Jim. W. Sealy, FAIA, NCARB, HFES, Hon. ICC
Chairman

Jim. W. Sealy, FAIA, NCARB, HFES, Hon. ICC, is Chairman of the National Institute of Building Sciences Board of Directors. An architect, he was elected to the Board in 2007 in the public interest category. He chairs the Coordinating Council and serves on the Awards Committee. Now an Ex-Officio member, Sealy formerly chaired the Building Seismic Safety Council Board of Direction. He also served on the Steering Committee that developed the Multihazard Mitigation Council, which was funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

A consultant to the design, codes, construction and legal profession, Sealy has more than 40 years of experience in the design and construction industries. He works with architects, design professionals, developers, building managers and owners, and attorneys in matters dealing with architecture, building codes, fire and life safety standards, general construction, and accessibility issues.

Sealy became involved in the writing of codes and standards in 1972 and has held continuous membership on a national, code-related committee since 1976 when he became a member of the Southern Building Code Congress International (SBCCI) Fire and Life Safety Subcommittee. He chaired the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Building Performance and Regulations Committee Liaison Team to SBCCI and served on the AIA Codes and Standards Advisory Committee. The only privately practicing individual to sit on two International Code drafting committees, the International Residential Code and International Performance Code, Sealy currently serves on the International Code Council (ICC) Means of Egress Committee.

Sealy is a member of the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Fire Council and recently completed his seventh year on a National Research Council panel to assess programs undertaken by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He was on the Board of Directors of the Dallas Mayor's Committee for the Employment with People with Physical Disabilities and is currently on the National AIA’s committee for accessibility.

Sealy received the SBCCI Alton T. Riddick Award for outstanding service to the building code industry in 1988. In 1992, the City of Dallas recognized his service to the disabled community with the William H. May Award. In 1993, he advanced to the prestigious College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects. In 1999, he received the International Conference of Building Officials John Fies Award and the Dallas/AIA President’s Gold Medal. In 2004, ICC honored him with the Bobby J. Fowler Award.

A featured speaker for many years, Sealy was one of the first AIA members to deliver a national talk on the Americans with Disabilities Act. He has have given more than 40 seminars on accessibility, and spoken on the merits of a single code and the advantages of performance codes. He teaches continuing education programs for design professionals and code administrators, and has lectured at the Building Professional Institute at the University of Texas, Arlington.

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James “Tim” Ryan, CBO
Secretary

Code Administrator for the City of Overland Park, Kan., Ryan has more than 30 years of experience in administration, enforcement and development of construction safety codes, construction management and methods. He has worked for the city for the last three decades, and has helped guide Overland Park, ranked sixth in Money magazine’s 2006 “Top 10 Best Places to Live in America,” through periods of substantial growth.

He holds certifications in 15 separate technical categories, including a Certified Building Official certification and multiple plan review and inspection categories, from the Building Officials and Code Administrators International (BOCA), now the International Code Council (ICC). He earned a bachelor’s degree in construction management and technology from Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg,

Since 1999, Ryan has been a member of the ICC Board of Directors. An active participant in the development of the International Codes, he served on the ICC Building Code Steering Committee, held the role of Chairman for the International Building Code Technical Drafting Committee for Means of Egress and Accessibility, and served on the ICC International Building Code Scoping and Coordination Committee. He also served on the ICC Budget Committee, Strategic Planning Committee and Emergency Response and Hazard Mitigation Committee.

In Kansas, he has served on the Overland Park Residential Construction Task Force, the State of Kansas Steering Committee on Codes, and the State of Kansas Task Force on Residential Construction. He recently was elected Chair of a newly created Steering Committee for the State of Kansas tasked with creating a program to oversee the energy code provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

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Mortimer M. Marshall, Jr., FAIA, FCSI, NOMAC
Treasurer

Marshall is President of The Marshall Group, a family-owned architecture, structural engineering, contract management and general contracting firm in Reston, Va.

A registered architect in a number of states, Marshall is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. He holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Ala.

