TFG Events & Workshops

2024 Timber Framers Guild Conference


Speakers

Featured Speakers

Crystallee Crain

Crystallee Crain

Prevention at the Intersections, Founder & Principal

Crystallee Crain, Ph.D., is an interdisciplinary public health scholar and human rights activist. She specializes in exposing the layers of institutional inequality while supporting communities to shift ways of being and practice to improve life chances by bridging the worlds of academia, healing, and advocacy. Dr. Crain’s body of work represents a collective need to strengthen our responses to violence through transformative means, the need for liberatory practices, and a focus on healing as a revolutionary strategy for change. She holds an academic appointment with California State University – East Bay in the Department of Political Science and at Simmons University in the Masters of Public Health Program (Health Equity). She’s also on the board of The Michigan Nonprofit Association and the Seeding Justice Foundation. She is the Founder & Principal Consultant of Prevention at the Intersections, which works to prevent violence and other forms of harm through community-based research and people-centered projects. Crystallee also works with Nonprofit Network facilitating Capacity building support for organizations and their leaders. Dr. Crain is the author of A People’s Primer: Dispatches on Politics & Social Change (2022), Community, People, & Place: California Public Policy (2023), and The Re-Imagination of Black Political Spaces (2023). Dr. Crain earned a Doctorate of Philosophy in Transformative Studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, California. She holds a Master of Arts in Social Sciences (a concentration in Sociology from Eastern Michigan University), and a Bachelors of Science in Political Science from Northern Michigan University. In 2013 she received executive training in Health and Human Rights from the School of Public Health at Harvard University.

www.crystalleecrain.org

Presentation


Faith Fowler

Faith Fowler

Cass Community Social Services, Executive Director

Dr Faith Fowler is the executive director of Cass Community Social Services (CCSS), a nonprofit in Detroit that serves more than 700,000 meals a year and houses about 300 homeless people per night alongside a day program, medical clinics, and a job center. Dr Fowler's focus on sustainability and jobs has helped address income inequality in Detroit by creating jobs for homeless people and people under the poverty line, through products like mud mats made of repurposed illegally dumped tires, coasters made of wood sourced from demolished houses, and Detroit-branded sandals. Her expansion of CCSS's programs and properties has increased the number of homeless people who have successfully moved into transitional housing. She helped create the Tiny Homes Detroit project, Cass Community Publishing House, and Cass Green Industries, which produces the sustainable products sold by CCSS. Dr Fowler graduated from Albion College, and received a Master of Divinity from Boston University School of Theology and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Michigan.

casscommunity.org

Presentation


Lindsay Cook

Lindsay Cook

Pennsylvania State University, Assistant Professor

Dr. Lindsay Cook is Assistant Teaching Professor of Architectural History in the Department of Art History at Penn State University. An architectural historian, medievalist, digital humanist, translator, and digital preservation advocate, her current research addresses architectural and artistic responses to the Gothic cathedral Notre-Dame of Paris and digital and material approaches to the valorization, conservation, and restoration of cultural heritage. She is the translator of Notre Dame Cathedral: Nine Centuries of History (Penn State, 2020), and her writing about the history of Notre-Dame has recently appeared in the journals Future Anterior and Different Visions and the edited volume The Analysis of Gothic Architecture (Brill, 2023).

www.lindsayscook.com

Presentation

Thursday, October 17th

Rudy Christian

Rudy Christian

Christian & Son, Inc., President

Rudy R. Christian is a founding member and past president of the Timber Framers Guild, founding member and past president of Friends of Ohio Barns, founding member and past Executive Director of the Preservation Trades Network, and a founding member of the... read more

www.planexus.com

Presentation


Julie Hildebrand

Julie Hildebrand

Julie Hildebrand serves on the Guild board of directors and is the co-chair of the Diversity Committee. She is passionate about expanding the Guild's reach, and the potential we have to connect with communities in an impactful way. She loves the Guild... read more

Presentation


Adam Miller

Adam Miller

Adam Miller is an independent carpenter and consultant specializing in timber and log framing. His practice ranges from practical, vernacular projects in the New England square-rule tradition to complicated, innovative works that push the boundaries of organic-form scribing. A frequent presenter at... read more

