Holly Williams Leppo, AIA is an NCARB-certified registered architect, a certified interior designer, and a LEED Accredited Professional. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in integrative arts from The Pennsylvania State University and a master of architecture degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

David Kent Ballast, FAIA, CSI, NCIDQ Certification No. 9425, owns Architectural Research Consulting, a firm offering information and management services to architects, interior designers, and the construction industry. Mr. Ballast taught interior construction and other courses at Arapahoe Community College for over 20 years. A licensed architect in the state of Colorado, Mr. Ballast has written many books on design topics.

Rima Taher, Ph.D, P.E., is a Senior University Lecturer at the Hillier College of Architecture & Design, at NJIT, and is a part-time instructor in the graduate program at the NJIT-Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering. She is a licensed professional engineer in New Jersey and practices as a civil/structural engineer with her own consulting firm “Taher Engineering LLC”.  Dr. Taher has a bachelor of civil engineering from INSA de Lyon, Lyon, France.  She has a master’s degree and a doctorate in civil engineering/building technology from École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, in Paris, France.

Dr. Taher participated in some building technology research in the field of building design for high winds and hurricanes, and she has several published articles in this field as well as a book, Building Design for Wind Forces. Dr. Taher is currently serving as the President of the ASCE/SEI (Structural Engineering Institute) Chapter of North Jersey.