The conversation around hybrid work is no longer enough.
AI, automation, and changing employee expectations are redefining how work gets done and what people expect from the spaces that support it. Firms and manufacturers are being asked to move beyond flexible schedules and rethink how workplaces enable focus, connection, wellbeing, and culture.
The organizations that respond with clarity and purpose will lead. Those that rely on outdated models risk falling behind client and workforce expectations.
What You’ll Learn
And keep the conversation going with these helpful reads from today's panelists:
Susan Fernandez is Senior Vice President of Marketing at UpSpring, where she specializes in helping clients differentiate themselves in the competitive building and architectural product industry. After receiving her MFA from Pratt Institute, Susan began her creative career in New York City. An early focus on graphic design led her to roles at top advertising agencies, where she gained a deep understanding of how branding connects to human emotion. Prior to joining UpSpring, she was the founder and CEO of Epiphany Studio, a marketing agency dedicated to elevating brands in the built environment.
As a skilled brand strategist, Susan’s approach is rooted in uncovering each client’s core identity and aligning it with long-term growth and development goals. A passionate mentor, Susan is committed to empowering her team and always reminds them that their potential is limitless. She is also the Co-Founder of Cast Carbon, a pioneering startup focused on revolutionizing the built environment with bio-based building materials. Outside of work, Susan can be found sweating it out in an inferno hot yoga or Pilates class.
Eric Kline, Senior Director of Global Workplace Experience at Adobe, leads the teams shaping the strategy, design, and delivery of Adobe’s workplace, food, wellbeing, and global events programs. With more than 20 years at Adobe, Eric blends art and science, sociology and psychology to create meaningful, inclusive, and futureforward employee experiences. His work has been featured in Fast Company, Fortune, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, and Time, and he has spoken on global stages including Adobe MAX and NeoCon. Eric partners with leading research institutions to advance and advocate for neuro-inclusion, belonging, and human-centric design in the modern workplace.
Rob Kirkbride is editor-in-chief at OI Publications, where he manages the editorial direction for officeinsight, viewpoint and Converge magazines (www.officeinsight.com). He is the third generation in his family working in the office furniture industry (his son is the fourth generation). Rob has degrees in journalism and economics from Michigan State University. When not writing, Rob is an avid record collector with more than 3,000 titles in his vinyl collection. He is also a voracious reader and a long-suffering Detroit Lions fan.
Kay Sargent is a licensed and certified Interior Designer with 40 years of experience. She served as the Director of Thought Leadership, Interiors for HOK and leads project teams that solve clients’ challenges related to strategic planning, workplace strategy, change management and designing for inclusion. Kay is a member of both American Society of Interior Designers’ College of Fellows and the International Interior Design Association’s College of Fellows. The American Society of Interior Designers also has honored Kay with its highest award, naming her a “Designer of Distinction” whose body of work represents excellence in interior design. And in 2025, she was named to the top 20 distinguished leaders who are reshaping workplace strategy and office design.
Outside of HOK, Kay serves on the prestigious Delos Advisory Board alongside wellness and sustainability advocates such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Deepak Chopra. She also served on the international board of directors for AVIXA; CoreNet Global; IFI, the International Federation of Interior Designers/Architects; IIDA; ASID; and NCQLP.
She was recently selected from her field of peers to provide Congressional Subject Matter Expert Testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives and has since been called to share her expertise multiple times.
Kay has established herself as an innovative thought leader. She has authored numerous reports and conducted extensive research on designing for neuroinclusion. Kay and the team at HOK have been award multiple awards for their work on designing impactful environments and addressing neuro-inclusion in the built environment. Kay has authored a comprehensive book on neurodiversity entitled “Designing Neuroinclusive Workplaces.”
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