Jan 22, 2015 -- The National Institute of Building Sciences welcomes two new members, Carl Hedde and Thomas Izbicki, to its Board of Directors this January and says goodbye to retiring directors.

Carl Hedde is senior vice president at Munich Reinsurance America, Inc. He manages the Risk Accumulation Department, which includes the catastrophe management, risk accumulation and geo research functions. He is responsible for oversight of corporate accumulation issues, including the use of catastrophe risk models, client catastrophe risk consulting services, and portfolio management and optimization. He also manages a group of scientists that provide seismological and meteorological expertise and research capabilities to Munich Re America and its clients. Hedde is the immediate past chair of the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). He will serve a three-year term, representing the financial and insurance sectors in the industry category.

Thomas Izbicki, PE, FSFPE, is operations manager in the Dallas office of Rolf Jensen & Associates, Inc. (RJA). While at RJA, he has worked on projects relating to semi-conductor fabrication, hazardous materials and government facilities, including several involving fire detection/alarm and automatic suppression systems design. He previously served as the senior fire protection engineer for a major metropolitan fire department, and was an associate fire protection engineer for national engineering consulting firms. He is a registered professional engineer in six states and has specialized training as a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-qualified Urban Search and Rescue Structure Specialist. Izbicki will serve a three-year term, representing fire safety experts in the industry category.

In addition, Board Treasurer Wally E. Bailey, director of development services for the City of Fort Smith, Arkansas, and Board Members Cheryl R. English, FIES, LC, vice president of government and industry relations at Acuity Brands; Richard Hayter, PE, associate dean emeritus for external affairs at Kansas State University; and Thomas L. Mitchell, Jr., Lt. Col. (ret.), USAF, CFM, CFMJ, Senior Vice President/COO of FM3IS Associates, LLC., were reelected to serve second terms.

Chairman “Tim” Ryan, CBO, code administrator for the City of Overland Park, Kansas; Vice-Chair Stephen Ayers, FAIA, architect of the U.S. Capitol; and Treasurer Bailey will serve second one-year terms on the Executive Committee. Joy Marshall Ortiz, AIA, executive vice president of The Marshall Group (TMG), an architectural firm located in Reston, Virginia, joins the Executive Committee as secretary.

They all join Board members Cindy Davis, CBO, of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development; Joseph Donovan of Beacon Capital Partners; Timothy H. Haahs, PE, AIA, of Timothy Haahs & Associates; Eric Lamb of DPR Construction; Brian Larson, PE, of Stantec Consulting Services, Inc.; Susan A. Maxman, FAIA; Dwight “Sonny” M. Richardson, Jr., of Richardson Home Builders, Inc.; Jerry Shaheen, LEED AP BD+C, of the Gilbane Building Company; James Timberlake, FAIA, of KieranTimberlake; Mary B. Verner, Spokane, MES, JD, of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources; and Steven R. Winkel, FAIA, PE, of the Preview Group, Inc.

Board Secretary John P. Kelly, executive vice president (retired) of Ryan Companies US, Inc., and Carl F. Baldassarra, PE, FSFPE, principal at Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., who have both completed their terms, are retiring from the Board.

The Institute’s Nominations Committee recommended the slate of officers, returning board members and new members, which the Board unanimously approved in September. The officers and members were seated following the January 9 Board meeting during Building Innovation 2015: The National Institute of Building Sciences Annual Conference & Expo, held January 6-9, 2015, in Washington, D.C.

About the National Institute of Building Sciences

The National Institute of Building Sciences, authorized by public law 93-383 in 1974, is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that brings together representatives of government, the professions, industry, labor and consumer interests to identify and resolve building process and facility performance problems. The Institute serves as an authoritative source of advice for both the private and public sectors with respect to the use of building science and technology.

An Authoritative Source of Innovative Solutions for the Built Environment