WAVE OF
THE FUTURE
For more than two decades, Hospitality Design magazine has annually honored a handful of designers, architects, brand executives, and owners as the Wave of the Future—those who are young enough to be considered visionary, but tested enough to be accomplished. Get to know the 2026 honorees here:
Jimmie Drummond is an architectural designer, educator, lighting artist, and founder of his interdisciplinary design studio, Drummond Projects.
As his work touches many dimensions of architecture, he is compelled by socially driven causes that spur innovation, accessibility, and social and design equity. He leads housing and experiential hospitality projects that champion African-American identity, giving agency to the Black experience. His portfolio spans community centers, affordable housing, hospitality and mixed-use developments, and commercial office spaces—all aiming to create infrastructure for culturally resilient and vibrant experiences across the Northeast and beyond.
The first African American to earn dual master’s degrees in architecture and lighting design from Parsons School of Design, Jimmie founded his studio in 2020 to create spaces where communities feel seen and sovereign. He has shaped multifamily, hospitality, mixed-use, and cultural projects across the country, and previously practiced at SHoP Architects and Bernheimer Architecture in New York.
His work has been recognized by the World Architecture Festival’s 40 Under 40 North America (2025), Interior Design magazine’s HiP Awards (2024), The Washington Business Journal‘s Diversity in Business Award, and a ULI Americas Award for Excellence.
Paige Henney is the director of design for Hyatt’s Lifestyle Group, overseeing design for the company’s soft collection brands, including Bunkhouse Hotels and JDV by Hyatt. Based in Austin, Texas, she approaches hospitality design as a form of storytelling, creating experiences that connect guests to a destination through its history, culture, and creative community.
Most recently, Paige led the in-house interior design of Hotel Daphne in Houston, a finalist in the HD Awards’ Lifestyle Hotel category. She has also contributed to Hotel Saint Augustine in Houston, Hotel San Fernando in Mexico City, Hotel Genevieve in Louisville, and Equipment Room in Austin.
Paige began her career in New York after graduating from the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP). Prior to Hyatt, she worked as a hospitality designer at AvroKO and Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, as a designer at Uhuru Design, and as design project manager for Sean MacPherson, contributing to the restoration of the iconic Hotel Chelsea.
Ryan is an architect and design principal at Nuel+EwingCole with a focus on hospitality, performing arts, and sports environments. Known for his creative conception of well-branded and immersive interiors, Ryan capitalizes on his theater background to develop spaces that, like well-curated sets, are dramatic, memorable, and that tell a story.
With a design philosophy rooted in storytelling, his work promotes sensory experiences, creating environments that are emotionally resonant. By manipulating and curating form, space, light, air, and sound, Ryan uses all the tangible and intangible tools of his craft to celebrate the uniqueness of each specific client and their guests.
Reaching beyond hotels, Ryan considers hospitality to be the thread that weaves together all project types from healthcare environments to sports stadiums. His design thinking has been paramount in the strengthening of Live Nation’s Fillmore brand, having led the hospitality interiors of four Fillmore theaters in cities across the U.S., He also designed the major renovations to Irving Plaza, the Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts, and the premium guest hospitality amenities at the Philadelphia Phillies’ Citizens Bank Park.
Mapa is a Colombian-born interior designer whose career has been shaped by happy coincidences, bold leaps, and a deep belief that the places we inhabit shape who we become.
After earning her degree in industrial design in 2013, she began working alongside architects in Bogotá, designing and detailing custom millwork and furniture for hotels and restaurants. It was this hands-on and meticulous introduction to hospitality spaces that sparked her desire to pursue interior design more fully.
That passion brought her to New York, where she earned a master’s degree in interior design from Pratt Institute. What followed was a series of fortunate turns: a dream job offer, a Brooklyn apartment too charming to leave, and the person she would eventually marry.
Mapa spent four years at Rockwell Group before joining Life House, where she helped scale the in-house design team and led boutique hotel projects from concept through opening. Three years into her tenure there, an opportunity arrived through a former client’s recommendation—one she couldn’t ignore. In 2023, she took the leap and launched her own practice.
Since then, Mapa has had the privilege of opening hotels and restaurants across the U.S., including Hotel Albatross in Ocean Grove, New York and Belle & Grey in Wayzata, Minnesota. She has collaborated with Michelin-starred chefs to bring restaurants such as Indienne and Passerine in New York to life, while earning recognition for interiors that are as emotionally resonant as they are meticulously executed.