Presentation


Laura Saeger

Laura Saeger

Christian & Son, Inc., Office Manager

Laura J. Saeger is a founding member of the Preservation Trades Network, Friends of Ohio Barns, and the Timber Framers Guild. Her educational background includes Kent State University and Akron University, both in Ohio. She and her husband Rudy R. Christian have... read more

www.planexus.com

Presentation

Friday, October 18th

George Berghorn

George Berghorn

Michigan State University, Assistant Professor, Construction Management

George H. Berghorn is an Assistant Professor of Construction Management in the School of Planning, Design & Construction, Research Director of MassTimber@MSU, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Sustainable Wood Construction in the Department of Forestry at Michigan State University (MSU). He... read more

Presentation


Charles Bultman

Charles Bultman

Chuck Bultman is a practicing architect in Ypsilanti, Michigan. For the last 25 years, Chuck’s practice has included documenting and studying timber framed barns, and other agricultural structures, with an eye toward what their futures might be. read more

Presentation


Tim Chauvin

Tim Chauvin

Red Suspenders Timber Frames, Founder & President

A New England native, Tim has been practicing timber framing in Texas since 1983 when he and his wife Wynter founded Red Suspenders Timber Frames, Inc. He continues his daily work with the company as president and is allowed by the... read more

www.redsuspenderstf.com

Presentation


Kevin Gray

Kevin Gray

Timber frame homes and structures have been Kevin’s passion for nearly 20 years. His love of timber frame construction is rooted in an appreciation of the natural environment and respect for the time-honored craft of creating homes using traditional joinery while blending... read more

Presentation


Tim Krahn

Tim Krahn

Building Alternatives, Inc., Partner

Tim Krahn is a registered professional engineer and partner in Building Alternatives, Inc. (BAI). He holds a Masters degree in geotechnical engineering and a Bachelors degree in civil engineering from the University of Manitoba. He has a pre-university background in residential and... read more

buildalt.ca

Presentation


Steve Lawrence

Steve Lawrence

Timber Framers Guild, Director, Community Building Projects Program

I have had a varied career. Starting with an apprenticeship in metal working as a fabricator and machinist, I moved into logging and arborist work before starting my timber framing career with Carpenter Oak & Woodland in 1990. In 2005, I moved to... read more

Presentation


Sandra Lupien

Sandra Lupien

MassTimber@MSU, Director

Sandra Lupien leads MassTimber@MSU, advancing sustainable mass timber construction and manufacture in Michigan, the Great Lakes Region, and beyond. Through this program, based at Michigan State University, Sandra collaborates with interdisciplinary faculty members, industry partners, policymakers, NGOS, tradespersons, and others on a... read more

www.canr.msu.edu/masstimber

Presentation


Adam Miller

Adam Miller

Adam Miller is an independent carpenter and consultant specializing in timber and log framing. His practice ranges from practical, vernacular projects in the New England square-rule tradition to complicated, innovative works that push the boundaries of organic-form scribing. A frequent presenter at... read more

Presentation


John Miller

John Miller

Cascade Joinery, Owner

I was introduced to timberwork in 1988, starting as a joiner with Blue Ridge Timber Frame in Christiansburg, Virginia. I helped start Dreaming Creek Timber Frame Homes in 1991. When I left the company in 2006, we had about 60 employees and... read more

cascadejoinery.com

Presentation


Ariel Schecter

Ariel Schecter

Woodpecker, LLC, Principal

Ariel Schecter is a passionate Vermont-based carpenter specializing in round wood scribing, compound joinery, and stereotomy. After working for 7 years as a lead timber framer and designer for Timberhomes Vermont, he is starting his own business, Woodpecker LLC, focusing on design,... read more

