The Success of NYSID’s Gala 2026 Will Impact Students for Decades
Yiannos Vrousgos, Ellen Kravet, Brooke Lichtenstein, William Sofield, Ken Fulk, David Sprouls
On Tuesday, March 3, NYSID held its Gala 2026 at a private club in New York City, securing more than $728,000 for NYSID scholarships. This year the gala was sold out, with 375 attendees. Gala 2026 was the second-highest-grossing fundraiser in NYSID’s history. (As the donations continue to roll in, it might become the highest.) The success of the gala will impact students this year, and in years to come.
The vanguard of the interior design community came out to celebrate excellence in the field and support the next generation of designers. “This gala has become a way to bring our professional community together, and an incubator for ideas about how to help the next generation of interior designers,” said NYSID President David Sprouls. “Say what you will about the competitiveness of interior design; In my experience, this community functions like a family–supportive, collaborative, and deeply invested in the future.”
At the event, NYSID honored William Sofield, founder of Studio Sofield, with the Albert Hadley Lifetime Achievement Award; Ken Fulk, founder of his eponymous firm, with the Larry Kravet Design Industry Leadership Award; and NYSID alumni Brooke Lichtenstein ‘10 (BFA) and Yiannos Vrousgos ’10 (BFA), co-founders of Input, with the Rising Star Award (sponsored by The Shade Store).
The Gala 2026 co-chairs were Ingrid Edelman, Alexa Hampton, David Kleinberg, Ellen Kravet, and Betsey Ruprecht. Dennis Scully, host of the Business of Home podcast, as well as curator of NYSID’s Dialogues on Design series, emceed the evening. The awards were beautiful, engraved Octogone vases, donated by Baccarat, the French luxury crystal company. Boatman Media produced videos about the honorees' careers.
William Sofield Wins the Albert Hadley Lifetime Achievement Award
Mayer Rus, the celebrated design journalist and West Coast Editor of Architectural Digest, introduced his longtime friend William (Bill) Sofield, before President Sprouls bestowed the Hadley award. Rus said, “If you look at the homes that Bill has occupied over the years, from his castle in Southampton, to the old porno theater in the East Village, to the lighthouse that started without a working toilet. . . in Maine, you will know that the world of Bill Sofield is profoundly beautiful and deeply weird. And there's a lesson for all of us: Celebrate your weirdness; celebrate beauty.”
Sofield, who knew Albert Hadley, recounted a moment he spent with the great designer outside the office of Aero, Sofield’s former firm, as they discussed a decorative object. Said Sofield, “I am an animist, which means I believe objects have souls. Behind every object that we encounter, there's a story: a life, a heartbeat, some important idea, and that can trace itself all the way back. These stories are extremely important.”
Dennis Scully, Ellen Kravet, Mayer Rus, William Sofield, David Sprouls
Ken Fulk Wins the Larry Kravet Design Industry Leadership Award
The Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and documentarian Ronan Farrow introduced Ken Fulk. Farrow is Fulk’s client of many years and his friend. Said Farrow, “(Ken) pulls in things that you just never expected in a space, and then he uses them to tell a story that connects with who you are most deeply and what you care about.” Ellen Kravet, Chair of NYSID’s Board of Trustees, bestowed the award that bears her father’s name.
Said Fulk, “I never had the benefit of going to an extraordinary school to learn to do all of this.... I moved to San Francisco, and it was a place of wonder, and I got to make up this extraordinary life, and I wake up every day with immense gratitude.”
Ellen Kravet, Dennis Scully, Ken Fulk, Ronan Farrow, David Sprouls
Brooke Lichtenstein ’10 (BFA) & Yiannos Vrousgos ’10 (BFA) Win the Rising Star Award
Zach Gibbs, co-founder and CEO of The Shade Store, which sponsors The Rising Star Award, introduced NYSID alumni Brooke Lichtenstein ’10 (BFA) and Yiannos Vrousgos ’10 (BFA), founders of Input. Lichtenstein and Vrousgos are married and met as undergraduates at NYSID. “It's truly an honor to be acknowledged here tonight among such industry leaders,” said Lichtenstein. “This award not only celebrates what we've accomplished up until this point, but it signals what's coming next. This is the beginning. This is momentum.”
Zach Gibbs, Ellen Kravet, Dennis Scully, Yiannos Vrousgos, Brooke Lichtenstein, David Sprouls
The Alumni Scholarship Goes to Caroline Vinci
As part of the celebration, the Alumni Council awarded an outstanding student with the Alumni Scholarship. The funds for this annual award were raised by NYSID’s alumni network, in conjunction with the Daniel House Club, the Alumni Award’s sponsor for a second year in a row. Marie Aiello, President of NYSID’s Alumni Council, introduced student Caroline Vinci (MFA1).
“Winning this scholarship is absolute confirmation that I am in the right place,” Vinci said. “As much as I loved last semester, working two jobs on top of my course load was making me a bit frazzled, and the extra money from this scholarship and others means that I can scale down to just one job this semester.”
President Sprouls concluded with the words, “By investing in education and setting young designers on a path to real credentials, you have made the profession of interior design stronger for those who come after you.”
David Sprouls, Ellen Kravet, Dennis Scully, Caroline Vinci, Marie Aiello, Peter Spalding
Missed the Gala?
If you were unable to attend Gala 2026 and would like to contribute to the NYSID Scholarship Funds, you can GIVE HERE, and designate a specific fund from the drop-down menu. You can designate an unrestricted gift to scholarships by choosing the Alumni Fund or Area of Greatest Need, or choose something specific, such as a scholarship to a specific degree program or Study Abroad.