On-Demand Options

Mr. Iliff has been a certified building official for 10+ years serving communities in Texas, Illinois, and Missouri. He has taught classes on the residential, building, and property maintenance codes with a focus on preparing students for certification exams and effective administration. Mr. Iliff has 30+ years of experience as a city planner, floodplain manager, and code enforcement officer. He earned an undergraduate degree in Urban Planning and Development from Ball State University.

Mr. Banks is the principal attorney at Banks & Associates, PLLC, a Houston-based law firm focused on meeting the needs of government and construction contractors throughout Texas. He is a trusted advisor for licensed professionals, CEOs and managers in construction firms, and government contractors. Mr. Banks was licensed as a CPA in 2003 and has more than 20 years of experience as a lead accountant and CFO for successful government contractors. He earned his B.B.A. degree with a double major in Accounting and Finance from the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston and secured his J.D. degree from South Texas College of Law. Mr. Banks is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Association of Corporate Counsel and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He is a member of the Construction Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.

Mr. Pasheilich represents clients in environmental litigation and provides counseling as to a wide range of environmental matters, including regulatory compliance and enforcement related to air, water and solid & hazardous waste media.  Gary advises clients regarding environmental due diligence for commercial property transactions, offering advice and strategies for reducing potential liability risks.  Prior to entering private practice, Gary served as an Assistant Ohio Attorney General in the Environmental Enforcement Section, representing the State of Ohio and the Director of Ohio EPA.

Mr. Pempus has been a risk manager for more than 18 years, with experience in architecture, engineering, land use, law and professional liability insurance, and a unique and well-rounded background in the construction industry. Prior to risk management, he has 25 years of experience in the practice of architecture and engineering, and as an adjunct professor teaching professional practice courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels for the last 37 years. As a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and AIA National Ethics Council 2021 chair, he has demonstrated his impact on architectural profession. He is a licensed architect, attorney and property and casualty insurance agent.

Ms. Skulski has more than 30 years of professional experience as a consultant, instructor, and researcher advocating for the inclusion of people with disabilities in parks, recreation, and tourism. She has diverse expertise in the Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility standards specific to recreation facilities and outdoor recreation environments, program access provisions required under Title II of the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, accessibility assessments, transition planning, and universal design.  Jennifer is the Principal of Skulski Consulting LLC and the publisher of Accessibility Management News, a monthly e-newsletter focusing on the news, emerging trends, people making access happen, and top things every ADA/504 Coordinator should know to make their job in accessibility management easier.

Ms. Holmok’s experience has centered on stormwater control, weather resiliency, and pedestrian experiences in challenging urban sites. As a Landscape Architect, Ms. Holmok has been designing green & blue elements for over 26 years. Notable projects include design and oversite of ultra-urban green infrastructure elements integrated within the two-mile, six-lane expansion of the City of Philadelphia’s I-95 (Girard) project; Akron’s Citywide Green Infrastructure Toolbox, including design of green and complete Aqueduct Street, and the Kelly (CSO Rack 3) Green Project; one-mile long City of Cleveland’s $9 million dollar Fleet Avenue Complete and Green Street; Cuyahoga River Bank stabilization projects for the National Park Service; and numerous green infrastructure retrofit demonstration projects in the City of Cleveland.

Mr. Dominguez joined SGH in 2023. He has over 15 yrs of experience in the exploration, design, and construction of shallow and deep foundations, excavation support systems, levees, floodwalls, marine terminals, piers, bulkheads, seawalls, and dams for a variety of clients including private developers, engineering firms, state and local government agencies, and energy utilities. His extensive geotechnical laboratory testing background supplements his project experience. He is a registered professional engineer in Massachusetts and Maine. He can be reached at jadominguez@sgh.com.

Mr. Hughes joined SGH in 2017. He has diverse experience in structural and geotechnical engineering, including the design, investigation, and repair of various types of structures. Mr. Hughes has participated in third-party reviews and failure investigations of retaining walls, structural evaluation and repairs of transportation infrastructure, and various new building design projects. Mr. Hughes is a registered professional engineer in Massachusetts. He can be reached at jehughes@sgh.com.

