A Team of Industry Experts
KB Designers Network is built on the foundation of the decades of kitchen and bath industry expertise possessed by our founding team and advisory board. That experience and insight is shared freely with all of our members through our content, community forums and exclusive events.
We are proud to introduce you to the team that inspires us every day!
Members Regularly Engage With Our Experts
Janice Costa
Janice Costa is the founder of KB Designers Network. She is excited to be at the helm of KB Designers Network, forging an exclusive community for the talented, creative professionals who populate the kitchen and bath industry. Formerly editor of Kitchen & Bath Design News, where she provided editorial content and direction for the magazine for more than 26 years, Janice had the opportunity to facilitate communication and education in the kitchen and bath industry in myriad ways, from writing and editing articles, speaking at trade events and judging design competitions to serving on trend panels, conducting industry research and speaking about design trends on local and national TV.
Ellen Cheever
Ellen Cheever brings a dynamic combination of design excellence and best business practices to her business and residential clients in the kitchen and bath industry.
A Certified Master Kitchen and Bath Designer, Professional Member of the American Society of Interior Designers and a Certified Living in Place Professional, Cheever works with residential clients as part of a residential design practice based in Wilmington, DE. Her design work has been honored by the American Society of Interior Designers, The Sub-Zero Design competition, the KWC Design Competition and the National Kitchen & Bath Association.
Leslie Hart
A member of the National Kitchen & Bath Hall of Fame, Leslie Hart is a widely recognized industry journalist and branding expert with experience in trade and consumer media, as well as with advertising agencies.
As long-time editor and publisher of Kitchen & Bath Business, she became a powerful voice for the industry, and she also helped to develop trade shows and conferences.
Karla Krengel
Karla Krengel is a third-generation kitchen and bath industry entrepreneur at the helm of Krengel & Hood, which she describes as “a new school rep firm.”
She has deep roots in our industry: Her Grandpa Bill started Kitchens by Krengel in St. Paul, MN, in the 1950s, her Dad was a manufacturer’s representative and her Uncle Jimmy was an educator for and past national president of the NKBA. She worked alongside her father at Krengel & Associates, a rep firm and helped her brother start up Kitchens.com and Cabinets.com.
Mary Jo Peterson
Mary Jo Peterson, CKD, CBD, CAPS, CAASH, CLIPP is an award-winning author, speaker, educator and designer with more than 25 years of experience working in the kitchen and bath industry. She is president of Mary Jo Peterson, Inc, established in 1993, which offers specialized expertise in kitchen, bath, and universal/accessible design. Her firm offers consulting services to private clients, product manufacturers and builders/developers/architects in the design of universal spaces and products, and her projects run the gamut from the Betty Crocker Kitchens at General Mills to designs for Del Webb, Pulte and other major homebuilders to exhibit spaces for GE Appliances, Jenn-Air and Hafele..