A former partner in the Washington, D.C. firm of Giles and Marshall, Marshall previously served as director of design on the staff of the Secretary of Defense from 1967 to 1982. There, he was responsible for the development and implementation of all design criteria, policies and construction standards used in the U.S. Department of Defense’s annual, multi-billion-dollar, worldwide design and construction program.

As Executive Vice President for The RJA Group, Inc., the parent company of Rolf Jensen & Associates, Inc. (RJA) and Sako and Associates, Inc. (SAKO), internationally-recognized fire protection and security consultants, Baldassarra heads up key business functions and processes associated with project delivery for RJA and SAKO clients worldwide.  He provides the bridge within the company between business development, operations and finance to help deliver efficient client services on major multi-office initiatives.

Previously at Schirmer Engineering for nearly four decades, Baldassarra worked up from a sprinkler system designer through the ranks to become the company’s president.  He retired from Schirmer Engineering and joined RJA in 2009.

A professional engineer in Illinois, Kansas and New Mexico, Baldassarra has been extremely active in the fire protection and life safety community throughout his career.  He is currently a member of the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers, the International Code Council (ICC), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) and the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE).

Baldassarra has served on numerous committees for various organizations, including ASTM, the Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA) International, the Chicago Committee on High Rise Buildings, the Committee on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, ICC, the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO) and NFPA.  He is a vice president and member of SFPE’s Board of Directors and the SFPE Editorial Advisory Board, a past chair of the SFPE Public Awareness Committee and a governor of the SFPE Education and Scientific Foundation. He is s a member of the Board of Advisors for the Fire Protection Engineering Curriculum at the University of Maryland., a member of the Fire Council at Underwriters’ Laboratories, and a past member of the Fire Protection Engineering Advisory Board at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute.  He is a member and past chair of the Building Code Review Board for the Village of Arlington Heights, Ill., where he lives with his wife and four children, and has served since 1987.

The SFPE Chicago Chapter/Illinois Institute of Technology Fire Protection Engineering Program recognized him with the “Outstanding Senior” Award in 1973 and, in 2005, Baldassarra became an SFPE Fellow.  In 2009, he was awarded the SFPE Chicago Chapter’s Joseph Finnegan Award for outstanding contributions and service to fire protection engineering.

He has given more than 25 presentations and lectures at meetings, symposia and conferences.  His articles have appeared in the Journal of Applied Fire Science, Fire Protection Engineering, Fire Journal, Consulting Specifying Engineer, Fire News, Building Design & Construction, NAIOP News and Specifying Engineer.  He served as an instructor for Harper College in Palatine, Ill., and taught national seminars for the Center for Design Technologies.

Bender is the Northeast Regional Representative for the Regulatory Services Department of Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Inc., an international, independent, not-for-profit product safety certification organization with over 100 years of dedicated public safety education, research and product safety standards development. He serves as a technical liaison with fire and building code authorities for regulatory support.

In 2006, he retired from the Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal, Department of State Police after 35 years of service. For 27 of those years, he was Chief Fire Protection Engineer, acting as primary technical advisor to the State Fire Marshal in matters of policy, code development, interpretation, enforcement and fire protection engineering services.  He supervised a staff of five fire protection engineers who provided regional plan review of new construction projects, inspection and other technical assistance.  Previously, Bender served as a field engineer with the Factory Mutual Engineering Division in Philadelphia, Pa., safety assistant with Hercules, Inc. in Parlin, N.J., and fire protection engineer intern with the U.S. Coast Guard in Washington, D.C.

Bender received his bachelor of science degree in fire protection engineering from the University of Maryland. He has taken graduate courses in Public Administration at the University of Baltimore and is a graduate of the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy.

Actively involved in building and fire code development at the local, state and national level throughout his career, Bender is a Life Member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). He has served on several NFPA Technical Committees including NFPA 1, Uniform Fire Code, NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, Features of Protection, NFPA 130, Fixed Guideway and Passenger Rail Systems and NFPA 750 Water Mist Systems. From 2002 to 2006 he served on the prestigious NFPA Standards Council. Currently he represents UL on five NFPA technical committees including the newly proposed NFPA 3 Standard on Commissioning & Integrated Testing of Fire Protection & Life Safety Systems. 

