Speaker Biographies

 Andrew Acho

Worldwide Director, Environmental Outreach & Strategy,
Ford Motor Company

Andrew Acho leads Ford’s global Conservation and Environmental Grants program in more than 40 countries, recognizing organizations and individuals making significant and exemplary contributions to protect water resources. In addition, he is active with numerous environmental organizations supporting a variety of initiatives. Acho has been driving environmental stewardship efforts since 1990. He launched and led Ford‘s Recycling Action Team. In 2001, Acho was one of the first to be honored with the Wildlife Habitat Council‘s (WHC) President‘s Award for his outstanding commitment to preserve and protect the environment for future generations, and for his global vision of environmental and economic sustainability.

Carl Smith

CEO & Executive Director
GREENGUARD Environmental Institute

The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute is a non-profit organization that oversees the GREENGUARD Certification Program, the only independent U.S. testing program for low-emitting products and materials. Henning Bloech helped establish and grow the GREENGUARD Certification Program and has published numerous articles and business cases on product selection, indoor air quality, source control, and green procurement. He is an established speaker and has held training seminars and presentations on indoor air quality and green design at conferences and symposia such as Neocon, CSI, TFM, USGBC, ASTM, Aerias, IIDA, AIA.

Robert J. Kobet, AIA, LEED AP

President, Sustainaissance International

Robert Kobet is President of Sustainaissance International, a consulting firm specializing in sustainable design and development, high performance architecture, and environmental education, and K2 Integrated Project Solutions, a design build company specializing in high performance buildings. Kobet is currently the chair of the USGBC LEED for Schools Application Guide Initiative and is the contractor for development of the USGBC LEED for Contractors and Construction Managers Workshop.

Robert Kravitz

Altura Solutions Communications

Robert Kravitz has started, built and then sold three contract cleaning companies in Northern California over the past 25 years. In 1998 he wrote The Janitorial Contractors Bible and Get That Account! In 2002, he started AlturaSolutions Communications, Inc. Altura is a communications firm representing organizations and manufacturers in the cleaning and building industries.

Holley Henderson, IIDA, LEED AP

Sustainable Design Consultant,
H2 Ecodesign

H2 Ecodesign is a sustainable design consulting firm that is a catalyst for eco-positive design in the built environment and global business strategy for owners, design firms, manufacturers and other entities.

Prior to H2 Ecodesign, Henderson was with Interface as Director of Creative Design, and previously an interior designer for TVS in Atlanta. She was the first LEED 2.0 Accredited Interior Designer in the state of Georgia, as well as managing LEED AP for the Interface Showroom and Offices – the first (and currently only) LEED–CI Platinum Level Project.

Brian M. Leary

Vice President of Design and Development,
Atlantic Station L.L.C.

Since joining Atlantic Station in 1997, Brian Leary has developed the master plan into a national model for smart growth and new urbanism. Leary successfully negotiated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for Atlantic Station and the new 17th Street multi-modal bridge to become the first Project XL and transportation control measure of its kind in the United States.

Tom Paladino

PE, Assoc AIA, LEED AP President
Paladino & Company, Inc.

A nationally recognized leader in the green building industry, Tom is the president of Paladino & Co, an award-winning green building consulting firm based in Seattle, WA. Tom has been on the front lines of the green building movement since 1990. He’s witnessed first-hand the development and tremendous market adoption of the LEED Green Building Rating System from a multitude of vantage points including Co-Chair of the LEED Steering Committee, Vice Chairman of the Board for USGBC, certification contractor, and as a green building consultant who has worked on 20 successfully certified projects, and whose firm is currently working on 50+ additional projects.

Drawing upon his technical expertise and training in both architecture and engineering, Tom has been instrumental in the development and implementation of several seminal green building tools including the LEED Rating System, the Eco Charrette methodology, and the Total Cost of Ownership equation which is used to quantify design criteria and benefit savings streams. Tom has recently developed the Triple Bottom Line methodology to help focus project teams on all three success factors for a project: economic prosperity, environmental stewardship, and human well-being.

Ken Potts, AIA, LEED AP

Director - Development Services, McGough

Ken Potts joined McGough Companies in 2005 where, among other development activities, he provides oversight of the McGough‘s sustainable strategies. Potts is a licensed architect and LEED Accredited professional. He is a founding Board member of the Chicago Chapter and is active with the Mississippi Headwaters Chapter of the USGBC.

