PCC interior design faculty and alumni earn national recognition
Story by Misty Bouse. Submitted photos.
Portland Community College faculty and students continue to gain national visibility.
This year, instructor Betsy Brandenburg was named a 2025 Innovator by Kitchen & Bath Design News, while three PCC-educated designers from the interior and architectural design programs, Allison Hedrick, Bethany Broussard, and Emma K. Winn, also earned prestigious honors from the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) as young professional leaders. Hedrick won first place in the NKBA Student Design Competition Kitchen Design category, and Broussard and Winn were named NKBA’s Thirty Under 30 Class of 2025.
Last March, an interior design instructor was awarded the inaugural 2025 NKBA/KBIS Educator of the Year award.
Betsy Brandenburg.
Brandenburg joined PCC’s Interior Design Program in 2023 and has a bachelor’s degree in Interior Architecture from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. She brings 30 years design experience from running her own design studio in Portland to her early career in San Francisco as a designer specializing in high-end hotels. The instructor is known for her practical, industry-aligned approach to teaching.
“It’s an honor to be recognized as a KBDN Innovator,” Brandenburg said. “I want designers to know it doesn’t have to be so hard to deliver projects on time and on budget without losing your mind. This recognition reinforces that it’s a message designers want and need right now.”
In class, she introduces students to the “Design Roadmap System” that she created and they work on practicing project management in real time. By tracking their time and planning their schoolwork using the system all semester long, they learn how to manage a busy workload without the stress.
She said PCC excels at preparing students for real-world practice by connecting coursework directly with industry expectations.
“The curriculum isn’t just academic; it’s rooted in what designers actually need to know,” she said. “This business is also all about who you know, and PCC does a great job helping students build those relationships.”
Faculty regularly join students at industry events, introduce them to working professionals and incorporate hands-on career skills into the classroom. Brandenburg said her students’ enthusiasm strengthens her commitment to the program.
“Their energy is infectious,” Brandenburg said. “They remind me what an honor it is to make a living in this field. I’m so incredibly honored to be able to teach at PCC. The energy and talent is really remarkable.”
For more details on PCC’s Interior Design Program, visit its webpage.