The Vice President of Federal and International Affairs for the Weyerhaeuser Company, Brock heads the organization’s Washington, D.C. office. Previously she was e-business vice president. In that role, she served on the board of ForestExpress, the industry-backed electronic marketplace formed in 2000, by Weyerhaeuser, Georgia-Pacific and International Paper. She joined Weyerhaeuser as a government affairs manager n Washington, D.C., where she worked on public policy issues for the company. She later was appointed a director in Weyerhaeuser’s strategic planning organization.

She previously served as a legislative assistant responsible for natural resource issues for former United States Senators Daniel J. Evans and Slade Gorton.

Brock received bachelor’s degrees in English literature and economics from the University of Puget Sound and earned a master’s degree in business administration from Georgetown University.

Currently an appointed member of the United States Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Forest Products (ITAC 7), Brock also serves on the Executive Committee and Board of the Business Industry Political Action Committee and is a class agent for the University of Puget Sound Annual Fund.

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A licensed real estate broker in Charlotte, N.C., Edwards served as a commissioned officer in the Naval Reserve, where he earned his wings as an aerial navigator and flew transport aircraft during active and reserve duty. He retired with the rank of commander.

Subsequently, Edwards held management positions for Campbell Soup and Philco Ford, as well as a start-up factory-built housing company that was a part of Operation Breakthrough, a federal Department of Housing and Urban Development contract to design and build factory-built housing. This experience led him to be hired by the state of Pennsylvania as division chief of the Pennsylvania Industrialized Housing Division to design, develop and implement a building regulatory program for new factorybuilt housing products. He then established a management consulting firm which did lobbying and created the Pennsylvania Industrialized Housing Manufacturing Association. Later, he became the director of Area Commercial Economic Development for the city of Philadelphia and for the city of Kings Mountain, N.C. He has also served as the assistant secretary for the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

In addition to his role on the Institute Board of Directors, Edwards has served on the Internal Revenue Service Taxpayer Advisory Panel; committees for the American Society of Testing Materials, the National Fire Protection Association and Manufactured Housing Standard Advisory Council; and worked extensively with the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C., and completed the requirements for a master’s degree in government administration from the University of Pennsylvania.

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Bill Hardiman, a Michigan state senator, is a member of the National Institute of Building Sciences Board of Directors. He was appointed to the Board in 2006 by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate as a state agency official in the public interest category. He has served on the Board’s Budget and Finance, Government Affairs and Annual Report Committees. Hardiman currently serves on the Government Affairs Committee.

Currently serving his second term in office, Senator Hardiman represents Michigan’s 29th state Senate district, which includes the cities of Grand Rapids, Kentwood and Lowell and the townships of Cascade, Lowell, Vergennes and Grattan.

Prior to being elected to Michigan’s Senate, Hardiman served as mayor of the city of Kentwood from 1992-2002. He also served on the Board of Directors for the Grand Rapids Transit Authority, the Gerald R. Ford Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Grand Rapids Housing Center, Michigan Municipal League, United Way of Kent County, Spectrum Health Services, Grand Valley Metropolitan Council, Kentwood Foundation, Grand Bank, Crime Victim Foundation, Grand Valley State University Foundation, and Right Place Program (a regional economic development
organization).

Senator Hardiman gained national attention as one of the founders and current chairman of Healthy Marriages Grand Rapids, formerly known as the Greater Grand Rapids Community Marriage Policy, a broad-based program to promote strong marriages and family life.

He was appointed by Governor Engler to the Secchia Commission on Total Quality Government and the Act 51 Transit Committee, and received special recognition by the Ohio House of Representatives for political, civic, and community contributions. He has received more than 35 awards and honors for his advocacy work relating to children, health and literacy.

Senator Hardiman was in the United States Army from 1966-1968. He served in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968 as a medic attached to an artillery unit and was part of the Americal Division. His final rank was specialist V.

