Aschley Yanda – Director of Sales, Urban Machine

Aschley Yanda is the Director of Sales for Urban Machine, a company that’s building robots to reclaim wood from construction and demolition to reuse as premium lumber. She is an accomplished sales executive with a background in entrepreneurship and business development and has generated revenue from the ground up for multiple organizations. A lifelong advocate for environmental sustainability and animal welfare, she currently sits on the Board of Directors of City Goats in San Francisco. She holds a BS in Sociology from Northern Arizona University and a Graduate Certificate in Interior Design from Parsons School of Design. Aschley is an outspoken proponent of the importance of circularity within the built environment and enjoys working beside her devoted team to give reclaimed lumber a second life.

Brian Fraumeni – Design Director and Senior Associate, Gensler

Practicing with the Los Angeles office since 2010, Brian is a Design Director and Senior Associate driven to see inspiring visions become reality. His experience in practice includes multi-family residential, hospitality, mixed-used, campuses and headquarters. Realized work with Gensler include the Grand Hyatt Incheon, the Westin DIA Hotel and Transit Center Denver, the ITC Ratnadipa Colombo and Sapphire Residences Colombo, The Belardi Pavilion at City of Hope Duarte. In total, Brian has been part of the design team for over 40 Gensler lead projects. Brian combines both emerging design technology process with practical experience of leading projects from inception to completion.

Brendan Mullins – Regional Digital Delivery Lead, Stantec

Passionate about combining research with project work, Brendan serves as the region’s dedicated technology partner, defining the requirements and uses of software, digital tools, and digital expertise. His role is to empower staff to innovate through technology and stay ahead of the curve.  Major areas of Brendan’s focus include computational design, advanced visualization, and artificial intelligence. He’s currently working as an architect on the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, where we are paving the way for the future of technology in project delivery.

Clarissa Urquico, AIA, Associate HED

Clarissa has 17 years of experience in the AEC industry with 12 years focusing on HCAi / Healthcare projects  from schematic design through project close-out. Her involvement includes management of internal design team and consultants, pre-construction project schedule and planning, staffing commitments, client deliverable, and quality control of construction drawings.

Chava Danielson, AIA, Principal, DSH // architecture

Chava Danielson, AIA, a native Angeleno, is Principal of DSH // architecture, with specialties in design, project advocacy, and serving non-profit organizations committed to their communities. She focuses on imparting beauty and sensitive programming to recharge underserved neighborhoods through educational, therapeutic and residential projects.

Danielson is Adjunct Professor at the USC School of Architecture. She currently co-chairs the AIA Los Angeles’ Government Outreach Committee and has served as a Director for the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design. She holds an M.Arch. from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University and a B.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Berkeley.

Dawn Bridges – Vice President of Professional Services, U.S. CAD

Dawn Bridges is the Vice President of Professional Services at U.S. CAD, a VinZero Company, ensuring the delivery of client engagements for training and educational services, technology and workflow guidance, software implementation, project management, BIM consulting, and technical support. 

Dawn has over 30 years of AEC expertise encompassing public and private projects. She specializes in global project management, design technology strategy, BIM, and integrated project delivery. She has been directly responsible for the application of innovative solutions, combined with industry best practices for all facets of planning, design, construction, and operation. 

Dawn has a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Boston Architectural College and is affiliated with award-winning projects, including the University of College Cork in Ireland, Eugene Public Library, and Brooklyn College. She has taught at Boston Architectural College and New Hampshire College and has been featured in Planning for Higher Education Journal, Society for College and University Planning Journal, and Toggle Magazine: Striking a balance between creativity and technology. 

Dawn, a self-proclaimed technology strategist, looks for disruptive technology within and beyond AEC. She explores ways to integrate technology while ensuring long-term direction is flexible to changing environments and businesses. Dawn enjoys family time, vacationing in Hawaii, and sustainable gardening.

Enoch Chow, RA, NCARB – Director, Digital Engineering, Suffolk Construction

Enoch is the Director of Digital Engineering at Suffolk Construction. He leads Suffolk Construction’s virtual design and construction (VDC) process and construction technology implementation in the West Coast.

A champion in a “people-first” approach to technology, Enoch has built and led technology teams to bring digital transformation to organizations of all sizes. His expertise includes training program design, workflow implementation and custom solutions development.

Prior to joining Suffolk Construction, Enoch has worked extensively on the architect’s side and on the owner’s side, successfully delivering a wide-range of projects including EV Automotive Manufacturing facilities, R&D labs, Themed Entertainment, Workplace, Multi-Family, Hospitality, and Institutional / K-12 projects.

Outside of work, Enoch is a father of two young children and a tireless tinkerer: You might find him teaching his kids to “speak” Python as a second language while building a self-driving electric stroller.

