Koven has spent decades working in government and business, primarily in the areas of environmental and resource management. She was appointed to the Ontario Provincial Forest Policy Committee in 2008, was a trustee and secretary treasurer of the Trees Ontario Foundation, and represented the Foundation on the Natural Spaces Leadership Alliance. She served as President and Executive Director of the Ontario Forestry Association. Koven is an professor at the University of Toronto’s Graduate Department of Forestry, and assisted the Faculty in obtaining accreditation of the Master of Forest Conservation program by the Canadian Forestry Accreditation Board in 2014.

Alan Organschi is a principal and partner at Gray Organschi Architecture , an architectural practice in New Haven, Connecticut recognized internationally for its integration of design, construction, and environmental research. He is also the founder of the fabrication workshop and construction management firm JIG Design Build which in 2018 created the Ecological Living Module, a fully self-sustaining micro house for the United Nations Environment Program. As a member of the Senior Design and Technology Faculty at the Yale School of Architecture, Mr. Organschi directs the newly inaugurated Yale Building LAB, which conducts advanced research in the contemporary building sector, its global environmental impacts, and its potential to mitigate climate change through the adoption of bio-based building assemblies and circular economic construction practices. In addition to teaching at Yale, he served for the 2019 and 2020 academic years as the Portman Critic at the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Architecture.

His ongoing research project, the Timber City Initiative,examines the application of emerging structural wood fiber technologies to the construction of global cities. Timber CIty has been awarded grants from the Hines Fund for Advanced Sustainability Research in Architecture, the US Forest Service Wood Innovation Grant program and the SITRA Finland innovation Fund for the Circular Economy. Mr. Organschi has written and lectured extensively on the carbon storage benefits of biogenic material substitution in urban building and is a co-author of the upcoming book Carbon: A Field Manual For Building Designers and the scientific paper “Buildings as a Global Carbon Sink” published in January 2020 in the journal Nature Sustainability.

In addition to features in numerous publications, Gray Organschi Architecture was recognized by the Architectural League of New York as an Emerging Voice in Architecture and has received American Architecture Awards for the Storage Barn in Washington, CT, the Common Ground High School in New Haven, and the Ecological Living Module at the United Nations General Assembly in Manhattan. In 2012, Mr. Organschi and his partner Elizabeth Gray were honored for their work with an Arts and Letters Award in Architecture by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Ryan joined DIALOG in 2012 as an architectural and urban designer. He is passionate about creating functional, elegant designs that are specific to each project’s unique culture, local community, and environment. Design innovation, research, and collaboration with both clients and colleagues drive much of Ryan’s work. In 2016, he received a grant to further his studies and pursue his interest in mass timber and freeform timber design and construction in Europe.

Ryan is currently immersed in DIALOG’s growing portfolio of mass timber projects, most notably as the project designer of 2150 Keith Drive, a 10-storey mass timber office building located in Vancouver, BC. The project’s innovative structural system is undergoing small-scale and full-scale structural testing at Queens University and the University of Alberta, which will help inform future tall wood projects.

A member of the City of Vancouver’s Mass Timber Advisory Committee, Ryan is continually seeking to evolve his work through new creative avenues in both the professional and personal realms.

Senior Associate for Perkins&Will, Matt Covall, AIA, LEED AP, has worked on some of San Francisco’s most sustainable projects, including 1 De Haro, SF’s first CLT building and California’s first multi-storied fully mass timber building. As a licensed architect with more than a decade of experience, Matt brings a keen eye for detail and clear communication to his work. Matt is not only knowledgeable in the technical needs of large-scale projects, but is adept at achieving the design and vision within strict budget and schedule constraints. Matt’s experience ranges from master plans to mass timber buildings to speculative R&D projects. He offers a broad perspective that, combined with his technical expertise, is invaluable.

Dr. Patricia A. Layton, Ph.D., is the of Director of Clemson’s Wood Utilization + Design Institute and a professor Forestry. She served prior to this as Director of the School of Agricultural, Forest, and Environmental Sciences (2010-2014) and Chair of the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources (1999-2010). She serves on the Board of Directors for the SFI Program.

Before joining Clemson University, she was a Senior Director with the American Forest & Paper Association and a Manager at Scott Paper Company. In these positions, she developed new forestry and marketing initiatives, including playing a vital role in the development of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Program. Pat was also Research Associate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the Short Rotation Wood Crops Program and a forest geneticist for Owens Illinois in Jasper, Texas.

Pat is a native of South Carolina and has forestry degrees from Clemson University, Texas A&M University, and the University of Florida.

Aaron is the founder and principal of Schiller Projects, a strategic design consultancy and architecture practice, which has operated globally since 2013.

He comes to design and architecture after a decade spent working in a range of fields, from urban planning, to community organizing for the Obama administration on its journey to the White House. His work during 2008 campaign marked the emergence of the data-heavy work that defines the firm. Aaron’s great interest lies in developing design-based strategies for experiential and architectural solutions that empower the key stakeholders to align their environments with their goals.

