Meet Our 2023 Speakers

From the lab bench to the air handler, Christine aligns the perspectives of researchers, health and safety experts, and energy engineers to make science work for our world. She holds a Bachelor's and Master's of Science, has training in lab ventilation and project management, and is a member of I2SL's Ventilation Effectiveness Working Group.

Emily Colpack is the Green Labs Coordinator at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where she has overseen the green labs program for the past two years. One focus of the program is helping labs recycle. She has helped UAB recycle over 80,000 pounds of plastics.

Egbert Dittrich is an industrial engineer lives in Bensheim, Germany, where he has been a business consultant and CEO of various manufacturers of laboratory equipment. He was the manager and founding director of EGNATON e.V., the European Association of Sustainable Laboratories and currently serves as deputy. He serves on numerous laboratory working groups, including DGNB, BNB, and chairman on DIN NA 055-02-05 GA; he is head of the German delegation at ISO TC 336 and editor of “The Sustainable Laboratory Handbook.”

Paul Foote is an energy efficiency and conservation specialist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), with over a decade of work focusing on sustainability in higher education. His campus wide efforts in cold-storage management have helped UIUC win the International Freezer Challenge & Winning Streak awards over multiple years.

Fiona Hogan is the Green Labs Specialist in the UVA Office for Sustainability. Fiona specializes in community engagement and facilitation of strategic planning processes. She has over eight years of experience working in higher education, as well as a Master's in Sustainable Development Practice from the University of Florida.

Vladimir Lazov is a department manager, sector leader in Science and Technology, and senior mechanical engineer at WSP. With over 25 years of experience, Vladimir is on the Board of Directors of Sustainable Labs Canada and a provisional member in ASHRAE's TC09.10 and TC09.11 Technical Committees. Projects include several Canadian university and pharmaceutical labs. He is a licensed Professional Engineering in Ontario and British Columbia, PMP, CEM, and LEED AP (BD+C).

Phil Macdonald is Oberlanders’ Managing Partner and Lead Partner for their Science and Research portfolio. His experience includes nearly 2,000,000 square feet of science and research space delivered over the last 20 years, and his portfolio includes laboratories for research and teaching, specialist cleanroom, licensed and controlled environments. He was recently appointed Board Director of the UK Science Park Association and has worked with the majority of Scottish science parks, as well as leading projects on major science campuses in Cambridge, Oxfordshire, and London. He has also provided consultancy work for major research facilities in the Middle East.

Elizabeth Mikula is a Technical Coordinator at Perkins&Will, in Boston. Elizabeth's design interests lie at the intersection of Health Sciences and Laboratory Research, and her project work reflects this. Recently, Elizabeth has dedicated time to research on Embodied Carbon reduction in lab projects.

Jessica Parks, LEED AP ID+C, is a Senior Project Manager for Energy Efficiency Projects within the Systems Performance and Turnover group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has 20 years of experience in sustainable design and planning efforts working with organizations to establish and implement sustainable design and GHG reduction plans, drive energy efficiency projects and manage reporting protocols. She serves as co-lead of the Building Energy Efficiency group under the Fast Forward: MIT’s Plan for Climate Action, as well as MIT’s Safe and Sustainable Labs Team. Jessica is also a member of the City of Medford’s Energy and Environment Committee.

Kathy has a PhD in chemistry & 15 years of lab experience. She created and manages the CU Boulder Green Labs Program. She is an I2SL board member and chair of the I2SL University Alliance Group; through this group leads the Bringing Efficiency to Research Grants effort working to connect efficiency expectations and sustainability to research funding.

Joey Shea joined Interface in 2018. As manager of mission activation and key account director, he relies on his background in the environmental nonprofit sector to share how Interface pursues business success and deep sustainability impact at the same time. Collaboration and collective impact are at the heart of our approach to Climate Take Back, the business plan to reverse global warming, and Joey’s job is to get as many people excited to take on the challenge as possible.

