifically for designers in the first five years of their careers.
In 2009, Charrisse helped develop a standardized exam for high school interior design programs for the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences and contributed a chapter to The State of the Interior Design Profession. She presented at NeoCon in June 2010 and was selected by the Design Futures Council as one of six Emerging Leaders of 2010, representing young design professionals at the annual Leadership Summit on Sustainable Design. In 2011, was a panelist for the interior design keynote at Buildex: Vancouver. She is a guest lecturer at UCLA Extension, SCI-Arc and Woodbury University, and speaks to students across the country about multi-disciplinary design and the profession of interior design.
