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S.E., P.E., Tylk, Gustafson, Reckers, Wilson, Andrews (TGRWA) Structural Engineers, Chicago, IL
Since joining TGRWA in 1988, Mr. Andrews has been involved in a wide variety of structural analysis and design projects including new construction and renovation of existing and historic structures. His experience includes the structural analysis and design of structural steel, conventionally reinforced concrete, post-tensioned concrete, timber and masonry structures.  Mr. Andrews has over 30 years of structural engineering experience and has worked on projects from California to Wisconsin to Florida. He has a P.E. in 20 different states and Washington DC as well as a S.E. in Illinois and California.

Mr. Chwedyk is a licensed architect and chief code consultant and director of the licensed architectural subsidiary of Burnham that he assisted in founding in 2001. He was previously the principal of the Chicago office of a firm that specialized in life safety and fire protection engineering, and he has been a member of such prestigious architectural firms as Skidmore, Owings and Merrill; Bertrand Goldberg Associates; and Jack Train Associates. With over 40 years of experience in the profession, Mr. Chwedyk has concentrated on the technical requirements of building design and has managed the production of code-compliant construction documents for a wide variety of project types. Over the past two decades he has performed numerous code compliance plan reviews for the City of Chicago and other municipalities. Mr. Chwedyk is also a certified building plans examiner through the International Code Council (ICC) and currently serves on the International Fire Code Action Committee. His professional affiliations include the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and he is the 2018 chair of the National AIA Codes and Standards Committee.

AIA, LEED AP, NCARB, Laura Garcia Design in Chicago
Ms. Garcia has a broad range of experience in many project types and scales, from commercial high rises to small residential interior remodels. She founded her architecture and consulting firm Laura Garcia Design (LGD) in 2010 and provides a full range of architectural services for the design, permitting, and construction of new buildings, additions and renovations. Laura Garcia Design focuses on residential and small commercial projects, primarily in the Chicagoland area and surrounding Midwestern states. Ms. Garcia is active in her professional community and has served on the AIA Chicago Board of Directors since 2015, first as a director and currently as secretary. She has been an active member of the AIA-DOB Working Group since 2015, which meets monthly with the Chicago Department of Buildings, and she co-chaired the DOB Small Residential Code Modernization Group earlier this year. She has been active in AIA Chicago’s Small Practitioners Group (SPG) since 2010, and has served as co-chair of the SPG since 2015. She also gives presentations to the public through the SPG ‘Working with an Architect’ program and regularly speaks at professional and industry events.

Mr. Fratinardo is a civil/structural engineer and roof consultant. His over 20 years of experience includes civil and structural engineering analysis, design, construction administration, field investigation, and project management, and 13 years of experience specific to forensic engineering and the investigation and analysis of building damage and failures. Mr. Fratinardo has designed numerous new buildings, building additions, building renovations, and mechanical platforms and supports. He has designed and analyzed roof, wall and floor framing systems utilizing steel, concrete, masonry, and wood construction. Mr. Fratinardo has vast expertise in commercial, industrial, agricultural, municipal, educational and residential building damage investigations, including on-site investigations after 25 different tornado events, and Hurricanes Irene, Sandy, Matthew, Harvey, Irma, Maria and Florence. He has legal experience in depositions, arbitration hearings and trials. He has prepared and performed numerous continuing education presentations, including on an array of topics in forensic engineering, structural engineering and building codes for HalfMoon Education Inc., in multiple states since 2014. Mr. Fratinardo graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor of science degree in Civil Engineering, and he also holds a master of engineering degree in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University. He is a registered professional engineer in multiple states and a licensed structural engineer in Illinois.

Mr. Chwedyk is a licensed architect and chief code consultant and director of the licensed architectural subsidiary of Burnham that he assisted in founding in 2001. He was previously the principal of the Chicago office of a firm that specialized in life safety and fire protection engineering, and he has been a member of such prestigious architectural firms as Skidmore, Owings and Merrill; Bertrand Goldberg Associates; and Jack Train Associates. With over 40 years of experience in the profession, Mr. Chwedyk has concentrated on the technical requirements of building design and has managed the production of code-compliant construction documents for a wide variety of project types. Over the past two decades he has performed numerous code compliance plan reviews for the City of Chicago and other municipalities. Mr. Chwedyk is also a certified building plans examiner through the International Code Council (ICC) and currently serves on the International Fire Code Action Committee. His professional affiliations include the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and he is the 2018 chair of the National AIA Codes and Standards Committee.

Burnham Nationwide, Inc., in ChicagoAs the recognized name in facilitating permits and providing code consulting in the City of Chicago since 1992, Mr. Downes has been involved with many of the iconic buildings that make up the Chicago skyline, including most recently Hilton Chicago and Aloft Chicago Magnificent Mile. Mr. Downes leads Burnham’s company-wide project management and code divisions and interfaces with project executives to assure project success. He applies expertise in large-scale development projects requiring coordination of diverse teams and multiple city agencies, and he leverages 18 years of experience managing thousands of permits and approvals to develop comprehensive plans to achieve project goals. Mr. Downes also advises on strategy for permit expediting and code compliance for diverse projects, including new high-rises and hotels, tenant improvements, large assembly venues, historic landmarks, and unique new construction and remodel projects.