Mr. Keppel joined SGH in 2006. He has diverse experience in civil, geotechnical, and structural engineering, including investigating, designing, and rehabilitating a variety of structures. Mr. Keppel has participated in several investigations to determine causes of building settlement and retaining wall failures, and has experience with structural and geotechnical monitoring and instrumentation. Mr. Keppel is a registered professional engineer in Massachusetts.  He can be reached at sfkeppel@sgh.com. 

Mr. Murphy joined SGH in 2018. He has experience in geotechnical engineering, including investigating, designing, and overseeing the construction of various earth structures. Mr. Murphy has participated in several investigations to determine the causes of groundwater seepage, excavation failure, and building settlement and has assessed the stability of slopes, excavations, and dams. Mr. Murphy also has experience with monitoring instrumentation and visual inspections for earthen embankment dams. Mr. Murphy is a registered professional engineer in Massachusetts. He can be reached at afmurphy@sgh.com.

Mr. Strohman joined SGH in 2006. He has over 15 years of diverse experience in geotechnical, civil, and structural engineering, including investigating, designing, and/or rehabilitating a variety of structures, including mechanically-stabilized earth walls, slopes, foundations, piles, excavation support systems, retaining walls, and underground structures. Mr. Strohman has performed numerous investigations to determine causes of building settlement, retaining wall failures, and slope failures. He has assisted in the resolution of several construction-related disputes by presentation of expert opinions in depositions, mediations, arbitrations, and at trial. He is a registered professional engineer in more than thirty states. He can be reached at bpstrohman@sgh.com. 

Ms. Zelada-Tumialan joined SGH in 2003. Her area of expertise is in geotechnical engineering. She provides planning, design, and construction support services in the areas of shallow and deep foundation systems, earth-retention systems, and groundwater monitoring for residential, commercial, and industrial buildings, power stations, and substations. Ms. Zelada-Tumialan has also participated in multiple investigations to determine causes of building settlement, retaining wall failures, and slope failures, and she has provided litigation support for various projects. She is a registered professional engineer in Massachusetts and several other states. She can be reached at gazelada@sgh.com. 

Mr. Bryant focuses his practice on construction law. He writes and negotiates construction contracts for private and public projects, representing participants including owners, architects, engineers, general contractors, and subcontractors. Mr. Bryant resolves construction project performance and payment disputes, including surety bond claims and mechanics lien claims. He also represents owners and contractors in litigation matters including defense and prosecution of breach of contract, warranty, and construction defect claims. Mr. Bryant has defended design professionals against claims of professional negligence. He has written and spoken on many construction-related topics, including contract negotiation, public construction, and licensure of construction professionals. Among other organizations, he is a member of the Steering Committee of the American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law Division 7 for Insurance, Surety, and Liens.

Mr. Fischer has over 30 years of experience in the survey field, performing a variety of survey types for residential, municipal, commercial, industrial and government agency clients. He has experience in survey instrumentation and computer aided drafting (CAD) programs, as well as office and survey programs such as Trimble Office, Carlson and Civil 3D. Management experience includes overseeing drafting and field crews, as well as a branch office for an Oil and Gas services firm in southeast Texas. A former adjunct faculty member for the Engineering Department at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley, he holds professional land surveyor licenses in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Mississippi and Texas.

Richard F. Friedman is experienced in municipal law, real estate law, public finance, litigation, eminent domain, historic preservation, employment law and appellate practice. Mr. Friedman is a managing member and has been affiliated with Neal & Leroy, LLC since 1983. Prior to joining Neal & Leroy, LLC, Mr. Friedman was a member of the City of Chicago Law Department’s Appeals and Review and Finance Divisions. Mr. Friedman represents clients in appeals at all state and federal levels. Mr. Friedman was awarded a diversity and inclusion grant for his teaching at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Mr. Friedman was named a 2019 Leading Lawyer in Land Use, Zoning, and Condemnation Law.

