Mariel Acevedo, ALR and Amanda Schaneman, ETC
Location: Sutton South
TuesdayApril 14, 2026
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET
Credits 1 LU | HSW
Intermediate
Trauma Informed Design (TID) is a newer field of research and design focusing on creating low-stress, comfortable, and supportive spaces for people who have experienced or are currently in a traumatic event. There are many different principles, depending on the type of building, but there are a few constant throughlines: safety, connection to nature, control of the space, autonomy, and low stress. As you can imagine, lighting & its interaction with interior design and architecture (colors, textures, wayfinding) plays a massive role in the successful implementation of TID practices. We will talk through the principles of TID and how to design lighting for a space with these in mind.
Learning Objectives
- Define trauma and understand it’s implication on human responses
- Identify the core principles of trauma-informed design (TID)
- Evaluate lighting strategies that support comfort, autonomy, choice, safety and connection
- Apply trauma-informed design lighting concepts across different building types.
Speakers
Mariel Acevedo
Specifications
ALR
Mariel studied Theater and Anthropology at the University of Puerto Rico, where she started her theatrical lighting design career. She worked as a tech in theater and as a grip and set builder in film. In 2006 she joined the Glenn International team as a sales rep where she got her LC and with some friends re-started the San Juan IES Section, which led to her participation in Leadership Forum and her dedication to IES for the past 13 years. After a stint with her baby in the hospital, she became very invested in Healthcare Lighting and the experience of patients and their caretakers and worked on making it one of her specialties. After re-doing the lighting in her father’s office, she realized the importance of lighting for the Visually Impaired and joined the RP-28 Committee of which she was a member and contributing writer from 2013-2024.
In 2013 she moved to Portland, Oregon to work for a local rep and in 2023 joined the ALR OR team doing Specification Sales. She is currently the Chair of the IES DEIR Committee of which she was a founding member and is the Vice Chair of the IES25 Lighting Conference Committee. She is an educator and an organizer – herding cats is her specialty – and has pushed to diversify all the boards and organizations she work with from DBIA to her kids schools. Through her education work and focus on Healthcare and DEI she has worked on several Trauma Informed designs in the past year.
Amanda Schaneman
Specifier Relationship Manager
ETC, Inc.
Amanda Schaneman is a Specifier Relationship Manager at ETC, Inc., where she works with lighting designers, architects, engineers, and other industry professionals to connect people with the tools and knowledge they need to create better spaces.
With more than 15 years in the lighting industry, Amanda has worked across engineering, sales, marketing, and now specifier relations—giving her the ability to see lighting from just about every angle. Her work has focused on making complex lighting topics easier to understand and helping bring thoughtful, human-centered design into spaces where lighting has to do a lot of heavy lifting.
Amanda is an active member of the lighting community, Illumination Awards committee chair, and a frequent presenter on topics ranging from healthcare and trauma-informed design to inclusive lighting strategies. She believes good lighting should be functional, accessible, and, whenever possible, make people feel a little more at home.
When she’s not talking about lighting, Amanda can usually be found renovating something she probably should have left alone, baking, or hanging out with her dog and her nieces.