Malcolm Tait is a Director with KJ Tait Engineers, a firm of building services designers. He graduated from South Bank University and completed a Masters Degree in inter-disciplinary design at the University of Cambridge in the UK. Malcolm has been with KJ Tait Engineers for 33 years and has specialist design expertise in the higher education and biotech sectors. He has understands operational laboratory buildings, as his firm undertakes designs for the University of Cambridge and GSK. 

John Varley, P.E., Fellow ASHRAE, HBDP, LEED® AP BD+C, has been a professional in the building sciences industry for over 35 years. He is the Mechanical Discipline Manager at AAA Engineering in Chicago and has extensive design experience in a variety of laboratory types, including wet chemistry, biomedical, microbiological, animal, and academic laboratories. Mr. Varley is a past Chair of ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.10, Laboratory Systems, and TC 9.11, Clean Spaces.

Matthias started in 1992 as a hydrogeologist and water specialist, initially on the road worldwide in the water sector. In 2002 he switched to the domain of pure air at SKAN AG Switzerland. He worked for many years as head of the Swiss service group for clean room technology and Lab Services, gaining practical experience onsite, with 50,000 lab work benches including 36.000 fume hoods installed in Swiss labs. Since 2016, he has been responsible for customer consulting, standards commissioner and member of the ESG team, and an active member of the Swiss Standards Association, focused internationally on laboratory equipment and cleanroom standardization.

James is a visionary sustainability executive with a track record of growing organizations that have transformed industries in multiple sectors, including manufacturing, real estate, tech, and life science. Over his career, he has consulted with and developed sustainability programs for some of the world's largest companies and institutions. An internationally recognized corporate sustainability expert, James has deep knowledge of ESG reporting and strategy. James was selected as a Greenbiz 30 under 30 sustainable business leader in 2017 and a Net Zero Energy Trailblazer in 2019 and is passionate about rapidly catalyzing a global transition to Net Zero.

Jim Doughty is the Associate Director of Industrial Hygiene in the Environment, Health, and Safety Office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a Certified Industrial Hygienist with 25 years of experience. He is co-lead of the Building Energy Team as part of MIT’s Climate Action Plan, and also serves on MIT’s Safe and Sustainable Labs Team.

Quentin Gilly is Assistant Director of the Harvard University Office for Sustainability.  Quentin works on behalf of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences to bring the School’s sustainability and climate goals into reality. Quentin priorities his work on existing buildings, primarily through the development of utility and building-system optimization projects, deep energy-efficiency retrofits, and by promoting a culture of sustainability within the Harvard community.  Quentin is the I2SL New England Chapter President, and has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University, a Master of Liberal Arts degree from Harvard University, and is a Certified Energy Manager.

Tim Jendrycki joined GBA in 2005; he is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago. Tim is responsible for design of HVAC, plumbing, process, and fire protection systems for new and existing facilities, as well as heating and cooling load calculations, equipment selection, site inspection, and commissioning. As a seasoned project manager, he also provides construction administration services to clients, including reviewing bids, shop drawings and submittals, and observing construction by others.

Tim’s experience in the laboratory sector includes many pharmaceutical labs for major companies such as Abbott Laboratories, Baxter, Fresenius Kabi, Pfizer, and Zoetis. He has also designed sophisticated cGMP processing facilities for St. Jude Research Hospital and the University of Florida. Other lab design experience includes work for BP, Bayer Crop Science Division, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Gabi is an engineer of energy and heat technology with a focus on ventilation at Goethe University. She is team leader of the technical department of planning and construction, the university's own construction arm. Gabi has been planning renovation and expansion of laboratories for many years, and she has been an active member of EGNATON since 2012.

Mike McDermott, a member of the GBA team since 2011, is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago. A highly experienced mechanical engineer, he manages projects involving infrastructure analysis, troubleshooting, and full-service design for existing and new buildings. His experience includes classrooms, offices, residence halls, archival and public libraries, museums, recreational facilities, kitchens, hospitals, research labs, retail, and boiler and chiller plants.

