Melissa Marsh, Assoc. AIA is part researcher and part innovator. Leveraging a background in the social sciences with a Master of Architecture at MIT, Melissa defined an early career building cross-disciplinary consulting practices within a number of leading architectural firms. Interested in further exploring the intersection of design and human factors research, Melissa started her own interdisciplinary consultancy firm. PLASTARC, a portmanteau of plastic and architecture, employs people analytics, social research, and design metrics to create a more flexible and engaging built world. An active contributor to many professional communities, Melissa is the co-founder of the AIANY Social Science Committee and curates the AIANY Transforming Architectural Practice series which promotes the advancement of the business of architecture through greater dialogue with other disciplines.

Jessie is a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and open data expert. Her areas of focus include critical data assessment, demographic analysis and cartographic design. She founded SAVI to create a GIS- centered multi-disciplinary research lab and service center for Pratt students, faculty, visiting researchers and civic partners. SAVI uses geospatial analysis and data visualization to understand urban communities and empower community-based organizations by democratizing access to data and planning tools. SAVI’s additional clients include: Brooklyn Arts Council, North Star Foundation, New Yorkers for Parks, Greenpoint Chamber of Commerce, LeadDog Marketing, and Wolf & Wilhelmine.

Eve is an architect and planner specializing in cultural institutions and higher education. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Environmental Psychology at CUNY focusing on how the social sciences can contribute to the design process, and particularly how spaces can promote inclusion of diverse populations. Until 2013, she was NYU’s Assistant Vice President of Planning and Design, overseeing facilities planning and space management at the University. Prior to NYU, she had a career as an architect, where she worked at Polshek Partnership Architects [now Ennead], ran her own architectural design practice, and served as an advisor for the National Design Awards at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. She received her B.A. from Vassar College and her M.Arch. from UCLA.

Richard Wener is Professor of Environmental Psychology and head of the BS in Sustainable Urban Environments program in the Department of Technology, Culture and Society at the Polytechnic Institute of NYU. Previously he chaired this department for 8 years. He received his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Illinois-Chicago. He is a fellow of the Division of Environmental and Population Psychology (Division 34) of the American Psychological Association and has served as president of Division 34. He has also been a member of the board of directors of the Environmental Design Research Association, which gave him its award for distinguished service to the field of environment and behavior in 1995 and its Career Award in 2013. In 2010 Professor Wener was a Fulbright Fellow at the Technical University of Vienna, where he studied behavior and sustainable design. Prof. Wener has been a Visiting Scholar at the Rutgers University Bloustein School ofPlanning and Public Policy and its Center for Green Buildings where he currently serves on the Advisory Board. Professor Wener has been a technical advisor for the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence since its inception in 1987, and has co-authored 11 volumes of compilations of Bruner Award case studies of community development projects. He has also served on the editorial board of the Environment and Behavior, the Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, and the Journal of Environmental Systems. Professor has published extensively on Post Occupancy Evaluation of the built environment.

Chad Smith is a designer of award-winning projects since 1996, including a Progressive Architecture award for the design of the Performance Theater (with Karen Bausman in 1997). At Rogers Marvel he led the high profile competition for the Elevated Acre at 55 Water Street and developed the kate spade branded environment, among other projects. At DesBrisay & Smith, he has developed a significant portfolio in cutting-edge fitness design. Chad graduated magna cum laude from Washington University in Saint Louis, with a BA in Architecture, and received an MA from Columbia GSAPP.

Susan Chin, FAIA, Hon. ASLA, Executive Director, leads the Design Trust for Public Space, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the future of public space in New York City.  Her projects include: Five Borough Farm, expanding urban agriculture in New York City; Making Midtown, creating a new bold vision for a 21st C. Garment District; and Under the Elevated, reclaiming space under bridges and rail lines to connect communities.  The Design Trust, a nationally recognized incubator, jumpstarted projects such as the High Line and the Taxi of Tomorrow, and influenced the City’s sustainability initiatives, Local Law 86 and PlaNYC, with its suite of High Performance guidelines.

For over 20 years she served as Assistant Commissioner for Capital Projects in the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, overseeing more than $3 billion in new construction, revitalization and public art projects citywide. Ms. Chin served as Vice President on the American Institute of Architects national board and after having served as AIA New York Chapter President. She has served on arts panels, lectured at colleges and universities and received numerous awards, including 2015 Honorary membership in the American Society of Landscape Architects, AIA New York State’s 2013 James William Kideney Gold Medal Award and 2011 Matthew Del Gaudio Award, Loeb Fellowship at Harvard and Distinguished Alumna from Ohio State University.

