EDAC Volunteers

A core group of volunteers have dedicated their time to completing major milestones, including the creation of the base knowledge necessary for the program's foundation – the exam's detailed content outline (DCO). (Click to view full profiles)

Howard Allums (Turner Construction)

Sheila Bosch, PhD, LEED AP (Gresham, Smith and Partners)

Rosalyn Cama, FASID (CAMA Incorporated)

Barbara Delinger (HDR)

Eve Edelstein, M. Arch, PhD, EDAC, FAAA, Assoc AIA (The Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture)

Rachel Ginsberg (Anshen+Allen Architects)

Phyllis Goetz (Nurture by Steelcase) and the Nurture Sales Team

Kirk Hamilton, FIA, FACHA (Texas A&M University)

Constance Harmsen, RN, MS, MHA, FACHE (Rehabilitation Hospital of Wisconsin)

Julie Kent (Karlsberger)

Robert Levine (Turner Construction)

Eileen Malone, RN, MSN, MS (Mercury Healthcare Consulting)

Julie Mann-Dooks (Noblis Center for Health Innovation)

James Moler (Turner Construction)

Upali Nanda, Ph.D. (American Art Resources)

Charisse Oland (Oland Consulting)

Jim Rasche, AIA, ACHA (Kahler Slater)

Karen Reno, PhD, MBA, RN (Joint Commission)

Alberto Salvatore, AIA, NCARB (Salvatore Associates)

Peter Sharpe (Irwin P. Sharpe & Associates)

Elieen Trimbach, AIA

Nick Watkins, PhD (HOK)

If you have questions for our volunteers, contact us  and we'll put you in touch with them.

Howard Allums

Volunteer: Study Guide Co-Author

Howard Allums has more than 38 years of experience in the construction industry in both operations and preconstruction services.  A graduate of Auburn University, he has provided more than 32 years of managing and directing preconstruction services for healthcare facilities. As vice president and general manager for Turner Construction's National Healthcare Group, Howard is responsible for the effective management and development of healthcare construction projects through the United States.

As corporate sponsor of The Center for Health Design, Turner is a firm believer in the fact that evidence-based design has a positive impact on the healthcare industry. Howard feels that individuals who are involved in the design and construction of healthcare facilities need to not only have an understanding of EBD, but should also know and understand the impact that it has on both staff and patients.  The EDAC program will provide individuals with this understanding and knowledge and allow them the strive to maintain EBD in furture programs. 

Sheila Bosch, PhD, LEED AP

Volunteer: Study Guide Co-Author

As Director of Research for Gresham Smith and Partners (GS&P), Sheila Bosch serves as a firm wide resource for planners and designers as they apply research evidence to enhance quality, safety and efficiency in healthcare settings.  Sheila also contributes to this important field of evidnece-based design by conducting original research aimed at understanding how the physical environment affects health and performance outcomes.  Dr. Bosch has more than 19 years of experience including green building research and consulting as well as experience with the development of tools and resources to promote evidence-based design among healthcare administrators and decision makers.

Dr. Bosch was thrilled when asked to contribute to the development of the EDAC Study Guides and was eager to assist The Center for Health Design because of their important work to the field of EBD. By accrediting multi-disciplinary professionals, EDAC has the potential to make research a fundamental part of healthcare design and significantly improve patient and staff well-being.

Rachel Ginsberg, MLIS

Volunteer: Study Guide Author

Rachel Ginsberg works as the Information Specialist and Research Coordinator for Anshen+Allen Architects, an international architectural practice dedicated to the design of healthcare, academic and research buildings.  She is currently part of the research team dedicated to incorporating evidence-based design principles into everyday architectural practice.  Ms. Ginsberg received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Tufts University and a Masters of Library and Information Science from Simmons Univseity.

Being a trained librarian, Ms. Ginsberg is of the belief that it is imperative that architects and designers be able to justify their designs from more than an aesthetic stand point and learn the best ways to incorporate due dilligence reference and research into their designs.  Ms. Ginsberg says EDAC supplies the common language and knowledge behind performing such research in regards to the built environment.

Kirk Hamilton, FAIA, FACHA

Volunteer: Exam Committee and Base Knowledge Document

Kirk Hamilton is a Fellow of the Center for Health Systems & Design and Associate Professor of Architecture at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX, where his research area is the relationship of evidence-based design of health facilities and measurable organizational performance.  He is also a Founding Principal of Emeritus, WHR Architects, Houston and Dallas, TX.  WHR is an internationally recognized firm that specializes in healthcare architecture.

Julie Kent
Volunteer and EDAC Study Guide Co-Author
Julie is a senior healthcare consultant at Karlsberger and a graduate of Lawrence Technological University with a bachelor in architecture. Julie left behind the traditional field of architecture to pursue her passion for systems-based thinking and strategic facilities planning. Over the last 15 years she has used her strengths to assist nationally ranked hospitals, universities and corporations in the development of business strategies to align their space, process and technology systems.

