Save the Date: Thursday, October 1, 2026
Keynote
Z Smith, PhD, FAIA, LEED Fellow, WELL AP Principal & Director of Sustainability & Building Performance, EskewDumezRipple
Z's Bio: Z Smith is Principal and Director of Sustainability and Building Performance at EskewDumezRipple, winner of the AIA Firm Award. His built work includes academic, laboratory and residential buildings earning LEED Gold and Platinum certification, and winners the AIA COTE Top Ten award, the RAIC Green Building award (Canada), and the international Urban Land 10 Extra Green award. He brings training and experience in physics and engineering to the field of architecture, is named as inventor on 10 patents, and author on over 50 peer-reviewed scientific publications. He has taught at the Tulane School of Architecture, and has served on state, national and international bodies including the Louisiana Energy Code Commission, the Louisiana Climate Initiatives Task Force, the US Green Building Council Louisiana Chapter, the national Advisory Group of the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE), and the International Union of Architects Sustainable Development Commission.
Keynote
Ann Kosmal, FAIA, LEED AP BD_C, CPHC, PDC Principal & Sustainable Design Leader, Resiliency, HOK
Ann's Bio: Ann serves as HOK’s Firmwide Resilience Leader. She spearheads how HOK conducts climate vulnerability assessments so clients can make informed decisions that are aligned with their risk management objectives. An architect with over 20 years of experience on the owner’s side, Ann focuses on integrating forward-looking information and data into design solutions to ensure they remain robust over the intended design service life of client assets. Before joining HOK, she led climate change risk management and readiness for the U.S. General Services Administration. She is an author for 4thand 5th U.S. National Climate Assessment and was the Director of Climate Adaptation and Resilience at the Executive Office of the President of the United States.
Keynote
Joel Cesare Growth Lead: Cambio | Host: Less Talk, More Action
Joel's Bio: Joel Cesare is a real estate sustainability executive, entrepreneur, and candid voice in the industry, known for pushing beyond conventional approaches to deliver decarbonization at scale. As Growth Lead at Cambio, he drives go-to-market strategy, partnerships, and customer engagement, working closely with owners, operators, and asset managers to translate fragmented building data into actionable retrofit strategies. His focus is clear: help the real estate industry move faster from insight to execution by using AI to unlock portfolio-wide opportunities that enhance NOI while reducing risk.
Previously, Joel led the Global Net Zero Program for Google’s Real Estate organization, where he advanced the roadmap to decarbonize more than 1,000 buildings worldwide. His career spans big tech, private equity, climate startups, and city government, giving him a practical, operator-focused perspective on how sustainability aligns with capital planning and asset value.
He also served as Development Executive for the City of Santa Monica, overseeing City Hall East, a net-zero energy and water facility, and co-founded ZNE Capital, focused on multifamily net-zero conversions. Joel is co-host of the podcast Less Talk, More Action, where he highlights leaders driving measurable progress in climate and real estate.