Prior to joining McGough, Potts spent five years in Target Corporation‘s Real Estate department where he led the planning of Target's first LEED registered stores. He also served two years as Vice-Chair of the USGBC’s LEED for Retail Committee.

Richard Schoen, FAIA, LEED AP

Director, Building Integrated Photovoltaics,
Stellar Energy Solutions, Research Professor Emeritus, UCLA Department of Architecture & Urban Design

Richard Schoen is a Fellow if the American Institute of Architects and Research Professor Emeritus in the UCLA Department of Architecture and Urban Design where he continues to teach an annual Introduction to Sustainable Architecture and Community Planning course and special seminars. He is co-founder and director of Building Integrated Photovoltaics at Stellar Energy Solutions, a solar technology built-form and land-use systems integration firm in Healdsburg, Calif.

Jeffrey Ross-Bain, PE, LEED AP

Associate in Charge, High Performance Building Systems
Smith Dalia Architects

Jeff Ross-Bain is a Registered Professional Engineer with more than 25 years experience, primarily in the commercial and industrial HVAC industry. Ross-Bain is employed by Smith Dalia Architects where he is the Associate in Charge of High Performance Building Systems and is responsible for initiating sustainable practices within the organization.

Ross-Bain routinely performs energy audits and building studies, conducts trainings on various high performance building topics, administers the LEED components for project teams and analyzes building performance through energy modeling.

Roderick Wille, PE, LEED AP

Senior Vice President,
Turner Construction Company

Rod Wille is a Senior Vice President with Turner Construction Company, the nation’s largest builder of traditional and sustainable projects. After 36 years with Turner, which included project and business unit management in several major cities, Wille took over as the national Manager of Sustainable Construction within Turner in early 2003. Wille is a Registered Professional Engineer and a LEED Accredited Professional.

Steven Winter, FAIA

President, Steven Winter Associates, Inc.

Steven Winter, FAIA, is an architect and founder of Steven Winter Associates, Inc. (SWA), a leading research/design firm specializing in energy efficient and sustainable housing. SWA is the lead member of Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB), supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under the Building America Initiative. Winter is the past chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council, and the Chair of the LEED for Homes Committee.

Jim Nicolow, AIA, LEED AP

Sustainable Design Specialists
Lord, Aeck & Sargent Architecture

Jim Nicolow leads the sustainability initiative at Lord, Aeck & Sargent, an architectural firm with offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Atlanta; and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. His role is to facilitate the incorporation of sustainable design strategies and features into the firm’s design projects and to spearhead efforts to integrate the use of quantitative analysis to inform the firm’s sustainable design work.

Vikram Sami, LEED AP

Sustainable Design Specialists
Lord, Aeck & Sargent Architecture

Vikram Sami is an integral member of the Lord, Aeck & Sargent team, advancing the firm's commitment to providing the best in sustainable design. Formerly with ENSAR Group, Inc., Vikram brings exceptional experience in the fields of sustainable building design, daylighting analysis and energy analysis.

Utilizing the latest technology, Vikram performs energy and daylighting simulations to create high performance, energy efficient architecture.

Beth Gray

Wachovia Corporation

Beth Gray has been Director of Environmental Risk Management for Wachovia Bank since May 2000; Wachovia is headquartered in Charlotte, NC. Beth joined Wachovia (formerly First Union) in 1994. She manages a group of eight environmental risk management professionals who advise commercial lending, corporate and investment banking, and wealth management bankers on the mitigation of environmental risks in credit, equity and trust scenarios.

Prior to joining Wachovia, she worked in the public sector, enforcing environmental health and environmental protection regulations. Beth has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Appalachian State University and Masters degrees in Public Administration and Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She has served on the Executive Committee/Board of Governors of the Environmental Bankers Association (EBA) and is a member of the RMA Environmental Risk Managers’ Roundtable, the City of Charlotte Brownfields Site Selection Committee, the North Carolina Dry-cleaning Solvent Cleanup Act Stakeholders Working Group, and the Charlotte chapter of the Society of Women Environmental Professionals.