Today, Mapa and her team remain driven by a simple belief: that good design grows slowly, through listening and trust. It begins with understanding a client’s world, their guests, and the feeling they hope to create. It takes shape through close conversations with the craftspeople, tradespeople, and builders whose expertise transforms ideas into places. The most memorable spaces, in her view, are the ones shaped together.
For Kathianna Rousseau-Kind, shaping experience is an art form. As a director and senior associate at Rockwell Group, she creates hospitality environments that transform story, culture, and place into immersive worlds that connect people to one another and their surroundings.
Guided by curiosity, empathy, and a deeply collaborative spirit, Kathianna believes meaningful design emerges from listening to collaborators, communities, and the stories embedded within a place. Her work is grounded in regional heritage, materiality, and artisan craftsmanship, which she uses to shape environments rooted in memory, emotion, and human connection.
Kathianna helps define vision, programming, and guest experience strategy at a project’s inception. Through research into history and context, she develops narrative frameworks that guide projects from concept through completion. She believes the most memorable hospitality environments are carefully choreographed moments of discovery and belonging that linger long after a guest departs.
Her portfolio spans hotels, restaurants, wellness destinations, workplace amenities, and luxury residential projects, including collaborations with Union Square Hospitality Group, Related Group, W Hotels, Autograph Collection, Equinox Hotels, and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. Across every project, she is as interested in how a space is remembered as how it is experienced in the moment.
Beyond her design influence, Kathianna serves on the board of the Hospitality Diversity Action Council (HDAC). There, she helps advance diversity, equity, and inclusion across the hospitality industry through mentorship, advocacy, scholarships, and professional development. Through both her work and leadership, she continues to champion a more inclusive and human-centered future for hospitality design.
Ellen Saathoff is the vice president of design for Hai Hospitality, leading the design of multiple restaurant brands in cities across the U.S. She is passionate about assembling high-performing, collaborative teams of makers, artists, and local design partners to create spaces that are deeply rooted in place while remaining connected to each brand’s identity.
Coming from a family of food enthusiasts led by her grandmother, who appreciated the art of hospitality and a well-placed garnish, Ellen’s early memories revolve around family meals. Today, she is fortunate to combine two of her passions—food and design—creating spaces that evoke the warmth, community, and magic of gathering she experienced growing up.
After earning her Master of Architecture degree from the University of Texas in Austin, she began her career working on large-scale commercial and public-sector projects. As one of the first employees of Perkins&Will’s Austin office, she participated in hundreds of hours of community meetings and public forums, helping shape projects through meaningful stakeholder engagement. That experience laid the foundation for a design ethos rooted in empathy, storytelling, and a belief that each space should be thoughtfully connected to its context.
In 2019, she joined Hai Hospitality as its first in-house designer, pursuing her long-standing interest in hospitality design. She went on to create the in-house design team, Hai Design Studio, building a team that has supported the company’s rapid growth while elevating design standards across its brands. Over the last seven years, she has shaped the design strategy for the brand portfolio and assembled a talented team dedicated to creating thoughtfully crafted, timeless, and memorable guest experiences.
Whether working on an adaptive-reuse projects like Uchiko Denver, a former art gallery transformed into a high-end Japanese restaurant, or developing new shell fit-outs like Uchiba Miami, a cheeky cocktail bar in the heart of city, Ellen is energized by opportunities to create spaces that are warm, crafted, and place-based.
Her approach to design is both rigorous and creative, fostering a culture where experimentation is encouraged and local designers, artists, and makers are uplifted. By actively listening and building strong relationships with culinary, beverage, and operations teams, she guides each project toward a level of execution that thoughtfully considers every aspect of the guest and staff experience. Dedicated to authentic collaboration and elevating design excellence, Ellen has become a leading voice in shaping hospitality environments that are as high-performing as they are heartfelt.
Krystel Sam is an award-winning hospitality designer and brand strategist known for creating high-impact environments that elevate the guest experience and strengthen brand connection. She previously founded and led an award-winning hospitality design studio, delivering distinctive hotel, bar, and restaurant interiors. At Hilton, Krystel leads global brand design narratives, prototype guides, and forward-looking strategies that shape the evolution of the full-service portfolio and future brands. Her work focuses on crafting environments that authentically express brand identity and deliver meaningful, memorable guest experiences. Great design isn’t loud. It just makes you feel something!
Victor serves as the creative director for Davidson Hospitality Group to ensure thoughtful design spills into every facet of their portfolio. Victor’s passion for hospitality lies at the intersection of story and design, centered around narrative-based design. Over the past decade, he has worked around the world, building compelling projects across all major flags as well as boutique hotel and emerging brands in the lifestyle and luxury space. Victor aims to make sure projects include strong pull through, from vision to execution.