Speakers

Scott Erdy

Erdy McHenry Architecture

Scott’s work pursues a methodology where form embodies purpose, and sense of place is revealed through the careful intersection of program, site and culture. Since establishing Erdy McHenry Architecture with David McHenry, Scott’s design work has received many accolades from the local and national press as well as his peers and has received more than 30 state, local and national awards. In 2016 his firm was named Firm of the Year by AIA Pennsylvania.

His design for St. Aloysius Church was recognized by ArchDaily as one of the Top 100 Architectural Projects in the US and as one the Five Best Churches of the World by WorldBuild365. Beginning with the September 2001 cover story of Architecture Magazine featuring Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama and most recently the 2013 July Cover of Architectural Record highlighting the Cornell Teaching Dairy Barn in Ithaca New York. Scott’s work has been recognized for the embodiment of both its cultural significance and utilitarian beauty.

Scott received his undergraduate degree from the Ohio State University and his master’s degree from Syracuse, where he studied under the stalwart modernist Werner Seligmann. He currently teaches a Graduate Housing Studio at the University of Pennsylvania lectures widely on his work.

Inga Saffron

Philadelphia Inquirer

Inga Saffron is the architecture critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer. For more than 20 years, she has been a forceful advocate for meaningful design, accessible public spaces and transit, affordable housing, historic preservation and policies that make our cities more liveable and climate resilient.  Her work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, the 2018 Vincent Scully Prize from the National Building Museum,  a 2012  Loeb Fellowship from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and a 2023 Guggenheim Fellowship.

Inga began her career as a municipal reporter in New Jersey,  and went on to become a foreign correspondent in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. In the 1990s, she covered wars in Yugoslavia and Russia, where she witnessed the destruction of Sarajevo and Grozny. She has published two books: Becoming Philadelphia: How an old American city made itself new again, a selection of her Inquirer columns, and Caviar: The Strange History and Uncertain Future of the World’s Most Coveted Delicacy, a cultural history of the sturgeon. She is currently working on a social and architectural history of the American newspaper building, tentatively titled Hold the Presses: How Newspaper Buildings Shaped the American City.

Jarrett Pelletier

Ennead Architects

Jarrett Pelletier, AIA, is a Principal at Ennead Architects, where for the past 20 years he has developed bespoke, high-performance designs for preeminent academic and cultural institutions. Jarrett’s design process is one of inclusion and on-the-ground engagement, believing that architecture must reach beyond aesthetics to create spaces that enhance human interaction and wellness, build communities, and embody sustainable thinking. Some of his notable projects include: the Biological Science Building and Natural History Museum at the University of Michigan; the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact at the University of Oregon, and the Alta Community Center in Alta, Utah.

Jill Burgess

RWDI

As the Practice Area Leader for the Enclosure Group, Jill has contributed to the design and delivery of high-performance building enclosures for buildings around the world. Our clients benefit from the depth of her technical knowledge – especially in building performance modeling – as well as the breadth of her project experience in envelope thermal performance. Jill’s work has focused in particular on balancing daylight and heat gain in glass facades, and on maintaining air and vapor control across various building- enclosure assembly types. A BEC Chapter Chair and NFRC voting member, Jill believes in the power of rigorous scientific analysis to drive outstanding building performance.

Matthew Naugle

New Hudson Facades

Matthew Naugle is a Senior Conceptual Designer at New Hudson Facades. Joining not long after the founding of the company 10 years ago, he is part of the technical leadership group and has since helped to develop and implement digital processes guiding design, engineering, and data driven solutions through projects and daily business operations.  His current role focuses on the design of bespoke façade systems and leading the technical development during pre-construction activities.

Katy Brown

Erdy McHenry Architecture

Over her 14-year architectural career, Katy has specialized in complex projects, requiring skilled coordination with various disciplines and balancing clients’ exacting needs. Her work results in highly technical spaces that meet design standards while providing innovative environments that enhance the user and client experience.

Katy is proficient in construction technology and excels in core and shell documentation with a focus on sustainability. Her experience in coordinating large, technically demanding projects from conceptual design to occupancy makes her a valuable and adaptable team member for a wide range of project types.

