NYS Green Building Conference
2016 Green Building Conference

Key Note Speakers

Marge Anderson
As a member of Seventhwave’s leadership team, Marge is responsible for strategic planning, financial management and business development to inspire real and lasting change that advances economic and environmental sustainability.

Marge is passionate about building the human capacity for a sustainable world, with particular emphasis on the built environment. Her current work addresses both technical and human behavior knowledge gaps that prevent sustainable and regenerative energy use in buildings. She has a strong background in nonprofit governance, education design and integrating education into energy efficiency programs to meet market transformation goals. Marge also develops policy and program recommendations for decision makers related to green jobs, capacity building and market-based educational approaches.

Marge serves on the Board of Directors of the New Buildings Institute. She also serves on the Advisory Council of the U.S. Green Building Council and chaired the USGBC board in 2015. Marge earned her bachelor’s degree in English and politics from Mount Holyoke College.

Anthony Leiserowitz, Ph.D. is Director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and a Senior Research Scientist at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies at Yale University. He is an expert on public opinion and engagement with the issues of climate change and the environment. His research investigates the psychological, cultural, and political factors that influence environmental beliefs, attitudes, policy support, and behavior. He conducts research at the global, national, and local scales, including studies in the United States, China, and India. He is also the host of Climate Connections, a daily national radio program and podcast.

Jodi Smits Anderson
Jodi is the Director of Sustainability Programs for DASNY. She’s had many leadership roles with USGBC local and national committees. She’s been an architectural designer and administrator and assisted with greening the Executive mansion. Her work includes implementing green building goals and green procurement, and advancing state policy related to green buildings.

Erik C. Backus
Erik C. Backus, PE, LEED AP, FMP, is the Howard E. Lechler Endowed Director of the Construction Engineering Management program at Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY. Erik teaches courses and executes research/work in an array of topics related to the built environment including: sustainability, resilience, and life-cycle thinking of infrastructure and buildings. He serves on the University Sustainability Committee and is an affiliate faculty in the Institute for a Sustainable Environment. Erik, who was a past-member of the Faith Based Community Action Team for the US Green Building Council (USGBC), continues to serve as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve, was recently appointed to the APPA Informatics Working Group, and is a member of the Steering Committee for Lutherans Restoring Creation.

Martha Bohm
Martha Bohm is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Architecture at the University at Buffalo, part of the SUNY system. She teaches design studios as well as courses in ecological practices, sustainability, resilience and environmental systems. Her research interests include finding ways to integrate analytical tools into design processes in order to better see the unseeable. She was the lead faculty member and PI on UB’s 2015 entry in the US Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon, the GRoW Home. Before coming to UB she was Sustainable Design Coordinator at William McDonough + Partners in Charlottesville, VA. Prior to that she taught in the architecture department at Cornell. She was a Ginsberg Research Fellow at the US Green Building Council and authored the USGBC Research Committee's National Green Building Research Agenda in 2009. She earned her M Arch at the University of Oregon, and got her BA in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Harvard.

David P. Bruns
David P. Bruns is General Manager and owner of Bruns Realty Group, LLC. Through building his business from 1 to over 360 apartment units, Mr. Bruns has mastered every aspect of apartment maintenance and management. Bruns Realty Group, LLC was formed in December 2006 and currently has 11 employees.

Karla Butterfield
Karla is a Senior Sustainability Specialist at SWA, working with residential buildings. Her expertise is in sustainable consulting services, program certification support and implementation of high performance and sustainable building technologies. With architects, developers, builders, and homeowners, she develops specific sustainability strategies for both new construction and renovations. Ms. Butterfield is an integral part of the initial strategic planning sessions and workshops with stakeholders based on program criteria; she verifies in the LEED for Homes, Passive House, Energy Star, and National Green Building Standard programs.

Christopher Button
Christopher Button has been a design and construction professional for over 25 years, most of which has been in higher education. Professionally, he manages planning, design, and construction for a small liberal arts college, and sits on the College's Climate Task Force. He holds degrees from Onondaga Community College, and SUNY-ESF in architecture and construction management, and has been active in promoting sustainability his entire career. Chris is a veteran, a TedX talker, and a geocacher, when he's not spending time with his wife and three daughters.