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His laboratory project experience includes the two College of Engineering buildings discussed in today’s presentation, as well as additional University of Illinois projects at Morrill Hall, the Medical Science Building, the Veterinary Medicine Basic Sciences Building, and the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL). Many of his projects include complex designs for environmentally sensitive facilities, with an emphasis on advanced ventilation techniques that meet client objectives while saving energy and water. 

Anthony is a sustainability leader with 15+ years of experience spread across engineering firms, consulting, and academia. He is Director of Sustainability at Cell Signaling Technology (CST), a private, family-owned life science company founded and run by active research scientists. He focused on sustainable practices in the lab during his time as a Sustainability Manager at Harvard University. His work is driven by creating the greatest impact to combat climate change and improve planetary health. Anthony has his BS in Environmental Science and MS in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Sustainable Development and Climate Change.

Amber Perfetti is an Engineer Specialist managing Energy Performance Contracting at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Prior to joining the public sector in 2020, Amber worked in the private sector as a Project Manager for an Energy Services Company. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies from the University of Illinois and has been involved with the delivery of $94M in Energy Performance Contracts on the Urbana-Champaign campus resulting in annual guaranteed savings of $4.8M.

Prashant is the Co-CEO and Co-Founder of o2h group. He is an active ecosystem, community and culture builder and interests include seed investing (a portfolio of almost 50 companies), services and product/IP development. 

Prashant has experience of funding, designing and building companies, teams and lab/office infra across the spheres of the east and west. He holds various board positions including the Eastern Powerhouse, UKSPA, and chair positions including Form the Future.

Kevin brings over 13 years of industry experience to his role as Principal and leads Introba’s Science & Technology Sector with solutions that are practical, maintainable, healthy, resilient and resource-responsible and projects that reflect Introba’s core pillars: imagine, perform, accelerate and sustain. Previous LEED projects include universities and a college trade complex in British Columbia.

Adam Torrey works across disciplines to bring analysis-driven perspectives to human-centered environments. He integrates passive and active design strategies, striving to combine design excellence with environmental performance. Adam leads his firm's Embodied Carbon team and currently serves on the AIA North Carolina COTE Leadership Group.

Jeff Wegner has over 15 years of experience in mechanical design and project management of life sciences, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and energy services industries. His commitment to decarbonization designs is evident in his collaboration among multiple disciplines and his practical yet innovative approaches to successfully meet client's needs.

Brad Cochran of CPP Engineering has over 25 years of experience conducting wind tunnel and numerical modeling assessments related to laboratory exhaust design. He is a registered Professional Engineer with the state of Colorado; serves on the ASSE Z9.5 Laboratory Ventilation sub-committee; primary author of Chapter 9 – Exhaust Stack Design in the 2015 ASHRAE Laboratory Design Guide, and is the current chair of the ASHRAE TC-9.10 Laboratory Ventilation Technical Committee. He is also the lead author on the 2011 edition of the Labs21 Best Practice Guide "Modeling Exhaust Dispersion for Specifying Acceptable Exhaust/Intake Design". Mr. Cochran also served on the AMCA Induced Flow Fan CRP Committee that developed AMCA Standard 260-07, "Laboratory Methods of Testing Induced Flow Fans for Rating."

Devki Desai, PE, is a Structural Project Engineer with work spanning large-scale laboratory, healthcare, aviation and high-rise projects. She spearheaded the HOK structural engineering team's life-cycle analysis initiatives. She is a National Science Foundation fellowship alum experienced in bench-scale lab research, and CTBUH NY's Emerging Leader of New York 2019.

Martin started Europe’s first sustainable science post at the University of Edinburgh in 2013. He then moved to King’s College London where he created their sustainable lab programme. In 2015 he founded Green Lab Associates, a consultancy which supports sustainable science. He developed the LEAF programme from UCL where he still works, a certification in sustainable science. He speaks, writes, and engages widely on sustainable science.