As Project Architect for Rowan’s new School of Veterinary Medicine, Katy brings the technical expertise essential to achieving the project’s goals. With a wealth of experience in institutional and healthcare buildings, she excels in all phases of design and construction, ensuring that designed spaces address complex programmatic issues and meet clients’ intricate needs.

Ryan Wall

KieranTimberlake

In over ten years at KieranTimberlake, Ryan has contributed to numerous institutional and university projects spanning many scales, locations, and program types – bringing a rigorous and collaborative approach to each to deliver aspirational, context-driven design solutions.
Ryan is currently the project architect on 2300 Market, a LEED Gold-targeting life-sciences adaptive reuse project in Philadelphia, where she balances a tight schedule with existing conditions and a complex site. Previously, she was a project architect on Pennsylvania State University’s Eric J. Barron Innovation Hub. Other projects include the US Embassy in London, New York University’s John A. Paulson Center, and the East End Transformation at Washington University in St. Louis.

Jon McCandlish

KieranTimberlake

In each of his projects, Jon balances ambitious design aspirations with sustainable systems, site opportunities, and program needs to create environments that responsibly serve and enhance the lives of their inhabitants. Currently, Jon is leading several architectural and masterplanning projects, including 2300 Market, a LEED Gold life-sciences adaptive reuse project in Philadelphia and a mass timber net-zero energy Pavilion at the center of the new Penn’s Landing Park on the Delaware River Waterfront. Previously, Jon was the Principal-in-Charge of the recently completed John A. Paulson Center, a 735,000-square-foot multi-use building for New York University in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. At KieranTimberlake, Jon has worked on a wide range of project types and scales, including Henley Hall at the University of California Santa Barbara, Pound Ridge House in Upstate New York, the US Embassy in London, the Edgar N. Putman Pavilion at the James A. Michener Art Museum, and the Foreign Affairs Security Training Center (FASTC) in Virginia.

Jeremy Avellino

Bright Common

Jeremy founded Bright Common in 2010 to make work. The current iteration provides an outlet to provoke conversations and conceptualize playful responses within an increasingly anxious atmosphere.
As a pragmatically sustainable practitioner, Jeremy’s neurodivergent bearing [ADHD-architect- builder-educator-surfer] has helped him uncover architectural offerings that optimistically reidrect neuronormative assumptions towards a carbon-conscious near future.
As a Registered Architect (RA), Certified Passive House Consultant (CPHC), and recipent of both the AIA Philadelphia Emerging Architecture Prize and Architectural Record’s Design Vanguard, his work has fortified a communal conversation around the future of the profession in this New Age of Adaptation we’re practicing in.

Brian Phillips

ISA

Brian Phillips, FAIA is Founding Principal of ISA, and serves as Creative Director across all aspects of the firm’s work. He earned his MArch from the University of Pennsylvania and BS from the University of Oklahoma. He has lectured widely on urbanism, housing, and the work of ISA. Brian was awarded a 2011 Pew Fellowship in the Arts and was named an Emerging Voice by the Architectural League of New York in 2015. He is a Lecturer at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design, and has taught visiting studios at the University of Miami and Parsons the New School for Design. Most recently Brian founded a non-profit called Meantime that works to activate vacant storefronts with short-term creative entrepreneurship residencies.

Eliah Cappi

Erdy McHenry Architecture

As a registered architect with 7 years of professional experience, Eliah has a strong track record of delivering programmatically and technically complex projects on an international level across various building typologies.

Eliah served as the project manager for the 60,000 sqft expansion and renovation of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH. Along with his experience and passion for project management and delivery, he has a proven record in business development and delivering award-winning competition proposals. Notable projects include the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the 16Tech Pedestrian Bridge, the FAA National Air Traffic Control Tower Prototype, and the Beijing Sub-Center Library. His diverse experience encompasses commercial, residential, and hospitality work, with a particular focus on cultural, institutional, and infrastructure projects.

Eliah’s diverse portfolio is marked by a commitment to design excellence throughout all project phases and excels in planning, documentation, and execution, meeting client expectations. His focus on sustainable design and advanced construction technology adds long-term value to his projects.

