2026 BES Authors and Speakers

Wassef Alameddine is a building-enclosure specialist with over 20 years of experience in the roofing and waterproofing industry. Holding a master’s degree in architecture and licensed in three Middle Eastern countries, he oversees the design and technical implementation of roofing and waterproofing systems for Kabbani Construction Group across the Middle East and North Africa region. Alameddine is an active industry member of the International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants, the Construction Specifications Institute, and the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction. He is committed to advancing best practices and innovation in the building-enclosure industry.

Ahoo Malekafzali specializes in building performance and occupant comfort analysis. With a PhD in environmental design, architecture, she has developed advanced building modeling capabilities, particularly in relation to occupant comfort and the impact of materials like electrochromic glazing. Ardakan’s expertise extends to product design, including electrochromic (EC) glazing control algorithm development, and she leads the Whole Building LCA program, championing comprehensive environmental assessments.

Alex Ardelean works in the Chicago office of Simpson Gumpertz & Heger . His experience includes investigation, design, rehabilitation, building enclosure commissioning, and field testing for new and historic building enclosures.

Jordan Armstrong is a building enclosure professional with seven years of experience in building enclosure and building science consulting. He has performed design, design review, and construction administration services for existing buildings and new construction in a variety of sectors in the Pacific Northwest. As a BECxP, he has provided enclosure commissioning services for residential, commercial, and institutional projects. He has led enclosure testing efforts in accordance with ASTM and AAMA standards and has led investigations for building enclosure deficiencies. A proficient project manager, Armstrong has also managed projects of varying scope for both new and existing construction.

Paul Bennett is a licensed civil engineer in 18 states and a licensed general contractor with 25 years of experience in the design and construction industry. Bennett has investigated thousands of building enclosure failures. He has testified in numerous depositions, arbitrations, trials, and before the High Court of New Zealand. He has been qualified and recognized by courts as an expert in numerous areas, including structural, civil and forensic engineering, building enclosures, window/door testing standards, and standard of care for an engineer.

Logan Cook is a licensed Professional Engineer at WJE and a graduate of Purdue University. Since joining WJE in 2012, he has consulted on hundreds of assignments related to the investigation, repair, and restoration of new and existing structures and buildings. His experience includes evaluating challenges and developing solutions related to facades, roofing, waterproofing, masonry, concrete, steel, and various types of structural systems. Additionally, he serves as a Structures Specialist on FEMA’s Indiana Task Force One Urban Search and Rescue team and a member of the State of Indiana Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission.

André Desjarlais is the residential buildings research program manager for the Building Envelope Materials Research Program at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). He has been involved in building envelope and materials research for over 40 years, first as a consultant and, for the last 34 years, at ORNL. Areas of expertise include building envelopes and material energy efficiency, moisture control, and durability. Desjarlais has been a member of American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) since 1987 and serves on Committees C16 on Thermal Insulation and D08 on Roofing. He is also a founding director of the RCI-IIBEC Foundation.

Kelsey Dunn works in the Building Technology Division and is experienced in investigation, design, and construction administration for existing building repair projects, rehabilitation of historic buildings, and new construction building enclosure consulting. She serves as a project manager for various large and complex projects, often working directly with owners, architects, construction managers, and developer clients, as well as subcontractors, manufacturers, and other consultants.

Stan Gatland is responsible for leading projects that focus on developing, demonstrating, and connecting Saint-Gobain/CertainTeed solutions to the performance of buildings regarding indoor environmental quality and occupant comfort. He has over 30 years of experience and expertise in building science and architectural acoustics with an extensive professional network in the fields of energy efficiency, heat and moisture transfer, environmental acoustics, and fire science. An accomplished speaker with over 100 publications, Gatland holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Andy Gloor is a member of the Advanced Multiscale Building Energy Research Lab. His research focuses on locally sourced cross-laminated timber for building enclosure construction, monitoring systems for enclosure hygrothermal performance, and indoor air quality. Prior to graduate study, he worked as an R&D engineer for nine years in early-stage medical device development at Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies.

Elizabeth Grant is an architect, writer, researcher, and educator. She prepares and reviews educational content for IIBEC and serves on the RCI-IIBEC Foundation Board of Directors. Previously, she provided research-based guidance to the roofing industry while at GAF and was an associate professor at Virginia Tech’s School of Architecture + Design. She wrote Integrating Building Performance with Design: An Architecture Student’s Guidebook and numerous academic papers. She has presented at many academic and industry conferences and has created webinars, blogs, and continuing education courses. She has designed healthcare, civic, and educational buildings, and a patented roof vent.

