Dr. Phyllis Horner is Co-Founder and CEO, Great Places and Spaces LLC
Phyllis completed her thesis at Wayne State University to earn her PhD in Organizational Psychology.
Activities and Societies: Minor in Social Psychology and Psychometrics
My PhD thesis was on the role of personal values in helping a person feel part of a group or organization and in particular, deciding to stay. My research showed that no matter how much positive feedback, training, or money the person makes, if they perceive that their personal values are similar to the organization, they are likely to stay -- and if there is not a values match, they will intend to leave.
I use this research on an ongoing basis for environmental work in the community, and with business and coaching clients as they plan their strategies and careers.

Dr. Manfred Zapka; healthy building and workplaces, building science, technology/software applications architectural design and building system applications for high performance buildings,

Dr. Manfred Zapka, PhD, PE, COO and Chief Science Officer of Great Places and Spaces LLC, is a Healthy Building Expert SM/ Doc SM . Professional certifications: Licensed Professional Engineer (PE), Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED AP), WELL Building Standard (WELL AP); Certified Energy Manager (CEM). Education: German MS (Dipl.-Ing.) in engineering, USA MS and PhD in engineering.

Manfred has a deep passion for green buildings and sustainable technology applications. His initial focus in sustainability was on energy and water conservation, developing technology and design solutions for high performance buildings and building infrastructure. For the past 10 years Manfred has focused on healthy building design and occupant comfort. Besides his professional consulting and design work, he has been an Adjunct Professor at the School of Architecture, University of Hawaii. He has extensively taught and conducted research in occupant comfort & health, applying advanced building simulation tools, such as computational fluid mechanics (CFS) and developing advanced AC and ventilation technologies that improve indoor environmental quality and occupant health.

Dr. Peter Williams, Partner, has over 30 years of creating new innovative businesses for established companies and startups. Peter is a globally recognized expert in Smart Cities and Disaster Resilience. With deep experience and knowledge in Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, the Internet of Things, Cloud and Mobile Computing, Peter brings a strong hands-on understanding of how these emerging and disruptive technologies can drive new business value.

Peter has served as the Chief Technology Officer for IBM's "Big Green Innovations" business unit, and led its smart cities and resilience business to water and energy utility clients. Peter is the co-author of the United Nations City Resilience Scorecard, which is now used by 60 cities globally, with a commitment by the 200 for another 200. Peter is a former IBM Distinguished Engineer. Peter is a mentor and advisor to various startups, venture capital firms and incubators.

Peter holds a Bachelor of Science (Honors) in Politics from the University of Bristol (UK), and a Ph.D from the School of Management, Bath University (UK).

Benson Chan, Senior Partner, has over 25 years of scaling innovative businesses and bringing innovations to market for Fortune 500 and start-up companies. With deep experience in strategy, business development, marketing, product management, engineering and operations management, Benson uses a systems approach to consistently deliver results that matter for clients.

He is a recognized domain expert and thought leader in networking, cloud, enterprise IT, Internet of Things (IoT), innovation management, business model innovation, and go-to-market. Benson has held project, management and executive positions in innovation-driven organizations, including NASA, Hughes Aircraft Company, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Cisco and Pakedge.

Benson serves on the CompTIA IoT Industry Advisory Council, the Telecommunications Industry Association Smart Buildings Working Group, and the NIST GCTC Wireless, Smart Buildings, and Smart Regions Collaborative superclusters. He has also served as an industry mentor for the US Department of Energy’s Building Technology Office.

Benson holds a BS in Aeronautical Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, a MS in Engineering from Purdue University and a MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Connect with Benson on LinkedIn or on Twitter.

Renil Paramel, Senior Partner, has over 20 years of management consulting experience on solving complex and strategic problems. With extensive experience in the Internet of Things (IoT) and technology strategy, portfolio management and strategic planning, M&A Technology Integration, and technology and risk assessment, Renil brings a proven history of consistently "moving the needle" for clients.

Renil is a trusted strategic advisor to C-level executives across Fortune 500 and public agencies in technology, finance, healthcare, retail and public sector. His clients include HP, Agilent Technologies, Sun Microsystems, Visa, American Express, Wells Fargo, Allianz, Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies, TD Bank, Chevron, Macy’s, PG&E, Kaiser Permanente, Counties of San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, and Solano.

Renil was most recently a Vice President of Consulting at Gartner Consulting. Prior to that, he has consulted at Accenture and Deloitte. In addition, Renil has successfully setting up a software development business unit with P&L responsibilities, and co-founded a multimedia startup.

Renil holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science from the University of Mumbai and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh with focus on Marketing and Systems.

David's work with Strategy of Things is based on his exemplary academic achievements at San Jose State University where he earned his Bachelor of Science - BS in International Business, with focus on Leadership and Global Management with a GPA of 3.89

Craig joined SSS to help bring a "standards" based approach to many markets where governments and municipalities need help with strategy and implementation.

Craig specializes in Transformational Technologies, with a focus in IoT, Blockchain and A.I. as core in the design authority capacity in several domains.

Under innovation consultancy practice, Change Impetus Group, Craig has developed a number of startups and ecosystem frameworks to bring new innovations to market using data driven tools, platforms and strategies through IoT Foundry and 3Open Labs catalysts. These services provide a structured path for new Innovations to reach markets with implicit matching using AI.

Before starting Change Impetus Group, Craig drove the Canadian Solution Provider Channel for Microsoft Canada, building complex relationships to launch and scale the Advanced Product Group of emerging "Back Office" platforms.

Craig previously lead B.D. for the network computing and communications solutions portfolio for Bell Canada before joining 3Com Corporation, where he ran the Toronto channel and direct sales efforts.

Craig has experience in computer industry vertical solutions in manufacturing, distribution, accounting, legal, medical markets developing consultative sales strategies for mainframe, mini computer and into client server and distributed systems. (Burroughs, AT&T, Convergent Technologies)

Craig is an Engineering Technologist, with a major in electronics systems and computer network communications from Sheridan College's Faculty of Applied Science and Technology in Toronto, Canada. Craig worked in all facets of Engineering, with roles in Design Labs, Field Engineering and Project Management.

Grant is an Entrepreneur - Industrial & Architectural Designer experienced in Product, Patent, Retail, & Hospitality design and process...to fulfillment.

He is a Strategic and Customer-Centric thinker who uses experience and knowledge to support clients with design + build that include AI Innovation, Sustainability & Community solutions to ensure delivery of a great brand experience. Grant holds a belief in making people's lives easier and better will always have satisfied customers.

He is an individual whose personal philosophy and values have enabled him to succeed, inspire, and lead others.