Terry Brennan
Terry Brennan is a building scientist and educator. He is the owner of Camroden Associates, Inc., a small consulting and research firm located in Westmoreland, NY. He trained in physics and environmental science. He presented testimony to the Institute of Medicine committee on Committee on the Effect of Climate Change on Indoor Air Quality and Public Health. He is otherwise old and done a lot of stuff.

Anthony Catsimatides
Anthony Catsimatides is a professionally licensed architect whose firm, Open Atelier Architects, takes critical position in building issues ranging from social to technological applications. The firm was founded upon green and sustainable projects in the early 2000's.

James D’Alosio
Jim is a Principal with Klepper, Hahn & Hyatt, with 30 years’ experience as a structural engineer, responsible for design of new buildings and renovations. Interests include alternative structural systems and building envelope. A former chair of the USGBC NY Upstate Chapter, he was formerly on the USGBC National Board.

Nate Goodell
Nate Goodell is a senior engineer at Taitem Engineering focusing on commissioning and M&V. Taitem is a consulting firm founded in 1989, specializing in engineering design and consulting in all areas of building efficiency and sustainability. Nate is a senior engineer and works primarily as a commissioning agent but is also involved in Taitem’s M+V work. Both are Certified Commissioning Professionals through the BCA and Existing Building Commissioning Professionals through AEE.

Robert Haley, AIA LEED AP
NYS Licensed Architect; Robert Haley Architect, 2009-present; CoDirector of The Urban Design Center of Syracuse, 1999-present; Lecturer, Colgate University Department of Art and Architecture, 2011-2013; Director of Design at Ashley McGraw Architects, 1999-2009; Associate Partner QPK Architects, 1977-1999; Professor of Architecture, Syracuse University School of Architecture, 1970-1977

Robert Haley combines a professional career in design and planning with teaching and continuing education experience. As a 26 year member of the Central New York Chapter of the American Institution of Architects, serving as Board Member and Director of Education he has created and offered many Continuing Education courses for the CNY Professional Design Community.

Hugh Henderson
Mr. Henderson is General Manager at CDH Energy Corp, in Cazenovia, NY. CDH Energy is a consulting firm that specializes in evaluating new energy technologies. He has collected detailed field-monitored data and developed building simulation tools to evaluate a wide range of energy-efficient technologies for residential, commercial and industrial applications. He works extensively with NYSERDA on various energy efficiency delivery programs as well as conducting research and demonstration evaluations.

Casey Johnson
Casey Johnson, Marmoleum Business Development Manager and Director of Sustainability for North America, Forbo Flooring Systems, has more than 35 years in the floorcovering industry. He has been with Forbo Flooring Systems for 25 years and has been actively involved with the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), and the Health Product Declaration Collaborative serving as team lead for Forbo. During that time, Mr. Johnson has presented and lectured on several key issues relating to sustainable building, EPD and HPD, Environmental manufacturing, Sustainable Product Standards and Life Cycle Assessments, and product Transparency.

John Jones
John Jones is BPI’s National Technical Director, overseeing development of BPI’s technical standards and implementation of the BPI GoldStar program and Rater program. Previously, John was the Program Manager of the Home Performance Programs for the Residential Efficiency and Affordability Program at NYSERDA where he had oversight of a $20M annual budget. John had direct oversight of the development of the NYSERDA Green Residential Building Program and Green Jobs-Green New York program, the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® (HPwES) and New York ENERGY STAR Homes programs. Prior to joining NYSERDA, John owned and operated a residential and light commercial HVAC business serving central New York and served as an instructor for the New York HPwES program. He received a Bachelor degree in education at SUNY Oswego.

