Agenda

Tara Newton

Director Brand Partnerships (East, Southeast, Asia)

The Architect’s Newspaper

Tara Newton is Director of Brand Partnerships at AN MEDIA GROUP. With over 25 years in advertising sales, from Cahners Publishing and The New York Times, the last 7 years she’s been entrenched in the AEC market focusing on the exterior and interior design with AN Media Group. Mastering the art of helping clients get their message in front of this vast audience is her daily focus.

Alex Briseno

Studio Practice Leader & Principal

HKS

Alexander is Partner and Studio Practice Leader in HKS Atlanta’s mixed-use studio. For more than 25 years he has specialized in master planning, multi-family, commercial, hospitality, healthcare, retail and educational design of nearly 50-million sf of award-winning communities and campuses in North America, Asia and the Middle East. He is heavily involved in HKS design research, community and professional outreach and architectural education and has taught design and architectural theory courses in New York and Michigan. During his 15 years in New York, he co-founded an architectural design journal start up that was distributed by Princeton Architectural Press.

Anthony Montalto

Chief Design Officer, Executive Vice President & Partner

HKS

Anthony Montalto is the Chief Design Officer, Executive Vice President and a Partner at HKS where he leads the firm’s creative vision and champions design excellence across all projects. With a career spanning more than three decades, Anthony is a passionate advocate for the transformative power of design. He blends innovation, beauty and functionality to create award-winning spaces that resonate with clients and communities alike. Anthony is a recognized thought leader and mentor, often contributing to publications, speaking at conferences, and connecting with universities and industry organizations to elevate design excellence globally.

Luis Matalon

Vice President & Project Manager

HKS

Luis is Vice President and Project Manager in HKS’s Atlanta office. His passion and expertise lie in an understanding of technical detailing and construction process. He strives to bridge the gap between design and construction teams and is adept at solving problems that arise in the field. Luis brings over 18 years of experience including healthcare, hospitality, commercial, and high-rise multi-family. He thrives in the delivery of complex projects, working closely with project stakeholders to ensure successful outcomes. He is a strong advocate of the client’s vision and assures those goals are met through clear communication and implementation.

Chris Gall

Business Development Manager

Oldcastle Building Envelope

Chris Gall is Business Development Manager at Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope (OBE), North America’s leading vertically integrated manufacturer, fabricator and distributor of architectural hardware, glass and glazing systems. He is a technical product professional dedicated to working directly with architects from ideation to completion of projects using traditional and design / assist project delivery.

Chris has over 35 years of experience in the design, testing and product development for exterior facades. This includes product development in the General Services Administration (GSA) and Department of Defense (DoD) with a focus on new product and field testing, and product cross-over to meet many different applications. Chris also has extensive experience in Hurricane Impact Products, Security Glazing, ASTM/FPA & TAS, Building Forensics, and LEED Compliance and Documentation.

Prior to OBE, Chris spent decades in the building products industry, and began his career at U.S. Aluminum, an OBE subsidiary business brand, where he spent nearly 15 years.

Sherry Beauvais

Architectural Design Manager – Southeast

CR Laurence

Sherry has over 25 years in technical architectural consultation in a variety of roles in National Accounts, Business Development and Specification Sales for companies specializing in building materials manufacturing and converting. Sherry started her career and education as a commercial interior designer with a degree from Louisiana State University. In her current role, Sherry is passionate about assisting architects, interior designers, and general contractors in executing their project visions.

Doug Dean

Regional Sales Manager

Kingspan Panels

Doug will be celebrating 28 years in the Architectural Construction Product Sales business. During his career, he has been able to support Architects, General Contractors, and Owners in selecting the best materials for their projects. He has also been privileged to speak at the National AIA Conference on Rain Screen Cladding systems.
Doug also worked with a premier metal cladding installer in Atlanta for several years. During that time, he gained a tremendous understanding of how to install and fabricate various cladding systems. This experience has allowed him to understand the complete bidding process from a subcontractor’s perspective. This knowledge has been an asset when helping the Architectural Community select the perfect cladding for their projects.
Doug resides in Carrollton, Georgia, with his wife Beverly and daughter Abi. He and his family enjoy traveling, playing golf together and fishing.

