As the economy picks up and the design industry grows, leadership opportunities abound on the horizon. Will you be ready to take advantage of them? Will your business be prepared with the pipeline of talented leaders it needs?

The American Society of Interior Designers has the answer: Gain relevant skills you can apply immediately in your workplace at the Society’s Design to Lead Summit, May 2 – 3 in Atlanta.

Created especially for emerging professionals and mid-careerists from interdisciplinary backgrounds, the event will provide training you can use as soon as you return to your office. Design to Lead features sessions on negotiation, problem solving, communication, analytical thinking, business acumen, emotional intelligence and leveraging your leadership strengths. Keynote presentations and hands-on workshops will culminate in summit participants pledging to take action on one lesson from the summit starting on Monday, when they’re back at work.

ASID follow-up activities will assess the summit’s impact and allow participants to keep in touch with their cohort.

Victor Ermoli, dean of the School of Design at Savannah College of Art and Design, will open the summit and guide participants through its activities. Marty Neumeier, director of Transformation at Liquid Agency, will deliver Design to Lead’s closing keynote. In between, prominent design industry thinkers, including John Spirk, Nottingham Spirk; Margaret Alrutz; Nila Leiserowitz and Tama Duffy Day, Gensler; and Jim Cramer, Design Intelligence; will help attendees build their leadership skills.

A networking experience at the innovative urban artist community SCADpad tops off the summit.

So, host a rising star or register yourself and … design to lead.