Steve Klocke
Steve Klocke is a Senior Sustainability Consultant at Steven Winter Associates, Inc. He is a registered architect with experience in architectural design, construction and weatherization in residential buildings. He currently specializes in LEED® for Homes and ENERGY STAR certifications and residential energy analysis. Since joining SWA he has supported building science efforts including the US Department of Energy’s Building America research program. Steve trains numerous groups of contractors, architects, developers, and mechanical system designers in best practices for high performance housing.

Richard Kimball
Richard Kimball is a Certification Team Lead with the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). Richard manages a team of GBCI reviewers located in the United States and India. During his time at GBCI, Richard has been involved in the certification review of over 500 projects pursuing LEED Certification, including nearly all types of projects in locations throughout the world. As a member of GBCI’s in-house review team, Richard is responsible for performing quality evaluations of contract reviewers, developing CIR responses, and addressing LEED customer service inquiries.

Prior to joining USGBC, Richard worked as a Mechanical Engineer for Bergmann Associates in Syracuse, NY. In that role, he developed energy models for over 100 projects pursuing LEED Certification and provided support to various utility incentive programs.

Richard is a Professional Engineer (12 States), LEED AP, and President of the ASHRAE Central New York Chapter.

Co-presenting with Anna Packard

Maureen Mahle
Maureen McGeary Mahle is a Senior Vice President and Director of Sustainable Housing Services at Steven Winter Associates, Inc. (SWA), a leading research and consulting firm specializing in energy efficient and sustainable buildings. Maureen has certified over 7,000 green housing units in ten states. She works to tie human health to energy efficiency and green building, and her projects have been early adopters of Active Design Guidelines and the WELL Building Standard.Under her leadership, SWA is a three-time recipient of EPA’s Indoor airPlus Leader Award for rating healthy homes.

Edward McGraw
Edward McGraw is a founding partner and Chief Executive Officer of Ashley McGraw Architects, located in Syracuse, New York He strives to obtain excellence in every project by embarking on a process of collaboration with other respected design professionals and those influenced by the collective outcome. Under his direction, the firm has embarked on a foundational shift toward design that understands and participates in the relationship between our built and natural environments. Ed serves on the advisory board for the Syracuse University School of Architecture and is a former President of the Central New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Anna Packard
Anna Packard has been a LEED Certification Reviewer at GBCI since 2012. In this role she reviews LEED projects for certification, performs quality control oversight, and provides technical customer service assistance to LEED project teams. She works with various rating systems, including Schools, New Construction, Commercial Interiors, Retail, and Core and Shell. Additionally, she works closely with GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) in its new partnership with GBCI.

For five years before joining GBCI Anna worked for Steven Winter Associates as a sustainability consultant. She has a degree in Geology/ Environmental Science from Union College in Schenectady, NY and currently lives in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Co-Presenting with Richard Kimball

Jim Quirk
Jim Quirk has been with NYSERDA for 15 years. During those 15 years he has managed numerous programs, including Home Performance with Energy Star, as well as the Residential and Small Commercial PV and Solar Thermal Programs. Jim currently works in NYSERDA's Codes and New Construction Group and manages the Low-rise Residential New Construction Program. The Low-rise Residential New Construction Program promotes the construction of single-family homes and low-rise residential dwelling units that achieve high levels of energy efficiency, inclusive of net zero and are more durable, more comfortable, and provide a healthier environment for their occupants than would otherwise be achieved.

Nick Rajkovich
Nicholas B. Rajkovich, PhD, AIA is an Assistant Professor at the University at Buffalo in the Department of Architecture. His research investigates the intersection of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and adaptation to climate change in buildings and communities. Prior to earning a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Michigan, he was a Senior Program Engineer at the Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) Company Customer Energy Efficiency Department. At PG&E, he was responsible for coordinating a new Zero Net Energy Pilot Program. He has a Master of Architecture from the University of Oregon and a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University.

Tarek Rakha
Tarek Rakha is an architect, building scientist and educator. He is Assistant Professor of Architectural Design and Building Technology at Syracuse University, and Faculty Research Fellow at the Syracuse Center of Excellence. His primary scholarly expertise are in the fields of modeling urban energy flows & human-powered mobility, daylighting & energy in buildings, as well as generative design & optimization. Prior to joining Syracuse University, he was Adjunct Professor at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Tarek completed his PhD in Building Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he was an instructor and part of the Sustainable Design Lab as a member of the developing team for umi, the urban modeling and simulation platform.