Mr. Olsen is a Senior Professional Land Surveyor with Engineering Design Source, Inc., a Civil Engineering and Surveying Firm based in Chesterfield, Missouri. He has more than 30 years’ experience as a professional land surveyor, beginning in the Chicago metropolitan area. Mr. Olsen is currently licensed as a land surveyor in Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Texas. He has been fortunate to have worked on numerous Highway Department/Department of Transportation horizontal and vertical control surveys, land acquisition and topographic surveys, County Transportation Department Plats of Highway, and Municipal Highway Department surveys. Mr. Olsen has also worked on many commercial and residential developments throughout northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana. He is currently enrolled in the University of Maine Graduate School in the Eng. D. (Doctor of Engineering) Engineering Technology/Surveying Engineering Program. Mr. Olsen has an MS in Engineering Technology/Surveying Engineering from the University of Maine and a BA in Mathematical Sciences. He has presented seminars and webinars previously with HalfMoon Education on topics including Law and Ethics of Illinois Land Surveying; Locating Land Boundaries on Paper (and on the Ground); Complying with Minimum Standards of Practice; Handling Ethical Issues in Land Surveying Practice; Complying with the Illinois Plat Act; Complying with National Society of Professional Surveyors Creed and Canons.

Mr. McConnell’s parking design and consulting experience encompasses nearly 30 years of work with airports, government, military, transit, higher education, resort, healthcare, and corporate clients. He is a member of the National Parking Association’s Parking Consultants Council and a founding member of ASCE’s Structural Engineering Institute. He is well-versed in precast concrete, cast-in-place concrete, and steel construction. Mr. McConnell’s experience includes numerous restorations, parking study, and programming projects. Several of his projects have received LEED certification, and he is an accredited GBCI Parksmart Advisor.

Paige Brue, PE, CFM is a water resources engineer for Watershed Progressive and serves as the Ocean Friendly Gardens Program Director for the North Orange County Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. Paige has been working in the field of stormwater management and drainage engineering since 2012. Her expertise lies at the intersection of the built environment and the natural world. She has been involved in a variety of projects throughout her career including highway drainage projects, hydraulic modeling for dams and spillways, stream stabilization, floodplain mapping, fluvial studies, environmental compliance, stormwater best management practice (BMP) design, and watershed planning. Paige holds a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Biological and Agricultural Engineering from North Carolina State University and a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering from Purdue University with a Minor in Soil Science. In her free time, Paige enjoys running, surfing, hiking, reading, gardening, and traveling.

Ms. Horn specializes in stormwater management and compliance programs for land development and construction activities. With 20 years of experience, Erika and her team develop and coordinate programs that are tailored to clients’ specific needs, are feasible for field implementation and compliant with CA CGP requirements. Her programs have an excellent compliance record with local, state and federal agencies. In addition, Erika coordinates and provides specialized stormwater trainings for land development personnel, construction superintendents and sub-contractors.  Erika is a Qualified SWPPP Developer (QSD), Qualified SWPPP Practitioner (QSP), a Trainer of Record (ToR), a Certified Erosion Sediment and Storm Water Inspector (CESSWI) and a Certified Professional of Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC). She has a Bachelor of Arts, Summa Cum Laude, from Southern Illinois University.  

Ms. Keish has over 20 years of experience in environmental engineering, specializing in stormwater and construction mitigation compliance. Ms. Keish is a California Stormwater Quality Association (CASQA) qualified trainer of record under the construction and industrial stormwater permits, as well as a qualified SWPPP practitioner/developer (QSP/D) and qualified industrial stromwater practitioner (QISP). She has also conducted state-wide stormwater trainings on visual trash assessment for full trash capture equivalence. Her project experience includes work as seconded staff on a Phase II MS4 program, as well as in design and construction on large infrastructure projects. She is also an Envision sustainability professional (ENV SP), and an ISI verifier and trainer. Ms. Keish is currently serving as CASQA Non-Traditional Subcommittee co-chair and WTS Women’s Leadership Program chair.