Neil Gagliardi is the Director of Urban Design at the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) where he offers more than 30 years of interdisciplinary design and planning experience. During his seven-year tenure at NYCDOT, he has spearheaded design initiatives and implemented projects that foster pedestrian-friendly, visually-appealing, and sustainable streetscapes, public spaces, and transportation corridors citywide.

Mr. Gagliardi’s international achievements and versatile project portfolio ranges from neighborhood zoning and design plans in Queens to a transformative, art-in-action, redevelopment project in a favela of Rio de Janeiro. Forming the foundation of his career are postgraduate degrees in landscape architecture and urban planning.

Tricia Martin, RLA, LEED AP, is a Partner at WE Design, a landscape architecture and design company based in Brooklyn, New York. Tricia works on a variety of project types that include greenways, parks, urban design, and green infrastructure projects at various scales. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University where she teaches urban design studios.

After graduating with a Master’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Oregon, Tricia moved to New York City to work for Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects.   She has cultivated a community-based design practice that integrates ecological frameworks into cultural contexts.

Tricia is regularly asked to speak about issues related to green infrastructure and landscape architecture. In 2011 she represented the American Society of Landscapes during a senate briefing in Washington DC on the topic of “Using Green Infrastructure Practices to Protect and Restore Clean Water for Communities.” She is also a past-president of the American Society of Landscape Architects NY Chapter.

Leni Schwendinger specializes in city lighting and leads the “Nighttime Design/Global Lighting Urbanist” initiative at Arup. Her designs and artworks illuminating public spaces are located worldwide. Current projects include modernizing New York City’s subway stations, a park in Las Vegas, and three signature bridges in North America.

Schwendinger is leading a research project for city districts, “Everyday Nighttime Design,” which focuses on economical, incremental lighting for streets and public housing. The research and innovative projects are shared through speaking and writing at institutions, through the NightSeeing™ program and at conferences.

Leni has lectured and taught widely throughout the US, Europe, Japan and in Australia. As an internationally-known lighting designer and speaker, she is considered an innovator and authority on urban lighting and infrastructure.

Blake Middleton, FAIA, LEED AP received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Cornell, having studied with Colin Rowe in the Urban Design Studio in the early 1980s. A Fellow of the American Academy in Rome, he lived and taught in Italy for two years before returning to New York to work at the office of James Stewart Polshek, now Ennead Architects. Blake joined Handel Architects as a Partner in 1997, and immediately began working on several projects in his hometown of Boston. These buildings were recognized with an AIA Honor Award for Urban Design in 2014. In addition to his urban mixed-use projects, Blake designed the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Natatorium for the City of New York, and the Santa Barbara Bowl Amphitheater in California, both of which are highly acclaimed and award winning. He is currently serving as the Partner in Charge and Lead Designer for Cornell Tech’s new residential tower, the largest and tallest building in the world built to Passive House standards. He has been a visiting professor at Harvard, California College of the Arts, University of Virginia, and Cornell, and currently is teaching a graduate studio on High Rise Design at Northeastern University.

Deborah Moelis, AIA is a Senior Associate and a founding member at New York-based Handel Architects. She is currently serving as Project Manager for Cornell University’s new residential tower on the planned Roosevelt Island campus in New York City. Currently under construction, the tower is being built to Passive House standards, and when completed will be the largest and tallest Passive House building in the world. Recently completed projects include the design and construction of Aire, a 42-story 315-unit residential tower on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, as well as Millennium Place, a 256-unit residential building in downtown Boston, both of which she managed from design through construction. Prior to joining Handel Architects, Ms. Moelis worked in the New York and London offices of Kohn Peder-sen Fox Associates. Ms. Moelis received her Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design from the University of Michigan and earned her Master of Architecture from Columbia University.

Darko is a graduate of Cornell University’s College of Art, Architecture and Planning. Prior to gaining his Bachelor of Architecture, he attended Fordham University and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History.

Darko began his architectural career in the New York office of Skidmore Owings and Merrill working with Gordon Bunshaft, Michael McCarty, and Roy Allen, luminaries of modern architecture. His involvement in the National Commercial Bank in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Jeddah International Airport, and the rehabilitation of the former Union Carbide Building solidified his dedication to the principles of modern architecture. Pure and unadorned forms with clarity of idea and exceptional detailing became principles of his design methodology.

In 1982, Darko joined William Nicholas Bodouva + Associates, a firm specializing in transportation architecture. Building on the experience gained in airport work in Saudi Arabia, he became involved in airport terminal designs and expanded into other areas of transportation planning including projects in waterborne transportation, rail facilities, as well as airports. Notable during this tenure of work were his premiated designs for the Times Square Subway Complex, Terminal One at JFK International Airport, NY, and Pier 79 – the West Midtown Ferry Terminal – on Manhattan’s west side.