He holds an associate’s degree from Grand Rapids Community College, a bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State University and a master’s degree in public administration from Western Michigan University.

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Steve M. Hayes, PE, CIH, FACEC
Past Chair

Steve M. Hays, PE, CIH, FACEC, is a member of the National Institute of Building Sciences Board of Directors. He was appointed to the Board in 2001 by President William J. Clinton and confirmed by the Senate as a professional engineer in the public interest category. Hays is a Past Board Chair and has served on the Indoor Air Quality Task Force, Project Committee for preparation of lead-based paint abatement guidelines, Task Force Steering Committee for preparation of asbestos abatement guideline specifications, Radon Standards Project Committee, Asbestos Project Committee, Consultative Council, 1993 Consultative Council Planning Committee, Environmental Integration Committee, and National Institutes of Standards and Technology Steering Committee. He currently chairs the Annual Report Committee and serves on the Strategic Plan and Development Committees and serves on the Board’s Executive Committee and Government Affairs Committee.

Hays is Partner and Chairman of the Board for Gobbell Hays Partners, Inc. in Nashville, Tenn. His background in the chemical industry, certification as an industrial hygienist, and knowledge of building systems give him a unique expertise in providing consulting services related to environmental hazards. Since 1981, he has been involved in environmental management and/or abatement design at more than 10,000 facilities.

A registered professional engineer in nine states, Hays holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering/chemical engineering from Vanderbilt University. He is certified as an industrial hygienist by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene, is a qualified environmental professional by the Institute of Professional Environmental Practice, and is a charter member of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland.

Hays has lectured extensively on environmental-related topics such as asbestos, environmental audits/assessments, and mold. He is a seminar faculty member at Georgia Tech Research Institute and the Environmental Institute and a former guest lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley and Texas A&M University. He also has lectured at University of Kentucky, Texas A&M, and New York University.

Hays is affiliated with the Environmental Information Association, American Academy of Industrial Hygiene, American Industrial Hygiene Association, National Institute of Building Sciences, American Council of Engineering Companies, Consulting Engineers of Tennessee, American Society of Testing and Materials, Air and Waste Management Association, American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygiene, and the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate.

An active participant in the industry, Hays has served on committees and commissions relating to lead, asbestos and other topics for the Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Information Association, Centers for Disease Control Advisory Committee, Industrial Hygiene Association, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, American Society for Testing and Materials, American Consulting Engineers, Underwriters Laboratories Inc., Society for Occupational and Environmental Health, Tennessee Air Pollution Control Board, Consulting Engineers of Tennessee, and other organizations. He serves on editorial advisory boards for American Consulting Engineer, Lead Detection & Abatement Contractor, and Indoor Environment Connections and reviewed for Asbestos Abatement and the National Asbestos Council Journal. Hays has made more than 100 presentations to industry conferences, seminars, subcommittees, societies, universities, federal agencies and congressional committees over the past 25 years and authored 49 papers and publications.

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John P. Kelly is a member of the National Institute of Building Sciences Board of Directors. Elected to the Board in 2009 to represent building owners in the industry category, he serves on the Budget and Finance Committee, the Government Affairs Committee, the Nominations Committee, and the Awards Committee.

Kelly is Executive Vice President of Ryan Companies US, Inc., a national real estate firm offering integrated design-build, development and real estate management services headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn. He has more than thirty years of experience with Ryan Companies, including design review, marketing, affirmative action, finance, leasing, operations, risk management, litigation management and implementation of the company’s quality management initiative.  Responsible for developing a property management portfolio in excess of nine million square feet of office, retail, industrial and residential space, Kelly is currently focused on value enhancement through proper positioning, financial performance and advantageous marketing.

Kelly received a Bachelor of Arts in American studies from the University of Notre Dame. He is a Real Property Administrator through the Building Owners and Managers Institute (BOMI).

Kelly became a member of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International in 1976 and has since been actively involved at both the local and international levels of the organization.

At the Greater Minneapolis BOMA, he served as president; secretary/treasurer; director; chair of a number of committees, including the Suburban Issues Committee, Audit Committee, Downtown Issues Committee, Nominating Committee and Budget Committee; and executive director of the Search Committee.

