DLA Program
The Design Leadership Academy (DLA) is a focused, three-month leadership development experience created for current IIDA Professional Members who lead both people and projects and are ready to deepen their leadership practice. Led by Joanna Kozlowski of Resolute Consulting and presented by IIDA MAC, the program brings together a small, peer-level cohort for intentional, in-person learning centered on emotional intelligence, change and conflict, and values-driven leadership. Through practical frameworks, candid dialogue, and reflection, participants strengthen their leadership identity, confidence, and day-to-day decision-making—gaining tools they can immediately apply within their firms and the profession.
Information & Requirements
✓ All current IIDA MAC Professional Members are invited to apply for this 12-person cohort. This is an application-based selection process.
✓ Sessions are held in person from 4:00–7:00 PM. By registering, participants agree to attend and fully commit to all sessions.
✓ program fee is $500 per person and is due upon acceptance into the cohort.
APPLICATION process
STEP 1
Be an IIDA member. To be considered for the DLA program, designers must be IIDA Professional Members.
STEP 2
Fill out the application! The application includes general information, four long-response, and firm leadership approval.
STEP 3
Submit your application by February 26, 11:59 EST. After a review period, you'll find out if you've been selected for this DLA class.
About our Faculty
Joanna Kozlowski is the founder and principal of Resolute Consulting, a Washington, DC-based training, facilitation, and advisory practice serving professional services firms. She works with ambitious professionals responsible for both people and complex work who seek greater clarity, judgment, and intention.
Joanna brings more than two decades of experience working with leaders across the built environment, including architecture, engineering, construction, and interior design. Her work is calm, candid, and rigorous, helping leaders see what matters and move forward with clearer judgment and more effective action. She bridges the human and business sides of leadership, addressing emotional intelligence, values, conflict, decision-making, and identity in service of clearer choices, strengthened competence, and well-grounded confidence.
Resolute Consulting is a high-touch, relationship-driven practice. Joanna personally designs and facilitates all engagements, partnering closely with clients rather than scaling through standardized programs. Her work is grounded in the belief that most leadership challenges are clarity challenges, not motivation or capability problems, and that meaningful development requires honest reflection paired with practical application that strengthens both competence and confidence.
In her facilitation and teaching, Joanna creates environments that support trust and candor in service of honest assessment, accountability, and better decisions. She combines structured frameworks with space for real conversation, allowing experienced leaders to examine assumptions and test new approaches. Her facilitation style is steady, direct, and respectful of participants’ experience and time.
Joanna works with senior leadership teams, firm principals, and professional associations, designing workshops, offsites, and leadership programs. She serves as faculty and facilitator for groups seeking depth, rigor, and relevance, with a focus on cohort-based, peer-level learning.
As faculty for the IIDA MAC Design Leadership Academy, Joanna brings a deep understanding of the pressures senior interior designers face and a facilitation style well suited to a selective, peer-level learning environment. The Academy reflects her core stance: leadership development should sharpen judgment, build real competence, strengthen confidence, and translate directly into better day-to-day choices.