Joel is a Principal and Sustainability Practice Area Leader with RWDI, where he advises on projects aiming to create comfortable, sustainable built environments and specializes in energy and daylight modelling, solar and reflected light studies, thermal a visual comfort, and net-zero strategies. Joel is a Passive House Certified Consultant and WELL Faculty member and performance testing agent.

Don is an award-winning architect with over 22 years of experience in the design of academic and science and technology projects. Don leads the firm's commitment to the 2030 Challenge and the firm's Integrated Design group which is a network of sustainable designers working to improve the process of creating high-performance buildings.

Chad Luning joined GBA in 2000 and became President of the firm in 2014. He holds the BSME from Duke University and an MBA from Northwestern University. He is responsible for management of many of the firm’s financial and administrative activities. Project responsibilities include principal-in-charge and/or project manager for numerous designs, including several multi-million dollar retrofit design projects. 

Chad’s work includes overseeing projects for numerous colleges and universities, notably Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In addition to laboratory projects for these institutions, he has overseen projects for pharmaceutical company AbbVie (in collaboration with GBA’s Wisconsin team) and Argonne National Laboratory. He has been principal-in-charge for a project providing compliance assistance with ANL’s “Guiding Principles for High Performance and Sustainable Buildings.”

John McDonald specializes in laboratory mechanical design, with a wealth of knowledge in leading green mechanical engineering projects. John has robust experience in leading design of multi-disciplinary facilities for research, multi-species vivariums, cleanrooms, ABSL-3, and BSL-3 facilities. He has spoken nationally over the course of his career.

Jeff Murray, FAIA, has been providing client-facing experiential and technical design leadership for complex projects supporting research and other knowledge work throughout his three-decade career. He has pioneered iterative and collaborative design processes that engage stakeholders as active participants.

Keith Poeppel is an Energy & Sustainability Engineer at UVA. He identifies and implements energy efficiency projects, and previously worked as a mechanical engineer performing HVAC design, energy modeling, and project management. He has a Bachelor's of Science in Mechanical Engineering and is a licensed Professional Engineer.

Gordon Sharp is the President of the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL), a non-profit organization dedicated to decarbonizing and making laboratories more sustainable across the world. Gordon is also the inventor of many important, widely applied technologies that have had a significant impact on lab sustainability and energy efficiency such as sash sensing VAV fume hood and laboratory airflow controls, the electronic venturi airflow valve, and demand based control of lab ventilation. He is also the founder of two major companies in the lab sustainability field: Phoenix Controls, a well-respected laboratory airflow controls company, and Aircuity, a leader in healthy and energy-efficient ventilation for laboratory and commercial buildings. The many technologies invented by Gordon at Phoenix Controls and Aircuity are today saving well over $2.5 billion annually in energy use and cutting over 7.5 million metric tons annually in carbon emissions from thousands of commercial and laboratory facilities around the world.

Tom Smith is the President and CEO of 3Flow. Mr. Smith has worked for more than 30 years helping facilities provide safe, efficient and sustainable labs. He holds degrees from NCSU and UNC in Engineering and Industrial Hygiene. He has served on numerous standards committees for ventilation and is a member of the I2SL Board of Directors.

Dianthé is a member of RWDI's Building Performance Group, providing clients with solutions for issues related to internal ventilation, external building aerodynamics, and wind-driven rain. She has worked on a variety of interesting projects and developments around the globe, including labs and other specialized indoor environments.

Jacob Werner, AIA, is an Associate Principal at Ellenzweig, in Boston.  He has devoted his 20 year career to designing intuitive environments for scientific discovery. Jacob’s recent research efforts include two new I2SL Best Practices Guides – Water Efficiency in Laboratories and Decarbonizing Laboratories: A Primer.