He has also served on the Minneapolis Downtown Council Board of Directors and Skyway Advisory Committee; the Signage Subcommittee; Accessibility Subcommittee; Nicollet Mall Advisory Board; the Nicollet Mall Implementation Board and the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport Task Force.

At BOMA International, Kelly served three years in the officer chairs, culminating in a one-year term as chairman and chief elected officer beginning in June 2003. He also served multiple terms as a member of the Executive Committee.  He chaired the Products and Services Task Force, Strategic Long Range Plan; served on the President’s Advisory Council; co-chaired the Federation Agreement Task Force and chaired the Product Review Committee. He also served on the Education Task Force, SLRP ’97 Task Force, Government Affairs Policy Advisory Committee, Nominating Committee and Education Committee.

Kelly received the President’s Award from BOMA International. Ryan Companies US, Inc. recognized him with the honor of Excellence in Quality.  

A life long resident of Minneapolis, Kelly and his wife, Mary, have five children and eight grandchildren.

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Susan S. Klawans is a member of the National Institute of Building Sciences Board of Directors. She was elected to the Board in 2008 as a contractor in the industry category. She serves on the Annual Report, Awards and Government Affairs Committees, as well as the Board’s Executive Committee.

The Vice President and Corporate Director of Client Satisfaction for Gilbane, Klawans focuses on understanding the strategic business needs of Gilbane’s clients and developing programs to meet them. She oversees the company’s client survey program, quality program, Gilbane University, market-specific Centers of Excellence, companywide peer groups and Gilbane’s process reengineering initiative.

Klawans received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Brown University. She joined Gilbane as a management trainee and has accumulated more than 20 years of construction experience. She has held positions of increasing responsibility including office engineer, project engineer, superintendent, project manager, transition planning executive and project executive. She has an extensive background that includes design phase planning and estimating, scheduling/phasing, progress document review, site supervision and quality manager and project controls management.

Dwight “Sonny” Richardson, Jr. is a member of the National Institute of Building Sciences Board of Directors. Elected to the Board in 2008 to serve an unexpired term, he was reelected to the 2010 Board as a builder in the industry category. He sits on both the Budget and Finance Committee and the Annual Report Committee.

Richardson is President of Richardson Home Builders, Inc., a construction firm based in Tuscaloosa, Ala., that builds single and multi-family residential and light commercial projects. The firm is responsible for all phases of activity, from land acquisition through construction of homes, apartments, offices and other buildings, with an emphasis on custom housing. Richardson holds licenses as a real estate broker, master plumber, general contractor and home builder in the state of Alabama. He is also a code consultant and advisor and provides consultative services in construction litigation.

A member of the Home Builders Association of Tuscaloosa, Richardson served in all positions of leadership in the organization, culminating as president in 1991. He chaired the Government Affairs Committee and currently chairs the Construction Codes and Standards Committee.

Richardson also is involved at the state level through the Home Builders Association of Alabama. A member of the Executive Committee since 1992, he served as president in 2001. He also served as chairman of the On-site Waste Water Task Force and reviewer of On-site Waste Water Rules for the Department of Public Health, and chaired the 1990 State Convention Committee, the Education Committee and Public Relations Committee.

At the national level, Richardson has been a member of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Executive Board since 2003. In 2006, he served as a vice president. He was elected a life director in 2002. In addition, he served as a trustee of the Rural Housing Council. Richardson was a member of NAHB’s Property Insurance Task Force following Hurricane Katrina, and chaired the Residential Fire Sprinkler Task Force. He is currently a member of the Environmental Issues Committee and the Construction Codes and Standards Committee, for which he served as chair in 2009.

Appointed to the Tuscaloosa County Water and Sewer Study Commission in 2008, Richardson also was appointed to State of Alabama Residential Energy Code Board, where he was elected and continues to serve as chair. Designated as a Builder Qualified Credentialed Professional (BQCP) and Qualified Credentialed Inspector (QCI) by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, a storm water program, Richardson served as reviewer of the Storm Water Regulations and Best Management Practices Manual for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

Over the years, Richardson has served as a member of the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) Southeastern Advisory Committee, the International Residential Code-Plumbing and Mechanical Committee, and International Residential Code-Building and Energy Committee.

