Judith Sheine is a professor in the Department of Architecture at the University of Oregon and is an Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Distinguished Professor. She served as head of the UO Department of Architecture from 2012 to 2017 and previously was professor and chair of the Architecture Department at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, from 2002 to 2012. Sheine is currently the director of design for the TallWood Design Institute, a collaboration between the University of Oregon’s College of Design and Oregon State University’s Colleges of Forestry and Engineering, focused on advancing timber manufacturing and design. She is also an award-winning architect whose projects have been published internationally and is recognized as a leading authority on the work of R.M. Schindler. Her publications on Schindler include R.M. Schindler (Phaidon Press, 2001) and her most recent book, Schindler, Kings Road and Southern California Modernism (University of California Press, 2012), are co-authored with Robert Sweeney.

David Hinson has been a faculty member at Auburn University’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture since 1997. His teaching encompasses design studio, professional practice, building technologies, and leadership seminars. In 2001, Hinson founded the award-winning DESIGNhabitat Program, a collaboration with Habitat for Humanity focusing on innovative affordable housing solutions. He co-authored Designed for Habitat: Collaborations with Habitat for Humanity (Routledge, 2012). Hinson has received regional and national recognition, including the ACSA Distinguished Professor Award (2022), the AIA Alabama Gold Medal (2021), and election to the AIA College of Fellows (2008). In April 2022, he was appointed associate dean for research and graduate studies for the College of Architecture, Design and Construction. He is a founding partner of Hinson + Dagg Architects, LLC, which has received state and national acclaim. Hinson holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania (1983) and a Bachelor of Architecture from Auburn University (1982).

Cheri Hanes is vice president and head of construction innovation and sustainability at AXA XL, where she provides strategic leadership and direction in sustainable construction and innovation. Her role involves implementation processes, technology, unique insurance solutions, and enhanced customer service initiatives across all business construction lines. Hanes is dedicated to supporting AXA XL’s partners by advancing innovation, sustainability, and technological maturity, which benefits both individual enterprises and the industry as a whole. She is committed to developing innovative insurance solutions for technology-forward, sustainability-focused companies. Hanes serves as a thought leader, ambassador, and spokesperson for AXA XL, presenting at industry events and educational organizations. With over three decades of experience in insurance, sustainable building, preconstruction, construction operations, and project management, Hanes brings extensive expertise to her role.

As president of the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce, Matt Parker leads economic development efforts, focusing on new business development and support for existing industries in the Dothan area. Since 1989, Parker has been actively involved in economic and community development, with a track record spanning small businesses to large industrial projects. His work has strengthened resources for attracting and supporting businesses in the Southeast, contributing to over 25,000 jobs and more than $3 billion in capital investment since 1999. Notable achievements include launching the Dothan/ Houston County Microloan Program, establishing Foreign Trade Zone No. 233, securing Airport Enhancement Zone status for Dothan Regional Airport, and forming the Industrial Development Authority, now serving Henry, Dale, and Geneva counties. He also established the Commercial Development Authority of the City of Dothan and has contributed to legislation enhancing economic development in manufacturing and aerospace.

Fouad Khalil has over 25 years of experience as a designer, manager, and technologist in the U.S. and overseas. In 2020, he founded Modly, an industrialized construction consultancy providing strategy, advisory, and program management services related to modular, prefabricated, and off-site construction. Modly works with manufacturers, consumers, and building product designers to help launch and develop industrialized construction programs. In 2023, Modly was awarded a first-place finish in the 2023 Mass Timber Competition: Building to Net Zero Carbon for its work on the Northwest Arkansas Industrialized Construction Program, which develops affordable and market-rate housing solutions using industrialized construction methodologies.

Currently serving as North America Sales Manager for ResourceWise, Bobby Frank is dedicated to helping clients mitigate risks and optimize project outcomes in pulp and paper, forest products, biofuel, and bioenergy sectors. His experience in timber management and project-based industry contract work, combined with his bio-industry expertise, bolsters his ability to identify and drive success through innovative solutions and client-focused strategies. He holds an advanced business degree from The University of Tampa and a degree in natural resource management and forestry from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

As a project engineer at Turner’s Nashville office, Carson Bender serves as the conduit for processing and distributing project information for the team. He manages the submittal process to ensure construction details are confirmed and that they work, trades are coordinated and materials are reviewed, approved, fabricated, and delivered to the site on time. He also leads and documents all team meetings, prepares and administers project status and financial reports, and manages project close-out efforts. Bender holds a Master of Business Administration in finance from Brock University and a Bachelor of Engineering in oil and gas from the University of Calgary. With seven years of experience in the construction industry, he has worked on various projects, including commercial, hospitality, residential, and educational developments. His notable project experience in Nashville includes the Bottled Blonde Pizzeria and Beer Garden and Peabody Union. His portfolio in Hawaii includes multiple projects, such as the Ilikai Villas at the Andaz Maui Wailea Resort, the amphitheater at the Four Seasons Manele Bay Resort, Kihei High School, and the Hokuao Affordable Housing Subdivision Phase Two.

