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Leigh Adams is a consultant, educator, eco-sensitive designer and horticultural interpreter at Studio Petrichor and Metabolic Studio. She has trained many county agencies in regenerative practices as well as conducting hands-on workshops with local schools and professional groups. Her love of collaboration and education infuse all aspects of her work.

Peter Caldwell ASLA, PLA is a landscape architect at Asakura Robinson in Houston, Texas, and he has an educational background in Ecological Sciences and Engineering. His work focuses on barrier-free solutions through an ecological design lens. He is a leader in his professional organization (ASLA) where he brings innovative educational opportunities to the state and local membership.landscape architect at Asakura Robinson in Houston, Texas, and he has an educational background in Ecological Sciences and Engineering. His work focuses on barrier-free solutions through an ecological design lens. He is a leader in his professional organization (ASLA) where he brings innovative educational opportunities to the state and local membership.

Mary Coolidge is Portland Audubon’s BirdSafe campaign coordinator, working with architects, planners and designers to reduce hazards for birds in the urban environment while meeting other building design and performance objectives, including site lighting design, sustainability, livability and climate change objectives. She has a degree in Biology and formerly served as Audubon’s assistant conservation director.

Robert Glass founded Space Open Studio in 2018, a San Francisco Bay Area landscape design firm specializing in an ecologically sensitive and site-specific approach. He has worked on various projects as a landscape designer, water systems designer, project manager, construction manager, and muralist. Mr. Glass holds a BLA degree from Clemson University and an MLA degree from UC Berkeley.

Mr. Lai is a thought leader in sustainability, resiliency and conservation with over thirty years’ experience in landscape architectural design and planning. His interest in drawing and environmentalism as a child led him to a field that he describes as the ‘architecture of living things’ with an immense potential to impact quality of life for future generations. In addition to his extensive expertise in sustainable design and water issues, Mr. Lai’s facilitation and communication skills enable him to focus and maximize the creative energies of project collaborators toward innovative, yet practical solutions. His commitment to environmental advocacy is reflected in his teaching and speaking engagements, as well as his active involvement in the Los Angeles professional sustainability community. Mr. Lai is currently a Landscape Architecture Practice Builder for Kimley-Horn in Los Angeles, California. 

Paul W. Lander, PhD, MLarch, LEED A.P. , has over 40 years of experience in the conservation field- land, energy, and water, including 16 years leading the City of Boulder, Colorado’s award-winning water conservation program. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Geography, and on the Faculty for the professional degree, Masters of the Environment, both at the University of Colorado. He currently teaches about urban water systems, western water, and landscape.

Shawn Maestretti, the principal of Studio Petrichor and the creator of the talk series, “Regenerative Landscapes and the Climate Crisis,” has been designing thoughtful, engaging, vibrant green spaces and environmentally-sensible gardens since 2006. Mr. Maestretti is a designer, plantsman, licensed landscape architect, certified arborist, licensed landscape contractor, and educator.

Mr. Roy is a licensed professional engineer in 17 states and the District of Columbia and has managed projects primarily throughout the Northeast but also along the entire eastern coast of the United States for over 26 years. As vice president, Mr. Roy manages offices in Southborough, MA, Rocky Hill, CT, Rochester, NY, and Bedford NH. Mr. Roy has extensive experience in geotechnical engineering, construction materials testing and inspection, and environmental services. Mr. Roy’s has completed hundreds of forensic investigations of deficient construction materials and techniques. Investigations have included review and testing of materials ranging from soils, concrete, pavement, and groundwater to building materials such as structural steel, vapor barriers, and spray-foam insulation. Additionally, Mr. Roy has served as an expert witness on many cases where construction deficiencies have led to litigation.

Mr. Karow is the CEO of Code Educational Opportunities providing education based on current building codes. He also provides service as a building code specialist for design professionals and stakeholders in the industry. Mr. Karow has an extensive background in developing and presenting various types of building code and related seminars. Previous career paths included staff instructor with the International Code Council and with the State of Minnesota Codes and Standards Division. He has instructed in a Building Inspection Technology program at a local community college. Mr. Karow is a certified building official in Minnesota and holds ICC certifications as a Certified Building Official, ICC Plans Examiner, ICC Building Inspector and ICC Building Code Specialist.

