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Distinguished alumnus owns international firm

Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Loraine O'Connell

District Board of Trustees Chairman Lisa Greer and D. Troy Beasley at May 7 Commencement.

D. Troy Beasley was always “more right-brained than left,” but it wasn’t until his mid-20s that he discovered where he wanted to channel his creativity. One class in interior design was all it took. “I was thrilled and passionate about it,” he recalls.

He credits Seminole State College and Interior Design Program Manager Jill Smith with helping him transform that passion into a career that he remains excited about today.

“Jill expected a lot out of me, and that made me want to do the best I could,” he says.

Beasley graduated from Seminole State in 1990 and within three years started his own design firm with wife Stephanie Henley.

“Her background is finance and marketing, and mine is design, so it was a great ‘marriage’ of two people starting a business,” he says.

Beasley & Henley Interior Design is an international firm specializing in luxury commercial and high-end residential design, with offices in Winter Park and Atlanta. Beasley has designed everything from homes in China to villas in Kuwait, condos in Chicago, and restaurants, clubrooms and hotel spas everywhere in between.

With three sons and a thriving business, Beasley and his wife lead busy lives. But Beasley recently accepted the chairmanships of the Interior Design Advisory Group and the new Interior Design Alumni Club.

His goals for both groups are to increase support for the college’s interior design and architectural programs, and to raise their profiles within the community.