Liz, appointed as the first CSO for CDC in 2008, establishes sustainability in CDC policy and operations, implements healthy and sustainable work environments and facilitates staff involvement in sustainability efforts. At CDC since 1999, she has served as a construction project manager, design architect and design reviewer, working closely with laboratory, security and safety professionals on CDC’s high-containment labs and protocols. She has strengthened policy and understanding around the health impacts of the physical environment, gender issues in design, access to healthy food and design effects on health equity. Liz is a registered architect and holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Architecture, both from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Frank Wickstead is a licensed general contractor in Georgia, a LEEDapBD+C, a Building Performance Institute Building Analyst proctor/trainer, and EPA/DOE Subject Matter Expert. He received the Georgia Institute of Technology's Environmental Leadership Award, was named one of the top 50 remodelers in the country by Remodeler Magazine, and was named the EarthCraft Contractor of the Year. Frank currently leads the Project Delivery group at Jones Pierce Studios, an architecture and client representation firm in Atlanta Georgia and is an Adjunct Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s College of Design, School of Building Construction.

Abe Kruger honed his expertise in sustainable construction over the last 16 years as a contractor, educator, and consultant in the residential construction industry. He is the cofounder of SK Collaborative, which provides consulting, design reviews and charrettes, training, and building certification under LEED for Homes, EarthCraft House, ENERGY STAR, the National Green Building Standard, and Enterprise Green Communities. SK Collaborative is currently certifying over 20,000 units of single- and multifamily housing across the country. He has numerous industry accreditations, including Certified Energy Manager (CEM), LEED AP HOMES, BPI Building Analyst, and Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Trainer and Rater. He is a member of the national Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) Board of Directors. He is the coauthor of the first residential green building textbook, Green Building: Principles and Practices in Residential Construction (Delmar/Cengage Learning).

Alissa is a Project Architect at Lord Aeck Sargent, who has focused her professional and academic career on sustainability and public interest design. She has collaborated on public and private projects of all scales, and she draws on her interdisciplinary experience to find the best design solutions that help and serve others. Her areas of experience include resiliency, and design services for under-served communities. Her accomplishments at LAS include the realization of several buildings, including a number of affordable housing projects, spearheading the firm’s participation in Public Architecture’s 1+ program, an initiative to provide pro-bono design services to local nonprofits, and chairing the office Equity Committee. She is currently working on the Living Building at Georgia Tech.

Marisa Ghani is a Senior Planner in the Community Development Group at the Atlanta Regional Commission. This division of ARC is responsible for overall development of regional land use policy. Within ARC, Marisa is mainly responsible for Regional Housing and Transit Oriented Development. Marisa also spends her time as the Program Manager for the TransFormation Alliance. The Alliance is a collaboration of organizations working to ensure that opportunities and benefits provided by investment in transit communities are made available to ALL residents. Marisa oversees the implementation and execution of The Alliance’s workplan by providing operating, project management and work plan support. Marisa has experience in an array of working environments from various Government levels to nonprofit organizations. Prior to the ARC, Marisa worked in Washington DC at Transportation for America, a non-profit committed to reforming how transportation dollars are spent at the federal, state and local level to create a safer, cleaner and smarter transportation system. Ghani received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Emory University and her Master of Planning degree from Georgia Institute of Technology

Bonnie Casamassima is the Principal and Founder of Interweave People Place. She is an Interior Design professional with expertise in workplace strategy, biophilic design, sustainability and research-driven environments. Her support focuses on guiding clients through the process of understanding how their spaces can be designed to enhance their wellbeing, productivity and support their intentional quality of life. She is an Adjunct Professor of Interior Design at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), serves on the board of Sustainable Design Collaborative Atlanta and is a LEED BD+C Professional. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Interior Design from The University of Tennessee and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Interior Design with a focus in environmental psychology from SCAD.

Ed Akins II graduated with a Master of Architecture Degree in 1996 from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has worked locally with Atlanta communities to achieve LCI grants and with the Architecture firms Thompson Ventulett Stainback and Smith Dalia Architects. Since 2002, he has taught at both the Georgia Institute of Technology and at Kennesaw State University, where he is currently an Associate Professor and Coordinator of Environmental Technologies. In 2004 he developed an elective at Georgia Tech (Natural Systems) and he continues to apply these interests to the instruction of Mechanical Systems and Human Comfort within the Architecture department of KSU. With a focus on reparative planning and solar accommodation in design, Ed continues to expose and explore the delicate relationship between human occupation and nature. Ed was a lead partner for the Atlanta Sustainable Building Ordinance (ASBO) in 2009 and the moderator for Atlanta's AIA+ARCH2030 Sessions in 2011. He has received multiple certificates of service from AIA and was the recipient of the Emerging Professional Award in 2007 from AIA Georgia, the Emerging Voices Award in 2008 from AIA Atlanta's YAF chapter, and the recipient of AIA Atlanta's John A. Busby Medal in 2010. Ed has served as Co-Chair and Chair on the President's Commission for Sustainability at KSU and has taught Ecological Urbanism within the USG European Council Paris program. He was chosen as KSU Sustainability Fellow for the 2016-2017 Academic year and was chosen to attend the 2017 EAO Workshop in Germany focused on the topic "Sustainability - Challenges for the World of Tomorrow." Most recently, he was awarded the 2018 R.C. Paul Excellence in Sustainability Award for his outstanding efforts toward promoting environmental sustainability in the educational and operational practices of the Kennesaw State University (KSU) campus community.