Charrisse Johnston

A former Wall Street strategic planning executive turned interior designer, Charrisse Johnston has led interior design practices in both the US and South Africa.

She is the current Chair of the African Institute of Interior Design Professions and a former Chair of the American Society of Interior Designers.

Charrisse has served on international design juries and lectured globally on the impact of interior design on improving human health and well-being.

While her work spans corporate headquarters and universities to multi-family residences, primary schools and private homes, she strives for one basic goal in all her designs: that the finished spaces not only look great, but they also make a real difference in the lives of the people inside them.

Corporate Experience

• Principal & Co-Founder, studioSALT, South Africa, 2018 - Present

• Principal & Firmwide Interiors Leader, Steinberg Architects, USA, 2015 - 2018

• Senior Associate & Studio Operations Manager, Gensler, USA, 2006 - 2015

• Founder, Princeton Event Consultants, USA, 1992 - 2000

• Vice President, Corporate Planning, Dean Witter Discover, USA, 1990 - 1995

• Manager, Corporate Intelligence, McGraw-Hill, USA, 1988 - 1989

Industry Experience

• Chairperson of the Board of Directors, The African Institute of Interior Design Professions, 2020 - Present

• Chairperson of the Board of Directors, The American Society of Interior Designers, 2016 - 2017

Academic Experience

• Instructor, Interior Architecture, UCLA Extension, USA, 2021 - Present

• External Verifier, Interior Design, Greenside Design Center College of Design, South Africa, 2018 - Present

• Thesis Advisor, Interior Design, California State University Long Beach, USA, 2015 - 2017

• Guest Lecturer, Savannah College of Art & Design, SCI-Arc, UCLA Extension, Woodbury University, Art Institute of Pittsburgh and University of Arkansas, 2008 - Present