Spencer de Mille
Travel Fellowship Award
Announcing the 2025 Spencer de Mille Traveling Fellowship Recipient: Kendra Shea
The IIDA Northern Pacific Chapter is thrilled to announce Kendra Shea, IIDA, NCIDQ, as the recipient of the 2025 Spencer de Mille Traveling Fellowship. This fellowship supports designers pursuing immersive global research that elevates design thinking and strengthens the Pacific Northwest design community. The winner is selected via a blind application process.
The Spencer de Mille Traveling Fellowship was established with funds contributed by the IIDA Northern Pacific Chapter Knowledge Advancement Fund in honor of past president, Spencer de Mille. The fellowship is intended to support foreign travel undertaken to research new and innovative practices related to the built environment that will further the recipient’s career goals and could have positive implications for the communities of the Pacific Northwest.
Kendra’s Research Focus: Designing Community Through Interior Public Space
Kendra’s fellowship will explore how indoor public spaces foster community through the lens of urban design theories and how these ideas can be applied in the Pacific Northwest. Her research centers on the belief that PNW communities lack integrated, inclusive indoor public environments—and that intentional interior design can play a transformative role.
Her project include travel and study of four international case studies, each tied to a specific urban theory:
The Barbican - London, United Kingdom
An iconic complex of public spaces including a library, arts center, and residences.
Studied through the Theory of the Creative Class, Kendra will look at how arts and culture shape urban vibrancy and public life.
Twegashe School - Tanzania
A rural education campus built with local materials and community labor.
Viewed through the Theory of Community Development, Kendra will study how design can empower and uplift rural communities.
Merida, Spain
Observing the people of Spain during the Easter holidays is a unique opportunity to explore public gathering spaces through the Theory of Drive in Culture. This case highlights how autonomy, elatedness, and belonging influence public space.
Throughout her travels, she will collect qualitative data through on‑site observation, interviews, surveys, and video documentation, culminating in a presentation for the chapter and special episodes on her podcast.
How Her Work Will Benefit the Pacific Northwest
Kendra aims to translate global lessons into tangible strategies for community‑minded, inclusive indoor public space design in our region. Her findings will help shape conversations with designers, policy makers, developers, and planners about the role interior design plays in building more connected communities.
Follow along via Kendra’s blog and her Design Over Drinks podcast.
About Kendra Shea
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Kendra first earned her AAS from the New York School of Interior Design in 2010 and began her career in hospitality tenant improvements for restaurants and nightclubs. After relocating to the Pacific Northwest, she completed her BAA from The Art Institute of Seattle in 2015, where she discovered the importance of professional connection and advocacy through the Puget Sound Campus Center Council. She went on to serve as Event Chair, PSCC President, then Director and later VP of Campus Centers for IIDA.
Her diverse design career includes hospitality, hotels, multi-family, medical TI, community spaces, and education projects. In 2019 she received the IIDA NPC Emerging Professional Award, and later that year she and her husband Simon founded KS Shea Designs, a studio specializing in contract production and small‑scale projects that showcase her love of color and pattern. She achieved her NCIDQ certification in 2020, received the IIDA Tuition Reimbursement Award in 2021, and was honored with the 2024 IIDA NPC Presidential Honor Award.
Kendra also hosts Design Over Drinks, a podcast exploring the realities and culture of design practice. Outside the studio, she enjoys dance classes, gardening, Renaissance Faires, walks with her pug Neelix, and video games.
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