Adjunct Professor at South University in High Point, NCMr. Eppley serves as an adjunct professor of legal studies at South University and is a self-employed general practitioner since 2013. Previously he worked in a small civil business firm for 17 years, first as a paralegal and later as an attorney. Mr. Eppley received his B.A. degree from University ofNorth Carolina at Chapel Hill, his M.P.A. degree from University of North Florida, and his J.D. degree from Wake Forest University School of Law where he served as a teaching assistant and tutor for legal research and writing.

Mr. Hicks is a California water law, real property, and conservation attorney who represents a variety of public interest organizations, landowners, and others on select public policy, transactional, administrative, regulatory, and litigation matters. Before law school, he was an energy and water policy analyst at the Natural Heritage Institute and the founder and executive director of the Headwaters Institute. He has interned at the San Francisco Office of the City Attorney, California State Water Resources Control Board, and American Rivers. Mr. Hicks founded and chaired the inaugural California Water Law Symposium sponsored by leading northern California law schools and is a Board member. He is the author of the Water Education Foundation’s 2020 Layperson’s Guide to Water Rights Law, recognized as the most thorough explanation of California water rights law available to non-lawyers. He is a former whitewater raft guide, kayaker, and Colorado Outward Bound School instructor. Mr. Hicks holds a J.D. degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law and a B.A. degree from the University of Vermont.

Research Analyst Paralegal at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & RiceMs. Theriot is a senior research analyst at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice LLP in Winston-Salem, where she has served as project manager on national cases. She has significant experience with large-scale document productions as well as with using the latest technologies and platforms available for electronic discovery review. Ms. Theriot has more than 30 years of legal experience, including eight years of office management and more than 20 years of direct experience in business and products liability litigation.Ms. Theriot received her Associate in Arts degree at Valencia College. She is a North Carolina State certified paralegal.

Mr. Squerciati has over 26 years of post-disaster damage assessment and hazard mitigation experience under Dewberry’s Technical Assistance Contracts with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He has worked on numerous floods and other natural disasters as well as terrorist events. Mr. Squerciati has provided assistance in developing and updating several FEMA policy and technical documents including Protecting Building Utilities From Flood Damage (FEMA P-348), Mitigation Assessment Team Report: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast (FEMA 549), Flood Damage-Resistant Materials Requirements (NFIP Technical Bulletin 2), Protecting Manufactured Homes from Floods and Other Hazards (FEMA P-85), Engineering Principles and Practices for Retrofitting Flood Prone Residential Buildings (FEMA P-259), Hurricane Isaac in Louisiana Mitigation Assessment Team Report (FEMA P-938), Floodproofing Non-Residential Buildings (FEMA P-936), Mitigation Assessment Team Report – Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and New York: Building Performance Observations, Recommendations, and Technical Guidance (FEMA P-942), and Mitigation Assessment Team Report – Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico (FEMA P-2020). Mr. Squerciati currently serves on flood-related technical standard committees for both the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and ASTM International.

Mr. Squerciati has developed course materials and served as an instructor for the following courses at FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute: Multi-Hazard Mitigation Design Concepts (E312), Retrofitting Flood-Prone Residential Buildings (E279), Benefit-Cost Analysis (E276), Public Assistance Mitigation (E239), Residential Coastal Construction (E386) and Advanced FEMA Building Science Concepts (E2460). In addition, he assisted in the development of materials and been an instructor for numerous field training workshops, webinars and online seminars for Substantial Damage estimation, structural flood-proofing, NFIP technical bulletins, coastal construction, protecting manufactured homes from flooding, and Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA). Mr. Squerciati received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in civil engineering from the Cooper Union with a major in structural engineering and a minor in geotechnical engineering. He has taken additional course work on engineering for extreme winds at Texas Tech University. Mr. Squerciati is a licensed Professional Engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State of Louisiana and is a Certified Floodplain Manager.

Mr. Larkin manages a team responsible for providing expertise on or providing the technical solutions to wide ranging energy projects, including simple cycle and combined cycle cogeneration plants, central heating and cooling facilities, renewable energy projects, and others. He also has managed the engineering of several energy projects from development through start up, commissioning and performance testing. Mr. Larkin earned his B.A. degree in English from Franklin and Marshall College, his B.S.M.E. degree and M.S. degree in Engineering Management from Drexel University, and has been involved in the energy business for over 34 years. Veolia is the world’s leading provider of environmental solutions – dedicated to customized, cost-effective solutions that reflect best practices, environmental protection and a better quality of life. Veolia’s vision is to solve complex challenges in water, waste, and energy, in order to shape a more sustainable world.

Mr. Larkin manages a team responsible for providing expertise on or providing the technical solutions to wide ranging energy projects, including simple cycle and combined cycle cogeneration plants, central heating and cooling facilities, renewable energy projects, and others. He also has managed the engineering of several energy projects from development through start up, commissioning and performance testing. Mr. Larkin earned his B.A. degree in English from Franklin and Marshall College, his B.S.M.E. degree and M.S. degree in Engineering Management from Drexel University, and has been involved in the energy business for over 34 years. Veolia is the world’s leading provider of environmental solutions – dedicated to customized, cost-effective solutions that reflect best practices, environmental protection and a better quality of life. Veolia’s vision is to solve complex challenges in water, waste, and energy, in order to shape a more sustainable world.