Sam Pruitt

Senior Designer

HKS

Sam is an Associate and Senior Designer in the Health practice at HKS. He is driven by a desire to elevate user experience through solutions that inspire and environments that delight. He is passionate about architecture at the intersection of sustainability and human health and wellness. A love for environmental harmony, design, and the impact of built spaces on a person’s physical and mental well-being makes Sam an engaged project partner and empathic designer. He finds a deep source of inspiration in close coordination with project stakeholders. Sam’s responsibilities include design, project conceptualization, site planning, 3D computer visualization and documentation.

Alex Briseno

Studio Practice Leader & Principal

HKS

Alexander is Partner and Studio Practice Leader in HKS Atlanta’s mixed-use studio. For more than 25 years he has specialized in master planning, multi-family, commercial, hospitality, healthcare, retail and educational design of nearly 50-million sf of award-winning communities and campuses in North America, Asia and the Middle East. He is heavily involved in HKS design research, community and professional outreach and architectural education and has taught design and architectural theory courses in New York and Michigan. During his 15 years in New York, he co-founded an architectural design journal start up that was distributed by Princeton Architectural Press.

Julie Ju-Youn Kim

Professor & Chair

Georgia Tech School of Architecture

Julie Ju-Youn Kim, AIA is Professor and Chair at Georgia Tech’s School of Architecture, where she is the current director of the Flourishing Communities Collaborative, an interdisciplinary research and design lab. Julie has been nationally recognized with a 2024 AIAS Educator Impact Honor Award; 2023 AIA Georgia Educator of the Year, and the 2023 ACSA Collaborative Practice Award for connecting the academy and architectural practice and for creating replicable models of engagement expanding equity. Julie is a licensed architect whose publications link her leadership and teaching in pursuit of interdisciplinarity in architecture education, research, and practice. She is editor and author of Interdisciplinary Design Thinking in Architecture Education (Routledge, 2023); contributing author to the forthcoming Teaching Carbon Neutrality: A Compilation of Award-winning Architectural Design Studio Methodologies (Routledge); and contributing author to Teaching and Designing in Detroit: Ten Women on Pedagogy and Practice (Routledge, 2020). She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Wellesley College and a Master of Architecture from MIT.

Ray Clark

Executive Director of Precast

Prestressed Concrete Institute

Ray Clark has been actively involved in the concrete products industry for twenty-six years. He has served in management positions for major North American concrete products manufacturers, senior management for a global concrete products production machinery supplier, and President of US Formliner, an international company and manufacturer of formliners for the precast concrete industry. He is the Executive Director of the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Foundation. Ray has served in various capacities within industry associations including National Precast Concrete Association (NPCA) Board of Directors; Vice Chairman of the Marketing Committee at Canadian Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (CPCI); Chairman of the Education Committee at Georgia/Carolinas Chapter of the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute; Foundation Bord of Directors member at National Precast Concrete Association (NPCA); Board of Directors member at Canadian Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute; Chairman of the Education Committee at Canadian Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute. He has also served on the Board of Directors at the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute and the Past President of the ICPI North Georgia Chapter. He has also been active in NCMA (National Concrete Masonry Association), serving on several committees. Ray has presented hundreds of technical seminars to the engineering and architectural community focusing primarily on precast/prestressed concrete products and uses; applications of masonry stain and form liners for precast concrete; permeable interlocking concrete pavement systems; unit paving in the commercial, municipal and institutional sectors; and, segmental retaining wall design and installation. Several of his industry-related articles have been published in national and international trade magazines. Ray resides in Cartersville, Georgia, with his wife and three dogs. 

Mo Wright

Director of Architectural Systems

Gate Precast

Mo has worked in the precast industry for nearly 20 years in a wide variety of positions including precast sales and marketing, estimating and project management. He has also been involved in several design-assist collaborations on large public and private projects. As marketing director, he is responsible for corporate communications as well as an education program for architects, owners and contractors regarding the unlimited options of using architectural and structural precast systems and the advancements made within the digital realm. His most recent speaking engagement was on the use of 3D printing within the precast industry and the workflow used to generate printed forms for use in prefabrication.

