To understand where David’s drive to encompass positive change within educational spaces comes from, you need to visit David as a student. Although a straight ‘A’ student, school didn’t fit him, as education was designed for a completely different learner. Recognized by many, 20th-century education was centered around the average majority and David pushed back. There were
no processes to satisfy the requirements of students on the fringe. This led David to be placed in a special education classroom during second grade.
This diversion in his educational journey was instrumental in the development of who David Stubbs is as a person. The special education class had a variety of students who also didn’t fit the mold of school thus David experienced and learned about diversity in the classroom at an early age. It naturally led to a view where inclusion, agency, well-being, and kindness are, and should always be, a central focus. This concept is clearly reflected in all of David’s work for over 35 years.
After earning a B.S. in Architecture from The Ohio State University, David embarked on a career in architecture. He spent 15 years in private-practice design consulting with a focus on K–12 education before migrating to the client side. During his six years as Director of Facilities Planning and Construction for the Clarke County School District in Athens, GA, David managed a five-year, $120 million building program funded by a sales tax referendum.
Reacting to an abysmal 42 percent graduation rate, in 2010 the district challenged employees to rethink the educational experience in any way possible. David responded by designing Shift+. This systems-based approach to educational furniture has since revolutionized the world’s understanding of a user’s social-emotional balance as derived from a school’s spatial and ergonomic experiences.
Having gained stature as an industry influencer, David also now consults with school districts, architects, furniture manufacturers, and other education and design industry interests to reprioritize student comfort, needs, and physical and emotional requirements. Today Shift+ offers an evolving ecosystem of over 250 codable items, including the most recent round of products that safely recreate the concepts of cave, campfire, and watering hole nearly 30 years after Dr. David Thornburg coined terms for these learning environments.
As a designer, educator, learner, author, and innovator David A. Stubbs II leads with empathy and the simple, direct expectation that better learning experiences produce better learners.
