Speakers & Workshops
Joseph Lstiburek
BuildingScience.com Corporation
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Ph.D., P.Eng., ASHRAE Fellow
Joseph Lstiburek is the founding principal of Building Science Corporation. Dr. Lstiburek’s work ranges widely, from providing expert witness testimony to overseeing research and development projects, to writing for the ASHRAE Journal and buildingscience.com. Dr. Lstiburek’s commitment to advancing the building industry has had a lasting impact on building codes and practices throughout the world, particularly in the areas of air barriers, vapor barriers, and vented and unvented roof assemblies. For example, his work with industry partners through the Department of Energy’s Building America program led to significant research into the wetting and drying of walls and ultimately to a major code change relaxing the requirement for vapor barriers in the International Residential Code.
Dr. Lstiburek is also an acclaimed educator who has taught thousands of professionals over the past three decades and written countless papers as well as the best-selling Builder Guides. Fittingly, the Wall Street Journal has described him as "the dean of North American building science." He has a joy for telling tall tales to his protégés and audiences.
Gord Cooke
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Gord Cooke is a Partner with Construction Instruction Inc. Gord is a professional engineer with over 25 years of experience in the low and high-rise residential building industry. As an educator, industry consultant and much sought after presenter, Gord has a unique talent for taking the building science issues that he sees in the field, and presenting them in an easily understood and practical real-world manner.
Gord has particular expertise in applied building science, energy efficient housing initiatives, innovative HVAC systems, ventilation and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). He has developed and delivered a multitude of workshops in these fields, as well as sales and marketing courses for builders and real estate agents to help them best promote the features and benefits of high performance houses.
Enrico Bonilauri
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Enrico holds two Master’s Degrees: one in Architecture from the University of Parma, Italy, and another in Sustainable Design from the University of Sydney, Australia. A registered Italian Architect and a Certified Passive House Trainer, Designer, and PHI Certifier, he has gained extensive professional experience across Australia, Europe, and North America. Enrico specializes in building envelope analysis, drawing on thousands of hours spent on construction sites.
With speaking engagements at major conferences in Germany, Austria, China, the US, Canada, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand, Enrico is a recognized thought leader in his field. He is also the Co-Founder of Emu, where he has shaped the Passive House training curriculum, teaching American builders since 2017. In 2024, Enrico took on the role of CEO at Emu, continuing his dedication to advancing sustainable design and building practices.
Kath Wiliams
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Dr. Kath Williams has a diverse background in sustainability and high-performance building standards—from sustainability master plans for development and infrastructure, new/renovation construction projects, to operations and maintenance plans and policies.
Drawing on her experiences as Assistant to the Vice President of Research at Montana State University (MSU), Kath came to work in green buildings in the 1990s as Executive Director of MSU’s EPIcenter project. During that time, she served as Vice Chair of the U.S. Green Building Council for six years and she was elected President of World Green Building Council for three terms. Canada GBC (CAGBC) was enthusiastically engaged throughout her three-year term.
Since founding Kath Williams + Associates in Bozeman, Montana in 1999, Kath has worked as LEED-AP or Senior LEED-AP on over 172 certified high performance building projects including 23 international projects and 16 LEED Platinum projects.
Kath is a graduate of Montana State University (Ed.D. in Adult Education), The Ohio State University (MA as a Kiplinger Public Affairs Reporting Fellow) and Ohio University (BS in Journalism). She has completed post graduate work at Stanford University and worked with the Stanford Program on Regions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SPRIE) at the Hoover Institute.
Kath proudly served as president of the Board of Trustees for the Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, Montana and recently began a three-year term as Board Member for Warriors and Quiet Waters, Bozeman. She was elected chair of the building committee for WQW.
KW+A is a certified Woman-Owned Business (WBE) and Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB).
Teran Foster
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Teran is CMS’s Director of Building Science and Innovation, combining building-science rigor with field problem-solving in Big Sky’s alpine environment. After CMS sponsored his engineering capstone, he joined the company and has spent over five years advancing its building-science practices. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering, an MS in Innovation & Management, and Passive House Tradesperson certification. He also supports Big Sky SNO’s climate-appropriate building initiatives.
Brynn Cooksey, Sr. CEM, CMS
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Brynn Cooksey Sr., CEM, CMS, known as the “Air Doctor,” is the founder of HVAC U and Air Doctors Heating & Cooling. A nationally recognized HVAC and building science trainer, he has trained more than 15,000 professionals. Cooksey is an IREC Certified Master Trainer, Forbes contributor, and award-winning industry educator specializing in HVAC, heat pumps, energy auditing, and building performance.