Heather Barker, Assoc. AIA –  Professor of Design, California State University Long Beach

Heather Renée Barker, Associate Professor of Design at California State University Long Beach is a human urbanist. She works with interdisciplinary teams to facilitate human-centered approaches to improving the human/data hybrid experience. By leveraging a range of analog and digital tools, gamification, and data-visualization, Heather brings value to business and civic organizations as they develop novel solutions to personal interface, animated space, community engagement, and sustainable urban challenges. As an educator and practitioner, she is able to combine theory, rigorous research, and practice to develop advanced innovation methodologies. This work makes its way into the world through consulting, holding workshops, publishing, teaching, and advising internationally. Heather Barker is founding coordinator of the graduate Human Experience Design Interactions (MA_HXDI) program and the Immersive Design Research Lab (IDRL), author of the book, “Designing Post-Virtual Architectures: Wicked Tactics and World-Building”, and has served the city of Long Beach, California as Design Lead for the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ funded Innovation Team (i-team) and as Design Strategy Lead for the Office of Civic Innovation.

Ian Keough, CEO and Founder, Hypar 

Ian has been building design software for AEC for 15 years, starting at Buro Happold where he invented Dynamo, the visual programming language for Revit, followed by his work at Autodesk on BIM 360 Field, Fractal, and the Forge compute platform. Since leaving Autodesk in 2018 Ian has been building Hypar, a revolutionary generative design software for AEC.

Karen Compton – Principal, A3K Consulting, LLC

Karen Compton is Principal of A3K Consulting, LLC a business development and strategic planning firm that specializes in the AEC industry. Ms. Compton has more than 20 years’ experience in the optimization of organizations through business planning, strategic planning, and corporate social responsibility. Among her many contributions to the profession, Ms. Compton covets a series of difficult conversations around race and the profession with her colleague, Gabrielle Bullock, FAIA. The vodcast, “Breaking the Silence of Design” that explored the issues of equity and inclusion and has served as a resource through several AIA components. In addition to a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Mount St. Mary’s University, Ms. Compton has a Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University and has served as a Regent for Mount St. Mary’s University and is member of the board of directors for a national engineering firm.

Kathleen Hetrick – Associate, Buro Happold

Kathleen Hetrick is an advocate for radical change in the field of sustainability and a Bloomberg Fellow at Johns Hopkins University. She is an Associate at Buro Happold, where she heads the California Sustainability team and delivers innovative solutions for some of the most ambitious projects in the world. She has extensive experience in designing and implementing LEED Platinum, ILFI Zero Carbon and Living Building Challenge buildings, as well as developing strategies for reducing scope 3 emissions, enhancing social impact, and improving resiliency. She is also a passionate advocate for STEM education and mentors local K-12 students to pursue careers in regenerative design. She serves on the board of USGBC-LA and is a co-founder of Carbon Leadership Forum – Los Angeles. She was honored with the ILFI Living Future Hero Award in 2023 for her contributions to the sustainability movement.

Kevin Finch – Professor at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona

Kevin Finch is a designer, artist, and educator from Los Angeles. While teaching at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona, he strives to advance contemporary conversations about landscape architecture through the intersection of visualization technology, environmental psychology, theatre, and animist philosophy. Kevin champions his students’ vernacular believing that every voice deserves a stage, regardless of pedigree. He suggests that humankind and its creations are a natural system to negotiate the development of the built environment; that as long as nature is treated as a destination, an escape from urbanity, our cities will continue to be devoid of natural abundance. Kevin’s creative work often explores animated imagery that borrows from the tools and techniques of film and game design.

Kerenza Harris, Director of Advanced Technology/Associate Principal, Morphosis Architects 

Kerenza Harris is the Director of Advanced Technology and Associate Principal at Morphosis. She oversees advanced computational design and simulation for all projects. Her team focuses on the research, development, documentation and integration of real-time technologies from early concept phases through construction. She also leads the design, optimization, and construction of exterior envelopes with special focus on complex systems and complex geometry. She developed the terracotta façade for the Orange County Museum of Art in Costa Mesa, CA, as well as the main GFRP façade of the Kolon One & Only Tower in Seoul, South Korea.

Kerenza is also faculty at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), where her teaching focuses on digital design tools and integrated project delivery. She is a frequent speaker on design computation and its impact on the making of architecture.

Krai Charuwatsuntorn – Lecturer – California State University Long Beach

Krai Charuwatsuntorn has been working as a designer and conceptual 3D artist across various disciplines for the past twenty-five years; from architecture to branding to entertainment and gaming industries, sometimes all at once, as the disciplines themselves begin to blur.  He experiments and utilizes emerging technology on a daily basis, but beyond the practical and technical execution for each project, he is always sensitive to what is gain and what is lost.  For the past fifteen years, he has shared these ruminations on technology, human experience, and design with students at California State University Long Beach in the hope that they will be prepared for the world to come.