Mr. Mohanty, has over 15 years of experience working on understanding the fate, transport, and removal of pollutants in natural and engineering systems subjected to climate or anthropogenic stress. His research group at UCLA works to engineer the subsurface systems for stormwater treatment, remediation, and protection of groundwater in changing climates.

Mr. Parra-Rosales has over 30 years of experience in hydrology and hydraulic design. Luis graduated with a degree in civil engineering from Universidad Catolica (UCAB) in Caracas, Venezuela where he also served as professor of fluid mechanics. He went on to earn a Masters in hydraulic engineering at Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas and a PhD in water resources at Texas A&M University. For the past 20 years, Luis has been based in San Diego where he also taught courses in hydrology and hydraulics at San Diego State University. His work has included studies on continuous simulation, flooding, complex outlet structure design, review of spillways, and other areas. He participation in the Technical Advisory Committees in San Diego on hydromodification, critical coarse sediments, and drainage and hydrology manuals, among others. In addition, Luis has presented at conferences for organizations such as CASQA, StormCon, IECA, and FMA. 

Heather Alley serves as the conservation horticulturist and manager of the Mimsie Lanier Center for Native Plant Studies at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. Heather has over 20 years of experience identifying and propagating hundreds of Georgia native plants from every region of the state including over fifty rare species for conservation purposes. Heather specializes in piedmont grassland plant species for restoration and rare species conservation. 

Ms. Neal is the owner of Green Gardens Education and Designs. Prior to that, she was a biologist at Fernbank Science Center in Atlanta for over 30 years. She retired in 2017. Ms. Neal areas of expertise are composting, vermicomposting, ornithology, environmental education, establishing outdoor classrooms and wildlife gardens and educating the public about the wonders of monarchs. She has a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in science education with an emphasis in animal behavior. In 2015 Ms. Neal received the Outstanding Biology Teacher Award for Georgia from the National Association of Biology Teacher in recognition of her career’s work in environmental education.
Ms. Neal was also the project director for the School Master Gardener program that trained over 300 Master Gardeners from 50 different schools across DeKalb County. Since 2003 these participants have volunteered over 50,000 hours at their local schoolhouses with over 35,000 students. Numerous Junior Master Gardener Clubs were formed in the local schoolhouses. This program also brought in over $63,461 in grant money at the local schools to support these school outdoor classrooms.
Upon retirement, she realized that her depth of knowledge offered an opportunity to help homeowners transition from a traditional lawn yard to a landscape that welcomes wildlife and pollinators with native plants. This type of landscape is critical in protecting threatened species and establishing a healthy ecosystem for humans and wildlife. Doug Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home, says “Gardening is a way of showing you believe in tomorrow”. Based on this belief, Ms. Neal formed an LLC called Green Gardens Education and Designs (GGED) and works with homeowners to make their residence a part of the solution, instead of it being part of the problem. When a customer works with GGED, they can expect a design that uses over thirty years of knowledge and experience and takes into consideration how a space is utilized by both humans and wildlife. This design will transform the landscape into both an aesthetically pleasing space and a space that is a part of the solution to the problems our earth is currently facing. By connecting yards and habitats, homeowners can actively work to offset their carbon footprints and support species that are struggling.

Bodie Pennisi, received her Master of Science in 1996 and Doctoral degrees in 1999 from Environmental Horticulture Dept. of University of Florida in Gainesville. She joined the Horticulture Department at UGA in 2000. Dr. Pennisi is responsible for planning and coordinating a statewide Extension program to support the professional landscape industry and conducting applied research with emphasis on sustainable landscape practices such as biodegradable containers and microbial inoculants. Dr. Pennisi also conducts research on quantifying and qualifying floral provisioning resources for pollinators, biological enemies, and ecosystem services in urban and agricultural landscape contexts.

