The ASID Small Business Council was established in 2010 to determine what business support, services and products the Society might offer, provide and/or deliver, either directly or indirectly, that would help the ASID member and small business principle to sustain and grow their firm and offer those in a menu of options to members.

The ASID headquarters staff liaison is Michael Berens To reach a member of the Small Business Council, please submit your inquiry to mberens@asid.org


	Marcello Luzi, ASID, Chair Marcello Luzi, ASID is managing principal at Weixler Peterson Luzi, a small interior design firm based in the Philadelphia area that specializes in high-end homes, schools, and small scale offices. He is also head of a small interior design business consulting firm that specializes in counseling small design and architecture firms. Luzi took on the challenge of leading this new council with a desire to make each and every member who is a small business owner or who works in a small business a better business person so they may have rewarding and profitable careers: “People who love this profession AND who can make money at it will only strengthen the profession and draw high quality talent to the design field, thereby strengthening it and making it grow into a well-respected and valued profession.”

	Connie LeFevre, ASID, RID Ten years ago, after practicing interior design for twenty-plus years, Connie LeFevre opened a showroom to the trade in the Houston Design Center under the same name of Design House Inc. Recently, she opened a second showroom, Fabric House, in the design center. “How exciting it is to be a part of an ASID Business Council that recognizes and supports the majority of our members who are small business entrepreneurs. I would like the Council to continue the work we began last year by bringing means of support, education and networking to our membership, especially critical in these economic times.”

	BJ Miller, ASID, CCIM BJ Miller is founder and president of The Vision Group Studios, a multidisciplinary collaborative utilizing a human centered approach to create generative space in the development, design and identity of Lifestyle Communities. As founder and managing partner of Urban Redevelopment Alliance, in east Tennessee, BJ facilitated communication and resources between public and private interests in the revitalization of the Tri-City’s downtown. In a more recent role with the University of Tennessee, BJ’s interest in health and wellness has fostered the creation of a course elective, Designing Environments for Health, Whole Community Wellness, offered to a multi-discipline audience of architecture, design, planning, public health and gerontology students.

	Tim Schelfe, ASID Tim Schelfe is the owner and principal of Schelfe and Associates, Inc.,a professional interior design firm with studio offices in Bethesda, Maryland and Raleigh, North Carolina. Schelfe and Associates specializes in high-end interior design for custom residential projects. “As a small business owner for over 13 years, I understand the challenges and opportunities small design firms face every day. As a member of the Small Business Council, I will work to provide our members the most relevant and most useful business tools to help their small businesses succeed.

	Brenda Strunk, ASID Brenda Strunk, ASID, is a designer, general contractor and owner of a small Design/Build firm, Shaping Spaces, specializing in residential and commercial multifamily housing. “The greater my involvement with ASID, the greater my business success through business leads, sources, and marketing opportunities. This council gives guidance to ASID so it can provide needed tools and knowledge to grow new and existing design businesses.”