EFA Celebrates Design Champions

About the program

Environments for Aging‘s annual EFA Design Champions awards honor those who are working to introduce design solutions that make a meaningful improvement in the lives of residents, staff, and/or the greater community.

Nominations for the 2026 awards program must be submitted by July 8.

The program looks specifically for contributions made to the design of senior living environments within the past two years (2024-2026) and requires details that support how those contributions are representative of a mission to evolve and improve this sector.

Nominees may include architects, interior designers, providers, owner/operators, community staff/caregivers, engineers, construction professionals, researchers, academics, etc.—anyone directly involved in the design of a senior living environment.

Nomination details

Related work should be in settings such as skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care, short-term rehabilitation, hospice, independent living, and 55+ housing, with considerations made for senior-specific solutions created in acute and post-acute care facilities. This program celebrates the accomplishments of individuals; however, one team award may be considered.

The editors of Environments for Aging will review all submissions and determine the winners. Check out the 2024 Design Champions here.

Winners will be recognized in special editorial coverage appearing in the fall issue of Environments for Aging and celebrated during an awards luncheon to be held at the annual Environments for Aging Conference + Expo.

EFA awards programs

The Design Champions will alternate yearly with Environment for Aging’s Next Wave Awards, a program celebrating up-and-coming leaders in the senior living industry.

For questions, contact Executive Editor April Shernisky at [email protected].

EFA Design Champions

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About You

Your Full Name*

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May we contact you with follow-up questions?*

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About The Nominee

Nominee's Full Name*

First Last

Nominee's Title/Organization*

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Description/Summary

Tell us about the nominee’s professional history and why he/she is worthy of recognition in this program.*

Provide a detailed example of this individual's influence on a senior living design project/initiative in the past two years (2024-2026). This may include new construction/renovations/expansions, master planning, rebranding/repositioning, research studies, regulatory changes, etc.*

In that work, how was this person a champion for design solutions that 1) make a meaningful difference in the lives of residents, staff, and/or the community, and 2) push the senior living design industry forward? Include specifics on the nominee's role and responsibilities and how it impacted the project.*

Photo upload
You may include up to three project images to supplement your nomination by using the button below (do not send headshots). Please name your image file using the nominee's full name (e.g. "johnsmith.jpg"). For multiple photos, add a number at the end of the file names ("johnsmith1.jpg”). Don't include spaces or special characters. (Acceptable formats are files ending with: jpg, gif, png maximum files size of 3 megabytes.)

Image 1

Max. file size: 128 MB.

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Image 3

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