Builder Benchmark Group

Todd Usher built Addison Homes on a solid green foundation.

In 2002, Addison Homes became the only company in South Carolina to certify 100% of its homes to high-performance standards such as Energy Star and EarthCraft House, and, most recently, U.S. Department of Energy's Zero Energy Ready Home. 

As the first builder in the U.S. to earn NAHB's Master Certified Green Professional designation, Todd freely shares his expertise with the building industry. He serves on the Industry Advisory Board for Clemson University's Department of Construction Science and Management, where he encourages the next generation of builders to pursue residential green building. Todd is also a frequent guest speaker in courses within the Sustainability Science Major at Furman University. Todd volunteers on several boards including Trees Greenville and the National Association of Home Builders where he is the Education Chair for the SC Home Builders Association.

After attending Ryerson's Architecture program, Fil transferred to Ryerson’s Civil Engineering program and graduated in 1984 and received the John Cowan Ashton Award for excellence. He was approved into full membership at OACETT obtaining his C.E.T. in Structural Engineering. Since graduating, Fil has regularly upgraded his skills in professional development courses at University of Toronto taking courses in Comprehensive and Advanced Project Management. He has kept up a regime of upgrading with and often at the leading edge of Industry trends completing training for R2000, Energy Star, and NET ZERO building. He has acted for the courts as an expert witness and is qualified as a Construction Adjudicator. Since 1984 Fil has worked in the construction industry, mainly in the Custom Home Building, Commercial work, and tract building. He has been a team leader in over 40 Custom Homes ranging in value from $1- $25 million. In his role as a Project Manager he has been responsible for the oversight of all functions of the build cycle from project planning at inception to resource and procurement management to final handover and warranty execution. In his current role, Fil was and continues to be responsible for overseeing budgeting of projects, leadership in assembling high level project schedules, monitoring and consulting with team members to keep projects on schedule, meeting with construction managers and site supervisors to stat projects and review schedules to ensure requirements are met, overseeing projects’ costing and value engineering and to meet project objectives, and conducting client meetings to report to clients.

Juan founded CVF homes in 2005 focusing on infill development and building energy and water efficient homes with great design.

CVF homes is committed to certifying 100% of its homes to the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home Program and is a proud winner of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Housing Innovation Award in 2019 and Honorable Mention in 2020. CVF homes is a member of Build San Antonio Green and has received multiple sustainability awards from the City of San Antonio.

Juan currently serves on the Planning Commission Technical Advisory Committee of the City of San Antonio and is a past member of the San Antonio Water System Community Conservation Committee (CCC) and past Co-Chair of the US Green Building Council of the South Texas Chapter.

Juan received his Bachelor degree in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from the Monterrey Institute of Technology (ITESM) in Monterrey Mexico.

Doug Tarry Jr. is Vice President of Operations at Doug Tarry Limited based in St. Thomas Ontario. Doug Tarry Homes is a family owned business founded by his father Doug Sr., in 1954. Doug sees to the daily operations of Doug Tarry Limited, a second-generation builder of Net Zero / Net Zero Ready Homes. He has worked extensively with a number of manufacturers and suppliers to develop products and methods needed for today’s high performance / Net Zero Homes, and is currently appointed as a Technical Chair for the Ontario Home Builders Association, a presenter and trainer on a number of Building Code and Better Building Subjects, a contributing writer for Better Builder Magazine, author of A Builders Guide to Net Zero Homes for NRCan (tentative release fall 2020), and a part of the Net Zero and Technical Research Councils for Canadian Home Builders Association. In his personal life, he is married to wife Carolyne and father of Sarah, and is also a professionally trained chef who loves entertaining for friends and family.

Fish Builders is owned and operated by Greg Follet. Greg grew up in Wisconsin, working construction jobs from an early age. The search for adventure and continued education led him to Colorado State University in Fort Collins, where Greg developed a heavy addiction to mountain living and earned a degree in Construction Management in 1993. It is also where he met the love of his life, Stacy. Greg and Stacy finally settled upon Salida, Colorado, where they are raising two children and fueling their passion for the mountains. Greg started his company in 1998 with the same loyal and talented craftsmen that work for him today. Focusing on custom homes, as well as remodeling, Fish Builders has quickly become one of the premier builders in the Arkansas River Valley.

Rob Howard is President of Howard Building Science, Inc. based in Granite Falls, NC. As a Licensed General Contractor, Howard Building Science provides sustainable development and net-zero energy home construction in the High Country and Foothills of Western North Carolina.

Rob has over 20 years of experience in the construction industry. He is the former Director of Construction at Habitat for Humanity of Catawba Valley where he built ENERGY STAR homes through Advanced Energy’s SystemVision program. He built the first Net-Zero Energy Home in North Carolina in partnership with the Appalachian Energy Center in 2005. He also built the first DOE Zero Energy Ready Homes in North Carolina in 2015.

