April 2026
Message from the Chapters Team
Dear Chapter Officers,
Happy Spring! We hope you are off to a successful season and second quarter!
Thank you to our Chapter Officers for jumping on board with our brand new program launched at L2L. NKBA’s Student Mentor Program, sponsored by Kohler, is in full swing, with so many of our officers leading the way. Led by Sr. Manager Kelly Ann Ryan, NKBA’s Professional Development team has been hard at work customizing this program and connecting leading K&B professionals with emerging designer students. Our first semester program ends in mid-May. Please stay tuned for our next academic calendar year plans. Our Chapter Officers will be the first to know!
For our upcoming April Chapter Officer monthly Zoom meetings, we have our NKBA Research team sharing insights. Be sure to join us April 7 (Presidents); April 14 (Programs and Communications); and April 15 (Membership and Secretary/Treasurers).
Our 70 NKBA Chapters have lots in store this month, with a super special dual program hosted by Mountain States and Big Sky Chapters. Chapter Officers and members will meet in Salt Lake City, UT April 17-19 for their “Spring Weekender” multi-CEU event.
Other exciting events this month include Central New York’s “Kitchen Designer Day” for students and Mid Atlantic’s “Bloom into Spring” floral and color CEU event. We’ll turn up the heat with Metro New York at their Chapter Star Award-winning Best Overall Event, the 2nd Annual Chili Cookoff. Iowa has a “CEU-Palooza” planned, and Columbia River will present an Earth Day Lunch & Learn: Designing the Future of Energy. These – and many more – are world-class events this month from our NKBA Chapters!
Join NKBA on Tuesday, April 14, at 12:00 PM EST for our webinar featuring NKBA 2025 Educator of the Year Elizabeth Lord-Levitt, CMKBD, as she presents From Design to Build: The Importance of Construction Education in the Design Industry. Register here to attend this important event. Here’s to an awesome April for all, capped with NKBA at High Point Spring Market, April 25-27. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Warmest wishes,
Kelly
Kelly Buchsbaum
Director, Chapters & Professional Development
