MiniCon 2026 · Happy Hour Session
Learn about the exercises that connect district initiatives to the spaces that support them.
About the session
Engagement, belonging, school culture, a wider range of learners than the building was ever designed to hold. Those are the priorities districts carry into a project, and they are the hardest ones to get down on paper. Reaching a plan takes the right people in the room, the right questions asked early, and agreement before anyone starts drawing.
That work has a process, and this hour is about walking through it. Marisa Sergnese of Steelcase will show you how a district's goals get surfaced, tested, and turned into a roadmap the whole team can build from, using the same exercises she runs with districts and their design partners.
You will see what those conversations look like in practice and where they change the direction of a project.
The workshops, activities, and discovery sessions that get a district's goals out of people's heads and onto the table.
What the findings turn into when they leave the room: priorities ranked, initiatives phased, and a document a district can put in front of its board, its architect, and its budget.
School districts that have been through this process, the decisions that came out of it, and how those decisions shaped the project that got built for their students and staff.
6501 Living Place, 3rd Floor, Bakery Square. Seats are limited.
Who is leading the session
Marisa is an education strategist and researcher focused on where learning, space, and institutional change meet. She is an experienced school administrator and adjunct faculty member, and she has spent years on strategy development, active learning environments, and space planning with schools and design leaders.
She is known for facilitating conversations that connect research and human-centered design to what students, faculty, and district communities need. Marisa holds a Master of Education and is an EDmarket Certified Learning Space Planner.
Make a day of it
MiniCon is Franklin's two-day product showcase event, where commercial interior manufacturers bring their newest furniture, flooring, and technology to Bakery Square. Walk the floor and see what is shaping classrooms, libraries, labs, and the collaborative spaces in between. Registration is separate for each day and each session.
Manufacturer displays, materials, and the full exhibitor floor.
Stacy Thorwart, The Intelligent Designer. Lunch included.
Marisa Sergnese, Steelcase. Hosted by Franklin and Steelcase.
Happy hour right after Marisa’s session. Open bar, food, and a photo booth, with printed calendars to take home. Included with November 3 admission.
Manufacturer displays, materials, and the full exhibitor floor.
Bill Flanagan of WPXI's Our Region's Business moderates a conversation with leaders from the City of Pittsburgh, UPMC, JLL, and BNY on what the region's AI growth means for the people building here.
See the full two-day schedule, the exhibitor list, and everything else happening at MiniCon 2026.
Getting there
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