Andrew Boesch

Eastern Exterior Wall Systems

Andrew has over nine years of commercial construction experience as a construction professional beginning in 2015 after graduating from Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering. Mr. Boesch began his professional career as a project engineer supporting Eastern Exterior Wall Systems’ prefabricated panel design, fabrication and installation. He then moved on to Project Manager and now holds the title of Project Executive for EEWS. As Project Executive, he is responsible for the oversight and management of the daily operations of current projects and is responsible for developing project estimates, preparing proposals, obtaining sales, contract and change order negotiation. Once a project is awarded to EEWS, he is responsible for the complete and detailed planning and execution of all phases of the project from design through manufacturing, panel erecting and final delivery to the customer.

Allison Peitz

Lake|Flato Architects

Allison Peitz, AIA, LEED AP, is drawn to public-facing projects that address public interest through architecture and solve present and future problems of human interaction within the built environment. Allison is passionate about designing learning environments that can have an immense, positive impact on a broad cross-section of the population. She enjoys leveraging technology and research to envision future solutions to today’s problems and has experience in materials and fabrication research. Allison received her Bachelor of Arts from Davidson College, where she majored in Art with a focus on large-scale sculpture and minored in Environmental Studies, and later received her Master in Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design. Allison is active in Lake|Flato’s R&D Investigations program, through which she has submitted grants and presented research at conferences such as the Environmental Design Research Association on mass timber end-of-life scenarios.

Charles Norman

National Real Estate Development

Mr. Norman supports the day-to-day development activities of the East Market project in Center City Philadelphia, PA, working closely with senior development professionals to expedite and assure project completion according to specifications.

Mr. Norman participates in the selection of financial sources, structuring deals, negotiating legal documents, and architectural and construction planning activities. He was the development manager responsible for the development of the million square foot initial phases of East Market, including 1100 Market Street, 1100 Ludlow, and 1199 Ludlow and is now focused on the final phase of East Market and the delivery of 1101 Chestnut Street.

Mr. Norman brings over 20 years development experience delivering large mixed-use projects in major urban markets. Prior to joining National in 2015, he worked in the Capital Projects and Infrastructure Practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, advising major private and public sector clients on real estate investment decisions, transactions and projects. Previously, he worked for AtSite, Inc. as the Senior Director, Integrated Buildings Practice Lead where he advised clients on real estate projects including the redevelopment process for a $127 million Washington, D.C. office building. He also worked for Deloitte Consulting, LLP in the Capital Real Estate Transformation Practice, and was a project manager for Millennium Partners working on projects in Boston, New York, Miami, San Francisco, and the District of Columbia. His early career also includes a position with Handel Architects, LLP, managing a purchasing program and a design and construction program for a developer client. He was awarded the Aphrodisias Archaeological Fellowship by the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University.

Mr. Norman holds a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and Urban Studies from Lehigh University and a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania.

Andrew Kudless

Matsys

Andrew Kudless is a designer based in Houston, Texas where he is the Bill Kendall Memorial Endowed Professor at the University of Houston’s Hines College of Architecture Design as well as the Director of the Advanced Media Technology Lab. In 2004, he founded Matsys, a design studio exploring the emergent relationships between architecture, engineering, biology, and computation. The work of Matsys has been exhibited internationally and is in the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the FRAC Centre in Orleans, France. His work on Confluence Park has won a number of awards including a 2019 AIA National Honor Award. In 2019, he became the first American designer to contribute to Louis Vuitton’s Objets Nomades collection. He holds a Master of Arts in Emergent Technologies and Design from the Architectural Association and a Master of Architecture from Tulane University.

Kate Kulpa

Ennead Architects

Kathleen Kulpa AIA is an Associate Principal at Ennead Architects and a specialist in exterior façade design and curtainwall consulting. Her technical expertise has been integral to the development of many of Ennead’s large-scale projects from concept through construction, working across all typologies.

Ashley Zimmerman

Erdy McHenry Architecture

Ashley brings over a decade of expertise in the design community as a dynamic Associate of Marketing at Erdy McHenry Architecture. Committed to elevating the firm’s mission and fostering unique design solutions, she focuses on empowering community development and design excellence within the A/E/C realm. Drawing from her background in graphic design and architecture, Ashley combines creativity with strategic thinking to drive compelling marketing and business development initiatives that enhance Erdy McHenry’s strengths, ensuring that the firm’s designers tap into their greatest innovative potential.