Presentation


Arron Sturgis

Arron Sturgis

Preservation Timber Framing, Founder

Arron Sturgis has been timber framing for over 30 years. He learned his trade from Jan Lewandoski working hand-in-hand with him on covered bridges, church steeples, and other significantly framed structures. He learned by doing and working closely with others. Arron has... read more

www.preservationtimberframing.com

Presentation


Daniel Troth

Daniel Troth

GreenTech Construction, Owner

Dan joined the Guild in 1986 and attended the conference at Vermont's Marlboro College after being introduced to joinery at Tedd Benson's Alstead, New Hampshire, workshop. In 1987, under the tutelage of TFG icon Randy Nash, he dismantled his first Pennsylvania forebay... read more

greentechconstruction.com

Presentation


Joe Trumpey

Joe Trumpey

University of Michigan, Professor

Joe Trumpey is a farmer, sustainable designer, science illustrator, and educator. As a professor at the University of Michigan for more than 30 years, he holds appointments at the Stamps School of Art & Design, Program in the Environment, and School for... read more

www.balecraft.com

Presentation

Saturday, October 19th

Joel Ambrosino

Joel Ambrosino

Gebau, Inc., Principal

Joel is an engineering principal at Gebau, Inc., a highly regarded structural engineering consultancy based in Colorado. He leads a team of 7 technical staff and 2 admins through the thickets of architectural, technical, regulatory, business, and personality-based challenges that structural... read more

www.gebau.com

Presentation


Luke Barnett

Luke Barnett

Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute, Founder

Luke A. Barnett is the President of the Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute (SBWI), an accredited trades college, where he is redefining what a college education can be. With nearly two decades of experience in woodworking, Luke has led SBWI to become a... read more

www.sambeaufordwoodshop.com

Presentation


Mike Beganyi

Mike Beganyi

Mike Beganyi Design & Consulting, LLC

Mike Beganyi has wandered through the design, woodworking, and timber framing world for the past 30 years. Throughout his education and career, he has had many roles – sculptor, studio assistant, furniture maker, timber framer, designer, marketer, and often he was a... read more

mikebeganyi.com

Presentation


Rick Collins

Rick Collins

Rick Collins is recognized for his expertise in both the history and the future of timber frame building. His portfolio encompasses visionary buildings that redefine the role of wood in the built environment, as well as authentic restoration and preservation work. Rick... read more

Presentation


Steve Lawrence

Steve Lawrence

Timber Framers Guild, Director, Community Building Projects Program

I have had a varied career. Starting with an apprenticeship in metal working as a fabricator and machinist, I moved into logging and arborist work before starting my timber framing career with Carpenter Oak & Woodland in 1990. In 2005, I moved to... read more

Presentation


Adam Miller

Adam Miller

Adam Miller is an independent carpenter and consultant specializing in timber and log framing. His practice ranges from practical, vernacular projects in the New England square-rule tradition to complicated, innovative works that push the boundaries of organic-form scribing. A frequent presenter at... read more

Presentation


Patrick Moore

Patrick Moore

The Professional School of Practical Stereotomy, Founder

Patrick M. Moore, a highly skilled Canadian carpenter and construction manager, has risen to prominence in his profession as a program manager overseeing the development of multiple multibillion-dollar mega structures at Amor Construction, a reputed construction company. Beyond his primary role, outside... read more

schoolofstereotomy.com

Presentation


Kunito Niwa

Kunito Niwa

Kominka Collective, Director

Kunito Niwa is the director of the Kominka Collective, a not-for-profit-company working to preserve, protect, and support the reconstruction of Japanese kominka folk houses while passing on traditional building methods. Kunito is active in a range of initiatives in Japan aimed at... read more

www.kominkacollective.com

Presentation


Lisa Sauvé

Lisa Sauvé

Synecdoche, Principal & Co-Founder

Lisa co-founded Synecdoche in 2009 with Adam Smith. She is a licensed architect in the State of Michigan and an assistant professor of practice at the University of Michigan Taubman College. She holds degrees for Master of Architecture and Master of Science... read more

www.synecdoche.design

Presentation


Adam Smith

Adam Smith

Synecdoche, Director of Design & Co-Founder

Adam co-founded Synecdoche with Lisa in 2009. He is a licensed architect in the State of Michigan and is a lecturer in architecture at the University of Michigan Taubman College. He holds a Master of Architecture from Taubman College at the University... read more

www.synecdoche.design

Presentation


Koji Toda

Koji Toda

Toda Komuten, Architect

Koji Toda is a Japan-based architect at his family's design-build firm, Toda Komuten, and a member of the Kominka Collective. Koji is active in a range of initiatives in Japan aimed at preserving built cultural heritage and revitalizing rural communities. read more

www.todasanchi.com

Presentation


Elevating the design of timber structures

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