Founded in 1969
Collab is a group of design professionals and enthusiasts
who support the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s collection of modern and contemporary design. For over fifty years, Collab has grown the museum’s design acquisitions while celebrating the ideas, designers and design movements that have shaped history. In addition to building a world class collection of design, Collab shares unique exhibitions, lectures, tours, and publications that provide an insider’s view to the global design community.
The Collab Board
Nicole Carville
Collab Chair, 2020 - 2023 &
Design Excellence Awards
Haworth
Nicole is a leader in the Philadelphia architecture and design market in her managing role at Haworth, the parent company of some of the world’s most renowned classic and contemporary furniture brands. A former chair of the Collab Committee, Nicole also supports the International Interior Design Association, Design Philadelphia, and is an active member of Pennsylvania Master Naturalists and coordinator for the Philadelphia chapter. Nicole received a master’s degree in Interior Design from Drexel University. Happiest when traveling to exotic locations with family and friends, Nicole also splits her time between suburban Philadelphia and her hidden cabin in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Lisa Roberts
Student Design Competition
& Museum Trustee
My Design Life
Originally trained as an architect, Lisa has been a product designer in the gift and home-furnishings market for more than 40 years. Many of her designs are featured in museum shops, department and design stores. She is the author of Antiques of the Future (2006), DesignPOP (2014), Mr. Waffles Loves Design (2019), and What is Good Design? (2022) -- a simple question without a simple answer. Lisa is now a full-time artist in the medium of cut paper collage. She joined Collab in 1993, making her the longest serving member. She is a former chair, and founded the Student Design Competition. Lisa is also a trustee of the Museum and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
Eileen Tognini
Collab Co-Chair, 2024
& Design Partnerships
Eileen Tognini Design
Eileen is a curator, collaborator and innovator, with an art-centric, bespoke approach to design projects. In her eponymous interior design studio, she works closely with artists and fabricators to create comfortable environments for commercial and residential clients, often by building their private collections of artworks with work by Philadelphia-based artists. In addition to steering the ship in her design studio, Eileen has curated large-scale exhibitions throughout the region, including a decade long project curating a sculpture garden at her 175-year-old farmhouse in rural Pennsylvania. A life-long Philadelphian, she has served on the Collab Committee for over 22 years, and is currently co-chair alongside Jermaine Jenkins.
Royce Epstein
Digital Journal &
Brand Ambassador
Mohawk Group
Royce is a 30+ year veteran in the commercial Architecture and Design industry, with experience practicing in design firms and product development for carpet and textiles. She is currently the Senior Director of Design for Mohawk Group. As both historian and futurist, Royce shares design insights and the meaning of materials in a broad context, finding significance in cultural shifts and how they shape the language of design. Royce feeds this into our industry’s touch points as a designer, trend forecaster, educator, lecturer, and writer. Her interests are in environmental and social sustainability for positive impacts.
Roberta H. Gruber
Student Design Competition
Fashion Design and
Professor Emerita
Professor Emerita and the former director of the Department of Design at Drexel’s Westphal College, Roberta is an award-winning illustrator, artist, designer and authority on the fashion industry. She trained as a fashion designer, creating women’s wear, wearable art, accessories and home furnishings before teaching. A contributor to The Fashion Encyclopedia (2015) and author and illustrator of Fashion Images (1999), Roberta’s work can be seen in the shop at the Museum and in the Collab Journal’s portraiture. She is Collab’s Educational Chair and leads the annual Student Design Competition of the Design Excellence Award program.
Rosemarie Fabien
Digital Journal &
Media and Communications
Fabien Communications
An award-winning public relations writer for architectural firms, Rosemarie knows how to tell a good story. With clients like Bjarke Ingels Group, Moto Designshop, VSBA, WRT, the Preservation Alliance and National Real Estate Development, she has edited master plans, ghost-written articles on design trends and social issues, drafted speeches for national figures and penned chapters for monographs. She holds an undergraduate degree from Barnard College and a doctorate in English literature from UPenn. In addition to the Collab Committee, Rosemarie is on the board of Fresh Artists, which provides art supplies and programs to the Philadelphia public schools.