Sam Pruitt

Senior Designer

HKS

Sam is an Associate and Senior Designer in the Health practice at HKS. He is driven by a desire to elevate user experience through solutions that inspire and environments that delight. He is passionate about architecture at the intersection of sustainability and human health and wellness. A love for environmental harmony, design, and the impact of built spaces on a person’s physical and mental well-being makes Sam an engaged project partner and empathic designer. He finds a deep source of inspiration in close coordination with project stakeholders. Sam’s responsibilities include design, project conceptualization, site planning, 3D computer visualization and documentation.

Adam Cossick

National Brands Leader

Longboard Architectural Products

My name is Adam Cossick, and I am the National Brands Leader at Longboard. I was born and raised in Atlanta, GA where I live with my wife, 3 children, and 3 dogs. I graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Forestry and have spent the last 11 years in the building material industry. Longboard Architectural Products is a premium cladding manufacturer based in Abbotsford, BC, Canada.

Mo Wright

Director of Architectural Systems

Gate Precast

Mo has worked in the precast industry for nearly 20 years in a wide variety of positions including precast sales and marketing, estimating and project management. He has also been involved in several design-assist collaborations on large public and private projects. As marketing director, he is responsible for corporate communications as well as an education program for architects, owners and contractors regarding the unlimited options of using architectural and structural precast systems and the advancements made within the digital realm. His most recent speaking engagement was on the use of 3D printing within the precast industry and the workflow used to generate printed forms for use in prefabrication.

John McGill

General Manager-YKK AP Project Center

YKK AP

John oversees business development and project execution for YKK AP’s larger, more complex façade projects throughout the United States. A structural engineer and forty-year veteran of the façade industry, John is experienced in engineering, estimating, project management and product development. He has partnered with architects across the country and is diligently supporting business expansion in California. He has also worked on notable projects such as the 9/11 Memorial with our unitized division partner Erie AP.

Parker Stewart

Project Designer

HKS

Parker is an Associate and Project Designer in HKS’s mixed-use studio. As a designer, Parker is driven by creating connections: crafting playful connections that celebrate a project’s story rooted in its environmental context, cultivating connections with his clients through an attentive process, and fostering connections in communities where, by design, tomorrow is a better day. Parker is a problem solver whose multidisciplinary focus and hands-on approach to all stages of design, planning, and construction lead to the successful delivery of fresh, creative designs. His portfolio ranges from master planning and complex office and residential projects to aviation work.

Steven Rainville

Principal / Owner

Olson Kundig

Principal/owner Steven Rainville brings the heart of a craftsman, the hands of a builder, and the mind of an artist to his practice of architecture, which spans nearly 30 years at Olson Kundig. Influenced by the legacy of his grandfathers and father, both craftsmen and builders, Steven is drawn to the expression of craft and tectonics, particularly the ways in which buildings come together, and in the details and materials from which they are made. As leader of Olson Kundig’s r+D initiatives, Steven balances future-forward innovation with time-tested methods—honoring established practices while exploring emerging tools and advanced digital technologies.

Jim Irwin

President

New City Properties

Jim Irwin is the President of New City, LLC, and directs the company’s real estate development, consulting operations, and new business pursuits. During his career, Jim has been responsible for over $1 billion of new investments around the United States. Before founding New City, Jim served as a Senior Vice President at Jamestown, leading the development of Ponce City Market, a 2.1 million square foot former Sears, Roebuck & Co. distribution facility constructed in the 1920s. During its redevelopment, the project was one of the largest and most significant historic renovations underway in the United States, and it has spurred over $2 billion of redevelopment activity in the immediate area. In 2016, Ponce City Market was named the winner of the Urban Land Institutes Global Awards for Excellence.

Rob Weilacher

Principal

Uzun Case

Rob Weilacher has a BCE and MSCE from Georgia Tech and started his career in 1989. He is a past president of the American Concrete Institute, Georgia Chapter as well as the Structural Engineers Association of Georgia. Rob is the structural engineer of record for the FORTH Hotel, which was the cover feature of Concrete International Magazine in August 2024. The project has won five state awards and one national award for structural engineering.