Richardson received the 1988 and 1991 Builder of the Year award from Home Builders Association of Tuscaloosa and the Shannon Lowder Builder of the Year from the Home Builders Association of Alabama in 1999. He was inducted into the Alabama Building Industry Hall of Fame in 2004 and received the President’s Award from the Home Builders Association of Tennessee in 2007.

Richardson received a bachelor’s degree in building construction from Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, and did graduate work in civil engineering at the University of Alabama. He is a Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.), United States Army Corps of Engineers, an honor graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the recipient of a number of medals and recognitions.

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Emory R. Rodgers
Board Member

Emory R. Rodgers, a member of the National Institute of Building Sciences Board of Directors, was elected to the Board in 2007 as a state agency official in the public interest category. He serves on the Budget and Finance Committee, the Strategic Plan and Development Committee, the Executive Committee, Nominations Committee, and the Awards Committee.

Rodgers has four decades of experience in building codes, ranging from city and state government to private consulting. He is currently the Deputy Director of the Building and Fire Regulation Division at the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.

An active participant in code-related organizations, Rodgers has been a member of the Virginia Building Officials and Code Administrators since 1978. He has served on its Board of Directors and held the position of President. He worked as an Instructor on the Virginia Code Academy for Code Administrators, and chaired the Education Committee, the Nomination Committee and the Battlefield Chapter.

Rodgers was a member of the Building Officials and Code Administrators International for more than 20 years. He served on its Board of Directors, where he held every position, including President, and served on multiple committees. He chaired the Smoke Removal Ad-Hoc Committee, the National Conference Host Committee, the Building Code Change Committee, and the National Code Committee.

From 1994-1997, Rodgers participated with the Council of American Building Officials, and served on its Board of Directors as Second Vice President. He was a member of the Model Energy Code Committee and chaired the CABO 1&2 Family Building Code Change Committee and the CABO 1&2 Family Mechanical Code Change Committee.

Since its inception, Rodgers has participated on the International Code Council. He served on its Board of Directors from 1996-2000 and represented the organization on the World Organization of Building Officials. He was a member of the International Building Code (IBC) General Committee, the IBC-Means of Egress General and Fire Safety Committees, the Major Jurisdiction Council, the International Fire Code Council and the ICC-Height and Area Work Group. He vice-chaired the Public Policy Committee, the Nomination Committee, and the Government Relations Advisory Committee, and he chaired the Past President’s Council.

Rodgers also has served on the U.S. Architectural Transportation Compliance Board Advisory Commission; the Virginia General Assembly, Virginia Housing Commission Ad Hoc Committees on Residential Sprinklers, Assisted Living Facilities, Carbon Monoxide Detectors, and Farm Buildings; and the Virginia Housing Study Committee on Shrink Swell Soils. He is currently a member of the Virginia Plumbing and Mechanical Association and the Virginia Fire Prevention Association.

For his active participation in the industry, Rodgers twice received the Virginia Building Officials and Code Administrators Meritorious Award. In 1991, the Virginia American Institute of Architects recognized him as an Outstanding Building Official. The Virginia Board of Housing and Community Development twice honored him as a Meritorious Building Official. In 1996, he received the National Performance Review Vice President Al Gore Hammer Award. In 1998, Virginia Governor James Gilmore recognized him with a letter of commendation. In 2001, Rodgers received the BOCA Walker S. Lee Award; in 2002, the BOCA/ICC Honorary Membership-Past President’s Council, and in 2008, he received the Apartment and Office Builder Owners Association Award.

Rodgers served in the United States Army from 1961-1964 as an Electronic Specialist. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in political science from Bridgewater College (Bridgewater, Va.) and his master of arts in public administration and government from the University of Maryland.