Jesse Schwartzberg
Jesse Schwartzberg founded Black Mountain Design Build (BMDB) in his hometown of Saranac Lake, NY in 2011. BMDB specializes in high quality, regionally focused design; high performance energy consulting; and ecologically sensitive landscape design.

Scott Smith
Scott Smith, a professional Engineer, founded Experienced Brick & Stone in 2009 to prevent street bricks and other usable materials from being dumped in landfills. Scott has been involved in numerous projects reclaiming street bricks, cobblestones, curbing and stone building elements. These archaeological digs have created a wealth of knowledge about historic installation methods, available materials and their history. He also provides advice on material selection and installation methods to support other design professionals.

Pasquale Strocchia
With over twenty years of professional experience in the housing sector, Pasquale has been dedicated to High Performance Building since 2004. As a building performance consultant and Energy Rater he has worked on over 1,000 homes including an array of multi-family projects. A growing portion of his work is performing forensic investigations to help resolve building failures related to energy efficiency retrofits.

Michelle Tinner
Michelle, CLEAResult Senior Technical Support Analyst, kicked-off her building science career as a home performance contractor for NYSERDA’s EmPower New York Program, an energy reduction service for low-income families. Embracing a whole system’s approach to building, she became a HERS Rater, Certified Passive House Consultant, and a BPI certified Building Analyst, Envelope, Heating, as well as AC/Heat Pump professional.

With a commitment to professionalism and education she’s currently seeking her MS in Sustainable Construction Management at SUNY ESF to bind innovation and sustainability with affordability.

Dragana Vlatkovic
Dragana Vlatkovic studied structural engineering in Europe and design in USA. She worked as a lead designer for few big national firms before opening up her own design company. Since the company funding her work has been exclusively focused on design and construction of smaller size homes on tight budget for owners wishing to grow-in-place with flexible living arrangements. Her expertise is in advanced building methods that include use of prefabrication.

Lou Vogel
Lou is currently the president of Taitem and among his other accomplishments led the team that developed the Energy Star for Multifamily Housing label for NYSERDA on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy.

Pawel Wargocki
Pawel Wargocki is an Associate Professor at the Technical University of Denmark, where he teaches and performs research work. Carried out numerous laboratory and field experiments with human subjects on the effects of indoor air pollution and ventilation on health symptoms, sensory perception of indoor air quality and performance of office work by adults and schoolwork by children. Experienced in auditing of indoor environmental quality in buildings. Currently examining additionally the effects of sleep quality and building certification schemes on performance and the mechanisms behind the effects on performance, as well as the principles of health-based ventilation and different air cleaning and other technologies for promoting high indoor climate. His recent work examined the effects of CO2 and human bioeffluents on human responses. Active internationally in International Society for Indoor Air Quality and Climate, ISIAQ (Past President) and ASHRAE (Past Chair of the Environmental Health Committee and the Position Document on Filtration and Air Cleaning). Member of Academy of Indoor Air Sciences. Published extensively.

John Williams is Chairman and CEO of Impact Infrastructure, Inc. (ii) an independent third party provider of performance data for infrastructure and building projects. He spent 33 years in architecture and engineering community including 16 years as a principal owner of an international AE firm. In 2007 he worked with a team of economists and researchers at Columbia University to develop a means of measuring "green" in infrastructure and building projects. They created the Sustainable Return on Investment (SROI) Framework. In 2012 Williams founded Impact Infrastructure with the goal of reducing the cost of SROI analysis. ii created a series of Business Case Evaluators (BCEs) in conjunction with the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure's Economics Committee. In January 2015 ii introduced AutoCASE, a cloud based automated economic assessment tool that harvests data from Building Information Modeling to allow designers to run real time TBL cases. ii assessment tools have a $20+ Billion applied track record.