SPEAKERS

THOMAS J. FOLEY Commissioner / New York City Department of Design and Construction

Thomas J. Foley currently serves as the acting commissioner of DDC. He started at DDC as an engineer-in-charge in 1998, supervising a team of resident engineers and evaluating and approving design modifications of engineering structures and systems. After 9/11, he became a project manager for DDC’s World Trade Center Disaster Recovery and Debris Removal Project, reviewing staffing and procedures, analyzing labor and equipment utilization, and identifying and correcting inefficiencies in the $500 million project.

SEAN GALLAGHER Associate Principal / Diller Scofidio + Renfro

Sean A. Gallagher is the director of sustainable design and sssociate principal at Diller Scofidio + Renfro. His work and research focuses on re-evaluating the traditional relationship between the public and urban environments to develop new strategies to increase social space through sustainable design. Sean’s recent projects include the United States Olympic Museum, Columbia University’s Business School Towers, and Chicago’s Rubenstein Forum. As the Director of Sustainable Design, he has played a critical role in the visioning process and interview teams for many of the studio’s new work, including the Budapest Transportation Museum, MIT’s MET, Charlotte’s Discovery Place Science Museum, and Madrid’s Renazca Project.

KELLIE KNUFF-PERKINS US Sales Manager / EQUITONE

Kellie Knuff-Perkins is a Project Manager at EQUITONE covering New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. She has spent the last 10 years working for building manufacturers that mainly specialize in rainscreen applications. Kellie began her career in design and construction, working at architectural firms as the Business Development Manager.

ERIC LACROIX Director, Strategic Accounts Construction / STI Specified Technologies

Eric Lacroix is consistently recognized throughout the design community and construction industry for his firestop expertise, especially when it comes to curtain wall perimeter fire barrier systems where he is considered the “Industry Specialist.” Eric has over 20 years of real-world experience serving as an invaluable resource on many of the largest, most complex high profile projects around the world.

DYLAN

MARTELLO Senior Building Systems Consultant / Steven

Winter Associates

Dylan Martello is a Senior Building Systems Consultant focusing primarily on advanced energy modeling, Passive House design consulting, and building performance analysis. Dylan brings a keen understanding of the economic, social, and environmental implications that come with energy efficiency measures in advanced building design.

JOSE MENDOZA

Associate Partner / Gilsanz Murray Steficek

Jose Mendoza with the Building Envelope Consulting Group at Gilsanz Murray Steficek, has over 15 years of experience in curtain wall and window consulting, including involvement in all phases of design and construction. Jose’s recent projects include new curtainwalls for the Pierhouse at Pier 1 in Brooklyn Bridge Park, JetBlue, One Jackson Square, Alvin Ailey, and extensive facade investigation and restoration at the Westchester County Club in Rye, NY.

DAVID POLZIN Executive Director of Design / CannonDesign

David Polzin is CannonDesign’s Executive Director of Design. He coalesces the most innovative and talented minds from across the firm–from building performance experts to advanced computational designers to experience strategiests–to deliver design solutions that transform organizations and catalyze societal change. David’s work has received design recognition across a variety of different building typologies and is published globally in leading architecture publications.

DARIN REYNOLDS Partner / COOKFOX

Darin Reynolds, AIA, LEED AP BD+C is a partner at COOKFOX Architects and led a diverse range of projects, from workplaces and high-end single-family homes to urban affordable and supportive housing to two high-performance supportive housing developments: The Hegeman in Brooklyn, winner of the 2012 AIANY Award of Merit for Multi-Family Residential, and Webster Avenue in the Bronx. Darin led the project team of 550 Vanderbilt, a multi-family residential building featuring biophilic design elements.

JULIA SCHIMMELPENNINGH Architectural Technical Engagement Manager / Eastman

Julia Schimmelpenningh is the architectural technical engagement manager at Eastman, a global specialty material and chemical company. Her work includes new product development, qualification and commercialization of laminated glazing solutions, regulatory development, and industry education and association support. Schimmelpenningh also manages the Americas Customer Applications and Support Laboratories in Springfield, Massachusetts and Sao Paulo, Brazil. She served as president of the Glass Association of North America in 2005, and currently serves as chair of the ASTM committee on performance of buildings from which she has received several awards, the most recent being the E. George Stern award of excellence.

AARON SEWARD Editor in Chief / The Architect’s Newspaper

Aaron Seward is Editor-in-Chief of The Architect’s Newspaper. Seward is an award-winning editor whose career has centered on interpreting architecture for the profession and the general public. He was editor of Texas Architect magazine for six years and prior to that held several positions at AN, including executive editor. In addition to those publications, Seward’s writing on architecture, culture, and the built environment has appeared in Architect, Curbed, Domus, Metropolis, and other publications. He has a BA in Literature, Writing and the Arts from The New School for Social Research.

CELIA TOCHE Associate / Pelli Clarke & Partners

Celia Toche is an associate at Pelli Clarke & Partners. Her recent work includes Torre Mítikah in Mexico City, Medical and Research Translation

(MART) Building and New Bed Tower at Stony Brook University in New York, FMC Tower in Philadelphia, Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, and Abeno Harukas in Osaka. A passionate community advocate and educator, Celia teaches at Yale School of Architecture and Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey. Celia holds a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Yale College and a Master of Architecture from Yale University.