April 14, 2026 Certified Interior Designers Business Meeting Minutes

DATE: April 14, 2026
TIME: 01:30 PM
LOCATION: 100 S. Charles Street
3^rd Floor Conference Room Tower 1, Baltimore, MD 21201
(Video Teleconferencing via: https://meet.google.com/xyp-ayfs-gyu)
(By Phone: Dial (US) +1 208-718-1767 PIN: 598 245 157#)

MEMBERS PRESENT: Carmen Parsons Sneed, Chair, CID
Nichole McCollum, Secretary, CID
Cynthia Berardo, CID
Suzanne Frasier, CID
Elizabeth Glenn, Consumer Member

MEMBER ABSENT: Michael Daly, CID, RA

STAFF PRESENT: Zevi Thomas, Executive Director
Raquel Meyers, Assistant Executive Director
Emily Hanson, Board Counsel
Noraida Lozano, Board Administrator

OTHER PRESENT: Aajah Harris, Policy Director, Maryland Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing
Lisa Cole, Co-Director of Advocacy, Maryland Coalition for Interior Designers

Called to Order

Carmen Sneed, Chair, called the business meeting of the Maryland State Board of Certified Interior Designers to order at 1:31 pm, virtually via https://meet.google.com/xyp-ayfs-gyu, by Phone Dial (US) +1 208-718-1767 PIN: 598 245 157#.

Approval of Minutes

Motion (I) was made by Ms. Sneed, seconded by Ms. Berardo, and unanimously carried by the Board to approve the January 13, 2026, business meeting minutes with no corrections.

Complaint Committee Report

None

Outreach Committee

Ms. Berardo reported that the committee had several meetings to discuss goals and objectives to define an official outreach statement. The committee attended the Morgan State University CIDQ presentation on Friday, March 27, with Kayla Karp, CIDQ, Governance, Engagement, and Meetings Manager. The event was well attended by students, and a discussion was held on the path to certification in Maryland.

Outreach benchmarks were established, including:

Reaching out to Maryland institutions with interior design programs and following up on the best times to schedule a campus visit. The following schools are being considered:

Baltimore Design School, which enrolls grades 6 through 12, has a design and architecture track
Montgomery College, which has an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in interior design with a general concentration. This program has transferred relationships with the universities of Morgan State, George Washington, and Marymount.
Baltimore County Community College has an AAS degree in interior design.
Anne Arundel County Community College offers an AAS degree in Interior Design within the School of Science, Technology, Education, Architecture, and Interior Design.

Another goal was to contact the Mid-Atlantic chapter of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and introduce the Maryland CID Board Outreach Program. The committee inquired about the best programs or events to reach the greatest number of new and experienced designers and encourage certification. (The IIDA contacts are Karen Batista at Ayers Saint Gross - 202-628-1033 and Amy Chavez at Hanbury - 410 280-4983)

The committee is also looking to reach experienced designers who live in another state but work in Maryland.

As of the Maryland Outreach committee’s most recent brochure, the mission is to continue to contact individuals and restate the outreach program’s ultimate purpose: to encourage certification and promote the profession for the benefit of Maryland citizens. The committee fulfills this mission by setting standards, enforcing regulations, providing services, and conducting research to ensure public safety and well-being.

Goals for the statement include:

Explain that being licensed means you can sign off on your own plans (size restrictions) for permits, at the same time, and it keeps you from having to pay an architect for consulting services.
Show proof that licensed designers often obtain larger contracts, like government or corporate jobs, and often earn higher salaries
Shift the focus from decorating to public safety. Remind everyone that designers protect lives by knowing fire codes, making buildings accessible, and choosing safe materials.
To show that licensure levels the playing field by affording CID comparable respect as architects and engineers.
Reaching design students while they are still in school, so they know exactly how to obtain certification once they graduate.

The Maryland Outreach committee will be preparing slides next month using the Maryland State Board of Architecture presentation as a template. These slides can be used in their entirety or as part of a CIDQ slide deck for future meetings at Maryland schools. The committee is also meeting with the Washington, DC Interior Design Board this week to discuss outreach and collaborative work ideas.

Ms. Sneed is preparing two articles for the Maryland State Board of Certified Interior Designers newsletter. These articles will cover the B’More Expo held in November 2025 and the CIDQ Outreach presentation on March 27, 2026. She also plans to reach out to other Board members for additional committee members to support the Outreach committee.

Executive Director’s Report

Mr. Thomas reported that the Board is updating the Maryland State website to ensure compliance with the Department of Justice Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

Mr. Thomas encouraged the Board to review the model law and regulations from CIDQ. He would like them to share their impressions and concerns about the proposed model law. The Board can select and implement the aspects that best work for this Board. He has some reservations about certain ideas but wants to hear the Board’s input first. He specifically mentioned his concern about consolidating the Board with another design board, though he is open to the Board deciding on this option.

Ms. Sneed asked to clarify why the model law language is based on registration or registered interior designers, while Maryland uses certification instead of registration. Mr. Thomas replied that he could follow up and investigate that information. He added that the Board’s current Title, rather than a Practice Act, may be a factor, and that this Model Law aims to facilitate the transition to a Practice Act.

Mr. Thomas mentioned that if this were to take effect, at some point, the Board would eventually need to amend Maryland CID law and regulations by changing the name from the Maryland Board of Certified Interior Designers to possibly the Maryland Board of Registered Interior Designers. This would also likely affect registration. The Board of Landscape Architects recently went through a similar process. They conducted a full review, modernized the language, and changed the board’s name from the Board of Examiners of Landscape Architects to the Board of Professional Landscape Architects. There is a precedent. If the board decides to move forward, we can establish a committee or task force to work on this effort.

Board Counsel’s Report

Ms. Emily Hanson, Assistant Attorney General with the Department of Labor, introduced herself. She stated she has not been advised by Mr. Venuti of anything that needs to be reported to the Board this month, but she is available to answer any questions.

New Business

None

Old Business

CIDQ Model Law Task Force

Ms. Sneed reminded the Board members to email their comments on the CIDQ Model Law to her, and she would forward them to Mr. Thomas.

Correspondence

None

Executive Session

None

Adjournment

There being no further business to discuss, Motion (II) was made by Ms. Sneed, seconded by Ms. McCollum, and unanimously carried by the Board to adjourn the meeting at 1:57 p.m. The next Board Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at 1:30 pm.

Signed:
(Signature on File)
Carmen Sneed, Chair

Date:
July 14, 2026