Beyond her professional commitments, Ashley actively engages in community advancement efforts, serving as a board member on the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) Philadelphia Chapter and contributing to the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Philadelphia Chapter Resilience Committee. Ashley is dedicated to cultivating environments that foster growth, connections, and inspiration for a prosperous future.

Diana Darling

The Architect’s Newspaper

Darling is CEO, creative director, and co-founder of The Architect’s Newspaper, celebrating its 20th year. The A|N media company consists of print and digital publications covering architecture and design news, as well as the Facades+ and TECH+ conferences. As A|N’s publisher, Darling won the AIA National Collaboration Award, Grassroots Preservation Award, and ASLA NY’s President’s Award. She began her publishing career as director of print production for The Gap’s European markets. She holds a BS from The University of Texas at Austin.

Nathan Hamilton

Allied Works

Nathan Hamilton has been with Allied Works for more than 15 years, serving as the project architect for major works in North America and overseas. He has a depth of experience with diverse building types, material systems, and sustainable design strategies and is a leader and mentor for the firm. His detailing acumen, technical knowledge, and expert on-site construction supervision have been instrumental to the execution of numerous distinctive arts, civic, and workspace projects.

Becker Raab

KSS Architects

Becker, RA is an associate at KSS Architects and a registered architect in Pennsylvania. His experience extends across markets including higher education, behavioral health, preK-12, and industrial. He views the field of design with curiosity and desire to explore the day-to-day spaces we inhabit and enjoys the rigor of a collaborative design process to arrive at unique, thoughtful responses to project conditions. Currently, Becker is serving as Project Architect for Amy Gutmann Hall, the first six-story mass timber building in Philadelphia. As co-chair of KSS’ Community Design Group and local volunteer in his neighborhood, Becker believes in the agency of design to make meaningful impact on our world.

Andrew Oakley

Rowan University

Upon arriving at Rowan University in May 2022, I assumed the role of AVP of Capital Construction with a portfolio of approximately $350 Million in various stages of construction. Some of these projects include the addition to the Chamberlin Student Center, Renovation of the iconic Bunce Hall, supporting the IT upgrades of all Residence Hall, and the construction of the Schriber School of Veterinary Medicine.
Prior to arriving at Rowan University, I spent 15 years working for the New Jersey School Development Authority servicing the K-12 school construction needs of the 31 Abbott Districts. My portfolio of work included projects as small as window replacements on 90-year-old school buildings in Camden and as complex as demolishing and rebuilding 100-year-old 240,000 sf high schools in Camden. In my 15 years with the NJ SDA myself and my project team were responsible for over $1 Billion in new or renovate school construction facilities that improved the quality of education provided to the children of the State.

Tim Nass

SAFTI FIRST

Tim Nass has nearly 30 years of experience in the architectural glazing industry. As the Vice President of Sales at SAFTI FIRST, leading USA-manufacturer of fire rated glass and framing systems, he brings his extensive knowledge and expertise when working closely with architects, consultants, general contractors and glaziers to deliver a code-compliant glazing solution that meets all the aesthetic, performance and budget requirements of the project. Tim also oversees SAFTI FIRST’s global network of architectural sales representatives.

Tim Nass is a dynamic presenter and speaker who has been delivering educational presentations to various architecture firms, AIA local chapters, CSI local chapters, at the CSI National Convention and other architectural and glazing industry events.

Micheal Carey

Longboard Arch Prod

Michael and his family live just outside of Denver, CO. He has been involved in the construction industry for the last 25+ years. Currently, Michael manages the Longboard US sales team. Michael is focused on helping people reach their sales goals while enjoying this journey called life. Outside of work, he enjoys numerous outdoor activities and spending time with his wife and kids.

Jim Darcangelo

YKK AP

Jim Darcangelo is an Architectural Sales Representative for YKK AP America in the Philadelphia, Southern NJ, Delaware and the Eastern Maryland market. Jim has a drgee in Architecture from Temple University. He has over 25 years experience in the glass and glazing industry, all with YKK AP. Jim resides in Philadelphia and has covered this region for his entire YKK AP career.