Paola Capo is the Director of Resilience & Disaster Response for AIA. She strives to provide architects and communities with the resources they need to create healthier, more sustainable, resilient, and equitable built environments. In her current role, she divides her time between managing the Disaster Assistance Program (assisting architects and AIA chapters before and after disaster events occur) and supporting Communities by Design, a program of the Architects Foundation that matches communities with interdisciplinary expertise to achieve community aspirations. In her time at AIA, Paola has supported several other portfolios related to sustainability and climate action including the 2030 Commitment program, the Materials Pledge, and the Committee on the Environment with a focus on capacity-building for architects, firms, and chapters.

Paola recently completed a Masters in Emergency Management from Tulane University. In 2020, she completed IAP2’s Foundations in Public Participation Program, and in 2019 she participated in UC Berkeley’s [IN]City program to expand on her knowledge in urban design. She graduated from Georgetown University in 2017 with a degree in Science, Technology, and International Affairs, concentrating in Energy and the Environment.

Nathan Kipnis, FAIA, LEED BD+C, is a fellow of The American Institute of Architects. His practice, Kipnis Architecture + Planning, is based in Boulder, CO, and Evanston, IL. His architectural work has centered on sustainable design since attending the University of Colorado in 1979 for its solar design program.  He designed his first solar home in Boulder in 1983.  He then obtained his Master of Architecture degree from Arizona State University, with an emphasis in Energy Conscious Design.

A founding member of The American Institute of Architects’ 2030 Commitment Working Group in 2009, Mr. Kipnis served as the committee’s national co-chair from 2018 to 2019. He has also served on AIA’s national Sustainability Leadership Group, the Committee on Climate Action and Design Excellence, and was the Sustainability Director on the Executive Committee of the Small Firm Exchange. Mr. Kipnis currently serves on AIA’s national Resilience and Disaster Response Committee.  

Mr. Kipnis is the founder of NextHaus Alliance, a premium design/build concept that provides ‘net zero’ sustainable, resilient, and healthy luxury homes that seamlessly merge ‘High Design’ with ‘Low Carbon™’.  NextHaus recently completed its first certified Passive House/certified NET ZERO project in Evanston, which has garnered seven local, state, and international design awards to date, including a PHIUS design award in 2025.

Jessica’s career has delved into every phase of design and construction, and led to her current role as Technical Director at DMAC where she leads construction documentation, administration, and specification writing across all project types, sizes, and programs. Her enthusiasm for design detailing is only rivaled by her investment in code knowledge and constructability. Jessica is passionate about building performance and building science. She is the past Chair of the Leadership Group for the National AIA Building Performance Knowledge Community. In addition, she serves on the National AIA Codes and Standards Committee, as Chair of the Chicago Chapter of the Building Enclosure Council, and as Chair of the Education Committee for the Building Enclosure Technology and Environmental Council. She lives in a 100-year-old house in Evanston, IL with her husband, three kids, and two dogs.