Principal at Goldberg & Banks, P.C. Ms. Banks focuses her practice in all areas of construction law, from contract drafting and negotiation to pre-litigation dispute resolution and complex construction disputes involving mechanics liens, payment bond claims and construction defect claims.  She represents clients across the construction spectrum, including design professionals, owners, contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers.  Ms. Banks serves as an associate outside legal counsel to the AIA Contract Documents Committee and has been directly involved with updating the 2017 AIA Owner-Contractor Agreements and 2014 AIA Design-Build Documents as well as developing the 2015 AIA Teaming Agreement.  Ms. Banks has authored articles, co-authored chapters, and spoken on topics such as updates to the 2017 AIA Contract Documents, teaming agreements, contract considerations for design professionals and contractors, understanding the general conditions of a construction contract, innovative design, issues affecting Maryland design professionals, payment bonds and mechanics liens, and construction changes and extras.  Ms. Banks is a member of the American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry, the Maryland State Bar Association and the District of Columbia Bar Association.  She is an allied member of the National American Institute of Architects.  Ms. Banks is admitted to practice in Maryland state and federal courts and the District of Columbia.  She received her B.A. degree in Economics, withhonors, from the University of Delaware, Phi Beta Kappa, and her J.D. degree, with honors, from the University of Baltimore School of Law.

As a regionally-recognized water resources practitioner and leader for 32 years, Mr. Der provides regulatory and scientific expertise for public and private sector clients, with a commitment to equitable and sustainable solutions to complex projects while specializing in creative linkages between ecology and engineering. Mr. Der has been in private consulting practice since 2001, first as an associate and director of Environmental Services for two civil engineering firms, then, since 2013, principal of his own consulting firm, Andrew T. Der & Associates, LLC. He previously completed 17 years of service with the Maryland Department of the Environment as a manager successfully leading major new initiatives to regulate and restore Chesapeake Bay water resources. His specialties include water resource permitting, compliance, assessment, Clean Water Act, wetland and waterway compliance, NPDES, TMDL, and stormwater management. Mr. Der is an appointed industry representative of the U. S. EPA. He is a member of the Chesapeake Bay Program Executive Council Citizens Advisory Committee, Maryland Patuxent River Commission, and Montgomery County, Maryland Executive’s Water Quality Advisory Commission.

Ms. Henderson is a licensed architect and attorney in the State of Maryland. She is a graduate of the Tulane University School of Architecture, where she earned an MARch, and Tulane/Newcomb College. Ms. Henderson spent nine years practicing architecture, focusing on residential, commercial and hospitality design in the Baltimore- Washington region. She joined the staff of the AIA in 2007 as a resource architect for sustainability. Ms. Henderson then was asked to lead the AIA Codes and Standards team and AIA’s efforts in its partnership with the International Code Council and fellow industry partners to create the first version of the International Green Construction Code (IgCC). In 2011, she was promoted and served as managing director, Institute Policy and Strategy, focusing on sustainability, codes and standards, and state government relations. Ms. Henderson earned her law degree from Purdue University Global Concord Law School while working full time at the Institute, and joined the AIA General Counsel team in 2016. As Associate General Counsel, she provides legal advice and support to the AIA staff and elected leadership pertaining to governance, policy, ethics, and the regular business and legal matters of the Institute. Ms. Henderson also serves as legal counsel to the AIA National Ethics Council.

Mr. Spitz earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Kansas and a Master of City and Regional Planning degree from Rutgers University, and he is a graduate of the United States Naval War College. He is a registered architect in five states and specializes in providing forensic architecture and building diagnostic services as well as providing building code consulting services. Mr. Spitz is a former member and past president of the New Jersey State Board of Architects and has served on building code committees for AIA, NCARB, BOCA, ICC, AIA/New Jersey and several other national organizations. He is the chairman of the ICC Building Code Interpretations Committee, former member of the Board of Directors of the Building Seismic Safety Council and former member of the Board of Directors of the Consultative Council of the National Institute of Building Science. 

Partner/Attorney at Diamond McCarthy LLP
After practicing complex commercial and environmental litigation for ten years, Ms. Valastro recently become a Business Law Professor at Louisiana State University – Shreveport and a consultant for a prominent litigation funder.  Her research agenda includes greenwashing and legal ethics issues.  Ms. Valastro graduated first in her college class from Texas Tech University, summa cum laude with honors, with a B.A. degree in Spanish and Political Science and received her J.D. degree, magna cum laude, from Texas Tech University School of Law.