In 2002, Hreljanovic joined Gruzen Samton Architects applying his skills to a broad spectrum of projects within both the private and public sectors – residential housing, senior living, education (both K-12 and higher education), research facilities, master planning, and transportation. He provided oversight of the firm’s interior design department, its digital media division as well as the marketing/graphics departments, promoting an interdisciplinary, collaborative environment that sought to foster communication and the exchange of ideas, methodologies, and alternative points of view between these diverse design professionals, leading to developing more holistic and innovative solutions. In 2012 his design for the Human Ecology Building for the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University won a NYS AIA Award of Merit award.

In 2009, Gruzen Samton became part of the international firm, IBI Group, the fourth largest architectural firm in the world. As an Associate Director of IBI Group Darko was given the opportunity to work on several expansive international projects. In the role as one of the design managers for the Red Line in Tel Aviv, Israel, a 10-station underground LRT project that is the first mass transit line in Israel’s most populous city, he was able to work collaboratively with four other IBI offices as well as numerous local Israeli firms in developing a design that was reflective of the Tel Aviv context, culture, and communities served. Recently he participated in the pursuit and award of the new Eglinton Line, a 25-station LRT line P3 project in Toronto, Canada, to the IBI Group that required extensive weekly travel to the Toronto office assisting in the development of the design.

Presently, Darko serves as Director of Design at STV, a full service firm that offers architectural, engineering, environmental, and construction management services on a wide range of projects in both the public and private sectors. He brings leadership to the architectural division placing emphasis on a clear, articulated design methodology based on appropriate use of materials, spatially articulating program hierarchy, and integrating meaningfully with contextual challenges. He is currently designing the rehabilitation of a 170,000 sf office building for the OGS on the Harriman Campus in Albany, NY; a new 14,000 sf K9 police facility for NYCDOC on Rikers Island; and continues a 20-year long work relationship with his client in Newport, NJ offering planning services.

Darko has developed strong relationships with numerous clients in both the private and public sectors. He has met their goals and objectives with designs of excellence that promote honest use of materials, are responsive to client program and operational requirements, integrate successfully with site and contextual influences and are reactive to the socio-economic fabric of the users and community served. He mentors his design staff to the merits of honest use of materials, simplicity in composition, value of exemplary detailing and to the timeless nature of designs of excellence. He is an advocate of balancing technological developments with craftsmanship and the power of the hand sketch as well as the intrinsic benefits of collaborating with parallel design professionals to further one’s understanding of the enormous potential offered by this interdisciplinary exchange of ideas as it applies towards achieving notable design solutions.

To further his understanding of alternative artisan and craftsmanship skills, he frequently attends classes at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina and most recently the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine to learn the psychology and methodology behind generational skills including drystone wall construction, blacksmithing, woodworking and joinery, as they apply to the design approach, implementation, detailing and formal expressions of his design solutions.

Craig Metros is Exterior Design Director for The Americas, overseeing the exterior design teams developing new vehicles in North and South America. He  reports to Chris Svensson, Design Director, The Americas.

Metros previously was Design Director for Ford Asia Pacific, based in Melbourne, Australia. During his tenure he led the design concepts and themes around the Ford Everest utility, Ford Falcon sedan and Ford Ranger truck, highlighting his versatility across a wide range of vehicles.

Metros has a wealth of international experience, holding chief designer roles in Asia Pacific and North America as well as design manager and designer positions in Asia Pacific, North America and Europe.

The first American designer to work in the Jaguar Design Studio in Coventry, England, Metros later returned to America to lead the exterior and interior design concepts and themes for the 2004 Ford F-150. A key outcome of that program was to create a broader and more defined series walk to appeal to the varied lifestyles of truck customers, something that continues today.

Metros was born and raised in Dearborn, Michigan. The son of an automotive engineer, Metros was exposed to car culture at an early age and began drawing cars almost from the time he learned how to hold a crayon. He is a graduate of the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.

Metros further expresses his creativity through industrial art, drawing inspiration from traditional hot rods, moon missions, street art and modern design movements.

Each of his mixed media pieces incorporates materials found in unusual places, ranging from abandoned buildings and roadsides to junk yards and swap meets.

Kashyap brings great expertise in all scales of aviation design-from luxurious passenger lounges to new greenfield airports. While leading the design and planning of complex projects, Kashyap’ s ability to understand client’s goals and resolve local challenges has allowed him to generate innovative and cost-efficient design. As a highly capable designer and planner, Kashyap lays special emphasis on inducing cultural elements and experiential quality to create a memorable and enjoyable experience through  architecture.