President of Frank Aguirre & Associates, Inc. San Antonio
Mr. Aguirre, owner of Septic Systems Express, Septic System Designs Of Texas and Texas Septic Systems Council, has been designing and inspecting septic systems since 1975. During that time, he has served on the board of directors for the National On-site Wastewater Recycling Association (NOWRA), and he has served as president of the Texas On-site Wastewater Association. Mr. Aguirre founded the Alamo On-site Wastewater Association and the Alamo Water & Wastewater Analysts Association. He has designed over 30,000 septic systems and is the only person in the country that has organized and sponsored a national conference specifically on how to design a septic system for a restaurant (high strength wastewater). He has been a licensed sanitarian since 1968. Mr. Aguirre received his bachelor’s degree in Biology and his master’s degree in Educational Psychology. Septic Systems Express designs and inspects septic systems throughout south-central Texas. He is a professional speaker and lives, part-time, in Manhattan.

North State Law has focused on helping licensed professionals keep their professional license since being founded by Nicholas Dowgul in 2019. Mr. Dowgul has been engaged in the practice of law since 2008. He has practiced in front of the NC Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors, NC Board of Nursing, NC Medical Board, NC Social Work Certification and Licensure Board, and NC Licensing Board for General Contractors, just to name a few. In 2008, Mr. Dowgul started his legal career as an attorney with the Harrison County, Mississippi public defender’s office where he found his professional passion litigating cases. He loves being in the courtroom but believes that resolving cases, when they can be resolved, is typically in a client’s best interest. That said, when it’s time to present his case, Mr. Dowgul is well-prepared to obtain the best results for his clients.

Professor Rauf has over 25 years of experience in teaching undergraduate and post graduate engineering, science, math, business administration and MBA courses, seminars, and workshops. He earned his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering, with honors, from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. Professor Rauf earned his Executive MBA degree from Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer, North Carolina. He is a registered professional engineer in the States of Virginia, Wyoming, and North Carolina and is a Certified Energy Manager. Professor Rauf holds a patent in process controls technology. His last full-time engineering employment in the corporate world, was at PPG Industries, Inc., where he served as a senior staff engineer. Professor Rauf was inducted as “Legend in Energy” by AEE, in 2014. He is a member of ASEE, the American Society of Engineering Education. Professor Rauf has developed and instructed Professional Engineering and Fundamentals of Engineering Exam (NCEES) Prep Courses over the past 20 years. He develops and instructs PDHs (Professional Development Hours) and continuing education, engineering skill-building seminars and courses. Professor Rauf is also an adjunct professor at Gardner-Webb University. He has published multiple texts over the last 10 years. Professor Rauf also provides text editorial services to River Publishers.

Mr. Strong’s experience has stretched across many areas of litigation, including construction and design defect claims. He has represented professionals including architects and structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and civil engineers in disputes involving large-scale multi-family, mixed-use, commercial, and residential projects throughout North Carolina. Mr. Strong received his bachelor of science degree from Appalachian State University and went on to earn his juris doctor degree from Washington and Lee University School of Law. At Washington and Lee, he contributed to the Journal of Energy, Climate, & the Environment as a staff writer and went on to serve as editor-in-chief of the publication. Upon graduation, Mr. Strong moved back to Raleigh to start his liability practice. He is married and a father of three boys, all of whom share his passion for hockey.

Attorney, Moore & VanAllen
A frequent author and speaker on intellectual property law developments and a trained mechanical engineer, Mr. Ward focuses his practice on preparing and negotiating technology and commercial agreements and counseling clients in connection with patent, trademark, copyright, advertising regulations and litigation matters. He has extensive experience with information technology agreements and is actively representing a number of publicly-traded companies in transactional and other intellectual property matters in a variety of industries, including the health care and telecommunications industries. Mr. Ward is a member of the firm’s EHR Task Force. He is also a member of the International Trademark Association (INTA), North Carolina Bar Association, American Intellectual Property Law Association, American Bar Association, Georgia Bar Association, American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Mecklenburg County Bar Association.