Mark Fretz is an assistant professor in the Department of Architecture at the University of Oregon and co-director of the Institute for Health in the Built Environment in the College of Design. He leads the Institute’s industry research consortium, Build Health, which leverages design thinking and transdisciplinary science collaboration to develop and apply innovative design solutions for low-carbon buildings that simultaneously promote healthier individuals, communities, and the planet. His research and teaching explore the unseen in the design of the built environment that affects human health across scales ranging from microbes and molecules to energy and carbon.

Brian Luoma is a forestry graduate of Humboldt State University in Northern California. He became the president and CEO of The Westervelt Company in March of 2017 and recently retired at the end of 2023. Previously, he held multiple positions over a 29-year career with Louisiana-Pacific Corporation ranging from forestry and procurement to structural panel manufacturing and business general management.

Dave Tenny is the founding president and CEO of the National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO). Under his leadership, NAFO has grown from 14 initial members in 2008 to 49 member companies that own and manage more than 44 million acres of private working forests and 34 state and national associations that represent tens of millions of additional acres. Tenny’s passion for building trust and pursuing solutions-based advocacy has helped NAFO become a leading national advocate for the economic, environmental, and social benefits of America’s sustainably managed private forests. Tenny previously served as vice president for forestry and wood products for the American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA) and as deputy undersecretary for natural resources and environment at the United States Department of Agriculture where he had responsibility for the U.S. Forest Service. He got his start in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served as counsel and natural resources policy advisor for the House Committee on Agriculture and as counsel for U.S. Representative Wally Herger of California.

Since 2014, under Dean Peter MacKeith’s leadership, the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas has grown significantly in student enrollment, faculty appointments and accomplishments, curricular programs, externally funded research, community engagements, new research facilities, and national impact. MacKeith advocates for sustainable forestry, supporting a “forest-centered” economy and culture that enables a woodcentered approach to architecture, engineering, and construction. Among his current projects, MacKeith is guiding the design and construction of the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation for the university’s Art and Design District. This new facility will be a regional center for research and development of new wood products and new approaches to sustainable construction materials. Completion is expected in 2025. MacKeith also serves as chair of the advisory committee for the Northwest Arkansas Design Excellence Program, a Walton Family Foundation regional initiative.

Richard Vlosky is the director of the Louisiana Forest Products Development Center and the Crosby Land and the Resources Endowed Professor in Forest Sector Business Development at the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. He received a doctorate in wood products marketing from Penn State University, a master’s in international forest products trade from the University of Washington and a bachelor’s degree in natural resources and forest management from Colorado State University. His research includes mass timber, bioenergy, marketing, and business development. Vlosky has authored or co-authored over 160 refereed publications, 22 book chapters, and four books and has made nearly 600 presentations worldwide. He is past president of the Forest Products Society and serves on the board of CORRIM (Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials). Internationally, Vlosky is a scientific board member and past president of WoodEMA, a fellow of the Institute of Wood Science, and a member of the advisory board for the Center for Sustainability in the University of Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.

Veronica Crock is a senior project manager at the Alabama Department of Commerce. She previously served as president of the Ozark-Dale County Economic Development Corporation and Grow Southeast Alabama, an 11-county regional organization. Before her full-time economic development career, Crock was dean at Enterprise State Community College and the Alabama Aviation College, where she worked with economic development organizations, local governments, and educational institutions to build workforce development programs. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, a master’s degree from Troy University, and completed doctoral research at Alabama State University. Crock has been on the board of directors for Main Street Alabama, chaired United Way campaigns, and was a member of Rotary Club, where she was recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow and a Jerry B. Brunson Fellow. She is also a graduate of the Applied Economic Development Honors Program at the University of Alabama and the Intensive Economic Development Training Institute at Auburn University.

Brian Davidson started his career in public accounting with three years at a CPA firm, then moved into the manufacturing industry with two international manufacturing operations with multiple locations and accounting/finance teams to manage. Over his career, he has extensively worked in budgeting, forecasting, product costing, and financial reporting. For the past 20 years, Davidson has been the corporate controller for Great Southern Wood Preserving.

