Dave Denny and Rose Young Honored at IIDA’s Pioneers in Design

May 14, 2026

IIDA Northern California has named Dave Denny and Rose Young as recipients of the 2026 Distinguished Achievement Award at its annual Pioneers in Design event. The recognition celebrates two careers defined by business success and a lasting commitment to the design industry and community.

For 13 years, Dave Denny and Rose Young have been one of the most recognizable partnerships in the industry. Denny is the Founder and CEO of Insidesource; Young serves as Principal of Global Strategic Accounts. Together, they represent more than six decades of combined experience shaping workplaces and the industry itself. Their influence runs deeper than any single project or client – they are, by any measure, pillars of the Northern California design community.

Dave Denny founded Insidesource in 1991 on a conviction he still holds today: the spaces people work in directly shape business culture, creativity, and performance. More than three decades later, that belief has translated into a company with 11 locations spanning Northern California, the Pacific Northwest, the East Coast, London, and Singapore, earning recognition as one of the Bay Area’s fastest-growing private companies over the past 20 years.

Denny's leadership philosophy centers on trust. He invests deeply in talented people, gives them room to lead, and remains personally committed to the success of every client, employee, and project that carries the Insidesource name. That same ethos extends beyond the office: for 12 years, he has served on the board of Philanthropy by Design, an organization that renovates spaces for nonprofits and gives furniture a second life. He’s proud to call himself PBD’s “furniture guy.” 

“The spirit of partnership and collaboration in this community – the pursuit of great design – is unparalleled, in my mind. So thank you for the standard you uphold. For demanding better. For designing and creating bravely and boldly. And for letting Insidesource be part of work that truly matters.”

Rose Young brings more than 30 years of experience in the contract furniture industry, shaped by design training, entrepreneurship, and executive leadership. A Bay Area native who studied design at San Francisco State University, she began as a designer and carried that creative instinct forward through sales, operations, and senior leadership roles, including a decade running the San Francisco branch of One Workplace and the founding Young Office in 2006, the first women-owned HNI/Allsteel dealership.

When Young Office merged with Insidesource in 2013, Rose continued leading the combined organization. Today she oversees workplace strategy for large, complex global accounts and plays a central role in Insidesource's international growth across Europe and Asia. Beyond client work, she is deeply committed to mentoring emerging designers and students entering the industry. In her words: 

“It’s not about selling furniture. It’s the interactions and the relationships that I’ve built, whether they be with clients or designers, or people in our industry. That’s my passion. That’s what keeps me going.”

IIDA's Pioneers in Design honors those who have made meaningful contributions across the industry, expanding the ways design impacts individuals, organizations, and communities alike. The Distinguished Achievement Award recognizes significant and sustained contributions of skills, expertise, or service to the interior design profession.