Attorney, Conner Gwyn Schenck PLLC
Tim Wyatt handles litigation and appeals involving construction disputes and geotechnical failures, with a particular emphasis on representing government contractors and subcontractors on public projects. He also performs federally funded research involving legal issues affecting contractors on public construction projects, such as environmental review and domestic preference requirements. He has represented government contractors seeking to protect their intellectual property used or developed on public projects. Prior to becoming an attorney, Mr. Wyatt spent more than ten years practicing as a professional engineer and government contractor in Raleigh, managing large federal research projects and performing geotechnical research involving tunnels and highways.

Mr. Agee is the director of Building and Code Enforcement for St. Charles County, Missouri. Previously, he worked in urban and suburban municipal governments managing building code enforcement, facilities, and information technology. Prior to his public sector positions, Mr. Agee worked in the construction industry in design and project management.

He has an undergraduate degree in Architectural and Mechanical Design and a graduate degree in Public Administration and Policy Analysis. As a Master Code Professional, Mr. Agee is one of approximately 800 people to obtain the highest level of certification from the International Code Council. He currently holds a total of 28 certifications in building, energy, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, and accessibility areas.

Mr. Agee is a former president of the Missouri Association of Building Officials and Inspectors (MABOI). In addition, he founded Regimen Consulting LLC, which provides code training and technology consultation to various organizations across the country.

 Mr. Erick focuses on commercial litigation and employment law. He has represented clients in both litigation and transactional matters that span across commercial law, labor and employment, real estate, consumer protection and general litigation including, but not limited to breach of contract, corporate trade secret theft, tortious interference, defamation, personal injury, fraud, and various other kinds of civil litigation. Mr. Erick is a member of the State Bar of Texas and Dallas Bar Association. He earned his B.A. degree, cum laude, from the University of Mississippi and his J.D. degree from Baylor School of Law.

Ms. Grove is an experienced and Board Certified Paralegal with a demonstrated history of working in the legal and medical industries. She is skilled in medical record summarization, drafting pleadings and discovery, e-filing, demand preparation, negotiation, subrogation and reductions.

Attorney with Kinser & Bates, LLP, Dallas, TX
Ms. Melhart has been licensed to practice law in Texas since 2007 and earned board certification in family law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in 2014. Ms. Melhart has extensive experience within the family law field, including several years as a prosecutor representing the Department of Family and Protective Services. As a CPS prosecutor, Ms. Melhart received the award for excellence in serving children from Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Trinity Valley. She has also been named by Super Lawyers as a Texas Rising Star each year since 2013 and is on the faculty for the NITA/American Bar Association Family Law Trial Advocacy Institute held in Boulder, Colorado, every July.

Attorney with Andrews Myers, P.C., Houston, TX office
Ms. Norman is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, her practice is centered on all aspects of commercial litigation, with an emphasis on commercial bankruptcy, financial litigation, contract disputes and construction law. She has extensive trial experience in the Texas state courts, federal courts and arbitration. Ms. Norman has successfully argued appeals before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Texas Supreme Court and multiple Texas Courts of Appeals. Her commercial bankruptcy practice focuses on creditors’ rights and acquisitions within the bankruptcy context, and she has managed cases from inception through final disposition, including depositions, briefs/motions, mediation, arbitration and trial.

Ms. Pingenot Key exclusively practices family law. She has been selected for inclusion in Texas Monthly “Rising Stars” each year since 2006. Prior to practicing law, Ms. Pingenot Key was the program director of a supervised visitation facility for families in Austin as well as an elementary school teacher with the non-profit program, Teach for America. She received a B.A. degree in Psychology, with honors, an M.S. degree in Social Work, with honors, and a J.D. degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Ms. Pingenot Key is board certified in family law and speaks and writes frequently on issues in family law.

Yusuf Ross Law, PLLC, San Antonio, TX
Ms. Ross is board certified in family law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has extensive litigation experience in both civil and family law. Her current practice covers all areas of family law litigation, including divorce, child custody, visitation and child support, modification and enforcement of court orders, and property division. Ms. Ross serves on the Board of Directors of the Texas Family Law Foundation and is a member of the Texas Family Law Foundation’s Bill Review Committee, reviewing and advising on legislation that impacts family lawyers and families throughout Texas. She has also been named by Super Lawyers as a Texas Rising Star. Ms. Ross earned her B.S. degree in Psychology and Criminology from Florida State University and her J.D. degree from Baylor University School of Law.

