PANEL DESCRIPTION

Moderated Panel Discussion of Industry Experts Explores the Intersectionality between Decarbonization and Resiliency in Healthcare Buildings

SPEAKER BIOS

Colin Barrett, Vice President of Infrastructure at Mount Sinai Health System

As Vice President of Infrastructure at Mount Sinai Health System, Colin has oversight over infrastructure at seven hospital campuses and over 400 hundred off-site medical clinics, business offices, and residential properties. He has significant involvement with the design and construction of new building and renovation projects, including making decisions related to MEP infrastructure and building envelopes.

Prior to working at Mount Sinai Health System, he worked as a consulting engineer in the environmental engineering field. His focus was on water, wastewater, and recycled water treatment and distribution. He is a registered professional engineer and LEED accredited professional.

Robert Berninger, Director of Plant Operations, Energy and Engineering at Memorial Sloan Ketting Cancer Center

Robert (Bob) Berninger is the Director of Plant Operations, Energy and Engineering at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). In his 18 years with MSKCC, Bob has held various positions, first as the Energy Manager, overseeing and implementing energy conservation projects, to Plant Operations Manager and currently as a Director managing the day to day operations of the HVAC systems and staff, overseeing the energy management systems and energy budgets, exploring and implementing energy conservation measures. Prior to this position he was the Assistant Manager of the Physical Plant at Columbia University. He holds a B.E. in Marine Engineering from SUNY Maritime College. Robert is a Certified Energy Manager (CEM), Certified Energy Auditor (CEA) and a Certified Sustainable Development Professional (CDSP). He also holds a United States Coast Guard Chief Engineer’s Steam and First Engineer Motor License. He is a member of the Association of Energy Engineers and is a past President of the New York City Chapter of AEE.  Bob was awarded the International Energy Manager of the Year in 2016 by the Association of Energy Engineers. He was also named a Trailblazer in Clean Energy from City & State New York.

Gina Bocra, Vice President of Built Ecology at WSP

Gina Bocra, AIA, LEED Fellow, is a Vice President with the Built Ecology team at WSP, bringing over 28 years of experience in sustainability.  Throughout her career, Gina has been a champion for smart, safe, and resilient buildings that contribute to the health and wellbeing of their occupants.

Gina previously led NYC Department of Building’s team of architects and engineers tasked with implementing and enforcing New York City’s sustainability laws regulating buildings, including Local Law 97, NYC’s landmark carbon emissions law.  Prior to her work in the public sector, Gina was Director of Sustainable Design at two architecture firms, delivering sustainability and design services on higher education, commercial, institutional, government, healthcare, and master planning projects. Throughout her career, she has volunteered with the US Green Building Council, the American Institute of Architects, the International Code Council, and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers.

Brian Pratt, Campus Architect and Associate Vice Chancellor at the University of California, Irvine

Brian Pratt, AIA, DBIA, LEED AP is the Campus Architect and Associate Vice Chancellor for Design & Construction Services at the University of California, Irvine. Currently overseeing all major academic building projects, he leads the Design and Construction efforts for the campus, delivering highly complex projects via design build. In his more than eight-year tenure at UCI, Brian has overseen several project types, including research facilities, laboratories, active learning classrooms, dormitories and highly technical projects. A graduate of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, he has worked in the private and public sectors and served on the Board of Directors and as President of the American Institute of Architects, Orange County. Brian is accustomed to working with complex projects and multiple user groups and his work has been recognized with several awards and recognitions. With sustainability as a priority, many projects have achieved LEED Platinum certification.

Rives Taylor, Director of Design Resilience at Gensler Research Institute

Rives Taylor FAIA is a Texas licensed, practicing architect and educator. He has over 40 years' experience in institutional and commercial architecture with 35 years spent focusing on strategic planning, programming, sustainable design, project management and commissioning in university facility environments, corporate headquarters and campuses, health and wellness facilities and private residential practice. The approaches Rives developed for Gensler not only affect the firm's extensive practice but also influence clients' building decisions worldwide. He developed a firm-wide green practice primer called "The Four Tiers of Sustainability," led the inclusion of sustainable design in the firm's in-house education program, and in partnership with Architecture 2030 and the Design Futures Council, developed an "eco-charrette" process and developed a building performance metric that is now used in all of Gensler's projects.

He was, for 10 years, the University Architect for the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, located in the midst of the Texas Medical Center. His work focused on quality, healthful teaching and research environments through high performance facility strategies. The newest buildings in this vein include the School of Nursing and Student Community Center, a 195,000 GSF facility with a total project cost of $63 million completed in 2004. Leading the University client team, Rives orchestrated progressive programming, design, specification processes to bring the teaching/learning and patient care facilities to an increased efficacy in financial, environmental and user health/productivity aspects. He also oversaw the construction administration as UTHSCH representative in partnership with the University System project managers. He leads Sustainable Design Education at the Hines College of Architecture at the University of Houston, and teaches at Rice University as well.