Joe Medosch
Director of Training at measureQuick
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Joe Medosch {med-osh} - Director of Training at measureQuick, President of Upskill HVAC. He is an Industry Master Trainer, national presenter, and his diverse background in multiple trades provides a unique understanding of “The House and Occupant as a System.”
Joe has been evaluating homes for 20+ years and has been a Comfort Consultant /Trainer for over 15+ years providing solutions on Healthier/Energy Efficient Home Performance and co-creator of Retrotec rCloud app.
Gary Klein
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Gary Klein, President of Gary Klein & Associates, Inc. has been intimately involved in energy efficiency and renewable energy since 1974. Since the early 1990s he has led the effort to incorporate “hot water as a system” into the core principles of building science.
His firm focus is on the water-energy-carbon-health connection. Right-sizing premise plumbing and water heating systems, and the building science of installing air-source heat pump water heaters are currently at the top of his list.
Jaya Mukhopadhyay
Montana State University
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Jaya Mukhopadhyay is an Associate Professor at Montana State University and Co-Director of the Integrated Design Lab. Her work focuses on energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, daylighting, and life cycle assessment. She teaches Environmental Control Systems and Advanced Building Systems Integration, integrating building performance analysis into architectural design and advancing high-performance buildings across Montana.
Carl Berntsen
NCAT
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Carl Berntsen is the Energy Program Director at the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), where he leads a team providing energy audits, technical assistance, and building-performance services across Montana.
With a background in mechanical engineering, his work focuses on practical, proven approaches to energy efficiency, HVAC performance, building durability, and indoor air quality in Montana’s commercial and residential buildings.
Matt Skuntz
Montana State University
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Matthew Skuntz is an Assistant Professor in the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department at MSU. He teaches classes on HVAC and Renewable Energy and is a co-director of the Integrated Design Lab with a focus on energy efficiency and HVAC design in commercial buildings.
His current projects include studying effectiveness of a commercial size shallow, helical ground heat exchanger, and case studies on AP DOAS buildings in Montana. Matthew is a member of the Big Sky ASHRAE Chapter Board.
Damon Rao
PRG
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Damon founded PRG in 2009 with Jamy Patterson and Dan Gibbons. After growing up in New Jersey and graduating high school he headed west to attend college at the University of Colorado in Boulder. It was here that he explored the mountains, learned about the building industry and met his wife, Katrine. He graduated in 2000 with a B.S. in Architectural Engineering and started a career as a residential construction superintendent in the Vail Valley. From 2001 through 2004 he built homes in Bachelor Gulch, Arrowhead and in Carbondale CO as both a superintendent and project manager, saying “while in Colorado I was fortunate to work for and around outstanding builders; several who were true mentors. I appreciate everything they taught me and the guidance they provided.”
In late 2004, while working for Boles Construction, Damon and Katrine were asked to relocate to Bozeman for a project in The Yellowstone Club. YC was in its early stages with a lot of excitement and energy; Bozeman felt like home immediately. As a project manager with Boles Construction, Damon led and completed over $100M worth of construction projects.
Since founding PRG in 2009 Damon has fulfilled multiple roles and participated in a variety of projects. Overall, he has been fortunate to work on over 100 YC residences with some of the best design and construction professionals around, while also helping PRG grow and evolve. He is proud of how much he and the other PRG teammates have learned though this body of work. Damon and Katrine have 3 children and several dogs. They love to ski in the winter and raft in the summers.
Optional Tours
MSU Tunnel Tour
Go underground to explore the infrastructure that powers Montana State University. This guided tour takes you through the campus's two-mile utility tunnel system and historic Heat Plant, where you'll learn how steam, chilled water, hot water, and other critical utilities are generated and distributed to buildings across campus. Discover the engineering and energy systems that keep one of Montana's largest campuses operating 24/7.
Weatherization Training Center
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the Montana Weatherization Training Center, which has been providing hands-on building performance training since 1991. During the tour, participants will explore the Center's training labs and testing facilities while seeing live demonstrations of common diagnostic tools and techniques, including blower door testing, insulation installation and evaluation, static pressure measurement, combustion safety testing, infrared imaging, and other building performance equipment. This is a great opportunity to see how building science principles are applied in real-world training for technicians, contractors, and energy professionals.