Jorge Mastropietro’s architectural roots are in his native Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he studied architecture for six years and later taught at a major university. He also opened his first practice there in 1992. Yet from an early age, Jorge also felt the need to explore architecture internationally, first in Europe where he received a master’s degree in urban design, and then in the United States where he worked for five years with Rafael Viñoly Architects. In 2007, Jorge decided to bring this experience to his own international firm and founded Jorge Mastropietro Architects Atelier (JMA), now a noted leader in architecture, urbanism, design-build and multifamily development.

With JMA, Jorge has been able to pursue his passion for a modern design aesthetic that is of its time, unique in presence and vision, and also respectful of alternatives. This aesthetic vision is guided by his belief in a path toward sustainability and a focus on eco-friendly design and awareness.

A registered architect both in Argentina and the United States, Jorge is a member of the Colegio de Arquitectos de Buenos Aires and the American Institute of Architects (AIA). His work is widely published and he speaks at events and authors articles on various topics, including low-energy passive design.

Since 2013, Bryan McCracken has been the Historic Preservation Planner for the City of Ithaca, NY. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Early American History from Alfred University in 2008 and graduated from Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning with Master’s degree in Historic Preservation Planning in 2011. Bryan lives in a restored 1840s home in Central New York with his wife and two young children.

Michael A. Nieminen, FAIA is a Partner at Kliment Halsband Architects, a leading design firm in New York City. He has more than 30 years of experience working with such higher education clients as the University of Chicago, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, The Rockefeller University, and Yale University. Michael is a nationally recognized leader in a process-driven approach to design and frequently shares his techniques and strategies with a wide audience. He has spoken at the AIA National Convention, AIA CAE Conferences and webinars, SCUP International and North Atlantic Conferences, and AIA conferences on courthouse design and practice management. He has served as Co-Chair of the National AIA CAE Sub-Committee for Higher Education since 2014. Michael holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design from the University of Florida and a Master of Architecture from North Carolina State University School of Design.

David Whitehill, AIA is a Partner at Kliment Halsband Architects, a leading design firm in New York City. He has participated in the design and management of projects that range from planning studies and renovations of historic buildings to new buildings set in historic contexts for such higher education clients as the University of Chicago, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and Wellesley College. He is a member of the National AIA CAE Sub-Committee for Higher Education, and has spoken about innovative programming for collaborative spaces at SCUP North Atlantic and SCUP International Conferences. David holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Master of Architecture from the University of Maryland.

Thomas P. Huf is Senior Program Manager for Facilities Planning and Programming at the UMass Amherst Campus Planning Division, where he has led programming, planning, and design for capital projects on campus since 2006. He works with the Provost and Chancellor’s Offices on strategic plan priorities and their effect on facilities decisions. He has led multiple facility strategic plans and programming for instructional space, team-based learning prototyping, public health, student centers, and science and engineering facilities as well as individual buildings. The range of work has included historic asset renewal, renovation, and new construction for many parts of the campus as well as the Master Plan for 11 million gsf of space that projects future growth. Tom’s background in campus development started with degrees in Architecture and Building Science from Rensselaer and Urban Design/City Planning from Harvard.

Rick Bell, FAIA, is Executive Director of Design and Construction Excellence at the NYC Department of Design and Construction. Rick previously worked at DDC as Assistant Commissioner of Architecture and Engineering. His current responsibilities within DDC’s Office of the Chief Architect include implementation of new requirement contracts for architectural and engineering services and development of Guiding Principles for Design and Construction Excellence 2.0. Previously Rick was a design partner at Warner Burns Toan Lunde Architects where he led the educational facilities studio. He also served as Executive Director of AIANY where he was instrumental in the creation of the Center for Architecture. A graduate of Yale and Columbia he was elevated to Fellowship in 2000 for his work in public facility design. Rick is the recipient of the AIANYS President’s Award in 2001 and the James William Kideney Gold Medal Award in 2007. In 2014 he received the AIA National’s Edward C. Kemper Award.

Gwenaëlle de Kerret, PhD, is a Semiologist and Qualitative Research Director whose areas of specialization include the cultural identity of museums. After spending eleven years with major market research firms in Paris, including Groupe BVA and Harris Interactive, Gwen has recently established her own consultancy to provide branding and strategic planning services to cultural institutions, government agencies, architects and other design professionals. She helps organizations to evaluate their interface with their audiences and to implement change. Her doctoral thesis, at the Université Vincennes-Saint-Denis (Paris VIII), in the field of information and communication sciences, focussed on the visual identity of museums in France and the USA. Gwen has lectured at AIA conferences including the AIA 2015 National Convention in Atlanta and the 20th Anniversary AIA Continental Europe meeting in Paris, as well as recent conferences in Geneva and Toulouse. She has also moderated the AJAP young architects program at AIANY’s Center for Architecture.