Brian Via is the Regions Bank Professor and the director of the Forest Products Development Center at Auburn University. Before joining Auburn in 2008, he held roles at Louisiana Pacific Corporation, including research engineer and manager of the corporate quality metrics program, overseeing 14 mills and 50 employees. Via also served as the wood quality project leader of research and development at International Paper Corporation, contributing to their forest genetics and fiber improvement program. At Auburn University, he has played a key role in securing over $52 million in grants and contracts, with over $5 million as the principal investigator. Notably, he contributed to attracting manufacturers such as SmartLam and Louisiana Pacific to Alabama. Via holds five patents (two pending) in sustainable adhesives, CO2 drying of wood, and formaldehyde sensors.

As the structural team leader in KPFF’s Birmingham office, Nathaniel Hardy has supported the design and construction of mass timber projects across the United States, from small-scale renovations to expansive ground-up new construction, including airport terminal facilities and high-rise mass timber housing. His experience with the material throughout various regions of the country gives him a unique understanding of mass timber buildings’ challenges and opportunities relative to performance requirements, wood species, manufacturers, and contractors.

Ivan Vanchev is a senior architect and a project manager with 11 years of experience in the professional field. He started his architectural education in Tsar Ivan Asen II, a technical high school in Haskovo, Bulgaria, in 2001. After moving to the U.S. in 2004, he earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture and a master’s in integrated design and construction from Auburn University. Some of his most notable achievements during his stay in Auburn include a first-place finish in the 2010 AlaGasCo design competition and architectural history research yielding a set of urban reconstruction drawings published in Hospitals and Urbanism in Rome, 1200-1500. Vanchev has been a part of Anecdote’s team since 2014, playing a vital role in the design and realization of multiple commercial, educational, retail, and hospitality projects. He hopes his genuine interest in human well-being, combined with his understanding of building systems, helps him arrive at complete design solutions that blend the functional with the intangible.

Valerie DeLoach, AIA, is a principal leading HDR’s growing architecture practice in San Diego. An alumni of Auburn University’s College of Architecture, Design and Construction, Valerie started her career in Nashville, followed by a decade of practicing in New York City before joining HDR in California. A champion for design excellence with over two decades of experience as an architect and project leader, DeLoach directs and designs award-winning technically complex science, education, civic and laboratory facilities for private, nonprofit, and federal clients. Her recently completed mass timber Orange County Sanitation District Headquarters Complex received the State of California Mass Timber Grant and awards from AIA LA COTE, Fast Company, and Architect’s Newspaper. As a design-oriented collaborator known for building consensus amongst designers, contractors, clients, and community stakeholders, DeLoach is a respected thought leader in science and design industries, having presented at the Lab Design Conference, Tradeline, San Diego State University, HDR’s Impact Conference, Tradeline, and Bisnow.

Steven Taylor is Auburn University’s senior vice president for research and economic development and president of the Auburn Research and Technology Foundation. In this role, he oversees various research and economic development units, including sponsored programs, proposal services, faculty support, and research compliance, among others. Previously, Taylor served as interim dean of Auburn’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, associate dean for research, and head of the Department of Biosystems Engineering, where he is a tenured professor. He also directed the Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts. Under his leadership, the College of Engineering saw nearly $300 million in new research contracts over five years, facilitated the creation of the Auburn University Applied Research Institute and the Auburn University Transportation Research Institute, and helped secure funding for several new research facilities. Taylor also played a key role in acquiring and developing the university’s Research and Innovation Campus in Huntsville. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural engineering from the University of Florida and a doctorate from Texas A&M.

Pat Layton is a director at Clemson University’s Wood Utilization + Design Institute and a retired professor of forestry. She served as the director of the School of Agricultural, Forest, and Environmental Sciences and chair of its two predecessor departments: Forest Resources and Forestry and Natural Resources. Before joining Clemson University, Layton held various positions with the American Forest and Paper Association, Scott Paper Company, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Owens-Illinois. She serves on the board of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. Layton is a native of South Carolina and holds forestry degrees from Clemson University, Texas A&M University, and the University of Florida.

Troy Harris is the managing director of Timberland and Innovative Wood Products at Jamestown, bringing 30 years of experience in public and institutional timberland portfolio management, timberland acquisitions and dispositions, operations management, and business development from across the U.S. A passionate advocate of the mass timber industry, Harris has played a crucial role in connecting it to the commercial real estate industry notably through his work on 619 Ponce in Atlanta, the first “Georgia Grown” mass timber building. He is a certified forester and serves on the boards of the Forest Landowners Association (FLA) and the Georgia Forestry Association (GFA) boards. Additionally, Harris is on the executive committee of the National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) and is a trustee for the Georgia Forestry Foundation. He received a Bachelor of Science in Forest Management from Auburn University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Georgia.