Laura Karnath, AIA – Senior Enclosure Consultant, Walter P Moore

Laura Karnath is a licensed architect with a background in data-driven design and 14 years of experience working on high-design projects with complex facades. She is a senior enclosure consultant at Walter P Moore and co-chairs Walter P Moore’s Sustainable Design Community of Practice. Laura co-leads the Los Angeles hub of the Carbon Leadership Forum, working to connect professionals across the building industry to share best practices and innovative approaches aimed at radically reducing embodied carbon in building materials and construction.

M. Casey Rehm – Partner, Studio-MMR

M. Casey Rehm is a partner of the Studio-MMR based in Los Angeles, CA.  The studio’s work focuses on the integration within design of machine learning, intelligent agency, and platform software for material and cultural production.  His works have been exhibited at national and international museums and galleries including Centre Pompidou, FRAC Orleans, Pola Annex Ginza, and the Chicago Art Institute.  Additionally he has received several grants in the area of artificial intelligence and architecture including three from the Google Artists and Machine Intelligence group.  Currently he is the Coordinator for the MS Architectural Technology program and is the Facutly Director of the Platforms and Automation Lab at SCI Arc.  He received his BARCH from Carnegie Mellon University in 2005 and his MS AAD from Columbia University in 2009.

Matt Menendez – Sports Venue Designer | Tech Futurist, Dahlin Architecture

Matt Menendez has sculpted a niche at the convergence of sports architecture and technological innovation over the last 20 years. From crafting stadiums to advancing BIM and exploring AI in art and design, his projects highlight a relentless pursuit of design excellence that inspires and transforms.

Natalie Roe, WELL AP – Interior Designer / Jr. Medical Planner, HED

Natalie is an interior designer and junior medical planner at HED. With a bachelor’s degree in interior design, a master’s degree in design for human health, and a WELL credential, her focus is mainly on healthcare design. Since joining HED, she has worked on many healthcare projects including medical office buildings, behavioral health units, and primary care clinics as an interior designer and planner. At HED, she also runs the materials library for the LA office and is responsible for keeping the library updated on new products and coordinating educational presentations by reps for the interiors team. She has a passion for research and continued education and enjoys furthering the firm’s knowledge of new technologies and design methods.

Paul Chavez – Associate, Arup

Paul Chavez is an Associate with the international engineering firm Arup where he leads the experience and interaction design practice in Los Angeles. He brings over 28 years of experience in sensory technology design for built environments. He has written about how smart buildings can engage occupants for improving building performance. Paul is also a lecturer for the Design program at Cal State University Long Beach in their Human Experience Design & Interaction (HXDI) graduate program.

Peter Devereaux, FAIA, LEED AP – Chair of the Board, Innovation Design Consortium

Peter Devereaux, FAIA, is one of the 4 officers on the Board of Directors of the IDC. He earned a BS in Architecture from Penn State and a M.Arch degree from Yale University. In 1985 he joined a small firm, Fields Devereaux, which grew to 175 people in three cities. In 2006, he merged Fields Devereaux with Harley Ellis, to form HED, at which he served as CEO until 2023. Additionally, he served as a member of the Executive Committee of the AIA’s Large Firm Round Table and currently serves as Board Chair of the Innovation Design Consortium.

Rishabh Singhvi – Sr. Project Engineer and Director of Sustainability, Saiful Bouquet Structural Engineers

Rishabh Singhvi, P.E. is Sr. Project Engineer and Director of Sustainability at Saiful Bouquet Structural Engineers. He has over 6 years of experience in the industry, working on major concrete projects, such as high-rises, creative office spaces, retail and commercial properties, and seismic retrofit projects.

As a panelist for the AIA event focusing on Technology and Sustainability, Rishabh will bring a unique perspective of a structural engineer that has focused on efficient and optimized solutions. He emphasizes that structural efficiency, often overlooked in sustainability discussions, is not just about cleaner materials per unit volume, but also about reducing the total volume of material used in the structure. He also highlights that AI models and other advanced data analytics will contribute heavily in providing insights about the realistic impact of each sustainability strategy over the life cycle of the project.

Rishabh believes that sustainability is now at the forefront of any new project discussion, where sustainability strategies are incorporated into the selection process of the structural framing system. He sees AI as a tool that will accelerate the understanding and application of sustainability ideals and guide the policies that are just starting to mandate sustainability requirements in the built environment.

Roan Isaku – AIA, NCARB
Associate | Practice Technology Leader, HED

Roan is a Practice Technology Leader at HED.  His main role is to provide guidance and support to project teams for the strategic application of BIM and other innovative design technologies. He is available to support the team to leverage advanced technologies and developing efficient and effective delivery processes. Roan enforces organizational best practices throughout the lifetime of the project and ensures quality standards are met. 

