AEC Beyond Climate: Challenges and Commitments for 2030 and Beyond

Stacy Smedley has a BA in Architecture from the University of Washington, and over 18 years in the architecture and construction professions. Her resume includes the first LEED for Homes Platinum certified project in Washington State as well as the first project in the world to be certified under Living Building Version 2.0 standards. As Sustainability Director at Skanska, Stacy has led sustainable initiatives, and is considered a subject matter expert in LEED, Living Building Challenge and carbon emissions associated with buildings and construction.

In her role at Building Transparency, she leads the continued management and development of the free, open-access Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) tool and works to educate and engage the building industry on actionably reducing embodied carbon emissions of building materials. Stacy has served in various advisory and leadership roles, including: Co-Chair of the Washington Businesses for Climate Action; Advisory Board Member for the University of Washington Carbon Leadership Forum; Construction Taskforce Chair for the Embodied Carbon Network; Advisory Group Member for AIA Materials Working Group; Emerging Professional Regional Chair for USGBC; Membership Chair for the Cascadia Green Building Council. She is a 2020 Grist 50 Fixer, a 2019 ENR Top 25 Newsmaker, and shared a Living Building Challenge Hero award for her work on the Bertschi School Living Science Building.

Brent Trenga is Director of Sustainability for Kingspan Insulated Panels North America. His background as an architect, construction manager, developer and project owner give him a unique perspective on all facets of the construction industry. Trenga leads Kingspan North America’s material health and transparency program and their Planet Passionate program, while collaborating with the company’s global healthy building team.

As director of sustainable design, Dirk Kestner provides overall guidance and resourcing to the entire firm, ensuring that all designs incorporate industry-leading expertise in sustainable strategies. His project work, teaching, and coaching throughout the firm and broad-reaching influence in the industry help maintain Walter P Moore’s status as a national leader in sustainable approaches and outcomes.

Anica Landreneau leads HOK’s global sustainable design practice, serving on the firm’s board of directors and design board.

Based in Washington, DC, she serves locally on the Green and Energy Codes TAG, is on the Mayor’s Green Building Advisory Council and co-chairs the Building Energy Performance Standard Task Force. Anica also serves on the national USGBC LEED Advisory Committee, IECC 2024 Code Development Committee and Consultative Council for the National Institute for Building Sciences. She is a Senior Fellow of the New Buildings Institute and a member of the AIA’s 2021 Board Government Advocacy Committee.

Anica previously served on the AIA Blue Ribbon Panel on Codes, coauthoring Disruption, Evolution, and Change: AIA’s Vision for the Future of Design and Construction. With the U.S. General Services Administration, she coauthored The New Sustainable Frontier: Principles of Sustainable Development.

Anica’s testimony before Congress and policy recommendations were included in the Majority Staff Report, Solving the Climate Crisis: The Congressional Action Plan for a Clean Energy Economy and a Healthy, Resilient, and Just America.

Aaron Seward is Editor-in-Chief of The Architect’s Newspaper. Seward is an award-winning editor whose career has centered on interpreting architecture for the profession and the general public. He was editor of Texas Architect magazine for six years and prior to that held several positions at AN, including executive editor. In addition to those publications, Seward’s writing on architecture, culture, and the built environment has appeared in Architect, Curbed, Domus, Metropolis, and other publications. He has a BA in Literature, Writing and the Arts from The New School for Social Research.