Saturday, March 1, 2008
Cardinal Club, 150 Fayetteville St., Suite 2800, Raleigh

Jose Almiñana, RLA, ASLA, joined Andropogon Associates in 1983 and has been instrumental in the planning, design, and implementation of many of the firm’s complex site development projects. Trained as a Landscape Architect and Architect, José brings multiple perspectives to his projects and strives to create sensitive, sustainable designs that respond directly to the site conditions and incorporate innovative construction technologies. Regardless of project scale, he distills the site’s essential resources into designs that are functional, beautiful, and environmentally responsible. José is a visiting lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania Department of Landscape Architecture. He received a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania and is a LEED™ 2.0 Accredited Professional. Session: Sustainable Sites Initiative.

William F. "Bill" Hunt, Ph.D, P.E. is an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in NC State University's Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering Stormwater Engineering Group. Hunt holds degrees in Civil Engineering (NCSU, B.S., 1994), Economics (NCSU, B.S., 1995), Biological & Agricultural Engineering (NCSU, M.S., 1997) and Agricultural & Biological Engineering, (Penn State, Ph.D., 2003). Dr. Hunt is a registered PE in North Carolina. Since 2000, Hunt has assisted with the design, installation, and/or monitoring of over 70 stormwater best management practices (BMPs), including bioretention, stormwater wetlands, innovative wet ponds, green roofs, permeable pavement, water harvesting/cistern systems and level spreaders. He teaches 20-25 short courses and workshops each year on stormwater BMP design and function throughout NC and the US. Hunt is an active member of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), serving as NC Section President and as Past-Chair of the National ASABE Extension Committee. He is also a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), where he serves on the Urban Water Resources Research Council, the LID committee, and is co-chair of the Bioretention Task Committee. 

Michael Pyatok, FAIA, founder of Pyatok Architects, Inc., has 40 years of experience, and has served the American Institute of Architects on its National Affordable Housing Task Group. Besides designing and actively participating in the firm's projects, Pyatok is also a professor of architecture at the University of Washington. His practice serves non-profit organizations and private developers in building market-rate and affordable housing, mixed-use developments and community facilities. Since opening his office in 1984, he has designed more than 30,000 units of affordable housing in the U.S. and another 5,000 in the Philipines, and more recently in Malaysia. He has published articles about affordable housing, urban design and community participation in the US, Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia and Japan. Pyatok has won more than 120 local and national design awards for his housing designs. The National Endowment for the Arts sponsored Pyatok to run housing design workshops across the country. He has been a Fulbright Fellow in Helsinki, Finland and a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University as well as its Buschbaum Professor of Affordable Housing. He is the author of "Good Neighbors: Affordable Family Housing" sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2002, Pyatok Architects was chosen as Architecture Firm of the Year by Residential Architect Magazine, Professional Builder Magazine identified Pyatok as one of twelve thought leaders in the field of development and Builder magazine names Pyatok one of the 50 most influential people in the US housing industry.

Mitchell J. Silver, AICP, is director of the Raleigh Department of City Planning and specializes in comprehensive planning, urban design and implementation strategies. Silver has worked as a city planner with the New York City Department of City Planning; director of the Northern Manhattan Office for the Manhattan Borough President; principal of a New York City based planning firm; and, deputy director for the Office of Planning in the District of Columbia. In public and private practice, Silver has worked in over 50 jurisdictions and has served as an expert panelist or speaker at over 100 conferences, seminars and workshops. Silver’s major accomplishments include helping to launch Harlem’s Renaissance in the 1990s, leading the successful Harlem on the River Project, developing New York City’s tower and plaza regulations, serving on the post-9/11 team to plan the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site and leading revitalization efforts in Philadelphia and Washington, DC. His most recent accomplishment was overseeing DC’s update to their Comprehensive Plan. For over 10 years, Mitchell has championed a movement to increase diversity in the planning profession at the national and state level. Silver received a Bachelors Degree in Architecture from Pratt Institute and a Masters Degree in Urban Planning from Hunter College.

Bill Struever, President and CEO of Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse (developers of the American Tobacco Historic District), has led the company in to "Build Better Communities" through commercial and residential projects in Baltimore and mid-Atlantic region. Since the company's founding in 1974, Struever has been the driving force behind community revitalization efforts that bolster entire neighborhoods and extend beyond individual projects. He has led SBE&R from a small company started in his mother's basement to a $180 million real estate development and general contracting company with four regional offices. Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse works closely with local community groups and businesses, as well as local, state and federal governments. SBE&R’s motto, “Transforming America's Cities, Neighborhood by Neighborhood” exemplifies its goal to be a catalyst for change in cities and urban neighborhoods. Whether it's live-work communities, 24-hour urban neighborhoods, restoring celebrated buildings or leading smart growth developments, SBE&R focuses on its vision: creating a place that will be part of many people's lives, a place that will draw people, a place that people feel good about, a place that people will want to visit, a place where people will want to live. In 2000, Struever was named the Baltimore Sun's Marylander of the Year, Baltimore Business Journal's Businessperson of the Year, and the Maryland Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young. Special recognition includes a 1995 Congressional Achievement Award for "Outstanding Contributions to Serving the Citizens of Baltimore City;" the 1993 Economic Leadership Award from the National Council for Urban Economic Development; the 1987 Mayor's Business Recognition Award, and selection as America's Outstanding Business Volunteer of the Year in 1986 by President Reagan. Struever has a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Anthropology from Brown University. He is certified as a Master Electrician.

Heather Venhaus, ASLA,is an environmental designer for the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the Project Manager for the Sustainable Sites Initiative™. Venhaus has spent the last decade working with teams of scientists, designers, and educational advisors on projects emphasizing sustainable design, landscape restoration and environmental education. In 2000, Venhaus accepted a job at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center where she provides leadership in projects such as the annual Conservation Development Symposium and the Sustainable Sites Initiative™. Venhaus is also involved in private consulting projects through the Center concerning ecological design, restoration and outdoor education. Venhaus is a member of the Central Texas Balcones Chapter Board of Directors, Chair of the South Central Regional Council and member of the national Chapter Steering Committee for the U.S. Green Building Council. ;

Panel Moderator:
Paul Morris, FASLA, is the Vice President of Planning and Sustainable Development for Cherokee. Morris oversees all site-planning, design and entitlement activities across Cherokee’s portfolio, beginning at deal conception and continuing through investment underwriting and asset management. He serves as Cherokee’s expert on land use and transportation planning, transit-oriented and low-impact developments, community regeneration and urban design. Prior to joining Cherokee in 2007, Morris' career was highlighted by 13 years as Founding and Managing Partner of McKeever/Morris Inc. and seven years as Vice President of Parsons Brinckerhoff, where he served as Global Director of Urban Development and Managing Principal of PB PlaceMaking. Morris is an internationally recognized leader in master planning, urban design and sustainable development. He is registered as a landscape architect and environmental/land use public policy mediator. His background includes facilitating and managing complex joint development and public/private partnerships throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He specializes in crafting economically and environmentally balanced solutions to projects on topics ranging from large-scale new communities to infill redevelopments. Morris received a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Oregon and a Graduate Certificate from Harvard University Graduate School of Design.