Jeffrey Raven, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C:  Associate Professor and Director, Graduate Program in Urban + Regional Design, New York Institute of Technology-Manhattan.  Principal of RAVEN Architecture + Urban Design. Urban design specialist whose research is applied in professional practice and disseminated throughout the profession, government and allied disciplines.  Professional practice focused on US-international urban design projects and knowledge transfer. Co-Chair, AIANY Planning & Urban Design Committee.  Coordinating Lead Author of the Assessment Report for Climate Change in Cities; Planning and Design chapter (Cambridge Press 2016).  Author of Climate Resilient Urban Design, Resilient Cities (Springer 2011) and Shaping Resilient Cities in China, India and the United States (P. Lang 2014). Technical advisor for STAR Communities and the Global EcoDistrict Protocol. Doctoral Juror: Visual Identity of Museums in Paris & New York, Université Paris 8, France.  Educated at Cambridge University, the Rhode Island School of Design and Trinity College.

Professor Anzalone is a Principal at Atelier Architecture 64, an architecture firm in Brooklyn, New York with diverse expertise in building design and material research based on an innovative practice focused on bridging material explorations and fabrication processes developed in the workshop with the specific needs of each project through environmental performance, architectural detailing and methods of manufacturing. Phillip’s work includes residential, commercial and institutional projects, as well as installations and pavilions, with built projects in North America, Europe and Asia. Atelier Architecture 64’s work has won AIA and SARA awards in research, urban and architectural projects.

Phillip Anzalone is an Assistant Professor of Architectural Technology at the City University of New York’s College of Technology, where he teaches courses in advanced materials, building science and technology, architectural structures, building envelope and architectural design. Phillip’s research includes the application of science and technology to architectural design problems in areas such as advanced materials, automated manufacturing and construction, active structures and building envelope systems, computational workflow and cyber-physical systems, augmented reality, building integrated machine learning, and innovative building systems. Phillip is the lead research and development faculty for the AT department’s Computer Numerically Controlled and Robotic Fabrication Laboratory.

Joe Brennan is an Senior Architect Technician at Populous who holds a master’s degree in architecture from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in architectural technology from New York Institute of Technology. He is currently an adjunct professor of architecture at Columbia University, a researcher at City College of Technology, and an associate of the American Institute of Architects. Prior to working for Populous, Joe worked at SHoP on a variety of large-scale projects using cutting edge technology for design, construction, digital fabrication and coordination. Joe was selected as an AIA emerging professional in 2015. Currently, he helps oversee the launch of Populous’ New York office, architectural design and coordination, and parametric design.

Ralph S. Steenblik has lectured, published, and exhibited his work around the world. Most recently he spoke at a UNESCO sponsored symposium on Anticipation held in Trento, Italy, co-organized and presented at Sculpting the Architectural Mind, a symposium held at Pratt Institute in the spring of 2015, and showcased work in Design Santa Fe at Site Santa Fe’s Design Lab and The International Festival of Arts & Ideas in New Haven, Connecticut.

He has taught at Pratt Institute and CUNY and has been invited to sit on architectural juries at Wesleyan University, NJIT, Pratt, The University of Hartford, and Idaho State University. He founded his interdisciplinary project, Atelier of Digital Design, in 2004, and has made significant contributions at multiple renowned architecture offices, including Asymptote Architecture and Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates. He holds a masters from SCI-Arc (Southern California Institute of Architecture).

Steenblik acts from the philosophy that interdisciplinary collaborations infuse spaces with nuanced solutions, and is interested in creating urban complexity and intricacy on the macro scale and inspiring, interactive spaces on the micro scale. Incorporating advanced digital tools and sustainability offers new opportunities to this ongoing project.

Frank Melendez is an architectural designer, researcher, and educator. He is a partner at Augmented Architectures and an Assistant Professor at The City College of New York, Bernard & Anne Spitzer School of Architecture. His research and teaching focus on the advancement of architectural design through the integration of emerging digital technologies within the built environment. This work engages topics pertaining to computation, ecology, fabrication, synthetic materials, physical computing, and robotics.

In 2013, Frank was awarded the George N. Pauly, Jr. Fellowship at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture where he taught design studios and seminars related to his research. Prior to teaching at CMU, he taught as an Assistant Professor at Louisiana State University and has held academic appointments at Arizona State University, Yale School of Architecture, and Princeton School of Architecture. He has led and participated in workshops that focus on digital design, parametric modeling, and digital fabrication in architecture and design, at various architecture schools throughout the U.S and abroad.

