One-on-One with Cheryl English

Interview with Cheryl English, vice president of government & industry relations, Acuity Brands

2 MIN READ

Gregory Miller

This story was originally published in Architectural Lighting.


Cheryl English is part of a select group of lighting professionals who have shaped the industry as we know it. After graduating from the University of Colorado Boulder, she took a job at Lithonia Lighting in Conyers, Ga., (now part of Acuity Brands) and has been with the company for 36 years. During that time, she has worked in all facets of the business—application engineering, software development, and even marketing. In her current role as vice president of government & industry relations, she is recognized as a leading voice on the subject of energy codes as they relate to product development and lighting. English has earned the respect of her peers and those beyond the industry, so it came as no surprise when she was elected 2017–18 president of the Illuminating Engineering Society. (Read more from English on her thoughts about her role as IES President here.)


What represents innovation in lighting?
Anticipating people’s future needs.

Is there a person or text that’s influenced your thinking about light?
Ray Anderson’s Mid-Course Correction: Toward a Sustainable Enterprise: The Interface Model (Peregrinzilla Press, 1999). Ray was one of the pioneers in focusing on corporate responsibility to people and to the environment.

Where is the lighting industry heading?
It’s about progress. However, we can’t lose focus on the importance of lighting quality.

Where are energy codes heading?
As technology has changed, policy and regulators have fixated on the energy efficiency of the equipment itself, becoming more stringent on the watts per square foot. It’s still a power-based system, but people recognize the desire to move to an energy-based type of system where it’s kilowatt-hours per square foot or metering.

What impact will that have on lighting?
There needs to be a step back from product regulations and/or appliance standards. I don’t think it means that we have to get rid of them, but we need to put in context how they relate to overall building efficiency—especially now that we’re getting into smart systems.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out in lighting?
Learn as much as you can, surround yourself with people you respect, and look forward.

“Everyone gets so enamored with the newest technology. We have to understand the purpose behind these long-lasting decisions.” — Cheryl English, vice president of government & industry relations, Acuity Brands

To read more stories like this, visit Architectural Lighting.

About the Author

Elizabeth Donoff

Elizabeth Donoff is Editor-at-Large of Architectural Lighting (AL). She served as Editor-in-Chief from 2006 to 2017. She joined the editorial team in 2003 and is a leading voice in the lighting community speaking at industry events such as Lightfair and the International Association of Lighting Designers Annual Enlighten Conference, and has twice served as a judge for the Illuminating Engineering Society New York City Section’s (IESNYC) Lumen Award program. In 2009, she received the Brilliance Award from the IESNYC for dedicated service and contribution to the New York City lighting community. Over the past 11 years, under her editorial direction, Architectural Lighting has received a number of prestigious B2B journalism awards. In 2017, Architectural Lighting was a Top Ten Finalist for Magazine of the Year from the American Society of Business Publication Editors' AZBEE Awards. In 2016, Donoff received the Jesse H. Neal Award for her Editor’s Comments in the category of Best Commentary/Blog, and in 2015, AL received a Jesse H. Neal Award for Best Media Brand (Overall Editorial Excellence).Prior to her entry into design journalism, Donoff worked in New York City architectural offices including FXFowle where she was part of the project teams for the Reuters Building at Three Times Square and the New York Times Headquarters. She is a graduate of Bates College in Lewiston, Me., and she earned her Master of Architecture degree from the School of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis.

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