Meet The Jury – 2025 Student Competition

Alexis Dennis-Huether is an interior designer with over 20 years of experience who joined SLAM in 2021 as an Associate Principal. With a passion for connecting with clients and their organizations, Alexis’ interest lies in continual exploration of how design thinking can support the business plan. She has the essential ability to combine empathy, creativity, and rationality to meet user needs, solve problems, and drive business success through design. Alexis leads project teams from initial concept through completion of construction and is adept at sculpting spaces that solve problems and meet project budgets. Alexis was part of a team that won a Next Work Environment Competition award for “Mind the Gap,” a theoretical project featuring a mobile workplace that came out of SLAM’s Workplace Innovation Think Tank (WITT). The team also won a WellBeing + Greatest Impact award for “CollaborEATs,” which blends food, dining, and meeting into the workplace.  She has been published in Interior Design, Contact Magazine, Office Insight, and Time Out NY. Alexis served as Director for the IIDA’S LA City Center as well as the IIDA Southern California Board of Directors.

With over a decade of experience working with individuals of diverse disabilities across different age groups and socio-economic backgrounds, Francisco’s expertise in human-centered design, task analysis, accessibility, and UX provides him with a uniquely empathetic and functional perspective when it comes to architecture and design. As an Occupational Therapist leading the Inclusive Design team at the architecture firm M2, he is passionate about helping designers create inclusive and accessible spaces and products. He has served as a speaker during the global conference “In Pursuit of Equity: A Symposium to Re-envision the Center for Universal Design” and presented about the “Intersection of Occupational Therapy and Architecture” during the 2024 AOTA Inspire Annual Conference and Expo. Francisco is also a Second City-trained improv enthusiast and performs with his improv group in comedy theaters around Chicago.

Rex Miller is a dynamic force in the world of transformation. He has spent 25 years as a corporate manager and executive and 15 years as a consultant in our industry. Rex brings a unique perspective and skill set to the field of consulting. His extensive experience as an award-winning author, professional thinker, and sought-after consultant has earned him a reputation as an orchestrator of change.

Rex has won the CoreNet Global Innovator Award, CoreNet’s Industry Excellence Award, and the IFMA Outstanding Achievement Award. He is a USPTA-certified tennis professional and has coached two Hall of Fame athletes and the U.S. Olympic Pole Vault team.

He owns MindShift, a research and organizational consulting firm; the Genius Spark, a software and training company; and the River Rose Leadership Ranch, a corporate retreat venue. Rex has a proven track record of solving complex problems and delivering comprehensive solutions for organizations and industries stuck in a rut. His innovative approach, the MindShift process, has a knack for breaking through constraints and driving progress.

With a master’s degree in Strategic Foresight and a background as a certified tennis professional and coach for Hall of Fame and Olympic athletes, Rex brings a holistic understanding of leadership and performance. His unique blend of experiences allows him to guide leaders into new conversations and relationships that result in new realities.

His most recent focus is on unlocking hidden potential through a GeniusSpark program. Combining NASA’s research on genius traits with the latest psychometric assessments, Rex has developed an app and an accompanying book called “The GeniusSpark” that guides individuals in creating a unique portrait of their full potential.

Rex’s client list includes a who’s who of the business world, including Google, GoDaddy, Facebook, IWBI, DPR, Balfour Beatty, Pepsico, Atrium Health, UHS, UC Davis Health, the Port of Virginia, and the Federal Reserve Bank. As a keynote speaker, Rex will inspire and educate audiences on the possibilities of change and the power of unlocking hidden potential.

As Chief Product Officer at the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), Jessica helps to lead IWBI’s global movement to transform health and well-being through our people first approach to buildings, organizations and communities. Combining her experience partnering with global market adopters in her previous role as IWBI’s Chief Commercial Officer, Jessica drives the continuous evolution of the WELL Building Standard (WELL) and focuses on scaling WELL’s positive impact around the world. She oversees the standard development, implementation and achievement processes, as well as customer experience, technical account management and education.

Before joining IWBI, Jessica led consulting services at Delos and worked with WELL’s early adopters on improving business performance by prioritizing health. Prior to WELL, she developed and delivered educational programs for the New York City green building community at Urban Green Council. Trained as an interior designer, Jessica intersected design and real estate at LB Architects where she managed interior design and construction projects for corporate, residential and not-for-profit clients.

Jessica is a WELL Faculty and one of the first WELL Accredited Professionals, having earned her credential in 2015. She is a LEED Accredited Professional and a licensed interior designer who holds an NCIDQ Certificate. She is a graduate of Cornell University.

Dr. Lindsay T. Graham is a personality and social psychologist who specializes in the ways people form relationships with, craft, manipulate, and select their daily environments to best fit their lives. Lindsay’s work spans the fields of psychology, architecture, interior design, engineering, and human-computer mediated interactions. Currently Lindsay is a researcher within Google’s Real Estate and Workplace Services group to support the creation of work environments that promote wellbeing and productivity. Prior to Google she founded and led a research program on the Psychology of Space at UC Berkeley’s Center for the Built Environment. Lindsay is also author of the book People and Spaces: Experience, Ethics and Intent which highlights the value of collaborator work when working to make spaces that serve those who use them.

Fernando is the Global Head of Emerging / Hybrid Experiences at Avanade, He also is the UI/UX, XR, IoT and Service Design Lead / R&D and Strategic Product Innovation Professional and a Green Software Design Advocate.