Landscape Architect/Environmental Manager at Project Engineering Consultants
Mr. Anderson has 23 years of experience as a both a landscape architect and environmental manager. Starting his career with UDOT, he was first introduced to stormwater management on the Provo Canyon expansion project in 1998. UDOT was being sued and Mr. Anderson was designated as the compliance officer for the environmental impacts resulting from the project. That project propelled him into developing the environmental control supervisors course required by UDOT for all contractors working on state or federally funded projects. Joining PEC in 2006, Mr. Anderson has continued to teach and consult in storm water management. In 2015 PEC developed the low-impact development standards for Spanish Fork City, the first City in Utah to develop such standards. Since then, Mr. Anderson continues to teach about stormwater management for continuing education credits and continues implementing low-impact development standards in municipal and private projects. He received his B.S. degree in Environmental Science from Brigham Young University and his M.L.A. degree in Landscape Architecture from Utah State University.

Ms. Eierman is an environmental horticulturist and ecological landscape designer specializing in native plants. Based in New York, Ms. Eierman teaches at the New York Botanical Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, The Native Plant Center, School and several other institutions. She is an active speaker nationwide on many ecological landscape topics. Ms. Eierman also provides horticultural consulting and landscape design services to landscape architects and designers, homeowners, municipalities, and commercial clients. In addition to being a certified horticulturist through the American Society for Horticultural Science, she is an accredited Organic Landcare Professional, a steering committee member of The Native Plant Center, and a member of The Ecological Landscape Alliance and Garden Communicators International. Ms. Eierman is the author of the book, The Pollinator Victory Garden: Win the War on Pollinator Decline with Ecological Gardening.

David A. Lurker – Shareholder with Buchalter Law Firm
Mr. Lurker has more than 30 years of legal experience serving the real estate industry and is a tremendous asset for his clients. Having experienced numerous economic and industry cycles, he knows how to help guide clients in effective deal structuring. Mr. Lurker represents owners, developers, investors, contractors, landlords, tenants, property managers and lenders in planning, negotiating, and implementing transactions that involve purchases and sales, development, leasing, and construction of all types of projects, including retail, office, industrial, residential, multifamily, senior housing, and churches and nonprofits. Over the years, he has developed a highly valued corporate transactions practice working with small to midsize companies across a broad range of industries, with a substantial portion of these in the real estate industry. Mr. Lurker has been actively involved in several trade organizations, including the Associated General Contractors (Legal Advisory Committee). He is a member of the California Bar Association, Real Estate Law Section, the Orange County Bar Association, and has lectured for the Orange County Section of the American Planning Association. Mr. Lurker supports and is involved in several civic, political, and community organizations. He has also served on the Board of Directors of a Christian School and a local Church Board.

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 boards 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.

Mr. Simpson founded Gradelta Engineering in 2020 with the intent to help clients better understand the combination of geotechnical and structural engineering that he has worked with for the past 20 years. He earned his B.S.C.E. and M.S.C.E. degrees from Georgia Institute of Technology. He currently provides engineering services to contractors and fellow engineers for earth structure pricing, along with the plans and calculations needed for construction. He frequently consults with clients regarding the optimal structure type and location on the construction site to minimize risk and maximize useable space. He also works in the education sector providing not just seminars such as this one, but also acting as a subject matter expert creating study guide and test prep content for the NCEES Professional Civil Engineer exam. Mr. Simpson has also worked with lawyers and insurance companies during forensic investigation and lawsuits surrounding retaining walls and slope failures. His hope is that through the instructional services that he currently provides, slopes will remain stable and retaining wall failure will be eliminated.

Mr. Agee is the director of Building and Code Enforcement for St. Charles County, Missouri. Previously, he worked in urban and suburban municipal governments managing building code enforcement, facilities, and information technology. Prior to his public sector positions, Mr. Agee worked in the construction industry in design and project management.

He has an undergraduate degree in Architectural and Mechanical Design and a graduate degree in Public Administration and Policy Analysis. As a Master Code Professional, Mr. Agee is one of approximately 800 people to obtain the highest level of certification from the International Code Council. He currently holds a total of 28 certifications in building, energy, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, and accessibility areas.