Dr. Pennisi’s publication record includes 25 journal articles, 58 published abstracts, 75 extension publications (manuals, bulletins, circulars), and 10 book chapters. She has 67 presentations at professional conferences as author or co-author, and over 500 presentations for stakeholder audiences (industry, civic groups, master gardeners, garden clubs, etc.). Dr. Pennisi assists county Extension agents with landscape troubleshooting, landscape planning, and local programming. She teaches Master Gardener training classes on landscape installation and maintenance, WaterSmart landscapes, interiorscapes, herbaceous and woody ornamental plant selection, plant propagation and plant physiology.

Dr. Pennisi serves on the boards of the statewide industry groups, Georgia Green Industry Association and the Georgia Urban Agriculture Council. She also serves as a scientific advisor to the board of the national non-profit organization Green Plants for Green Buildings (GPGB). Since 2014, she’s been serving as Co-Editor-in- Chief of Scientia Horticulturae (Elsevier Publ.) Dr. Pennisi has received numerous publication awards from the American Society for Horticultural Sciences (ASHS), Southern Region ASHS, National Association of County Agriculture Agents (NAACA), and Southern Regional Extension Forester. Her past awards include Senior Extension Specialist (Georgia Association of County Agriculture Agents), Henry Covington Extension Award, NACTA Award of Merit, John Hutchison Young Extension Educator, Georgia Green Industry Educator of the Year, Georgia Society of Association of Executives, and Georgia Flower Grower Association Outstanding Educator.

Mr. Meyer has over 40 years of experience in geotechnical engineering, construction materials engineering and testing, environmental assessments and forensic investigations. His current practice focuses on expansive and soft soil conditions, soil-structure interaction, foundation investigations, paving design and forensic studies. Mr. Meyer earned his BSCE and MCE degrees from the University of Houston. He is a professional engineer in the State of Texas. Mr. Meyer is an Adjunct Professor for the College of Engineering Technology, Department of Construction Management at the University of Houston-Main Campus where he instructs courses in Construction Materials Testing and Foundation Engineering. He is a past president of the University of Houston Engineering Alumni Association, a past president of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ National Deep Foundation Committee, and a past president of the Texas Council of Engineering Laboratories-Houston branch.

Mr. Decker teaches Technical Writing and Writing Technical Manuals in support of the Professional Writing minor. Dr. Decker has PhD and MA degrees in English from The Pennsylvania State University (2001, 1997) and he graduated summa cum laude in English from Utah State University (1995).

While an undergraduate, Dr. Decker worked for several years as a staff writer for Aerotech News and Review, an aerospace and defense industry trade newspaper published in Lancaster, California. During graduate school, Dr. Decker was a member of the Leonhard Center for Technical Writing Initiative, a collaboration between Penn State’s Department of English and College of Engineering designed to promote an exchange of ideas between technical writing instructors and the scientific and engineering communities. Dr. Decker also taught Business Writing, Technical Writing, and an Advanced Technical Writing course that enrolled graduate students from technical and scientific disciplines.

After graduate school, Dr. Decker spent four years at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, where he taught Technical Writing in support of that school’s major in Technical Communication and served as the advisor for the student chapter of the Society for Technical Communication. Dr. Decker has given presentations at several national and international conferences and has published both a book and a co-edited book as well as several scholarly articles, book chapters, and encyclopedia chapters.

Mr. Wance is a shareholder and former chair of Buchalter’s Land Use Practice Group. He has built a cross-disciplinary practice involving land use and entitlements, water resources, environmental compliance, natural resources, and public law through the representation of both public agencies and private businesses throughout California. Mr. Wance has handled all aspects of these substantive areas, from advising clients regarding the applicability of the law, to guiding clients through a permitting or entitlement process, or defending clients subject to enforcement actions. He successfully represented businesses and public agencies in sophisticated financial, real estate, water resource, environmental compliance, and land development matters in court and before administrative agencies. Mr. Wance’s land use and entitlement background includes representation of residential developers, public entities, major industrial facilities, and other commercial businesses in all phases of project development before local and state agencies, city councils, and county board of supervisors. He has assisted clients in obtaining development and environmental permits and project approvals for power plants, schools, mixed-use, and industrial development projects.

