People in the News

Dale Ulmer has been promoted to director of architecture at Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, Engineers and Planners of Orlando, Fla. He will oversee the architectural team that is already in place as well as any incoming architectural staff.

HGA Architects and Engineers announced the hiring of Kaveh Amirdelfan, AIA, LEED AP BD+C as the new associate vice president and principal at the firm’s Los Angeles office. In this new role, Amirdelfan will direct client relations and new business development for the arts, community and higher education practice group. Amirdelfan was previously a principal with DLR Group in Santa Monica, Calif., serving as that firm’s higher education sector leader.

New York City-based Thornton Tomasetti announced that Gunnar Hubbard, AIA, LEED Fellow, a principal and the firm’s sustainability practice leader, has been elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architecture (AIA). Fellow candidates, vetted by a jury of industry experts, must be members of an AIA chapter for at least 10 years.

Virginia-based design firm, Hankins & Anderson (H&A) announced Rob McAtee, PE, LEED AP BD+C, CEM, CxA, as its new director of energy and sustainability services. McAtee began his career at H&A in 2003 and served as the director of mechanical engineering for eight years. He was promoted to vice president in 2010. He has more than 20 years experience in the design, analysis and enhancement of building energy systems.

PC Construction of South Burlington, Vt., has announced the promotion of Joseph Picoraro, LEED AP, to the position of vice president. Picoraro most recently served as construction executive at the firm. Picoraro joined PC Construction as an estimator upon graduating from the University of Vermont with a civil engineering degree.

O’Donnell & Naccarato, a Philadelphia-based consulting structural engineering firm, announced the promotion of Scott M. Bauer, PE, SECB, LEED AP to principal. Bauer brings his technical proficiency and strengths in management to this new role, as well as nearly two decades of hands-on structural engineering design experience.

Professional Service Industries, Inc. (PSI) announced the recent promotion of Derek Kane E.I.T. to manager of its Oakland, Calif. construction services department. Kane earned his Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from Merrimack College in Massachusetts. He was originally hired by the company as manager-in-training in February 2014.

Mortenson Construction has announced the addition of Construction Executive Larry Catalano to its senior leadership team. Catalano was most recently the manager of the capital projects division for Aurora Water where he managed delivery of water, wastewater and stormwater projects for the city of Aurora, Colo., including the award-winning Prairie Waters Project.

Esther Ryskamp, AIA, LEED AP, has been promoted to associate at WDG Architecture’s Washington, D.C. office. Ryskamp joined WDG in 2011 and serves as a project architect. While with WDG, she has worked on the Varsity at Ann Arbor student housing in Ann Arbor, Mich. and on Arbor Row in the Tysons Corner area for Cityline. She is now working with Forest City at The Arris at the Yards apartment building in Washington, D.C.

Portland, Ore.-based Green Building Initiative (GBI) board of directors announced that it has elected Mary Ann Dickinson president and CEO of the Alliance for Water Efficiency, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the efficient and sustainable use of water in the United States and Canada. Headquartered in Chicago, the alliance works with nearly 400 water utilities, water conservation professionals in business and industry, planners, regulators and consumers.