His professional experience includes working at the office of Frank O. Gehry & Associates in Los Angeles, California, and serving as the Design Director at Urban A&O in New York, New York. Frank holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Arizona and a Master of Architecture degree from the Yale School of Architecture.

Heidi Blau, FAIA is a Partner at FXFOWLE and has over 30 years of experience providing insightful program development, project management, and design direction for educational and municipal projects. In directing the award winning renovations of Lincoln Center, she enjoys finding order in complexity. Elevated to Fellowship in the AIA, Heidi has been recognized as a Woman of Achievement by the Professional Women in Construction, and received a 2014 Outstanding Women Award from the Women Builders Council.

Suzanne Mecs, Hon. AIA NYS is the Managing Director of AIA New York.  She has worked for AIANY since 1997 when she joined the staff as Membership Assistant. Promoted to Membership Director, she has worked on programming to expand member value in addition to general recruitment and retention activities.  She was honored in 2010 with Honorary AIA New York State membership largely for the value that the “Not Business as Usual” programming brought to members hurt by the recession.  Since 2008 she has been working with the New York Chapter Fellows Committee and candidates throughout the state who are interested in or actively pursuing elevation to the College of Fellows.  Suzanne is a graduate of Harvard University, member of the Session of the First Presbyterian Church of New York City and Chair of the FPC Nursery School Board.

Greg Gidez, AIA is the Corporate Director for Design Services for Hensel Phelps. Prior to joining Hensel Phelps Mr. Gidez was a Principal with the Denver firm of Fentress Architects for 26 years.

As the senior design professional with Hensel Phelps, of Mr. Gidez oversees preconstruction services including procurement, design build, design assist, and design management. In addition Mr. Gidez oversees the Hensel Phelps Virtual Design Construction and Operations (VDCO) department, advancing the use of and incorporation of BIM and technology into the design and construction processes. Mr. Gidez is national speaker on integrated design and construction, and is the past Chair of the Design Build Institute of America Board of Directors, and the past Chair of the AIA Project Delivery Knowledge Community, representing alternate project delivery strategies and best practices for architects. He has served for 5 years on the Charles Pankow Foundation Industry Advisory Panel, promoting research in advanced design and construction processes.

Dr. Bryan Franz is a researcher and educator dedicated to improving the project delivery process in the building construction industry.  Specifically, he studies organizational strategies for assembling, managing, and evaluating project teams.  Dr. Franz applies quantitative research methods that blend social constructs, such as leadership roles and group cohesion, with objective project performance data.  His current research seeks to understand how the integration of design and construction disciplines contributes to the development of effective teams.  Dr. Franz earned a B.S. (2005), M.S. (2011) and Ph.D. (2014) in Architectural Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University.  Before joining the faculty at the University of Florida, he worked as a project manager with James G. Davis Construction Company, a medium-sized general contracting firm serving the Washington, D.C. region.

Rob’s research interest focuses on collaboration, notably interdisciplinary collaborative efforts, within Architecture, Engineering, and Construction. Within collaboration the research revolves around processes, technologies, and competencies to improve outcomes from interdisciplinary interaction. Some secondary areas of interest include: engineering education, research methods, leadership, alternative delivery methods, and risk management

Jim D’Aloisio is a Principal with Klepper, Hahn & Hyatt, a structural engineering, landscape architecture, and building envelope services firm in East Syracuse, NY. A graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Mr. D’Aloisio is a Registered Professional Engineer (NY and MA), Certified by the Structural Engineering Certification Board (SECB), and a LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP). Jim is chair of the ASCE Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) Climate Action Team, a former member and chair of the SEI’s Sustainability Committee, and is on the steering committee of the SEI Thermal Bridging Task Committee. Jim’s a principal investigator for the Pankow Foundation-sponsored research project “Thermal Break Strategies for Cladding Systems in Building Structures.” He is a former Chair of the U.S. Green Building Council’s New York Upstate Chapter, a former USGBC National Board Member (2009), and is a trained member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps. He is an Urban Green Council trained presenter on the NYS Energy Conservation Code, has written over 20 articles on the relationship between building structures and sustainability, and has presented over 200 times, including day-long seminars on structural building forensics, special inspections, and sustainability in the built environment.

