SEAN EVERETT is the Executive Director of the DPL Foundation. While attending Wayne State University working toward a degree in psychology, the Main Library was his favorite place to study. He started as a volunteer with the Foundation in 2013 and was named the Executive Director in 2015. Prior to working at the Foundation and living in Detroit, Sean spent ten years working in the private sector holding positions in Human Resources and Operations Management.

Leslie Ann Pilling is a native Detroiter and life-long designer. Over the span of her career, she has owned and operated Presence II Inc., parent company to Presence II Productions. Her firm consults on Design whether Interiors or Fashion. She is a ghost designer and business consultant for fashion brands.

In 2015 she founded Metropolitan Museum of Design Detroit (MM-O-DD) a non-profit based in Detroit Michigan. The design museum is the only one in Detroit which is in the nation’s only Unesco City of Design. The mission is providing access to experiential educational enrichment opportunities through collaborative programming and exhibitions. The result of her vision is to attract and offer world-class opportunities to “students” of all ages through its “edutainment” model. Edutainment, or experiential learning, is the spark that uniquely defines MM-O-DD. Her determination is to inspire creativity and innovative thinking on how design impacts people and the planet. Her goal is to ignite interest in design and related fields of study as a profession or personal passion. Part of MM-O-DD’s vision is to seed talent, mentor and support in the development of the next generation of designers.