Speaker Bios

Chris Caricato serves as the Architectural Specialist & Field Staff Representative at the International Training Institute (iTi), the training division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation (SMART) and the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors National Association (SMACNA) Industry Training Fund.  With over 30 years of industry expertise, Chris focuses on wall cladding systems, metal roofing assemblies, rainscreen applications, building enclosures, flashings, and membranes. He is pivotal in developing and delivering curriculum and training across iTi’s 150+ apprenticeship and training facilities in the U.S. and Canada. Chris is deeply committed to education and training, serving as co-chair on the Education and Training Committee for the Rainscreen Association in North America (RAiNA) and a voting member of the Performance Committee.

Peter Barrett is the Product & Marketing Manager for Dörken Systems Inc., and has been with the company for over 16 years. His involvement with the design community and building materials industry spans over 30 years. Peter earned a BA (Hons.) from Queen’s University and an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Air Barrier Association of America (ABAA), chairs the Audit Committee, and as Co-Chair of the RAiNA Residential Rainscreen Committee. Peter has also contributed technical articles to The Construction Specifier, Construct Canada, Tunnel Business, and Masonry Magazine.  

Keith has been working in the construction industry at Advanced Building Products for the past 25 years. Over the years Keith has been highly active in the sales, marketing, product development and manufacturing of various moisture protection products. From flashings to drainage and ventilation mats, Keith has collaborated closely with designers, distributors, installers, and large corporations in both commercial and residential construction. Keith held the position of chairperson for the Building Enclosure Moisture Management Institute (BEMMI) and is a past co-chairman for the residential division of RAiNA, which is the Rainscreen Association in North America. Here Keith has collaborated with a team to design an accredited AIA Presentation and installation details to better educate the building community. Keith holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Southern New Hampshire University.

John Jackson is an Associate Principal with Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc.’s (SGH’s) Building Technology group in the Washington, DC, office. John graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with degrees in architecture and structural engineering and has more than nineteen years of experience in building enclosure design. He applies his creative and technical skills to the design and engineering of innovative enclosure systems, having worked on a wide variety of projects domestically and abroad, with particular expertise in curtain walls, custom glazing systems, structural glass, and glass investigations. In addition to his work in building enclosure design, John leads SGH’s Glass and Glazing Systems practice area, is an active member of ASTM Subcommittee E06.52 – Glass Use in Buildings, and regularly lectures on building enclosure design. 

Anna Burhoe is experienced in design, investigation, rehabilitation, commissioning, and construction administration for historic and contemporary buildings. She has worked on structures from low-rise schools to high-rise construction, as well as residential homes and below-grade structures. She specializes in the design and construction administration of complex building enclosure systems, including above- and below-grade waterproofing; air, water, and vapor barriers; roofing; exterior cladding; and fenestration systems, with a focus on design efficiency, constructability, and performance. Anna is an active and contributing member to ASTM International E06.55.09 – Building Enclosure Commissioning and serves as SGH’s Building Enclosure Commissioning sub-group leader.

Theresa (she/her) brings her experience improving the performance of buildings and landscapes to her role as Director of the Building Innovation Hub, ensuring its mission and strategic vision are executed. Prior to joining IMT, she was a green building consultant, supporting the DMV building industry in navigating policy, code, and certifications. At the U.S. Green Building Council, she was integral to the development of the LEED v4 rating system program. Her past work also includes planning, design, and construction observation in both the public and private sectors. Theresa holds a BLA from Virginia Tech, and an MEM from the Duke Environmental Leadership Program. She is a Registered Landscape Architect, LEED AP, and SITES AP.  

Roger Chang has over two decades of building engineering experience and currently leads Buro Happold’s Washington DC office. He has significant experience with complex cultural, education, civic, and government projects, including two AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top 10 winners. Roger regularly presents at architecture and engineering schools on integrated design, including at the Catholic University of America School of Architecture. He has presented and authored papers on high-performance design, including at Greenbuild, AIA, ASHRAE, and AAM conferences. He has a special interest in the intersection of façade engineering and building systems. He is a strong proponent of adaptive reuse and modernization projects and has worked on a significant number of buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. He was recognized in 2020 as an ASHRAE Fellow. 