Roan has worked as an architect since 2006 and is well versed in the design and construction of many building typologies ranging from residential, commercial, healthcare, industrial, etc.  Since 2012 he shifted his career focus to the BIM realm.  His responsibilities are many, but to boil it down to one thing: help design teams leverage technology to exceed client expectations.

Ron Smith – Account Executive, IMAGINiT

Ron Smith is an accomplished account executive at IMAGINiT Technologies, where he is part of the US-West team. Ron has a uniquely specialized technical background in Manufacturing Engineering, Structural Engineering, and Building Mechanical Engineering. Over the past 27 years, he has gained extensive experience as an end user, teacher, technical engineer, data management and collaboration expert, and business management consultant in the manufacturing and building engineering sectors. Currently, Ron is focused on serving the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry, leveraging his decades of technical expertise to support AEC clients. He holds degrees in CAD Technology, Management, and Master’s degrees in Business Administration and Project Management. Ron brings a unique blend of technical knowledge and business acumen to his role, enabling him to deliver exceptional results for his clients.

Ruquia Akter – Designer, Stantec

Ruquia Akter is a designer at Stantec, focusing on Life Science projects. She exhibits a passion for staying at the forefront of technological advancements and has been creating and implementing data-driven design to develop cutting-edge façades. With over 10 years of experience, Ruquia has a strong background in the AEC industry. In addition to her practical experience, her interest extends to exploring artificial intelligence (AI) as a powerful tool in design and fabrication.

Sharon Woodworth, FAIA, ACHA, EDAC, LEED AP – Associate Principal, HED

Sharon Woodworth is a registered architect with over twelve million square feet of healthcare facility planning and design experience spanning a wide range of operational and continuum-of-care issues from neonatology to geriatric-sensitive settings nationally and internationally. Since 2007 she has experience with various computational design programs beginning with Onuma, then Aditazz, and now Foresight & Hypar. In addition to practicing architecture, she is an Associate Professor at UCSF teaching healthcare environments in a unique graduate program for physicians and healthcare executives; her designs recognize the value of research-based initiatives from EDAC and LEED Certification to Pebble Partnerships and Magnet Recognition. Her numerous publications, presentations, and board memberships speak to her ability to leverage these diverse perspectives so that clients can find common ground when faced with competing needs. In 2017, the AIA elevated Sharon to the College of Fellows for outstanding influence in the field of design.

Tadeh Hakopian – BIM Program Manager

With a background in Architecture and Development Tadeh has supported building large scale projects with diverse teams for over 10 years. By promoting open dialogue, systems thinking, and long term planning he has improved operational efficiencies in all his endeavors. He is a course author, trainer, and open source contributor as well as a speaker at national conferences in technology, architecture, design. He loves to talk about the new possibilities with technology and innovation at everyone’s disposal while building communities along the way.

Thesla Collier, Int’l Assoc. AIA – Design Technology Manager, HNTB

Thesla Collier is the Design Technology Manager at HNTB. Bachelor’s in architecture from the University of Honduras and has worked in the AEC Industry for over 25 years. Actively works with users to elevate their knowledge baseline to improve their skills on multiple software platforms. Seeking new avenues of technology to improve Design workflows possible to conceive, visualize, and adapt to a project’s specific needs.

Yu-Ming Wei AIA Principal | Sector Operations Leader – Housing and Mixed Use, HED

Yu-Ming Wei, AIA, is a Principal at HED where she serves as the National Housing and Mixed-Use Sector Operations Leader. She has extensive experience with large complex projects and client stakeholder groups and has garnered the relevant knowledge and skill set to successfully execute projects from inception through construction. She is well versed in the design process and teamwork necessary to drive projects towards success with focus on collaborative workflows.   As Sector Operations Leader, Yu-Ming works with her team to advance quality control, production standards, and project delivery.  She supports and guides project managers in achieving measurable project performance and implementing firm initiatives.  Yu-Ming is an active member of AIA/LA Women in Architecture committee having served as 2022 co-chair, and she continues her work to promote inclusive leadership, mentorship, and professional networking with her current role on the steering committee for WWT(Women Working Together), a group dedicated to promoting positive change for women in the construction industry.

Zigmund Rubel, FAIA – CEO, Forsight digital

Zigmund (Zig) Rubel is the President and CEO of Forsight digital, a technology company focused on data-driven processes to plan and program healthcare facilities.  Their tool, Forsight, enables consensus in early project meetings by auto-generating space programs and business cases.  Zig has over 30 years of architectural design experience and has worked on over 20 million SF of healthcare facilities worldwide.  He holds six granted US patents in software and building products.  Zig is a member of the AIA College Of Fellows.