Chee Pearlman began her career as an editor and writer at I.D. Magazine, where she became editor-in-chief in 1993 – the youngest editor in the publication’s 50-year history.  At I.D., she spearheaded a movement to redefine and recognize the impact of design while also elevating the wonders of overlooked everyday objects. I.D. Magazine received five National Magazine Awards, including three for general excellence,  under her direction.

In 2001, she founded the consultancy Chee Company Inc., creating books, conferences, exhibitions and journalism that raised design’s visibility. She co-chaired the Chrysler Design Awards for its 10-year duration and oversaw the Curry Stone Design Prize with its founders for 5 years. Both projects brought recognition and funding to dozens of design innovators. She also curated the landmark Voting Booth Project exhibition at The New School in NYC in 2000, and the Art Center Design Conference in Pasadena from 2004 - 2008.  She was the guest curator of an acclaimed exhibition of fashion icon Isaac Mizrahi at the Jewish Museum in New York in 2016.

Chee’s career has also been characterized by independent writing and editing. She contributed to the New York Times, Newsweek, Domus, Popular Science and Travel & Leisure and has edited numerous books, including Spectacle by David Rockwell and Perverse Optimist by Tibor Kalman. She is the editor of the exhibition catalogue Isaac Mizrahi: An Unruly History.

Her engagement with the creative community has led Chee to serve on the boards of the American Institute of Graphic Design, the Art Directors Club, and the American Society of Magazine Editors.  In 2011, she was awarded a Loeb Fellowship for a year of study at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. 

In 2016 Chee became a curator at TED Conferences specializing in arts, design, culture and creative fields. She is based in NYC.