In addition to his work at the firm, Schiller has served as an assistant adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, as well as a visiting critic at Pratt School of Architecture. In 2020, Schiller was an invited lecturer at Indiana University School of Architecture.

Current projects see Schiller’s studio applying its analytical process to studies of timber structures in London and New York City and to climate-driven residences in Sedona and Palm Springs. Uniting the projects is a contemporary way of collecting, organizing, and processing data in the service of designing better buildings and better spaces.

For over twenty years, Vince has explored the balance between fine craftsmanship and a vision for form and materials that stand the test of time, yet address the needs and spirit of their day. He has led the designs for numerous award-winning projects within the public realm ranging from residential developments to educational facilities and parks.

Recent projects include the 12-acre St Pete Pier; the Henderson-Hopkins School, the first new Baltimore public school built in over 20 years; and the Rice University Kraft Hall of Social Sciences. He is currently leading the design of Nanotronics' flagship production center, turning a historic Civil War era shipbuilding warehouse in the Brooklyn Navy Yard into a vertically-integrated advanced manufacturing warehouse facility and headquarters which is currently producing COVID-19 treatments at-scale to meet global accessibility needs.

For over 38 years Alec has designed significant public buildings for education and cultural institutions that have earned recognition by more than 60 local, regional and national design awards including two national AIA Committee on the Environment Top Ten awards for Net-Zero energy buildings. His work has pushed through traditional boundaries and silos to create dynamic interactive places that build community. His work is deeply rooted in the context of the site and a passion for understanding the relationship between the natural and man-made worlds. Raised and education in the Northwest, the use of wood both in structure and finish has been central to his work. His designs for the new University of Idaho Arena, currently under construction, push the boundaries of mass timber construction and form making that is tied directly to the undulating regional Palouse terrain.

Robert is a structural engineer in Fast + Epp's Vancouver office and offers a unique skill set due to his hands-on experience as a carpenter and fine woodworker. He is a designer with expertise in timber, steel, and concrete in both Canada and the US.

Over his career, Robert has developed a particular specialization in mass timber design, having contributed to the success of many of Fast + Epp’s most innovative timber projects across North America. He is the author of several articles in international engineering and design journals relating to timbers role in sustainable design.

Robert recently received two prestigious awards from the United Kingdom’s Institution of Structural Engineers, including The Young Structural Engineering Professional Award, which is an international recognition of achievement in structural engineering and showcases engineers who are driving the profession forward.

Mike Yorke joined the Carpenters’ Union as an apprentice in 1982. He completed his Carpentry apprenticeship in 1986 and obtained his Certificate of Qualification (C of Q). He worked on several major construction projects including condominiums, airports, hospitals, power plants, refineries, office towers, institutions, and bridges. Mike is one of the Carpenters’ District Council of Ontario’s (CDC) Area Coordinator and President. The Carpenters’ District Council of Ontario has over 22,000 members across Ontario; 8,000 of these members reside in the GTA. Mike is a member of the Board of Directors of the College of Carpenters and Allied Trades which oversees training and skills development. Recent focus has been to develop a training program for mass timber/CLT as this sector experiences real growth.

Former co-chair on the City of Toronto Youth Employment Action Plan (YEAP) Advisory Committee. Sits as a citizen advisory board member of Civic Action Toronto and an Editorial Advisory Board member of the Daily Commercial News, and an Advisory Board Member of the Urban Land Institute, Toronto.

Also plays an Industry Advisor role as a Board member of the Ontario Construction Secretariat and the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO), as well, the Ontario Cast in Place Concrete Development Council (OCCDC). Mike Yorke is also the recipient of the Wood Works Ontario Wood Champion Award in 2016.

Anne takes a highly collaborative approach to design. She strives to find holistic solutions that combine the owner’s goals with the building architecture, designed systems, and construction techniques. Anne’s deep commitment to sustainability motivates her to create structures that respect the project location, site, and future generations they will serve. Her hope is to design building structures that withstand the test of time yet remain flexible for future adaptations. Since joining KPFF in 1993, Anne has worked on numerous high-profile projects. She finds medical facilities and airports especially gratifying for the critical public role they serve, and also for the team challenge posed by working on a 24/7 campus during design and construction. Her refined collaboration skills and analytical ingenuity helped the 250,000-square-foot OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital span safely across a canyon. Anne is actively involved with the Architectural Foundation of Oregon, serving on the board of directors.

Samuel Medina is the executive editor of The Architect’s Newspaper. He was previously the editorial director of Metropolis magazine. As a writer, his work has been published in art and architecture magazines such as Artforum, the Art Newspaper, and Domus, among others. He recently edited a monograph on the architect Eric Owen Moss, due out this year.

Matthew Marani is a Program Manager and Editor for The Architect’s Newspaper. He curates AN’s Facades+ conference series, and covers cutting-edge projects nationally and internationally for their Facades+ Newsletter and In Construction sections.