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Edward L. Soenke, FCSI, AIA, CCS, NCARB
Board Member

Edward L. Soenke, FCSI, AIA, CCS, NCARB, is a member of the National Institute of Building Sciences Board of Directors. He was elected to the Board in 2008 as an architect in the public interest category. He currently sits on the Budget and Finance Committee, the Strategic Plan and Development Committee, and the Building Design Ratings Systems Task Group.

Principal of The Design Partnership, Soenke founded the architectural practice, based in West Des Moines, Iowa, in 1974. His work primarily focuses on school projects and environmental learning centers. He also partnered to establish the first privatized construction development company in Russia prior to the fall of the iron curtain. The joint-venture firm, named Cascade Development, works on banks, civic buildings, clinics, housing, restoration work and nuclear nonproliferation projects.

Soenke earned both a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in architecture from Iowa State University. He is a registered architect in Iowa and is certified by the National Council of Architecture Registration Boards.

For the past 37 years, Soenke has been a construction arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association, using his thorough knowledge of architecture, engineering and construction issues, to help serve the profession in states surrounding Iowa. He has also served as an expert witness on significant cases across the upper Midwest.

The experience he gained through his association as a corporate member of the American Institute of Architects for 37 years, has allowed Soenke to joint venture with numerous architectural and engineering firms. He has also worked on a number of committee and community projects, and, more than 20 years ago, helped to establish the AIA Iowa Architecture in the Schools program and served on the staff of IOWA ARCHITECT magazine.

Since 1974, Soenke has been an active member of the Construction Specifications Institute. During that time, he served on education, specifications, membership and technical committees. From 1988 to 2008, Soenke was a member of the CSI Board of Directors. While Vice President from 1996-1999, he served as executive liaison to the Uniform Drawing System, which evolved into the National CAD Standard. In 1999, he chaired the Integrated Information Initiative, working with 14 major construction information entities on the genesis of the Overall Construction Classification System, which has since evolved into OmniClass, and is gaining international acceptance. He served on the CSI Finance Committee from 1999-2000, held the CSI Treasurer/VP role from 2001-2005, and as CSI Vice President and President Elect, served as executive liaison to MasterFormat 04. In 2006, as President Elect, he served as executive liaison to the Construction Terminology Task Team. In 2007, he served as CSI President. In 2008, as Immediate Past President, he was the executive liaison to GreenFormat.com and worked on the relocation of CSI headquarters. Soenke became a CSI Fellow in 1995.

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Steven R. Winkel, FAIA, PE
Board Member

Steven R. Winkel, FAIA, PE is a member of the National Institute of Building Sciences Board of Directors. He was elected to the Board in 2010 as a professional engineer in the public interest category. Winkel serves on the Nominations Committee. He also chairs the Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) Code Resource Support Committee, which spearheads BSSC’s code support work for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Winkel manages the San Francisco Bay Area office of the Preview Group, Inc., a consulting firm that specializes in building codes and regulatory issues affecting construction. Preview has played a major role in gaining code approval for a wide variety of projects and clients, including those in the private sector and governmental agencies. Winkel uses his expertise in project management and his experience in codes and standards to focus on consulting services for the West Coast, including code analyses and providing quality assurance reviews of construction documents. His broad range of experience includes such award-winning projects as the International Terminal at the San Francisco Airport, the seismic rehabilitation of the historic landmark Oakland City Hall, and the post-production sound editing building for Lucasfilm at Skywalker Ranch. He is currently working as the building code consultant for the comprehensive rehabilitation of the historic Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park.

A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Winkel holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental design and has more than 38 years of experience as a registered civil engineer, licensed architect and licensed landscape architect. He is also a California Certified Access Specialist, recognizing his expertise in the design of accessible facilities for persons with disabilities.

For two years, he served as chairman of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Codes and Standards Committee. He was president of the AIA East Bay Chapter, then of the AIA California Council, before serving for three years on the AIA National Board of Directors.

Winkel is in his third four-year term as a commissioner on the California Building Standards Commission, the agency responsible for administering California's building codes, including adopting, approving, publishing and implementing codes and standards. Prior to his service on the Building Standards Commission, Winkel was a member of the Commission’s Accessibility Code Advisory Committee. He also serves on the City of Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission, where he is the immediate past chair.