Greg Barker became president of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama (EDPA) in June 2020. Before joining EDPA, he worked at Alabama Power Company, where he held various roles, including economic development project manager, vice president of economic and community development, and senior vice president in several capacities. Barker also served as president of the Calhoun County Economic Development Authority and executive vice president of the Metropolitan Development Board in Birmingham. He holds a degree from Mississippi State University and was named an Alumni Fellow in 2018. Barker attended the Institute for Organizational Management at the University of Georgia and the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma. In 2010, he received the Dale Echols Distinguished Service Award from the Alabama Department Office. He is a member of several economic development councils and serves on multiple boards, including Opportunity Alabama and Innovation Depot.

Arndt Siepmann is the deputy director of economic development at the City of Auburn. Since 2002, the City of Auburn has completed 140 industrial projects, 31 of which represent new manufacturing companies relocating to Auburn. The City of Auburn has received national recognition for its economic development strategy and success, with half of the 50 manufacturing companies operating in Auburn’s technology parks being foreign-owned. In his career, Siepmann worked in various economic development corporations, including on a regional and state level. His experience includes post-communist East Germany and the economic powerhouse of the Stuttgart Region in Southwest Germany. Siepmann was appointed in 2020 by Gov. Kay Ivey to serve on the Alabama Innovation Commission. He served as chairman of the Alabama-Germany Partnership and is vice president of the Southeast U.S. Korean Chamber of Commerce.

Matt Kantner leads Equilibrium’s expanding team in the U.S. from their Atlanta office. Since joining Equilibrium in early 2020, he has brought 12 years of structural engineering experience to his projects. At Equilibrium, Kantner has spearheaded structural engineering for over 20 projects, focusing on mass timber. His experience includes specialty engineering and EOR roles on notable projects, such as the three-story vertical expansion of 80 M Street in Washington, DC, the 239,000-square-foot Southstone Yards office building in Frisco, TX, the 14-story hybrid Bakers Place multifamily project in Madison, WI, and several corporate office buildings in California. Kantner serves on the SEI National Sustainability Committee and the SE 2050 Committee and was recently appointed to the American Wood Council’s Wood Design Standards Committee.

Mike Dooley is an experienced senior project manager based in Turner’s Nashville office. In his role, he manages numerous projects simultaneously and leads multiple project teams. His responsibilities include budgeting, organizing, implementing, and scheduling various projects under his supervision. Dooley’s collaborative and team-centric management style motivates his team to successfully deliver projects on time and within budget, all while prioritizing safety and fostering an enjoyable work environment for everyone involved. Dooley, a proud Auburn University alumnus, earned a bachelor’s degree in building construction and a master’s degree in integrated construction. With 16 years of construction industry experience, he has been an instrumental leader in local sports, commercial, and residential projects. He has served in multiple roles, including preconstruction project engineer, estimator, and project manager. Some significant Tennessee-based projects in his portfolio include the New Nissan Stadium, Bottled Blonde Pizzeria and Beer Garden, 1222 Demonbreun at Gulch Union, Capitol View Block E, The Residences at Capitol View, and The Morris.

As a construction executive at Turner’s Nashville office, Tripp Floyd manages and leads multiple projects simultaneously, from preconstruction to completion. He oversees budget and financial management, administers quality assurance/ quality control programs, and enforces safety protocols for all the projects under his leadership. Floyd mentors, coaches, and trains project teams, fostering an environment that encourages exceptional performance and professional development. He hails from Alabama and is a proud graduate of Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in building construction. Floyd started his career in the construction industry as a field engineer with Turner 22 years ago. Since then, he has worked in multiple roles, including assistant project engineer, cost engineer, senior cost and project control analyst, preconstruction manager, project manager, and project executive. Over the last six years, he has played a significant role in completing some of Nashville’s most complex and high-profile projects.

Tom Knittel is HDR’s design director for sustainability and a design principal in the Los Angeles studio. He actively leads the design direction of projects and the advancement of low-carbon solutions that restore human/ecological health and well-being. His past projects range from the first LEED Platinum net-zero building in the developing world (the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Platinum Children’s Center in Port-au-Prince, Haiti) to the largest LEED Platinum campus in the Middle East in 2018. His current mass timber projects include the recently completed OCSan, a 104,000 SF net zero HQ for a public utility, and an all-electric lab in LA County. Knittel received a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and is a recipient of over 30 design awards. He is a frequent lecturer on mass timber, design innovation, and the ecologies of place.

Laura Cullen is passionate about educating others about the benefits of building with wood. She comes to WoodWorks with seven years of structural design experience. During that time, she was primarily focused on mixed-use and multifamily structures, as well as K-12 schools. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Georgia Tech, as well as a bachelor’s degree in political science from Berry College. Based in the Atlanta area, she is a member of CREW Atlanta, and is a 2018 graduate of Leadership CREW. She is a licensed professional engineer in Georgia.