Rupesh Gulati is a versatile and detail oriented senior architect with 20+ years of experience specializing in building enclosure design, renovation, restoration, water infiltration, and forensic investigations. He brings a specialized background in building enclosure services (peer review, design assistance, material research) for numerous projects that includes work in theme parks, commercial, institutional, industrial, and high-rise buildings. He is adept at building projects including construction documents, contract administration, warranty administration and compliance; roof asset management; and product research and development. He has managed roofing portfolios valued at over $15M annually and was integral in developing inspection criteria for low and steep roofs.

Derek Gupta is a registered professional engineer with five years of building enclosure experience in Simpson, Gumpertz & Heger's Chicago office, and has worked on projects throughout the United States regarding design, rehabilitation, and diagnostic investigation. He has experience with building enclosure commissioning, building enclosure consulting, hygrothermal modeling, preservation technology, and enclosure performance testing. He has experience leading quantitative field testing for fenestration air leakage on windows, doors, curtainwalls, and storefront assemblies and witnessing testing agencies perform this test. Gupta is one of SGH's voting members for the Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) and is frequently active in FGIA's Installation Committee.

Mark Herrscher is a building science engineer with over 15 years of experience in enclosure design, detailing, forensic investigation, field performance testing, and building condition assessments. Early in his career, he developed whole-building energy models analyzing the interaction between enclosure systems, HVAC, and overall building performance. Herrscher focuses on early-stage risk identification, control layer continuity, and constructability to optimize building enclosure performance. His portfolio includes healthcare, laboratory, higher education, hospitality, high-rise, and complex mixed-use projects where he integrates building science principles with practical field execution to deliver durable, high-performing enclosure systems.

Rob Hughes joined Johns Manville (JM) in 2019, building on 25 years in the general contracting and commercial roofing industries. His roofing career has included estimating, operations, roof evaluation, contract administration, and project management. Hughes provides internal technical training and support as part of JM’s Owner Services team. Externally, Rob engages directly with building owners and property managers related to the lifecycle of the installed JM-guaranteed roof systems. He holds a CDT certification from CSI, 10- and 30-hour OSHA safety certifications and is pursuing his RRC accreditation from IIBEC.

Faris Khan is a building enclosure consultant based in New York City with expertise in facade restoration, forensic investigations, and waterproofing systems. He has experience assessing distressed building enclosures, including masonry, concrete, and roofing assemblies, and developing repair strategies for restoration and rehabilitation projects. His work includes facade evaluations, diagnosis of moisture-related and structural deficiencies, preparation of technical reports and repair documentation, and construction administration support to verify conformance with design intent and industry standards. Khan brings a practice-focused, technically rigorous approach to enclosure assessment and restoration work.

Yeonhee Kim, PE, is a licensed professional engineer specializing in building enclosure consulting and construction management. Her project experience spans healthcare facilities, higher education campuses, and residential developments. Her technical expertise includes building enclosure commissioning, enclosure consulting, curtainwall design assist, below-grade waterproofing, and construction-phase quality assurance. She has supported project teams in resolving complex enclosure issues, improving coordination among stakeholders.

Since joining WJE in 2003, Kenneth Kosteva has led numerous investigations for a wide variety of projects involving steel, concrete, timber, stone, unit masonry, and aluminum/glass curtainwall. He has provided services as a project engineer and project manager on assignments, including the evaluation of facade and structure-related failures, with extensive experience in the investigation and repair of post-tensioned and conventionally reinforced concrete, including analysis and materials testing. Kosteva’s responsibilities have included failure and structural investigations, structural analysis, development of repair and rehabilitation construction documents, and construction observation. His projects have included significant historic structures and several historic landmarks.

As a specialist roofing consultant with more than 44 years of construction experience, and more than 33 years of roof consulting expertise, Jean-Guy Levaque has been providing valuable and practical solutions to high profile national clients for existing building retrofit and new construction projects. A fluently bilingual consultant, he has an in-depth knowledge of the roofing industry and is widely recognized throughout Canada, the US and internationally. He is also instrumental in business development initiatives for key clients and is a senior advisor to Pretium Engineering Inc. on business standards.

Charlotte Lipari is a member of the Advanced Multiscale Building Energy Research Group, where she assists with heat transfer and building science research. Lipari has internship experience in construction project engineering. She also works as a mechanical engineering teaching assistant. Lipari plans to work in the construction or HVAC industry after graduating. In her free time, she enjoys painting and playing chess.