Previous roles include 5 years as a Sustainable Building Specialist with Habitat for Humanity International and 4 years as a Performance Construction Manager with Mitsubishi Electric.

Rob holds a bachelor’s degree and a renewable energy technologies diploma from North Carolina State University. He recently completed a master’s degree in sustainable technology and building science at Appalachian State University.

James Monroe Homes was founded in 2006 by James Monroe and his wife, Martha. After a couple years of working in the home building industry as a Project Manager, James was given the opportunity to build two speculative homes. He was able to complete the two homes in 62 days all while working full-time as a Project Manager. At only 23 years old, James decided to venture out on his own to start James Monroe Homes. His goal was to build 5 homes a year.

The first ten years, James Monroe Homes was a full-time job, by 2015 James realized that working as a Solopreneur was no longer working for his business. He needed to work on building a business that could work without him. If not, he had simply created another job for himself. In order to be successful, James Monroe Homes needed more than product and profit, it needed people and process. With that in mind he began to grow his team. With the right people in place, he was able to focus on the process. Process came in 2017 with the opening of an innovative design center where each homebuyer of James Monroe Homes will have the opportunity to work with a personal designer to make selections for their new home.

Karen Kicinski is the marketing director and co-owner of LifeStyle Homes Builders headquartered in Melbourne, Florida.

She has served in this role for 8 years, driving corporate messaging and branding, as well as working to attract new clients through a suite of marketing platforms. Prior to working at LifeStyle Homes, Karen worked as a magazine editor for numerous local publications. She has a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Central Florida, as well as a master’s degree in publishing from New York University. When not working, Karen enjoys spending time with her husband and two young children, reading, and traveling.

LifeStyle Homes Builders is a family-owned homebuilder celebrating 36 years in business. LifeStyle Homes builds single-family homes throughout Brevard and Indian River counties on Florida’s East Coast. LifeStyle Homes specializes in energy-efficient, sustainable homes—each built to the stringent guidelines of their LifeStyle SunSmart program—as well as zero-energy solar-powered homes. Recently, LifeStyle launched HealthSmart, a sister program to SunSmart, focused on reducing indoor air pollutants and promoting clean indoor air.

Mandalay Homes’ Owner and CEO Dave Everson is a long time resident of Arizona with family roots in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The construction industry was a natural fit for Dave as his grandfather, father and uncle were all home builders. Dave recently relocated his family and company headquarters to Prescott. Dave has led the company down a path of innovation that brought Mandalay national recognition as an industry leader in energy conservation, indoor air quality, and water sustainability.

Gene is owner and CEO of Thrive Home Builders (formerly New Town Builders), Denver's leader in building green, energy efficient production homes and recent winner of the U.S. Department of Energy's Housing Innovation Award.

Gene has served on numerous state and local housing groups and currently serves as a member the board of directors of Denver Civic Ventures and the Challenge Foundation. He has served on the Governor's Blue Ribbon Panel for Housing, the Boards of Housing Colorado and the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver and co-chaired Denver's Housing Task Force. His company is Denver's largest builder of for-sale affordable housing.

Nationally, New Town Builders has been recognized as EPA's Millennium ENERGY STAR® Builder, EPA's Leadership Award for Indoor Air Quality, Green Building Magazine's Green Home of the Year and the U.S. Department of Energy's Grand Winner for Innovation in Housing.

Timothy M. O'Brien founded Tim O'Brien Homes along with his partner, Matt Neumann, in June of 2007.

Tim went out to form a new residential home building company focused on building green and energy efficient homes. He continues to develop knowledge in building high performance homes through educational events such as EEBA and DOE workshops. Since the inception of Tim O'Brien Homes, the company has been honored to receive the Silver NHQ award in 2016 and the Gold award in 2017. At the start of 2018 the company has also broken ground in Wisconsin's first net zero energy neighborhood, Red Fox Crossing in New Berlin, and is the leading innovator of Solar Energy homes in the State of WI, partnered with SunVest Solar, Inc.

Tim is very active in several Waukesha area school districts running a home building project with the high school construction trades seniors at Oconomowoc High School for the past (8) years, as well as pioneering a brand new curriculum for New Berlin Eisenhower High School's trade program to start in the Fall of 2018.

Joel Abney is the National Vice President of Operations at Woodside homes and a proven executive with over 20 years of experience directing operational and procedural improvements across industries for maximum quality and efficiency.

He has demonstrated skill devising business growth strategies and identifying opportunities for streamlining, cost savings, and profitability. He has expertise recruiting, developing, motivating, and leading high-performance employee teams, and has a superb track record completing major projects to meet corporate requirements for schedule, budget, and accuracy. His specialties include management consulting, waste elimination, process improvement, claims administration, teambuilding & training, and lean process implementation