Dr. Mehran Mazari is an associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Cal State Los Angeles, specializing in transportation infrastructure and pavement materials. He is the program manager of the Sikand Center for Sustainable and Intelligent Infrastructures (SITI-Center) and founder of the Sustainable Infrastructure Materials Research Lab (SIM-Lab) at Cal State LA. His research interests include sustainable and resilient transportation infrastructure and transportation infrastructure materials. He is a member of technical committees at the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Science and Engineering, and he is co-chair of the LTPP subcommittee of the Highway Pavement Committee of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Dr. Mazari has published more than 70 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers. He has been actively involved in several national and state research projects, including the National Highway Cooperative Research Program (NCHRP) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Mr. Flack has earned his designations, among select thousands in the world, as a Certified Professional in Erosion & Sediment Controls (CPESC) as well as his designation as a Certified Erosion, Sediment and Storm Water Inspector (CESSWI), lending his experience and training to his customers to consult them in all their stormwater needs. He has also earned his status as a Qualified Compliance Inspector of Stormwater (QCIS) and as a Qualified Preparer of Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (QPSWPPP. He also earned the Certified Erosion and Sediment Control Lead (CESCL), which is a 17.5-hour certificate program as required by Washington State for all construction stormwater management. He is a subject matter expert and lead instructor for StormwaterONE, which has established itself as the leader in stormwater management training and credentialing, the school’s mission is to provide their students with the most comprehensive and up to date training of individual stormwater permits, online or in-person.

Brad has been invited to speak in-person on storm water and erosion control issues in many locations, including California, Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Wyoming, Oregon, Colorado, Ohio and New Mexico, as well as internationally in Antigua, Guatemala, and in San Jose, Costa Rica. Furthermore, he has provided virtual online training for wide variety organizations across the country, including the Army Corps of Engineers, Maryland Stadium Authority, and more.

Additionally, he served as president and administrative vice president for the South-Central Chapter of the International Erosion Control Association. Furthermore, he directed the IECA Region 1 Education Committee: Stormwater Management Track as co-chair, which encompasses North America, South America and Europe. Brad also sat as the Region 6 Chapter President for EnviroCert International (ECI) and was a member of the Policies and Procedures Committee for ECI. He has served as the Region 7 representative for the CPESC, Inc., group as well as the technical vice-chair for the Council. He has been an IECA Mentor and served as a TCEQ EnviroMentor.

Brad has been involved with Stormwater Quality Management since 2004 where he learned about permitting, turf establishment, erosion control and detention pond maintenance and has continued to be a student of the industry throughout his career. His attention to detail and depth of knowledge about structural control devices, vegetative stabilization and best management practices are a valuable asset to his clients and students.

His wife is his high school sweetheart, and they have been married for over 20 years and have three sons. Brad has also actively served at his church and has ventured on over a dozen mission trips, from drilling for water in rural villages in Honduras to assisting in hurricane recovery efforts in Puerto Rico. Brad was the Director of Hands and Feet Honduras/Puerto Rico, a 501(c)3 organization for over eight years.

Mr. El-Sayed is a principal at EA Energy Solutions, LLC. In this capacity, he is responsible for fulfilling the client delivery obligations associated with the energy solutions services portfolio. These services support EA Energy’s clients and national account customers by ensuring optimal energy efficiency in new construction projects, renovations and existing buildings alike. Since 2009, Mr. El-Sayed has provided leadership in the field of Energy Efficiency for multiple organizations and have served clients in the retail, healthcare, education, warehousing and transportation, and civic market segments. In these roles, he managed projects that resulted in Ohio and Indiana’s first LEED Platinum commercial buildings and Ohio’s first LEED Platinum school. In addition to his operational experience, Mr. El-Sayed is active in the USGBC’s Central Ohio Chapter as well as several other professional affiliations. He earned a Master’s degree in Environmental Health and Safety from the University of Cincinnati and an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Zagazig University.