In 2002 Mr. Mitalski founded PREPARE to “prep” candidates for the Structural Systems portion(s) of the Architect Registration Exam (A.R.E.). PREPARE’s professional education services continue to be well received nationally and internationally (i.e., Canada, China, Great Britain, and Puerto Rico) by the future architects of the world demonstrating his national reputation as a top educator in the architecture profession.
In 2004 Mr. Mitalski was named The Dean F. and Avis E. Hilfinger Faculty Fellow in Architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC) School of Architecture and remained part of the UIUC School of Architecture community as a Visiting Assistant Professor through 2011. Mr. Mitalski’s teaching responsibilities included the instruction of primarily graduate level courses focused on the integration of structure in architecture and the advanced design and detailing of materials (i.e. wood, masonry, steel, seismic).
Mr. Mitalski’s current interests include the use of technology for blended learning environments to: a) better deliver content, b) encourage student interaction / participation, and c) improve student learning / retention of material. Mr. Mitalski’s significant contribution to the blended learning environment is the design, development, and implementation of PREPARE’s patent pending software EQuALS™ (Exam Question and Answer Learning System™). EQuALS™ is robust system to store and deliver content coupled with a professional, engaging student interface and behind the scenes analytics.

Laura Heim AIA, LEED AP, has over 30 years of experience in architecture and historic preservation as both practitioner and teacher. Her firm is dedicated to creating architecture which is sensitive to the circumstance of site while skillfully resolving complex program issues. Located in historic Sunnyside Gardens, New York, the award-winning firm has a particular expertise in historic preservation, adaptive reuse and renovation, as well as new design. Her firm has completed over 25 projects in Sunnyside Gardens to date.  One restoration project, Skillman Avenue Residence, received a 2010 AIANYS Award of Merit in the category of adaptive reuse.  A native of Northern Virginia, Ms. Heim received her Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Virginia and her Master of Architecture from Columbia University where she was awarded the American Institute of Architects Medal for Design/Academic Excellence.  Ms. Heim has taught architectural design and history at the University of Virginia, University of Florida, Catholic University, SUNY Stony Brook, Pratt Institute and NYIT. She is a member of the American Institute of Architects, Historic Districts Council, and was the Chair of Architecture on the Steering Committee of the Sunnyside Gardens Preservation Alliance.  She served as the president of the Queens chapter of the American Institute of Architects, AIA Queens, from 2009-10.

Jeffrey A. Kroessler, PhD, is an associate professor in the Lloyd Sealy Library at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He is the author of Greater New York Sports Chronology (Columbia University Press, 2010); New York, Year by Year: a Chronology of the Great Metropolis (NYU Press, 2002); Historic Preservation in Queens (1990); and Lighting the Way: a Centennial History of the Queens Borough Public Library (Donning, 1996). He contributed to the Encyclopedia of New York City; The Encyclopedia of New York State; and Robert Moses and the Modern City: the Transformation of New York, and has published articles on New York history in Journal of Planning History, New York History, and Long Island History Journal. He received a B.A. from Hobart College, a Ph.D. from the CUNY Graduate School, and an M.L.S. from Queens College. He has been active in historic preservation since the 1980s, having served on the board of the Historic Districts Council and the MAS preservation committee. He is a member of the coordinating committee of the City Club, and chair of the Citizens Emergency Committee to Preserve Preservation. In the 1980s he co-founded the Queensborough Preservation League.

Neil W. Garry is a partner at the Rochester, New York office of Bell & Spina, Architects-Planners.  Much of his 18 year professional career has focused on the technical aspects of building envelope systems.  He is a licensed Structural Engineer (PE), Building Enclosure Commissioning Process Provider (BECxP), RCI Registered Roof Consultant (RRC) and RCI Registered Exterior Wall Consultant (REWC).  Neil is a member of ASTM International Technical Committee DO8, Roofing and Waterproofing, and Committee E06, Performance of Buildings.

Roxanne Button AIA, MRAIC is the Principal of DesignSynergies Architecture (DSA), a sustainability and interior-focused architectural firm based in Buffalo. She founded the firm in 2012 after more than two decades of working at architectural and interior design firms, not-for-profit organizations, and government agencies in Canada and the U.S.

Roxanne is a LEED-Accredited Professional (BD+C, Homes) and has been involved in sustainable design for almost 25 years. Her diverse background includes designing and managing LEED projects, consulting for green buildings, and scriptwriting for a green renovation TV series. She served as a board member for the New York Upstate Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, and co-hosted Buffalo Green Drinks for three years. She also represented the USGBC on the local organizing committee for the American Solar Energy Conference in 2009 and oversaw the development of Public Day.

Roxanne is a trainer with the GPRO green building program for construction professionals and contractors, and recently organized a GPRO workshop for technical teachers in the Buffalo Public Schools. As a member of the National Education Reviewers Team and GreenBuild review team for the USGBC, Roxanne contributed to the development of educational programs for fellow LEED AP’s for over a decade. She continues to create and deliver programs for design and construction professionals on green building and sustainable design topics.

