Kevin Ervin Kelley
Kevin Ervin Kelley
Kevin Ervin Kelley, AIA, is an award-winning architect, experience designer, and co-founder of the bi-coastal strategic design firm Shook Kelley. As a lifelong advocate of bringing people together in prosocial settings, Kevin’s expertise is in studying how the environment of a place affects our behavior, perception, and decision-making. Since opening their firm’s doors in 1992, he has worked with executive leadership teams for some of the world’s most well-known brands, such as The Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Whole Foods, Kraft Foods, The J.M. Smucker Company, The Cleveland Orchestra, professional sports teams, universities, urban districts, and hundreds of local and regional businesses to stay relevant and profitable in our rapidly changing modern landscape.
In addition to being a frequent speaker at retail, food, and other consumer conferences in the U.S. and abroad, Kevin taught courses at Harvard University and his alma mater, the University of NC at Charlotte. Kevin gives away everything he’s learned in the field and the boardroom in his debut book, Irreplaceable: How to Create Extraordinary Places that Bring People Together.
9 AM Entrepreneurship Keynote
The Bonfire Effect: Sparking Innovation and Connection in a Digitally Distracted World
Let’s not kid ourselves—since the rise of smartphones and social media, people spend more time in virtual spaces than in physical ones. This digital drift has upended everything from retail to religion, orchestras to startup culture. In this provocative lecture, behavioral design architect Kevin Ervin Kelley explores how place-based organizations can create social and emotional value that transcends the transactional, commoditized nature of the internet. Drawing from his book Irreplaceable and decades of strategic design experience, Kelley shares essential principles for designing meaningful places that foster innovation, fuel entrepreneurship, and draw people together around a timeless, universal human experience he calls The Bonfire Effect.
Location: Jewett Theater
10 AM Entrepreneurship Panel
The Innovation Engine: Driving Ideas Forward with Creative Force
At the crossroads of creativity and commerce, this conversation dives into how thoughtful design and bold entrepreneurship can reimagine spaces, solve problems, and inspire meaningful growth in both business and community.
Location: Jewett Theater