Julie sees her participation as a way to help her firm be on the leading edge of the evidence-based design certification wave. According to Julie, some of the benefits of EDAC are:
1. Understanding the difference between using and creating evidence
2. A framework for finding, evaluating and applying existing best evidence, without having to be a researcher.
3. It clarifies the importance of creating an interdisciplinary project team and developing a
clear evidence-based design strategy.
4. It demystifies research terminology and explains the benefits of using a qualified researcher.

Eileen Malone, RN, MSN, MS

Volunteer: EDAC Study Guide Co-Author

Eileen Malone is a Senior Partner for Mercury Healthcare Consulting, LLC located in Alexandria, Virginia.  Mercury Healthcare supports clients embracing evidence-based design in health facility projects as a means to improve patient, staff and resource outcomes.  Ms. Malone retired from the United States Army at the rank of colonel having served as the CIO for the Army Medical Department, a hopsital commander/CEO, congressional affairs liasion, facility planner, nurse methods analyst and nurse practitioner.

Education is one of the most important steps in the journey to institutionalize new concepts, like evidence-based design, Eileen says.  Eileen was delighted to share her knowledge and experience as a volunteer creating the EDAC study guides.  Eileen says that creating a team of EDAC accredited, multi-disciplinary leaders fuels our efforts to grow the "Army" needed to conduct EBD research and share the impacts on patients, staff and resources.

Upali Nanda, PhD.

Volunteer: Exam Committee and Study Guides

Upali Nanda is the Vice President and DIrector of Research, Theraputic Environments, at American Art Resources, responsible for investigating the role of art in creating healing environments.  Her research focus is on the effect of the designed environment on human perception.  Dr. Nanda received her PhD in Architecture from Texas A&M University in Health Systems and Design.  She received a Master of Arts in Architecture from National University of Sinagpore, with a bachelor degree from the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi, India.

Being an EDAC volunteer has helped her understand the many challenges (and opportunities) to an EBD approach.  Dr. Nanda believes the volunteers have an ethical and empathetic drive to improve the profession of healthcare design and create better environments for the end users.

Jim Rasche, AIA, ACHA

Volunteer: Study Guide Co-Author

Jim Rashce is a 3EO at Kahler Slater and a team leader for its healthcare team.  He works with visionary healthcare clients throughout the world leading the design and management of transformational experiences and environments.  Mr. Rasche specializes inleading clients through an interactive experiential design process resulting in a clear articulation of the client's vision, staff enthusiasm, practice innovation, community conseansus and marketplace differentiation.

Kahler Slater recently received a large international project, and the entire team working on this project is EDAC accredited.  "We are happy to have 27 of our staff recognized as EDAC accredited individuals and we believe it's making a difference.  I encourage all healthcare designers to become EDAC accredited.  Together we can change the world," says Jim.

Alberto Salvatore, AIA, NCARB

Volunteer: Exam Committee, and Base Knowledge Document

Alberto Savatore is co-founder and Principal of Salvatore Associates.  Mr. Salvatore has more than 25 years of experience in healthcare architecture master planning, department planning, programming and design. He has successfully lead teams nationally and internationally on projects large and small.  He is responsible for the development of the interdisciplinary design team approach to project delivery, from strategic and operational planning through the building implementation process.

With his work in defining Evidence-Based Design process, Mr. Salvatore continues to develop contemporary approaches to achieve the highest quality outcomes for the industry and healthcare leaders.

Nick Watkins, PhD

Volunteer: Study Guide Co-Author

Nicholas Watkins is HOK's director of research and innovation.  He specializes in environmental psychology.  Dr. Watkins was the first in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's history to graduate with a doctorate from its School of Architecture.  His professional work focuses on those interactions between humans and their environments that reflect excellence in design and contribute to physical and psychological well-being.

Nick participated in the study guides to help bring awareness of how research informing healthcare design is crucial for a basic understanding of where we have been and a foundation from which the entire industry can grow. More importantly, Nick says, the study guides are a forum through which the industry's current EBD solutions for patient satisfaction and staff efficiencies are balanced with the benefits of future trends and paradigms. These include advances in diagnostic and treatment technologies, operational models, information technology, and the research explorations that validate them.  These trends will challenge our contemporary notions of what environments and interfaces for healing will be used for and look like.

Eve Edelstein, M. Arch, PhD, EDAC, FAAA, Assoc AIA
Volunteer: Study Guide Co-Author
Dr. Edelstein integrates her training in neuroscience, clinical care and architecture to translate research within the design process.  Eve is President of Innovative Design Science and collaborates on research at Calit2 UCSD.

Dr. Edelstein is the first person known to receive degrees and experience in Neuroscience (Ph.D. Institute of Neurology, University College London), Architecture (M.Arch. NewSchool of Architecture & Design) and Anthropology (B.A. University of California Berkeley). 

Working with faculty at University of California San Diego and the NewSchool of Architecture & Design, she developed and taught the first program of courses on Neuroscience for Architecture and workshops for the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture.

Dr. Edelstein collaborates with design firms and clients to apply design principles from research to design projects.