For over 30 years, Brian McAlonie has utilized his broad range of expertise in the communications, museum studies, and design fields as a consultant for cultural institutions, heritage organizations and for-profit corporations throughout North America.

Brian assists clients with creating educational, engaging and entertaining visitor service experiences and environments for children, families and communities that spark imagination, inquiry and learning. Mr. McAlonie also assists these organizations with leveraging and maximizing their earned income opportunities to increase revenues.

In 2010, Brian completed his M.A. in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. He also speaks regularly to various national and international museum professional associations, including the Canadian Museum Association, the American Association of State and Local History, Museum Association of New York, Museum Enterprises and others.

Brian was also an adjunct lecturer of Museum Studies at Buffalo State College, State University of New York from 2011-2014. Brian is currently writing a book for Rowman & Littlefield Publishing titled, Creating the Ultimate Museum Experience: A Planning Handbook, which will be released sometime in 2017.

Melissa Brown joined The Buffalo History Museum (TBHM) staff in 1998 as Collections Assistant; promoted to Collections Manager/Exhibit Researcher in 2003; and was appointed Director of Research & Interpretation in 2009. She became the Museum’s 11th Executive Director in 2011.

She effectively represents TBHM to its constituents and plays a leadership role in the region. Brown is an expert in managing collections and has consulted on over a dozen major exhibits at other WNY museums.

Accomplishments include rebranding from The Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society to the welcoming “The Buffalo History Museum” during our 150th Anniversary. Additionally, 27 exhibits opened including “Inside Tim Russert’s Office,” individual giving increased by 40%, programs increased by 30%, and visitation has increased by 18%.

She received her M.A. in Historical Administration from Eastern Illinois University in 2000, adding to her 1995 B.A. in history and museum studies minor from SUNY Oswego.

Ms. Brown is a native of Gasport, NY and remains a loyal WNYer. Outside of work, she’s busy with her children- twin daughters, Madison (11) & Ellery (11) and son, Quinn (8). She enjoys visiting and stories; antiquing; upcycling; reading; researching and spending time with her large extended family.

Elisabeth Martin has practiced architecture for nearly 30 years, with experience over a range of building types, new and restored, including a focus on facilities planning.  As a partner in NYC-based design studio MDA designgroup international, she leads the Institutional and Residential project teams.  Prior to joining MDA designgroup in 2003, Ms. Martin served as the Director of Planning, Design, and Facilities for Brooklyn Public Library (BPL).  From 1996 to 2003, she directed BPL’s capital program, directing and performing design services for projects at each of its 58 branches, the renovation and expansion of it 300,000 square-foot landmarked Central Library, and spearheaded the renewal of all18 existing Carnegie branches.

Prior to assuming her position at Brooklyn Public Library in July of 1996, Ms. Martin served as the Program Director for the Libraries Unit of the NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC).  At DDC, she administered the Library Capital Construction Program for the 216 branch libraries comprising the three NYC Public Library systems: New York Public Library, Queens Borough Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library. Prior to joining the public sector, Ms. Martin worked in the private sector with a focus on the design and renovation of public buildings.  She is known as a strong advocate of quality design. She co-wrote the first set of Design Guidelines for building types issued by DDC and has published articles and lectured on successful strategies for renewing historic structures.

Ms. Martin holds a Master of Architecture from Yale University School of Architecture and a Bachelor of Arts in Design of the Environment from the University of Pennsylvania. She co-teaches a course entitled “The Planning & Design of Public Libraries” at the Harvard Design School and teaches Interior Design at the School of Visual Arts.

Ms. Martin has held leadership roles in the American Library Association and in the American Institute of Architects (AIA). As a result of her advocacy for design excellence in public and institutional buildings, in 2002, Ms. Martin was awarded the American Institute of Architect’s Public Architect Award for her years of efforts in advocating for and delivery of design excellence in the public realm.

Jeffrey Hoover specializes in programming, planning and design of learning environments, with particular focus on libraries, as well as master plans and feasibility studies for colleges and universities. Mr. Hoover has been actively involved with architectural conferences and symposiums throughout the country, speaking on: future libraries, historic renovations and additions, and the influence of technology on the practice of architecture. He has been an instructor for Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design’s Office of Executive Education, teaching Library Planning and Design, since 1999.

Mr. Hoover has regularly presented seminars and lectures for: American Library Association national conferences, the New England Library Association Conference, and the Boston Society of Architects Annual Convention (“Build Boston”), and the annual Traditional Building Conference.

Jeff has recently been Chair of the Architecture for Public Libraries Committee for the American Library Association was a committee member for a decade.