Kay Sargent, Director of WorkPlace, HOK
With 37 years of experience, Kay is a recognized expert on workplace design and strategy issues and an award-winning designer. Kay is Global Co-Director of HOK’s WorkPlace team and sits on HOK’s Board of Directors. In 2020 she was named ASID’s Designer of Distinction. Kay currently serves on the ASID’s Foundation Research Taskforce; George Washington University Advisory Council; the IWBI Mind Advisory Team and the Advisory Boards for I+S and WorkDesign magazines. During her career she has also served on the International Boards of CoreNet Global, AVIXA, IFI - International Federation of Interior Designers /Architects, ASID, IIDA, NCQLP and the Advisory Board of Virginia Tech School of Architecture and Design and NVCC.
She is an active member of IFMA and co-founder of the IFMA Workplace Evolutionaries, WE community and serves as an Executive committee for WE. In 2021 she was selected from her field of peers to provide Congressional Subject Matter Expert Testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives on “Federal Real Estate Post-COVID-19: A View from The Private Sector.” Kay also serves on the GSA Diversity taskforce and is an advisor for the HOK Diversity Advisory Council.
Most workplaces still fail to accommodate neurodivergent employees—HOK's Kay Sargent shares how neuroinclusive design can transform offices into spaces that support focus, well-being, and productivity for all.
Companies are re-evaluating the purpose of the office. HOK’s Beate Mellwig and Kay Sargent explain how to put in place an effective hybrid work model that balances employees’ “wants” with the needs of the business.
Kay Sargent believes that as labor shortages intensify, companies will increasingly consider part-time workers to meet current and future staffing demands.