Kimberly JOI McDonald, PhD Doctoral Student

Author and Host, Leadership Journey with Kimberly JOI McDonald, MPA

Kimberly JOI McDonald is a Doctoral Student in the PhD Global Leadership and Change Program at Pepperdine University. She is also the Founder and CEO of Designing JOI, LLC, a national award-winning and published professional residential and hospitality interior design firm. Kimberly’s first dynamic career was as a successful 12-year local government executive and Lead Lobbyist for the City of North Las Vegas at the Nevada State Legislature. Kimberly is a past Governor Appointee to the inaugural Nevada Commission on Homeland Security & Lead Co-Chair of the By-Laws & Legislative Subcommittee (2003-2005). She is a Founder and Past President of the National Interior Design Society Foundation, Inc. She is a Past National President of the Interior Design Society [2018-19] and happens to be the first Black president. On their behalf, Kimberly JOI is the first to serve on the International Design Continuing Education Council (IDCEC) [2018-19]. She is the Founder and Charter President of the IDS Las Vegas Chapter (2011-12) and a Past Finance Director for the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) California Central / Nevada Chapter (2011).

Kimberly JOI She is the Past President of the Board of Directors for the Foundation for Positively Kids Board of Directors (2015 -17), and their past pro bono lobbyist and legislative consultant (2006-07). She is a Founding Board of Directors Member of Nevada Rise Academy public charter school (2016-18). She was a 1998 Top Ten Women of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA), and ABWA National Secretary-Treasurer (1999-2000). She was the 2003 General Chairman of the ABWA National Convention held in Las Vegas, and President of the Southern Nevada Area Council of ABWA Presidents (2003 & 1996). In college, she also pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.  Education:  Master’s in Public Administration (Summa cum Laude), Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and Bachelor of Arts in Interior Design (Honors). She was awarded an Interior Design Society (IDS) Fellow (in 2022), the highest honor of the Society, and is a Past National President of the Interior Design Society (2018-19). She was awarded the 2021 Stylus Changemaker Award (inaugural class). She was selected to be a Real Vegas Magazine’s 2020 Women Who Wow:  Women of Substance Honor (2020). She was selected to be My Vegas Magazine’s 2017 Top 100 Influential Women of Las Vegas, and a Past Distinguished Woman of Southern Nevada for the years 1997, 1999, and 2015. She is a show house producer and co-interior designer of the 2020 Las Vegas Armoniosa Showhouse and a featured designer in celebrity designer Donna Moss’s Best of Show book.

Formerly as IDS National President, she was the first to serve on the International Design Continuing Education Council (IDCEC) [2018-19] for Canada and North America. Other 2022 awards:  ASID ANDYZ Award for Best Outdoor Design (ASID /California Central Nevada Chapter) and IDS Designer of the Year Award for Best Outdoor Design. She is the first black IDS National President and was the inaugural chair of the first Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She is the Founder and Charter President of the IDS Las Vegas Chapter and a Past Finance Director for the ASID California Central / Nevada Chapter.

Kimberly enjoys leadership, emotional intelligence, artificial intelligence, community service, mentoring, and philanthropy, in addition to her creative, writing, entrepreneurial, and joyous pursuits.