Drenick, Chelsea

Mr. Blount’s diverse background in engineering and music position him at the intersection of acoustics, technology and architectural design. Throughout his career, he has worked closely with the highest profile clients, architects, and engineers covering a wide range of building sectors. He has successfully lead multidisciplinary teams, with a common goal of innovation, integration and sustainable design excellence.

Ms. Drenick is a licensed structural engineer in the State of California. She received her BS degree in Engineering from Harvey Mudd College and MS degree in Civil Engineering from Stanford University. Ms. Drenick spent nine years in structural design consulting prior to joining WoodWorks. Her experience covers a variety of building types, including residential, higher education, and retrofit of existing and historic structures. Ms. Drenick is passionate about sustainability and the use of wood as a building material to reduce the embodied carbon emissions of structures.

Ms. Holdridge, LEED Fellow, EIT, Associate AIA is the Sustainability Director at Lake|Flato Architects. Leveraging her background in mechanical engineering, she directs all Lake|Flato teams in establishing sustainability goals. Ms. Holdridge devises strategies and systems to realize those goals under programs such as LEED, the 2030 Challenge, and the Living Building Challenge. She works closely with teams to evaluate passive systems and performs energy modeling throughout the design process. Ms. Holdridge received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Business Administration degree from The University of Texas at San Antonio.

Mr. Bevan founded Holmes’ fire engineering practice in the US, where he overcomes construction industry constraints with holistic fire and life safety solutions. With 20+ years of international experience in performance-based fire safety design, Mr. Jones has led a vast array of projects ranging from residential design to large-scale infrastructure projects. As principal and director of Strategic Initiatives, Mr. Jones works with clients and industry partners to develop collaborative partnerships to drive innovation within the construction industry. He applies his knowledge of building codes, approvals framework and construction process to assist partners to develop and progress their vision for change. Mr. Jones is a firm believer that establishing a sound compliance strategy at the onset of a project is fundamental to progression—particularly when adopting new construction technologies.

Prior to returning to Holmes as Principal and Director of Mass Timber, Eric worked with Holmes in Christchurch, NZ on the rebuild effort after the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes. As a native of the Pacific Northwest, he has a natural affinity for mass timber projects and thrives on helping realizing sustainable structural solutions.
In Portland, he has led structural engineering efforts on the likes of the Rocky Mountain Institute Innovation Center, Framework, District Office, and the Adidas North American Headquarters Expansion. Eric has also been at the forefront of mass timber research in the United States, including participating in the NSF/NHERI Collaborative Research project to develop a Resilience-Based Seismic Design Methodology for Tall Wood Buildings.

Mr. McLain leads WoodWorks’ Growth and Innovation Program, working on project technical design support, resource creation and growth opportunity facilitation related to areas such as tall mass timber construction, builder’s risk insurance for mass timber projects, and industrialized/offsite buildings. He supports the AECD community both directly and collaboratively with WoodWorks Regional Directors, providing in depth technical design assistance. Mr. McLain also has extensive experience in lead engineer roles related to structural design, project management and construction administration. Mr. McLain is executive director of the Structural Engineers Association of Vermont, and a member of numerous committees and councils related to building design.

Ms. Perkins works to inspire and advance positive change by accelerating sustainable development through the use of certified wood products. Her experience in supply chain transparency, climate change, and the circular economy, coupled with a passion for human health, equitable communities, and the environment, supports that mission. She participates in local government and the development of global sustainability standards.