Illya Azaroff, FAIA is the founding principal of +LAB architect whose mission is to build resilient capacity and advance goals for a sustainable, regenerative future while giving underserved communities greater voice and visibility. He is an internationally recognized leader in disaster mitigation, resilient planning, and design strategies. An Associate professor at New York City of Technology (CUNY). He serves as a technical expert for the New York Climate Impact Assessment appointed by Governor Hochul.  As AIA New York state disaster coordinator, he founded the AIA Unified Task Force City and State addressing impacts of COVID19.  Illya is advising HUD, the federal government, as part of the Resilient Housing Task force. While with ICC/ANCR- the Alliance for National Community Resilience helped create community resilience benchmarking system. He is a founding director of KIGRR - Kalinago Institute for Global Resilience and Regeneration on the island of Dominica. His office is advancing culturally significant community resilience hubs and regenerative cluster housing in several communities across the world. He served as the 2021 AIA New York State president and founding co-chair DfRR Design for Risk and Reconstruction at AIA New York (2011-21). Prior to coming to New York, he worked in Germany, Italy and Holland. He has worked in the field for over 25 years.

Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA is a Senior Research Fellow at Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies, and is the Project Director of the Remodeling Futures Program. This research effort, which began in 1995, is the first comprehensive analysis of U.S. remodeling activity ever undertaken by the Joint Center. Its goal is to develop an improved understanding of the dynamics of the U.S. repair and renovation industry so that businesses can better take advantage of the opportunities that this market offers. Baker is also the Chief Economist for the American Institute of Architects in Washington, D.C. In this capacity he analyzes business and construction trends for the U.S. economy, and examines their impact on AIA members and the architectural profession.

Prior to joining the Joint Center, Baker was vice-president and director of the economics department at Reed Business Information where he was responsible for industry forecasting. During his ten years at Reed he developed the Top U.S. Construction Market Report, and served as editor of the Reed Business Information's Construction Market Forecast newsletter.

Baker received his master's degree in urban planning from Harvard University, and holds a Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the same field.