Thomas B. Russell, who devoted many years to the Industrial Designers Society of America at local, regional, and national levels, passed away peacefully on October 3, 2022.
Tom began his District service to IDSA in the late 1990s, assisting the Northeast District Vice President in organizing and coordinating the District Conferences in Syracuse in 1997 and Boston in 1998. Tom also organizied and facilitated the first three Northeast District Student Chapter Officer Orientation Programs (SCOOP), reaching out to IDSA Student Chapters and promoting active student leadership and vibrant chapter activities.
Tom served as Vice Chair of IDSA’s Boston Chapter from 1996 to 1999 and as Chair from 2000 to 2001. During this time, he initiated and organized many Boston Chapter events, and represented the chapter at the national level as Northeast District IDSA Education Committee Representative from 1996 to 1998.
Throughout his time at IDSA, Tom studied and voted on education issues and awards. He was responsible for assessing merit of scholarships and abstracts for conference paper presentations.
Born in Brockton, MA, Tom earned his bachelor’s degree from Mass College of Art and Design, with further studies at University of Westminster in London. In addition to being an accomplished Industrial Designer and woodworker, he worked as a professor at MassArt, his alma mater, and was beloved by his students.
An influential educator and IDSA member, on top of being a devoted husband, father, brother, son, grandfather, and friend, Tom will be greatly missed.