Mike Lopez is a registered architect in Rhode Island, New York, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida, with deep expertise in building enclosure consulting, exterior restoration, waterproofing, roofing, and leak remediation. He brings both technical precision and aesthetic insight to projects, including numerous historic restorations in collaboration with the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. Lopez is a member of the American Institute of Architects and holds an NCARB Certificate.

Joanna Mark joined the Specifier Services team at JM in early 2024, transitioning from a career in residential property management to leverage her academic background in architecture and environmental design. In her role, she collaborates closely with architects, designers, and other industry professionals to support roofing system selection and design that is in alignment with project requirements. She also assists with the development, review, and refinement of project-specific and master specifications. In addition, Mark contributes to JM’s continuing education initiatives by delivering lunch-and-learn sessions and presenting at other educational programs.

Jorge McCormack is an architect with over 15 years of experience spanning architectural design, construction, project management, and forensic investigations. His work focuses on the evaluation of building enclosures and structural failures, moisture intrusion, construction defects, and professional standard of care matters. As a registered architect, he has extensive expertise in building code interpretation, ADA standards and compliance, construction means and methods, and liability assessments related to construction and property claims. His background includes comprehensive experience across all phases of architectural practice, including design development, construction documentation, specifications, and contract and construction administration.

Jamie McKay is a building science specialist and engineer with over 25 years of experience in high performance and sustainable enclosure design and commissioning for new and existing buildings. He has lectured, published articles, judged competitions, consulted, facilitated charettes, and volunteered across Canada and the US on topics around sustainable and high-performance enclosures. He received his LEED Fellow in 2014, and his BECx accreditation in 2017. In 2019, McKay moved from Ottawa, Canada, to lead a team of enclosure specialists in Seattle, Washington, and in 2024 co-started a new enclosures team at Glumac as part of its Building Sciences Group.

Benjamin Meyer has experience as an enclosure consultant principal, technical manager, researcher, and educator for enclosure products. He has worked in commercial design, real estate development and construction management across a range of areas, including residential, educational, offices, and DuPont industrial projects. Industry positions include envelope chair and full voting member of ASHRAE 90.1; fellow and past-director of the Air Barrier Association of America ; and past LEED Technical Committee member and technical advisor of the LEED Materials (MR) TAG. Meyer has an MBA, BS, and MArch from the University of Cincinnati.

Thomas Miller graduated from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1994 with a BS in civil engineering. He is co-owner of Structural Engineering and Inspections Inc. A licensed Professional Engineer in Florida, Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah, Miller is also a voting member of the Code Referenced Standards for Stucco. His engineering experience includes building design/inspections and forensic investigation/repair specification. Miller has testified in state and federal courts as well as arbitration.

Mark Norten, EIT is a project consultant with three years of experience in building enclosures at Simpson Gumpertz & Heger in Chicago, Illinios. His experience includes designing, investigating, and rehabilitating new construction and historic buildings throughout the midwestern US, with experience in the consulting, commissioning, and design roles. He also has extensive experience with building enclosure field performance testing, including fenestration testing for air leakage and water penetration resistance, and air barrier verification testing in accordance with the American Air Barrier Association on new construction projects.

Rick Olson has 47 years of experience in roofing manufacturing and system design. Since 1991, he has led technical research, building code development, and industry standards initiatives, contributing actively to ASTM, ICC, IAPMO, IBHS, RICOWI, FRSA and CRRC. Author of more than 300 articles on building science and roofing system performance, Olson is a recognized authority on code compliance, energy efficiency, and forensic evaluation.

Leah Ruther is a licensed professional engineer at Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc (WJE). Ruther graduated from Calvin University with a bachelor’s in civil engineering and from Lawrence Technological University with a master’s in civil engineering. Since joining WJE in 2012, Ruther has been involved with numerous structural engineering and architecture related projects. Her responsibilities include the investigation and analysis of existing and damaged structures, development of technical repair and rehabilitation documents, and construction observations.

Guido X. Salas, is a senior vice president at Raymond with 39 years of experience in building enclosure consulting, roofing system design, and forensic investigations. He leads multi-regional business initiatives serving federal, health care, education, and commercial clients. He specializes in storm-resilient design, essential facility roofing systems, and enclosure commissioning aligned with ASCE 7, ICC 500, ASTM, AAMA, and FM Global standards. An innovative thinker, he developed the roof board overlay concept to remediate aging structural decks, extending service life and enhancing structural performance. He is recognized for strategic leadership and delivering high-performance, code-compliant building solutions.

