Ryan Abendroth

PHIUS instructors bring to the classroom a wealth of hands-on, real-word experience from climate zones around North America, as well as academic and research credentials. They have successfully completed the PHIUS Train-the-Trainers curriculum and practicum.

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Ryan Abendroth is the Certification Manager at the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS).  His first Passive House experience was with Team Illinois in the US Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon Competition in 2009 (the team took Second Place overall).  Ryan is a Certified Passive House Consultant, a member of the PHIUS Technical Committee and a trainer for PHIUS' Certified Passive House Consultant Training Program, for the PHIUS+ Rater Program and advanced tutorials in topics related to Passive House construction. Ryan is also the Principal of Passive Energy Designs LLC, a Missouri-based energy consulting firm. He has worked with many clients to develop Passive House projects including Kansas University's Studio 804. He has also dabbled in the LEED Rating System and has worked on a few projects that achieved both Passive House and LEED Platinum Certifications.  He believes through built projects and collaboration we can collectively push Passive House forward and out in to the mainstream. Ryan is currently pursuing his Masters of Architecture at the University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign.

Dave Brach

Dave Brach is the owner of Brach Design, an architecture firm in Salt Lake City, Utah, that specializes in passive and net zero energy design for residential and small commercial buildings. He has a degree in anthropology from the University of Notre Dame, and a Masters of Architecture from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has been involved in the design and construction industry full-time since 1993 as a carpenter, cabinet maker, designer, and licensed architect.  He designed the first Certified Passive House in the West in 2009, and is also co-owner of a licensed general contracting business.

Prudence Ferreira

Graham Irwin

John McCreery

John Semmelhack

Vic Weber

Dan Whitmore

Graham Wright

Prudence Ferreira is an energy and building science consultant with a focus on the Passive House energy standard. She consults with architects, builders, developers, non-profits and government agencies on using the Passive House concept to achieve low, zero and positive-energy buildings. As a licensed trainer for the Passive House Institute US, Ms Ferreira teaches the Certified Passive House Consultant training and advanced Passive House technical workshops around the United States. She helped author the North American Certified Passive House Consultant Exam. In addition she interfaces with USGBC national technical staff on the LEED for Homes and Passive House standard integration effort. In addition to leading her consulting firm, [i3] Integral Impact Inc., Ms. Ferreira serves on the PHIUS Board, the Technical Committee and inputs significantly on exam, curriculum, and continuing education program development. Prudence has served as President of the Passive House Institute US Board of Directors and currently works as Director of Operations for the Passive House Alliance San Francisco Chapter. Ms. Ferreira’s credentials include Certified Passive House Consultant, Certified Energy Analyst, Hygrothermic Analyst, LEED AP+ (BD+C), and LEED for Homes Rater.

Graham Irwin is a principal of Essential Habitat, a Passive House design and consulting firm based in Northern California. He has worked in the construction industry for more than 20 years and has a degree in physics with additional studies in engineering and architecture, and an extensive background in software development.

Graham recognized the potential of Passive House immediately and was one of the first Passive House Consultants certified in the United States, as well as a founding board member of the Passive House Alliance US (PHAUS), and Passive House California (PHCa). He was subsequently trained by the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt, Germany as a Passive House project certifier. Among his Passive House projects is the first Certified Passive House in California, which is also the first Certified Passive House retrofit in the United States.

Katrin Klingenberg is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS). She has led the training of more than 600 architects, engineers and other building professionals that has led to certification of more than 300 as Certified Passive House Consultants.

In 2003, Klingenberg designed and built the first home built to meet the Passive House building energy standard in the United States. She has designed and consulted on numerous successful Passive House projects across North America’s varied climate zones. In addition to her executive role she is the lead instructor for PHIUS Certified Passive House Consultant training. In that role she directs curriculum development. She also directs the technical and research programs of PHIUS, and is a licensed architect in Germany.

John Semmelhack is the owner of Think Little, an energy efficiency and green building consulting firm based in Charlottesville, Virginia. John consulted on the first certified Passive House residence in Virginia and is currently consulting on three other Passive House projects in central Virginia.

John is a Certified Passive House Consultant, a member of the Passive House Institute U.S. (PHIUS) Technical Committee, and is a PHIUS Certified PHIUS+ Rater training programs. He sits on the boards of the Passive House Alliance U.S. (PHAUS) and the Passive House Alliance U.S. - Capital Chapter.

John is also a certified Home Energy Rating System (HERS) rater, a Technical Advisor to builders in the EarthCraft House Virginia green building program, and a BPI-certified Building Analyst. He is a graduate of the Leeds

Vic Weber served 22 years in the US Navy as a pilot flying FA-18 Hornets, F-16 Falcons, and F-5 Tiger II jet aircraft. He served:

1. •As Director of Flight Operations at the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center
   

2. •As Director of Training at the Navy Fighter Weapons School - TOPGUN
   

3. •In numerous Fleet FA-18 squadrons during combat operations worldwide
   

A 2008 article on Passive House re-ignited his passion for engineering and he became a Certified Passive House Consultant, founding the ZEPHER Group LLC. Team ZEPHER  is near completion of the first Passive House in the State of Idaho, a challenging retrofit of a 1910 farmhouse.  Vic also teaches the Certified Passive House Consultant training course for PHIUS.

Vic brings his strong, combat-proven leadership to the Passive House community, and an infectious, bold perspective to the green building world. For Vic, as a former Navy man, it seems fitting that the first fully functioning Passive House was a ship.

Dan Whitmore has worked in various aspects of the construction industry since 1987, predominantly as carpenter, general contractor and builder with additional stints as a designer, consultant and FEMA Disaster Assistance Inspector. His introduction to high-performance building came at an early and impressionable age when, in 1977, his family built an award-winning Solar Home in Oklahoma. As designer, builder and Certified Passive House Consultant, he completed one of the first Passive Houses in Washington State. He is the owner of Seattle, Wa., based Blackbird Builders, llc., is a founding board member of Passive House Northwest and sits on the Board of Managers of the Passive House Alliance-US.

Graham S. Wright earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois with thesis work related to ink-jet printing, and worked ten years for Eastman Kodak on development toner-based printing technology. In 2007 he decided to devote the rest of his career to energy efficiency and renewable energy, joined Americorps VISTA and moved to Minnesota, where he helped the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance develop a durable and efficient solar air heat panel. In 2008 he served as a permaculturalist for the Hunt Utilities Group and discovered Passive House. In 2009 he moved to Portland Oregon where he is currently the principal of Wright On Sustainability, a pre-certifier for PHIUS and chair of the Technical Committee, and a hygrothermic analyst for Small Planet Workshop.

Mr. McCreery is a Certified Passive House Consultant and a Professional Architect. In 35 years of professional practice his experience includes teaching and design, with a philosophical emphasis on curiosity, humanity, ecology, context, consensus building, sociological planning, building performance and day lighting. He formed What Art LLC in 2010 to place these ideas into architectural practice.

He has lectured nationally and internationally on topics of Sustainable Design, State of the Art Educational Theory and Facility Design, 21st Century School Design, and Passive House Metric; Pathway to Global Energy Security. He is a recognized expert in Educational Design and refined environments for industrial processes.

Katrin Klingenberg

Dr. Richman is Assistant Professor in the Building Science Group within the Department of Architectural Science in the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Science at Ryerson University. He has researched in building Science and sustainable Buildings since 1998. Dr. Richman plays a key role in the development and delivery of the graduate program in building science in the Department of Architectural Science. This program, unique in North America, combines the fundamentals of building science with the broad mandate of sustainable engineering and building design.

Russell Richman