Mr. Agee is a former president of the Missouri Association of Building Officials and Inspectors (MABOI). In addition, he founded Regimen Consulting LLC, which provides code training and technology consultation to various organizations across the country.

Ms. Talarico is an ICC-certified energy/green code plan reviewer and consults with architects and engineers throughout the Northeast to provide continuing education on a range of subjects from codes to building science. She is an instructor for Urban Green/New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s “Conquering the Code”, an 8-hour energy code class in New York State. Ms. Talarico was a member of the engineering outreach team for the Brick Industry Association, and she is an award-winning journalist with more than 25 years of experience as a writer and editor for such publications as Architectural Record and This Old House. Her areas of expertise include building energy, sustainability issues, and codes, including the IECC, ASHRAE 90.1, IEBC, and the IgCC.

Ms. Crowson is originally from Columbia and Camden, South Carolina. She graduated magna cum laude from the College of Charleston in 1997 and from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 2000. After law school, Ms. Crowson served as a law clerk to the Honorable Kaye G. Hearn, former Chief Judge of the S.C. Court of Appeals and now a Justice of the S.C. Supreme Court. She is licensed to practice law in South Carolina and Florida, and her prior experiences also include Howser, Newman & Besley Law Firm and the Pennington Law Firm, both in Columbia, South Carolina and as Assistant State Attorney, Fourth Judicial Circuit, Florida. Since 2013, Ms Crowson has been a member of Rogers, Lewis, Jackson, Mann & Quinn, LLC in Columbia, SC. She maintains both a litigation and transactional practice, focusing on condemnation/ eminent domain, telecommunications, easement and right-of-way disputes and acquisition (including fiber, utilities, access), lease negotiations, and commercial contract negotiations. In condemnations, easement, and right-of-way disputes, she primarily represents utility companies seeking to acquire or enforce utility easements. In telecommunications matters, Ms. Crowson represents wireless carriers, fiber providers, tower companies, utility companies, and business entities, related to telecom towers, colocations, antenna leasing, DAS/IBRD systems, pole attachments, 5G, and small cell node networks. She actively assists clients in negotiating master lease agreements (MLAs) and individual site leases (SLAs) for the deployment of wireless infrastructure and technology across the U.S., as well as the continued evolution of that infrastructure and technology.

Assistant Chief Counsel, South Carolina Department of Transportation
Paul D. deHolczer was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 1994. He is a member of the South Carolina Bar and the American Bar Association. He received his education at Presbyterian College (B.A.), Central College (London Program); University of South Carolina (M.A., International Studies; J.D.), and Corvinus University of Budapest (Summer Program). He has represented landowners as well as condemnors in eminent domain cases. Among other projects, he served as condemnor’s counsel on the Southern Connector (I-185), the Conway Bypass/Veterans Highway (SC-22/I-74), the Carolina Bays Parkway (SC-31) and the Ravenel Bridge (US-17) projects. Mr. deHolczer has lectured on eminent domain for the South Carolina Bar, the University of South Carolina School of Law, the Charleston School of Law, Presbyterian College, the International Right of Way Association (Carolinas Chapter), and for several professional education firms. He is Assistant Chief Counsel at the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT). The opinions he expresses in the CLE presentation and materials do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint or policies of SCDOT.

Attorney – The Mosteller Law Firm LLC
For more than 30 years, Attorney James D. Mosteller, III, the founder of the Mosteller Law Firm, has been providing legal assistance to South Carolina small business owners and local government leaders. His personal interest in business and government law issues has been prevalent throughout his years in legal practice, adding scope to his other areas of experience in litigation, personal injury, criminal defense and real estate law. The Mosteller Law Firm welcomes new clients from across the state of South Carolina, and serves many clients from Aiken, Bamberg and Barnwell Counties.

Partner – Lewis Babcock L.L.P.
David Paavola represents individuals and businesses in eminent domain and condemnation, complex business disputes, professional misconduct, legal malpractice, and contract disputes. David has tried condemnation cases to jury verdict and on appeal. He has been selected as a South Carolina Super Lawyers® Rising Star for 2019-2021. Mr. Paavola received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Financial Services and Planning from Baylor University in 2002, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2012. During law school, Mr. Paavola served as the editor in chief of the South Carolina Law Review.