Approved ABAA Speakers

Is a principal of Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott (SBRA) in Boston, and Director of Technical Resources. Mr. Anis is responsible for maintaining the high technical quality of the firm’s projects.

Mr. Anis’ professional focus is the integrity and performance of the building enclosure, from a research, design and troubleshooting perspective, as well as high performance, sustainable building design and indoor air quality. He consults regularly to building owners, architects and manufacturers regarding the design and performance of the building enclosure. He is a board member of the National Institute of Building Sciences, (NIBS), the Boston Society of Architects, The Certified Building Commissioning Professional board of the Association of Energy Engineers, and the Air Barrier Association of America (ABAA). He is chairman of the Building Enclosure Technology and Environment Council (BETEC) The BSA-IAQ committee and the Energy Advisory Committee in MA. He serves as a committee member on ASHRAE 90.1 and Technical Committee 4.4.

Mr. Anis lectures extensively on building enclosure design and indoor air quality. He has written many technical papers and articles, and is the author of Indoor Air Quality: A Design Guide, published by the Boston Society of Architects. He is considered a national resource on air infiltration and moisture control in buildings.

John Cheslak is the Vice Chairman of the ABAA Housewrap Committee. As a Sales Executive for Atlanta Nisseki CLAF, Inc he is the product line manager of his company’s building products group as well as other industrial applications.

A graduate of Emory University, Mr. Cheslak has held various positions in the past with several chemical companies including WR Grace, Lubrizol Corporation, and Mayzo Inc. prior to his joining Atlanta Nisseki CLAF; a division of Nippon Petrochemicals Corporation / Nippon Oil. Mr. Cheslak has held many positions in his career ranging from Chemical Development / R&D and Chemical Applications Engineering to Technical Sales and Product Line Management.

Mr. Laverne Dalgleish is the Executive Director of the Air Barrier Association of America (ABAA). As such, he works to champion energy conservation in buildings while educating the building owners and designers about the benefits of energy conservation such as durability, comfort, reduced maintenance, reduced HVAC equipment costs and the positive impact on the environment.

Mr. Dalgleish travels North America on a weekly basis to educate building owners and designers on the benefits of effective and working air barrier systems in buildings. This education mission includes working with standards development organizations, training and education groups, government policy departments, and quality assurance program developers for the construction industry. Mr. Dalgleish is the Secretariat of two ISO Committees, ISO TC61 SC10 Cellular Plastics and ISO TC163 SC3 Thermal Insulation Products. He is also Chair of the ULC Thermal Performance in the Building Environment Standards Committee.

Mr. Dalgleish was the key developer of the ABAA Quality Assurance Program for the installation of air barrier systems in buildings. This program is based on ISO9000 and ISO 12576-2 but brings the ISO requirements together with practical applications for the air barrier industry.

Ryan Dalgleish is the Vice-President of the bpc Building Professional Consortium. He has been involved in the building envelope and building performance areas of construction in both the commercial and residential sectors for 10 years. Much of Mr. Dalgleish’s time is spent on technology transfer and training and he has been a trainer, facilitator and project manager for 7 years in this area. Mr. Dalgleish also is involved in research, the development of training curriculum, and strategic planning for clients. Mr. Dalgleish’s background and education has given him strong skills in financial management, market development and planning and association administration.

He is able to assist with technical questions, association policy and procedures and training initiatives. Mr. Dalgleish is currently attending university on a part-time basis and is working towards obtaining his certificate in adult education. His dedication to education is evident by spending upwards of 80 hours a year in continuing education programs that encompass technical, marketing and management development. Mr. Dalgleish has also published a number of papers for design and construction magazines and is frequently a speaker at various technical presentations dealing with the building envelope. Mr. Dalgleish currently serves as the president of his local building envelope council and sits on the board of directors of the National Building Envelope Council.

He is able to assist with technical questions, association policy and procedures and training initiatives.

Alisa Hoffee is the Technical Manager for Pactiv Building Products, with over twenty years of experience in the building construction industry. This experience includes testing of construction materials, product development, building code and regulatory compliance, third-party certification programs, product literature, technical publications and technical support. In addition, she has chaired industry technical committees for the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), the American Plastics Council Foam Polystyrene Alliance (APC), and the Reflective Insulation Manufacturer’s Association (RIMA). She has also authored and co-authored technical papers published by ASTM and the Extruded Polystyrene Foam Association (XPSA).

Ms. Hoffee was recently elected as ABAA Housewrap Committee Chair. She also participates on several ASTM Committees (C16, E05 and E06), the XPSA - Residential and Environmental/Technical Affairs Committees, and regularly participates in the International Code Council Evaluation Committee Meetings (ICC-ES) and the ICC Code Change Hearings.

Ms. Hoffee is a member of ABAA, ASTM, ICC, CSI, XPSA and the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC).

Lance Robson is a principal at Building Envelope Technologies Inc., a consulting firm for the building enclosure industry. Mr. Robson brings over 20 years of experience in building enclosure design, restoration and investigation to the Air Barrier Association of America. His areas of expertise include roofing, wall cladding, curtain wall, fenestration, masonry and concrete repair, waterproofing and air barriers. Mr. Robson established Building Envelope Technologies Inc (BET) in 2000. He later co-founded Robson and So Engineering, Inc., a multi-discipline engineering firm. Prior to establishing BET, Mr. Robson managed the Building Envelope Department of CID Associates in Boston, a 95 person firm providing multi-disciplinary engineering and architectural services to commercial, industrial and institutional clients.

Mr. Robson actively maintains his expertise through participation in professional societies and is currently working to establish air barrier system standards through ASTM. His professional affiliations include AIA, BSA, ASTM and E-6.

Peter Spafford has been involved in the energy conservation and building performance industry for 14 years. Mr. Spafford has been an instructor in building science and building envelope for the past 10 years and has taught hundreds of installers, building officials and contractors across the country. Mr. Spafford became the national training manager for BPC and oversaw the delivery and facilitation of upwards of 50 training programs a year and coordinated upward of 50 – 70 project managers and instructors in delivering 6 week to 6 month term training programs in energy efficiency. Mr. Spafford has also spent a tremendous amount of time in the field performing 3rd party inspections on behalf of government, quality assurance providers, utilities and warranty programs. Mr. Spafford currently is the quality assurance program manager for BPC. He has been involved in both the development and compliance aspects of the program for a number of initiatives in both the residential and commercial building markets.