Charles Hixon
Business Development Manager
Bergmann Associates

Mr. Hixon is the founder and administrator of Bergmann Associates Virtual Design & Construction and Civil Integrated Management (VDC-CIM) group; which specializes in the integration of 3D design applications, such as GIS & BIM technologies, with the planning and design processes used by Bergmann’s architects and engineers. He has over 20-years of experience in the planning, development and project management of the business unit.

Barry Hooper
Private Sector Green Building Specialist
San Francisco Department of the Environment

The Green Building Team at the San Francisco Department of Environment's supports the City & County of San Francisco’s goals to enhance the built environment for the benefit of the community, economy, and environment. Barry Hooper is responsible for policies, building codes, incentives, and public information efforts to improve the sustainability of facilities and homes owned by the private sector in San Francisco. His current projects include local requirements for existing commercial buildings to annually report energy performance and periodically obtain energy audits and, as well as the city’s Green Building Ordinance for new construction.

Prior to joining SF Environment, Barry served as Green Building Coordinator for the City of San Jose and managed the Silicon Valley Energy Watch energy efficiency program. He earned master’s degrees in Environmental Science and Management, as well as Geography, from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Melissa O’Mara
Chief Catalyst, U.S. Smart Cities
Schneider Electric

Melissa O’Mara’s personal mission is to maximize institutional and cultural response to environmental and economic challenges through smarter, innovative solutions, cross-enterprise collaboration, and collective leadership. She has 27 years of professional experience at Schneider Electric, IBM and  Andersen Consulting. Her experience spans information systems consulting, project management, change management, consultative solution sales, solutions sales management, professional coaching, and leadership development.

As Global VP of High Performance Green Buildings, Education and Government Solutions, she wears two complementary hats. She is responsible for expanding Schneider Electric capabilities in global targeted markets to deliver High Performance Green Building Solutions with triple bottom line impact across all vertical industry segments.  Additionally, Melissa leads Schneider Electric’s global solutions business for Government and Education segments, enabling efficient, safe, reliable, green solutions that address the unique challenges and often innovative goals of these clients. 

In 2009, while at IBM, O’Mara launched the Green Sigma™ Coalition — a network of nine leading energy and sustainability solution providers (including IBM and Schneider Electric) committed to accelerate the progress of global enterprise sustainability.

In client-facing roles, Melissa has worked primarily in emerging solution areas requiring innovative thinking, cross-discipline teaming, and industry expertise. Her broad range of experience includes e-business, sustainability, customer relationship management, and industrial production and distribution.

Prior to her 18 years at IBM, O’Mara was a leader at Andersen Consulting where she implemented application systems for the US Navy, a large utility company, and a global manufacturing company – all focused on improving operational performance in core business functions like customer service, distribution, and logistics.

O’Mara earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Distribution from Clarkson University. She is a certified professional co-active coach (CPCC), qualified through the Coaches Training Institute. She has also been trained as a Bigger Game coach and facilitator.

Prior to her 18 years at IBM, O’Mara was a leader at Andersen Consulting where she implemented application systems for the US Navy, a large utility company, and a global manufacturing company – all focused on improving operational performance in core business functions like customer service, distribution, and logistics.

Her 24 years of professional experience include: information systems consulting, project management, change management, consultative solution sales, solutions sales management, professional coaching, leadership development, sustainability, and strategy/innovation catalyst.

Greg Richards
Supervisor, Public Relations and Events
FARO Technologies

Greg Richards has worked as a marketing manager for FARO Technologies for over two years. Greg’s possesses over a decade of experience in the technology and engineering fields, and has bachelors and graduate degrees from the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

Tom Sawyer
Senior Editor, Information Technology
Engineering News-Record

Tom Sawyer is a senior editor at Engineering News-Record and has been on staff since 2000. His principal beat is information technology, broadly defined as anything that helps make data useful for the design and construction of all kinds of facilities in the built environment. Tom majored in English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and worked in journalism and freelance writing before joining the staff at ENR, but he has a lifelong affinity with the construction professions. He comes from a family of architects and grew up in the design and construction world.