The Rhode Island Historical Society will host its first Newell D. Goff Lecture of 2025 on Wednesday, May 7th, 6pm. The talk, Designing the Future Now will be presented by Cynthia E. Smith, Curator of Socially Responsible Design at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
Design can act as a catalyst for change. With an aim to provoke and inspire a collective dialogue, Smith will present a brief history of the ever-evolving area of socially responsible design, along with a range of design approaches from around the world. Examples span numerous scales, geographies, strategies, and design disciplines—from landscape architecture to product design—including the ways a new generation of designers are designing the future now.
Guests will enjoy a light reception prior to the talk. The reception begins at 5:30 p.m., with the talk starting at 6 p.m.
This talk is the first in a series of three Goff Lectures that will be presented in collaboration with Smithsonian Affiliations in 2025. Each presentation will explore a different aspect of the RIHS’s annual theme Homegrown RI, which will delve into Rhode Island's natural world and the ways we have shaped our state's landscapes by creating spaces for communities to gather, celebrate, live, and remember. The Newell D. Goff Lecture is the Rhode Island Historical Society’s signature free talk where a scholar at the top of their field discusses a topic essential to understanding our past.
Cynthia E. Smith serves as Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum’s Curator of Socially Responsible Design. Cynthia trained as an industrial designer; has led multi-disciplinary design and planning projects; joining Cooper Hewitt after earning a graduate degree at Harvard’s Kennedy School. She co-authored The Politics of Genocide: U.S. Rhetoric vs. Inaction in Darfur for the Kennedy School Review; co-organized the Social Impact Design Summit with the NEA; curates and authors an international exhibition and publication series and is currently organizing an exhibition on landscape architecture to open in 2026. Cynthia serves on international design juries, including the Resilient by Design Bay Area Challenge; is the Smithsonian expert on Inclusive Cities for the World Economic Forum’s Transformation Map; and lectures widely on socially responsible design.
The Rhode Island Historical Society, the state's oldest and only statewide historical organization, is dedicated to honoring, interpreting and sharing Rhode Island's past to enrich the present and inspire the future. Founded in 1822, the RIHS is an advocate for history as a means to develop empathy and 21st -century skills, using its historical materials and knowledge to explore topics of timeless relevance and public interest. As a Smithsonian Affiliate, it is dedicated to providing high-quality, accessible public programming and educational opportunities for all Rhode Islanders through its four sites: the John Brown House Museum, the Museum of Work & Culture, the Mary Elizabeth Robinson Research Center and the Aldrich House.
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