He is the author, along with noted illustrator Frank Ching, of the well received book Building Codes Illustrated, the third edition of which was just published by John Wiley & Sons. Two more books in this series, Building Codes Illustrated for Educational Facilities and Building Codes Illustrated for Healthcare Facilities, were published in 2007. Winkel is currently at work on Residential Codes Illustrated, based on the International Residential Code. This new book is scheduled for publication in 2010.

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Brent H. Woodworth
Board Member

Brent H. Woodworth, a member of the National Institute of Building Sciences Board of Directors, was elected to the Board in 2006 in the industry category. He currently chairs the Multihazard Mitigation Council, vice-chairs the Coordinating Council, chairs the Board’s Nominations Committee, and serves on the Board’s Executive Committee and Strategic Plan and Development Committee. He previously served as Chairman of the American Lifeline Alliance committee on critical facility resiliency and collaborative information sharing. 

Now President and CEO of the Los Angeles Emergency Preparedness Foundation, Woodworth has a distinguished history of working with governments, private sector companies and non-profit organizations. In 2007, he took his retirement from IBM after 32 years of service, which included the development and management of all worldwide crisis response team operations. Among his notable achievements, Woodworth founded and managed “The Crisis Response Team,” a team of independent international specialists focused on helping governments and business prepare, respond and recover from catastrophic events.  He and his team responded to more than 70 major events in 49 countries, including floods, earthquakes, hurricanes/cyclones, volcanic eruptions, tsunami, fires and manmade events such as wars, civil unrest and acts of terrorism. He was involved in the concept creation, initial design and roll-out of the Sahana international partnership emergency management system. Now considered a global standard for nationwide crisis management, this open-source system is currently running in 17+ countries.

Woodworth consults on a global basis with business leaders, elected officials and heads of state in the development and implementation of improved risk identification, disaster management, community partnerships, and global humanitarian relief services. He is well known as a subject matter expert and leader in helping local communities, cities, states and federal agencies prepare for, respond to, and recover from major catastrophic events.

Certified in disaster recovery, business continuity, incident management, disaster communications, search and rescue, and emergency medical services, Woodworth is a regularly featured speaker on radio and television broadcasts along with industry conferences, government sessions, and senior executive / board meetings. He has written multiple articles on disaster management and has been a guest lecturer at colleges and universities including Caltech, Stanford, Wharton School of Business, Harvard and Yale Law Schools. He and his team have worked for many years in cooperation with nongovernmental organizations and international relief agencies including the World Health Organization, United Nations (U.N.) World Food Programme, U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, World Bank, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, World Vision, International Red Cross, and the United States Agency for International Development.  

Woodworth led teams during September 11, the 2005 Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, the Pakistan Earthquake, Peru  Earthquake and Bangladesh Cyclone. He has written articles, white papers and other publications. He has also testified before the State of Florida Department of Financial Services & Insurance Commission, the State of California Little Hoover Commission and a U.S. Congressional Subcommittee.

Contingency Planning & Management magazine recognized Woodworth in their 2001 “Hall of Fame” for his distinguished industry leadership, dedication, and international humanitarian efforts.  He was awarded the 2002 Computerworld Magazine Honors “Laureate” for his role in the September 11th emergency management support efforts at the NY City Emergency Operations Center and at Ground Zero. In 2005, he and his Crisis Response Team were recipients of the government of Sri-Lanka government award for their contribution to the Tsunami relief effort. In 2006, he received the Private and Public Businesses, Inc. (PPBI) achievement award for his leadership in responding to international disasters.

Woodworth currently serves on the Board of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction, is chairman of the Sahana Transition Board for the Sahana Software Foundation, is a project board member for the National Academy of Sciences National Research Council, and serves on the Advisory Board of the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing management from the University of Southern California. He attended University of Southampton, England for advanced study archeology, and took undergraduate studies in biochemistry at the California State University Northridge.