Mr. Hazelwood is an energy engineering professional with over 15 years of experience. He is a Certified Energy Manager (CEM) and a LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP), currently serving as Project Manager with WB Engineers + Consultants where he spearheads and executes energy management, analysis & decarbonization for company clients across 12 offices in the US. Mr. Hazelwood has developed a deep understanding of energy and sustainability best practices, and has extensive experience in energy auditing, energy efficient design and implementation, sustainability planning, and renewable energy project development. In addition to his professional experience, He holds a bachelor’s in Environmental Studies from Harvard University. Mr. Hazelwood is also a member of professional organizations, including the Association of Energy Engineers, the US Green Building Council (USGBC), the Green Building Institute (GBI), and served as an instructor at Endicott College teaching green building to architectural graduate students for three consecutive years. He is passionate about energy efficiency and sustainability in the built environment.

Ms. Adams’ project experience is focused on historic preservation projects for private, corporate and institutional clients. Each of these projects has emphasized the leveraging of State and Federal Historic Tax Credits, as well as other incentives available, to promote community revitalization. Her work includes developing energy-efficient and smart sustainable solutions for preservation projects. 

Mr. Biller is owner and principal fire protection engineer of Emerson Graham + Associates – a fire protection engineering and code consultancy firm, as well as principal and code consultant for CODEcheck Consulting, a third-party review agency serving multiple local jurisdictions with third-party plan review and inspection services.  He also serves as a fire protection engineer for George Mason University’s (GMU) Office of the University Building Official (OUBO), wherein he reviews fire protection and fire/life safety compliance. Mr. Biller holds registration as a professional engineer in multiple states including Virginia.  He is a member of the International Code Council (ICC), a fellow of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), a member of the Automatic Fire Alarm Association (AFAA) and the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA), and a member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), currently serving on four technical committees of which the Building Construction and Life Safety Code chapters are included.  Mr. Biller is an NFPA certified fire protection specialist (CFPS), and he holds the master code professional (MCP), certified building official (CBO), and certified fire official (CFO) certifications, in addition to multiple other code compliance certifications from the ICC.  He is a 2014 graduate of the MSc. Fire Protection Engineering program at California Polytechnic State University, and he is a 2007 undergraduate of the BSc., Engineering Technology program at Old Dominion University.
Mr. Biller is an adjunct lecturer at Eastern Kentucky University and University of North Carolina at Charlotte in each of the respective undergraduate programs in Fire and Safety Engineering Technology.  In his educational background, he has taught on an array of courses including fire and building codes, fire behavior and fire dynamics, human behavior in fire, fire protection systems and hydraulics, fire modeling and performance-based aspects of fire protection engineering design, fire prevention and fire protection public policy.

Dr. Mehran Mazari is an associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Cal State Los Angeles, specializing in transportation infrastructure and pavement materials. He is the program manager of the Sikand Center for Sustainable and Intelligent Infrastructures (SITI-Center) and founder of the Sustainable Infrastructure Materials Research Lab (SIM-Lab) at Cal State LA. His research interests include sustainable and resilient transportation infrastructure and transportation infrastructure materials. He is a member of technical committees at the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Science and Engineering, and he is co-chair of the LTPP subcommittee of the Highway Pavement Committee of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Dr. Mazari has published more than 70 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers. He has been actively involved in several national and state research projects, including the National Highway Cooperative Research Program (NCHRP) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Mr. Evans is the managing partner for the New Mexico Building and Home Safety Alliance, LLC (NMBHSA), and the president of Southwest Training Alliance (SWTA), a not-for-profit workforce development company. He also serves as the safety and training manager for Albuquerque Plumbing Heating and Cooling, Inc., where he manages their registered plumbing and HVAC apprenticeship program. He has 32 years of experience carrying both Mechanical and Electrical contracting licenses in the state of New Mexico along with four journeyman licenses. Mr. Evans provides third party evaluation and consulting for matters relating to contracting, the mechanical and electrical trades and occupational safety and health. He also engages in speaking and instruction online and in person. Mr. Evans owned Amigo Mechanical, a fully licensed mechanical contracting company from 1999 to 2015, worked as the Commercial HVAC Manager for Albuquerque Plumbing Heating and Cooling, Inc., starting in 2016 and then partnering with them to form the NMBHSA and SWTA in 2019. Mr. Evans is a life-long New Mexican, raised in Las Cruces, and he speaks, reads, and writes fluent Spanish. He has been training professional adults since 2012.