Emily Perrotta
A&D Partnerships &
Design Excellence Awards
Ballinger
Emily has 20 years of professional experience designing award-winning interiors with Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects and Ballinger for cultural landmarks like the Barnes, the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, and the Obama Presidential Center. She is an active member of the International Interior Design Association and has served as a juror for Best of NeoCon. Originally from Pittsburgh, Emily is a Drexel alumna and has called Philly home for 23 years. She and her husband enjoy hiking, fly fishing and tying in the Western Catskills with their Boston Terrier Odin.
Lindsay Bedford
Student Design Competition & Media and Communications
Artist & Designer
Lindsay is an artist, designer and rising star in Philadelphia’s arts and culture milieu whose celebrated “Petal Procession” installation featured large vinyl rose petals strewn across the steps of the Art Museum in 2023. She holds an MS in interior architecture and design from Drexel’s Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, and is passionate about the power of the arts to spark change. In addition to Collab, Lindsay serves on the Fleisher Art Memorial board, and the Mural Arts Advisory Council, which honored her with a Fellowship for Black Artists in 2021.
Jermaine Jenkins
Collab Co-Chair, 2024 & Membership & Events
DesignPhiladelphia
Jermaine is a Philadelphia-based, multifaceted professional; he is the Director of Development and Strategic Partnerships at the American Institute of Architects, Philadelphia Chapter and DesignPhiladelphia leading their fundraising efforts. Spearheading the annual DesignPhiladelphia Festival, he taps his expertise in programming large-scale, collaborative events with design creatives. Engaging, resourceful and preternaturally organized, Jermaine is a community leader committed to investing in long-term relationships that support and enhance Philadelphia’s cultural environment. Currently co-chair of the Collab Committee alongside Eileen Tognini, his involvement showcases his commitment to fostering diversity and equity, ensuring that all have access to great design.
Kendra Linton
Media and Communications
& Social Media
CBRE Design Collective
Kendra is a Senior Interior Architect and Design Strategist with CBRE in Miami. Proceeding her move, Kendra lived and worked in Philadelphia, whose history, art and creative community influenced her work and prompted her involvement with Collab. Kendra’s role within Collab involves social media management, which is supported by her background in video journalism. Outside of Collab, Kendra can be found spending time with her husband, Dylan and dog, Farah. A former adjunct professor at her alma mater Drexel, she also enjoys mentorship and continues to stay involved with local universities and the South Florida IIDA.
Illustrations by Roberta Gruber, Collab board member.
Kathy Hiesinger
Senior Curator Emeritus of European Decorative Arts
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Trained at Wellesley and Harvard, Kathy joined the Museum in 1970 and retired in 2023 a renowned curator and art historian. During that half-century, Kathy curated voluminous exhibitions, including those with Collab’s Design Excellence awardees Michael Graves, Milton Glaser, Ingo Maurer, Florence Knoll Bassett, Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid. A prolific author, Kathy wrote or co-wrote essays, books and catalogues, including Designs for Different Futures (2020), Collecting Modern (2011), Zaha Hadid: Form in Motion (2011), Out of the Ordinary: Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown and Associates (2001), AntiqueSpeak (1997), Japanese Design (1994), Landmarks of Twentieth-Century Design (1993), Art Nouveau in Munich (1989), Design Since 1945 (1983) and Art in France under the Second Empire (1978), among others.
Membership
Become a Collab member at the $125 level. Membership contributions fund the group’s activities and support acquisitions, exhibitions, publications, and programs. Benefits include invitations and discounted tickets to special Collab events, and discounts on design books in the museum store. Enjoy exhibition previews, day trips, talks, special access to the museum’s design collection, and opportunities to mingle with design curators and visionaries.
Collab membership is available exclusively to museum members. To join or renew, first select your membership level and then check Collab under Enhancements.