Sohaib Sharif has expertise in the thermal and hygrothermal performance of building enclosures. He holds an MSc in engineering with a focus on energy performance from ESIEE Paris – Gustave Eiffel University. His work focuses on simulation-based analysis to assess moisture risk, energy efficiency, and surface temperature behavior under varying environmental conditions. Sharif has contributed to research on extreme rooftop surface temperatures and enclosure design. His work covers energy modeling, building code analysis, and the optimization of building systems across multiple climate zones.

Paulo Tabares leads the Advanced Multiscale Building Energy Research (AMBER) Lab. His research interests are thermal storage, heat transfer applied to buildings, and building integration with smart grid. His award-winning multiscale and multidisciplinary projects range from heat transfer in enclosures to community-scale energy monitoring, analysis, and optimization in urban and rural communities.

With over 25 years of experience in building science, Steve Vinci, LEED Fellow, specializes in passive design, energy efficiency, and material resiliency. He has led enclosure consulting and commissioning on high-performance projects worldwide. As vice-chair of USGBC’s LEED Energy & Atmosphere TAG, he advances LEED v5 implementation. His holistic approach bridges passive and active systems, earning him the 2025 Leadership Award from Building Enclosure magazine.

John Wagner is an enclosure consultant and licensed architect with over a decade of experience advancing sustainable design across higher education, civic, cultural, and technology projects. At Baumann Consulting, he leads the integration of resilient, high‑performance strategies into building enclosure consulting, supporting teams in achieving long‑term, climate‑focused outcomes. His earlier work included adaptive reuse projects at Bruner/Cott under MA 2023 Stretch Code and complex laboratory and life‑science facilities at Ellenzweig, as well as historic preservation at Ann Beha/Annum Architects. His clients have included MIT, Harvard, Yale, and Moderna, and he is currently leading Baumann’s enclosure commissioning of Chicago’s James R. Thompson Center redevelopment.

Melissa Walker is senior marketing manager at Johns Manville, overseeing marketing strategies for owners, specifiers, consultants, architects, and preferred accounts. She joined Johns Manville in 1998, briefly leaving in 2001 to relocate to Miami, Florida, where she worked for Apache Products, now Dyplast. Walker returned to Denver in 2005 and rejoined the organization. Throughout her career at Johns Manville, she has held roles spanning customer service and lead, account management leader, product manager, and owner services manager. Walker holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Metropolitan State College of Denver and an MBA in Operations Management from Regis University.

Rachel Will, PE, is a principal and the executive director of knowledge sharing at Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc. (WJE) in Chicago. With two decades of experience, Will specializes in the investigation and repair of historic building facades, including stone, brick, and terra cotta assemblies. Her work has been instrumental in numerous adaptive reuse projects, where she has led evaluations, developed repair documentation, and overseen construction-phase services. Her role as a project engineer and project manager for numerous projects helps provide a unique perspective in leading the knowledge-sharing function at WJE.

Casey Williams brings extensive experience, having investigated and developed repairs for a wide variety of building enclosure systems, including historic masonry, contemporary masonry-veneer wall systems, roofing, windows, plazas, wall systems, and waterproofing systems. Her projects range from condition assessments to comprehensive restoration design and construction administration, and consulting on new construction. Williams focuses on historic building investigations and repair projects. Some of her signature projects include the New York State Capitol roof restoration, the Massachusetts State House water infiltration repair project, and the exterior restoration of The First Church of Christ, Scientist Mother Church.

At Johns Manville (JM), Witt has over seven years of construction‑sector experience in project management and estimation. She consistently demonstrates strong problem‑solving abilities, clear communication, and a collaborative approach to team leadership. Her background includes leading projects through detailed plan reviews and precise cost estimating. By partnering closely with architects and builders, she ensured each project met rigorous standards for quality, efficiency, and long‑term sustainability, enhancing outcomes across diverse construction initiatives and delivering value to stakeholders.

Rick Ziegler is a principal with Stantec with 20 years of experience in the design, evaluation, and rehabilitation of building envelope systems. He has worked on a wide range of new and existing buildings across diverse climate zones worldwide. His portfolio includes assessments, forensic investigations, façade and roof design, design reviews, specifications, and construction administration. Rick is frequently requested to work with design teams for his expertise in conceptual design, system selection, and performance evaluation. He has also supported multiple institutional owners to assist with the development of their high-performance building standards.