Mr. Palmer is a Board Certified Master Arborist® and Tree Risk Assessment Qualified by the International Society of Arboriculture, and a Consulting Arborist. He was the owner of a premium services landscaping company for 20 years. Mr. Palmer’s focus is on trees in urban and construction environments, soil deficiencies and the importance of soils for sustainable mature trees, increasing urban tree canopies by ensuring trees live to maturity, and unsustainable landscape designs. He does tree assessments for individuals, commercial clients, law firms, insurance companies, municipalities, landscape architecture firms, parks and woodland management agencies, and he has assessed and evaluated thousands of individual trees in the past decade.

Here’s what past attendees had to say about the program and presenter John Palmer:

“Very good. Very useful. I will change some of what I have been doing based on what I have learned from this webinar.” – Civil Engineer

“John is one of two presenters in the last 30 years who has held my interest throughout an entire all day program.” – Architect

“Excellent presentation and content. I especially appreciated all of the references in the material.” – Civil Engineer

Mr. Iliff has been a certified building official for 10+ years serving communities in Texas, Illinois, and Missouri. He has taught classes on the residential, building, and property maintenance codes with a focus on preparing students for certification exams and effective administration. Mr. Iliff has 30+ years of experience as a city planner, floodplain manager, and code enforcement officer. He earned an undergraduate degree in Urban Planning and Development from Ball State University.

In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, Mr. Shaw grew up in the sleepy little Appalachian town of Bristol, Tennessee, a small city that rests on the boundary between the two states of Tennessee and Virginia. Upon graduation from Bristol Tennessee High School, he enlisted in the United States Navy where he served as ships baker aboard the USS Shark (a fast attack submarine) for four years. When his enlistment came to an end, he took a job selling lawn care service to residential owners in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and later, moved to Knoxville, Tennessee where he worked as general manager of a landscape contracting company while attending the University of Tennessee for Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Design. Eventually, Mr. Shaw took over as president of a wholesale tree care supply business and built the company from $70,000 in sales to over $1.2 million in just seven years. During that time, he married his wife Kristin and they had two children together. With encouragement from Kristin he also developed an interest in arboricultural consulting, and on May 11th, 1999, he became the first American Society of Consulting Arborist (ASCA) member in Middle Tennessee. From 1998 to 2003, he also served on the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council. Mr. Shaw has since consulted with private landowners, insurance companies, attorneys, tree companies, cooperative extension service agents, country clubs, state urban forestry organizations, universities, and colleges. He has worked on some of the most challenging, difficult, and highest profile cases across the United States. Mr. Shaw is a registered consulting arborist, a board-certified master arborist and one of only a handful of arborists worldwide who consult full-time. He is a UAS pilot, a real estate appraiser and he brings a broad range of skills from a variety of scientific and professional disciplines. An autodidact, Mr. Shaw brings a unique perspective and a talent for learning to any project. He has developed authoritative expertise to create a greater understanding in tree related matters.

Mr. Westbrook designed his own solar home in north Texas in 1996, which won the Energy Value Housing Award for Innovative Design. It still ranks as one of the most efficient homes in Texas. While serving as Sustainable Development Manager at Texas Instruments International Facilities, Mr. Westbrook was the LEED AP for the 1.1 million square foot Texas Instruments factory, which was the first LEED Gold semiconductor factory in the world. He led the effort to improve the energy and water efficiency of TI’s 20 million square feet of existing global facilities. They were able to double the company energy and water efficiency in less than 10 years. In 2012, Mr. Westbrook was named a Senior Fellow for the US State Department’s Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas program. He visited Honduras, Bolivia, Columbia, and Peru where he worked with governments, universities, and industry on efficiency and renewable energy. Mr. Westbrook received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1982.