Sustainable Architecture, Design, and Construction Forum

Sergio Ascunce is the County’s Deputy Building Official and helps oversee the Construction, Permitting and Building Codes Division (Building Department) operating out of the Permitting and Inspection Center for the Unincorporated Miami-Dade County area.  He was recently charged with overseeing the building recertification program for the County.  He is a civil engineering by education, a state licensed general contractor, and has over 33 years of experience as a code official in Florida.  He has served as president of the Building Officials Association of Florida (BOAF), a professional organization with statewide members, as well as president of the local chapter to BOAF in Miami-Dade County.  He is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Accreditation Services (IAS) a subsidiary company of the International Code Council (ICC).  He is currently serving on several committees including the BOAF Legislative Committee and Hurricane Research Advisory Committee to the Florida Building Commission.

Ken is the President of Renco, USA, Inc., a composite manufacturing and building industry start-up and affiliate of the Coastal Construction Group. He has spearheaded the research and development of the Renco Structural Building System in the United States and has codified and secured Renco’s approvals under the International Building Code (IBC). Having secured US patents and all necessary approvals to build mineral composite fiber reinforced structures under the IBC, Renco is embarking on a campaign to launch the marketing, sale, and implementation of its structural building products throughout the United States.  

Ken is also an accomplished builder and real estate developer, successfully completing over $5 billion dollars of development and construction projects. He has over 35 years of development, design, financing, construction management and sales and marketing experience on a wide variety of mixed use, multi-family, hospitality, retail, commercial office, health care and industrial projects.  

Heather Jonczak provides legal counsel and representation to public and private owners, developers, contractors, sureties, and construction professionals on all types of construction matters. She regularly counsels’ owners and contractors during each phase of a construction project, from contract drafting and negotiation through dispute avoidance and resolution.  

Heather represents clients in complex construction disputes and litigation involving all manners of contract claims, design and construction defects and deficiencies, project delay and impact claims, surety bond claims, construction liens, and insurance coverage matters. Heather is also highly experienced in contract drafting and regularly assists clients with the preparation, negotiation, review, and administration of all manners of construction contracts, including owner-contractor agreements, design-build agreements, and subcontracts, as well as commercial lease agreements. Her combined transaction and litigation experience gives Heather a unique perspective to better assist clients with early identification and resolution of conflicts and disputes during construction. 

As the Principal and Managing Director of Gensler’s Miami office, Dawn’s focus on understanding the essence of her clients’ goals and delivering projects that exceed their expectations have been key to establishing the firm’s presence in Florida. With more than 25 years of experience, she combines Gensler’s research and point of view with the client’s desire to bring the highest level of design and industry knowledge to the project team. Dawn’s work serves local and national clients and her projects have been recognized by industry organizations, including AIA Tampa Bay and NAIOP. She is recognized as a leader in the industry and is involved in CoreNet and ULI. Dawn earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and a Master's of Architecture from the University of South Florida. 

Alan is a Managing Director at Hines and the partner responsible for the strategy, growth and execution of Hines’ real estate development, acquisition and investment business in South Florida. 

Since joining Hines in 2005, Alan has been involved in more than 13 million square feet of real estate developments, acquisitions, and transactions representing more than $4 billion throughout the Southeastern United States.  

Since 2012, his primary focus has been advancing Hines’ platform of large-scale mixed-use projects by planning and delivering enjoyable and inspiring places for people to gather, live, and work, and leave positive impacts in their respective communities. Most recently, Alan led the planning and capitalization of  

FAT Village, a 935,000-square-foot mixed-use development currently under construction in Downtown Fort Lauderdale. The 5.5-acre project includes 600 multifamily residential units, 75,000 square feet of ground floor retail, and a 180,000-square-foot mass timber office building, which is the first of its kind in the State of Florida. 

Brian Lantz has more than 18 years of experience in the construction industry, where he has garnered a wide range of project experience with HITT Contracting delivering ground up, commercial core and shell base building projects across office, multifamily, and mixed-use segments. He graduated from James Madison University and began his career as a residential construction superintendent before joining HITT in Washington, DC as a project engineer in 2006 and moving through the ranks in project management roles. In his current role as project executive, Brian provides day-to-day oversight on base building and repositioning projects, supporting his team through project challenges and ensuring client success by managing relationships, monitoring satisfaction and team effectiveness, and overseeing resource allocation. He is responsible for projects’ financial, quality, safety, and schedule goals, as well as preconstruction and budgeting services, subcontractor procurement, change management, and closeout services. Notable projects include HITT’s R&D facility Co|Lab, National Geographic Base Camp, Navy Federal Credit Union Headquarters, Trex Headquarters, Cielo Modern Residences, K12, E*TRADE, and AvalonBay Communities. He is a LEED Accredited Professional and is affiliated with Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), Washington Building Congress, and NAIOP.