Harrison Bain

Senior Project Manager

Brasfield Gorrie

Like many people in the industry, Harrison’s path to construction was influenced by his family. His extended family includes engineers, landscape architects, and interior designers, so he was exposed to those related fields. But it was his father—a dentist who was also a skilled carpenter—who was Harrison’s most direct influence. From the time Harrison was small, his father worked around their home on a variety of projects, always with Harrison in tow, helping as much as possible. Harrison fell in love with building and was thrilled when he realized he could make it his career. Fierce about organization, he enjoys the building process and the satisfaction he gets from a well-executed plan. Still, his primary joy is in relationships. When Harrison starts a project, he’s excited to learn about the owner and the owner’s goals for his or her project. He uses that excitement as motivation, knowing that when he’s motivated to build something great for an owner, success is never far behind.

Harrison is a trusted project manager with experience in every aspect of preconstruction and construction. He has developed and managed budgets, schedules, project plans, teams, and communication and closeout tools for successful multimillion-dollar projects. Harrison oversees the project management team; provides guidance; and works side-by-side with the superintendent to maintain the project’s budget, schedule, safety, and quality. He serves as your primary contact throughout the project.

Allison Schwartz

Project Manager

Morris Adjmi

Allison Schwartz is a seasoned project manager at NYC-based Morris Adjmi Architects (MA), with over 15 years of experience delivering some of the firm’s most ambitious and complex work. Specializing in conceptual design, site planning, zoning analyses, and feasibility studies, she has successfully led a wide range of projects through rigorous entitlements approvals, both in New York and jurisdictions throughout the United States.

Originally from Atlanta, Allison has most recently overseen the successful design and delivery of two prominent projects in her hometown. These include the FORTH Hotel & Social Club and The Overline Residences, a co-located pair of mixed-use towers in Atlanta’s evolving Old Fourth Ward neighborhood. The FORTH Hotel, completed in June 2024, features a striking cast-in-place concrete diagrid façade, while The Overline, completed in 2023, draws inspiration from the industrial character of nearby Ponce City Market with its contextual red brick-clad exterior.

Beyond Atlanta, Allison has managed MA’s Steel House project in Denver—558,000-square-foot creative office development set to open in Spring 2025—as well as the design development of multiple mixed-use buildings within a MA master-planned district adjacent to Fenway Park in Boston, which is currently going through the local entitlements process. 

A LEED Green Associate, Allison is deeply committed to sustainable practices in design and construction, ensuring her projects contribute positively to their communities while meeting high environmental standards. 

Jim Irwin

President

New City Properties

Jim Irwin is the President of New City, LLC, and directs the company’s real estate development, consulting operations, and new business pursuits. During his career, Jim has been responsible for over $1 billion of new investments around the United States. Before founding New City, Jim served as a Senior Vice President at Jamestown, leading the development of Ponce City Market, a 2.1 million square foot former Sears, Roebuck & Co. distribution facility constructed in the 1920s. During its redevelopment, the project was one of the largest and most significant historic renovations underway in the United States, and it has spurred over $2 billion of redevelopment activity in the immediate area. In 2016, Ponce City Market was named the winner of the Urban Land Institutes Global Awards for Excellence.

Tara Newton

Director Brand Partnerships (East, Southeast, Asia)

The Architect’s Newspaper

Tara Newton is Director of Brand Partnerships at AN MEDIA GROUP. With over 25 years in advertising sales, from Cahners Publishing and The New York Times, the last 7 years she’s been entrenched in the AEC market focusing on the exterior and interior design with AN Media Group. Mastering the art of helping clients get their message in front of this vast audience is her daily focus.

Parker Stewart

Project Designer

HKS

Parker is an Associate and Project Designer in HKS’s mixed-use studio. As a designer, Parker is driven by creating connections: crafting playful connections that celebrate a project’s story rooted in its environmental context, cultivating connections with his clients through an attentive process, and fostering connections in communities where, by design, tomorrow is a better day. Parker is a problem solver whose multidisciplinary focus and hands-on approach to all stages of design, planning, and construction lead to the successful delivery of fresh, creative designs. His portfolio ranges from master planning and complex office and residential projects to aviation work.