Katia Kolovea
Katia co-founded both the Virtual Lighting Design Community and the Silhouette Awards, established the educational platform The Lighting Police, and serves as a core team member of the Women in Lighting global initiative. Her passion lies in the impact of quality lighting on everyday life, alongside her dedication to talent development and community growth within the industry.
At Light24, Katia will represent the VLD.Community in an informative session and later co-host a Silhouette Awards session focused on the power of mentorship, featuring a live pitch from emerging talent, mentor-mentee dialogues, and a discussion on fostering creativity and leadership in lighting.
A former council member of the Society of Light and Lighting, Katia is also a judge for the LIT Design Awards and a recipient of the 40under40 Lighting Design Award in 2019, sharing her passion for lighting, creativity, and design through public speaking, workshops, and events worldwide.
Eve Gaut
Eve is the founder of Parrot PR and Marketing, a creative marketing agency working across a range of sectors. A highly motivated, successful and experienced marketing and PR professional, Eve has built up an enviable reputation.
Having worked primarily in the specification industry for more than 15 years, her expertise has been proven in a variety of roles, across numerous disciplines and with leading brands.
As well as leading a dynamic team of other marketing professionals at Parrot PR and Marketing, Eve remains operational and works closely with her clients personally overseeing all activity. She offers consultancy services and training to some of the biggest names in lighting, technology and the specification sector. Eve also runs a mentorship programme, supporting marketing, sales and business development professionals looking to further their career.
In addition to her directorship and day-to-day work at Parrot, Eve is a strong advocate for women in the lighting industry and was recently nominated for a Women in Lighting award. She champions equality across the sector, participating in, speaking at, and promoting industry events and campaigns. Eve oozes passion and creativity and prides herself on bringing fun to her work. In Eve’s own words “No day is the same, and No day is boring”.
Sarah Dodsworth
Sarah Dodsworth is a Founding Partner of creative consultancy Ekho Studio, established in 2021 as a fresh force in design, looking to shape how people live, work and play for the better. The consultancy’s work has already been shortlisted for 15 creative awards, of which it has won 7 to date, including ‘Best Small Studio’ at the London Design Awards 2022 and the ‘Breakthrough Talent Award’ at the FX Awards 2023.
Sarah is a workspace specialist, a BCO North panellist and awards judge and also lectures and leads workshops in Interior Architecture at Leeds Beckett University. In 2024, she was named as one of Insider North West’s ’42 Under 42’, focusing on ‘the best of the region’s emerging talent.’ Her work and views on ways of working, wellbeing, lighting design and sustainability have been published in media titles such as FX, MIX Interiors, WORKS Magazine, Designer, DARC and Material Source.
Dan Griffiths
Dan Griffiths is a dedicated member of the Lighting Industry Association (LIA) in the role of Technical Operations Manager. He is bringing his expertise and enthusiasm for the lighting industry to the organisation. Committed to collaboration and progress, Dan actively participates in LIA initiatives that promote best practices, innovation, and the positive impact of lighting on people and the environment.
With over 14 years of lighting industry experience, Dan is a creative professional with a unique blend of product design and lighting design expertise. With a background in lighting controls and commissioning, he leverages his understanding of user experience, aesthetics, and technical knowledge to help members provide the best lighting solutions. Dan is passionate about optical design and photometry and looks to bring a greater focus to the industry on the importance of photometry.
Leveraging his in-depth knowledge of lighting technologies and applications to support the organisation's mission. He plays a key role in developing industry standards, educational resources, and advocacy efforts related to photometry, dark skies, smart lighting systems and sustainability. Dan's commitment to advancing the technical landscape of the lighting industry ensures that LIA members have access to the latest information and best practices.