Alex Dews is the Executive Director of the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT), a national nonprofit organization focused on the role of the built environment in climate policy and the energy transition. Under Alex’s leadership, IMT supports the design, adoption, and implementation of demand-driving programs and policies that support equitable decarbonization.

As Executive Director, Alex guides the implementation of IMT’s strategic plan, focused on bridging the priorities of frontline communities, governments, and the building industry so that they share power as they scale solutions that place high performing buildings at the center of an equitable, climate-resilient future.

Alex has more than 15 years of experience working on urban sustainability and building decarbonization in government, nonprofit, and the private sector. Previously, as Managing Director of Programs, Alex oversaw all programmatic work across IMT’s policy and regulatory, community engagement, and business engagement teams. Before joining IMT, Alex served as Executive Director at Green Building United, where he led education, advocacy, and implementation of building performance programs at the city and regional scale. Prior to this role, led policy and program work for Philadelphia’s Office of Sustainability, including the creation of its energy benchmarking program. He began his career working in real estate development before pursuing a Master’s degree in Sustainable Design from Jefferson University. He is a LEED AP and a graduate of the University of Vermont.

Mr. Frederick is an Associate Principal in the Building Technology group at Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc’s (SGH’s) Washington, DC office. Mr. Frederick’s primary experience focuses on the design of building enclosure systems, including rainscreen assemblies, with a focus on performance, integration, and constructability. Mr. Frederick is a current board member for RAINA and a regular participant in RAINA’s Performance Committee. 

Jason has over 25 years of experience in design and construction, particularly in healthcare facilities. He has a diverse background in healthcare planning, operations, project management, architecture, research, and client relations. He is known for his strong advocacy for clients and a collaborative approach to teamwork and expertise. Throughout the lifecycle of a project, he remains actively engaged and ensures effective communication between the client, design team, and construction managers. Jason also supports research and product design with our clients to help them achieve the goals of integrated research design and translating evidence into design practice.

Thilo spent most of his 30+ year construction industry career focusing on highly complex exterior envelope systems. Prior to joining DPR as their Exterior Skin Expert, Thilo worked for international facade contractors on some of the largest and complex building envelopes throughout North America and Europe.

His experience includes many ground-up core and shell projects in the commercial, higher education, healthcare, hospitality, transportation, and retail markets.

Since becoming a member of DPR’s team, Thilo has been leading the exterior envelope preconstruction and design assist phases on some of the company’s target projects nationwide. He has also been instrumental in developing DPR’s prefabricated, exterior wall panel applications. Through DPR’s own prefabrication subsidiary, Thilo has successfully incorporated the advantages of this construction approach into many of DPR’s ground-up projects throughout the country.

With vast experience in construction, Castillo passionately combines design principles and ingenuity to support design professionals and contractors. He is an architect and engineer that looks for aesthetics and buildable solutions. Castillo has been involved in the design, engineering, and installation of rainscreen façades for decades. He believes professional collaboration produces valuable results.

Ankur Deshpande has been with HDR’S Mid Atlantic Practice as a Senior project Architect for more than 20 years. He has extensive experience in federal and private sector projects related to healthcare design, science & technology and is well versed with construction documentation process. He leads multidisciplinary teams and oversees projects from the schematic design phase through construction administration while keeping the team on schedule and budget. In the field of Building envelopes, he brings technical excellence and familiarity with current design trends especially in the field of rainscreens.  He works closely with Architectural designers to integrate construction technics to detail a high performance envelope.

Louay is an experienced superintendent at DPR construction. Prior to starting his professional career, Louay obtained his Bachelors of Architecture from the Lebanese American University in Beirut. He then obtained a Masters of Science in Building Construction and Facilities Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology. This allowed him to pivot from architecture into construction. Louay is currently pursuing his MBA at Georgetown University with a focus in Global Real Estate.
 Throughout his 8 years at DPR, he has successfully completed projects in various core markets such as, healthcare, advanced tech, commercial, and life sciences. One highlight project was the INOVA Loudoun Hospital North Patient Tower, a 385,000 square-foot state-of-the-art patient tower where he led the façade and structural systems coordination. Another major project involved leading the planning and general field coordination of a mixed-use repositioning project at 20 Mass Ave that involved a hotel and class A trophy office in downtown DC. He enjoys experimenting with new construction technology and out of the box approach to delivering efficient and quality projects.