NIBS Appoints New Leadership to Drive Federal Building Resilience

WASHINGTON – October 29, 2026 — As the American construction industry grapples with the escalating, twin challenges of climate resilience and housing affordability, the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) has announced a strategic realignment of its Board of Directors for the 2026-2027 term. The appointments, announced today, place prominent figures from building code administration, academic engineering, and sustainable residential construction at the helm of the congressionally mandated organization.

Leading the board as Chair is Dominic Sims, President of Jupiter Advisory Group and former CEO of the International Code Council (ICC). He is joined by Bruce Risley, retired from ARCADIS, serving as Vice Chair, and James Koch, retired from Michael Baker International, acting as Treasurer. The organization also welcomed two new directors: Robert Howard, President of Howard Building Science, and Dr. Kevin Walsh, Director of the Master of Engineering Program at the University of Notre Dame. Charlie Curlin Jr., the outgoing Chair, will transition to a non-voting Immediate Past Chair role for one year, while Lori Peek and Monika Serrano conclude their dedicated service to the board.

"Innovation across all sectors requires one shared foundation: the built environment," said George Guszcza, President and CEO of NIBS. "Our board provides the guidance and governance needed to help advance building innovation, and help safeguard, enable, and empower individuals, families, businesses, and communities across the USA."

Building Codes at a Crossroads: Shaping Federal Resilience Standards

The appointment of Dominic Sims as Board Chair signals a robust, forward-looking agenda regarding national building standards. During his tenure at the ICC from 2003 to 2024, Sims oversaw the organization's revenue expansion to $187 million and championed the widespread adoption of the International Codes (I-Codes). His background places him at the nexus of regulatory compliance and disaster mitigation, an area of increasing urgency for federal agencies.

Sims steps into the leadership role just as initiatives like FEMA's National Initiative to Advance Building Codes are pushing to align federal funding with updated, hazard-resistant model codes. Industry observers note that having an ICC veteran guiding NIBS will likely streamline the translation of cutting-edge building science into enforceable, municipal-level code adoption.

This regulatory push is heavily augmented by the technical expertise of newly appointed director Dr. Kevin Walsh. A Principal at Frost Engineering in addition to his academic roles, Walsh brings deep experience in structural engineering and seismic resilience. His extensive research into the vulnerability of historic masonry structures and his pioneering work with pultruded fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) structural framing provide the exact kind of data-driven insights required to update national seismic guidelines. Together, Sims' policy acumen and Walsh's structural expertise create a formidable leadership dynamic aimed at hardening the nation's critical infrastructure against increasingly severe climate events and natural disasters.

Bridging Academic Research and Jobsite Realities

A striking feature of the 2026-2027 board appointments is the deliberate inclusion of active university educators. By bringing both Dr. Walsh and Robert Howard—a lecturer at Appalachian State University—onto the board, NIBS is directly addressing a persistent friction point in the construction industry: the gap between theoretical engineering research and frontline workforce education.

The construction sector has long struggled to accelerate the adoption of new technologies and materials on the jobsite. Researchers may develop highly resilient composite materials or advanced energy modeling software, but without a trained workforce to implement these innovations, their real-world impact remains bottlenecked.

Walsh's dual role as an academic researcher and a practicing Engineer of Record for over 200 commercial and industrial projects exemplifies the bridge between the lab and the construction site. Similarly, Howard teaches courses in building sciences and clean energy, equipping the next generation of builders with the practical skills required for sustainable technology deployment. By elevating educators to its board, NIBS is telegraphing a clear strategy: advancing building innovation requires not just better materials and codes, but a massive, synchronized effort in vocational and academic workforce development.

Affordable Housing Meets Energy Efficiency

Perhaps the most complex challenge facing the built environment today is the tension between ambitious energy efficiency mandates and the desperate need for affordable housing. The appointment of Robert Howard positions NIBS to tackle this intersection head-on.

As the President of Howard Building Science in Western North Carolina, Howard has built a career proving that sustainability and affordability do not have to be mutually exclusive. He constructed North Carolina's first Net-Zero Energy Home in 2005 and has since focused heavily on "Missing Middle Housing" and pocket neighborhoods. His projects, such as the Duke St. Cottages, are designed to consume 50 percent less energy than standard code-built houses while remaining accessible to workforce buyers—often pricing significantly below the state median.

Howard achieves this through rigorous energy modeling, superior insulation techniques, and cost-effective material selection, frequently meeting the stringent requirements of the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home certification and FORTIFIED Home standards. As federal agencies like the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) look for ways to accelerate innovative multifamily housing construction, Howard's practical, boots-on-the-ground experience will be invaluable. His presence on the board ensures that NIBS's policy recommendations will remain grounded in the economic realities of residential developers and the financial limitations of American homebuyers.

Aligning Strategic Mandates with Federal Agencies

Created by an act of Congress in 1974, NIBS occupies a unique position as an independent, non-partisan 501(c)(3) with sole-source authority for federal contracts related to the built environment. The new board leadership is perfectly calibrated to maximize these federal relationships and drive nationwide impact.

Recent federal contract data underscores the breadth of NIBS's influence, ranging from architectural and engineering services for the Department of Defense to deep collaborations with FEMA. The institute's "Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves" studies, which demonstrated that every dollar invested in hazard mitigation saves six dollars in future disaster costs, have become foundational texts for federal resilience spending.

Moving forward, the 2026-2027 board will be tasked with executing ambitious strategic mandates, including the rollout of the Resilience Incentivization Roadmap 2.0 and the expansion of the Lifeline Infrastructure Hub. With Sims' unparalleled network in code administration, Walsh's structural innovations, and Howard's blueprint for affordable net-zero housing, NIBS is uniquely equipped to connect research, policy, and practical application. As the physical foundations of the American economy face unprecedented stress from both climate change and aging materials, this newly assembled team of industry veterans and academic pioneers will play a critical role in engineering a safer, more resilient future.