EME Group Joins Salas O’Brien

Michael McNamara, PE CPMP, is a founding partner of EME. Mr. McNamara has spent his professional career implementing building system optimization through energy efficiency and sustainability, and is nationally recognized as an authority in the fields energy-engineering. Mr. McNamara has built a firm recognized for expertise, attention to detail, and cost-effective implementation.

Mr. McNamara’s experience in managing energy-engineering services includes partner-in-charge for several multi-million dollar projects for federal, state and local governments as well as private sector clients. These projects include multiple programs for the United States Department of Energy, NYC Department of Education’s School Construction Authority and Division of School Facilities, NYC’s City University Construction Fund, NYC’s Health and Hospitals Corporation, various NYS Energy Research Development Authority (NYSERDA), and Dormitory Authority of the State of NY (DASNY). Additional projects include an assortment of energy implementation programs for private sector clients including Columbia University, Fordham University, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Northeast Health, and The United Nations International School.

Mr. McNamara has written over 100 technical publications on energy efficiency and implementation. He has presented at national and local forums on building energy efficiency, waste management, system optimization, and effective design practices.

He was past president of NYS Energy Solar Society, ASHRAE NYC Chapter secretary, and president of Long Island Energy Buyers Forum.

Erik Neumann, EME founding partner, is responsible for many of the daily firm operations including program administration, quality control, marketing, and financial management. Under his direction, the firm has grown since 1987 to provide a full range of professional building-related services including energy analysis, design, sustainability, and commissioning. His experience encompasses healthcare, institutional, commercial, and multifamily projects located throughout the country. Mr. Neumann works with a broad client base comprised of federal, state, and local governments; universities; hospitals; utilities; schools; and real estate owners/developers.

He has acted as partner-in-charge for challenging assignments ranging from comprehensive energy audits of high-rise buildings such as New York City’s Police Department Headquarters with over 1 million square feet of floor area to providing the design and construction management services to convert an existing 2,000 boiler horsepower steam plant to a hydronic system in a large multifamily development in Harlem. Working in existing buildings requires a range of skills and expertise to identify and understand how the building systems are interrelated and impact one another. To successfully complete these kinds of complex projects, Mr. Neumann has managed teams of experienced professionals that have delivered cost-effective, comprehensive solutions.

Having written numerous articles covering building engineering topics for industry publications, Mr. Neumann's projects have garnered awards and recognition from multiple local and national organizations. He received his degree in civil engineering from the University of Colorado.

Neville Burrows is a principal in charge of the firm’s energy analysis group. He leads a group of engineers comprised of building energy simulation experts, energy auditors, and energy analysts. Mr. Burrows administers multiple energy analysis programs for government and utility clients where he is responsible for the overall management and overight of his staff working on individual projects. He recently led a team of engineers to Fairbanks, Alaska to perform a comprehensive energy audit at a US Air Force base that included 59 buildings totaling over 1.4 million-square-feet of floor area. The project identified approximately $1 million in energy savings and was completed on-time under a demanding schedule that required results in time for budgeting in the next fiscal year.

In addition to his other professional credentials, Mr. Burrows was the thirteenth person in the world to receive the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) challenging Building Energy Modeling Professional (BEMP) certification. This expertise allows him to manage complex projects such as the New York University Langone Medical Center’s new 800,000-square-feet hospital where his Building Energy Simulation Team (BEST) is assisting the project design architects and engineers select energy-efficient design concepts and alternatives. He has worked on assignments throughout the United States with EME Group since 2000 when he graduated with a bachelors of science degree in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech.

Michael Stritch is a certified commissioning authority, who serves as EME's director of commissioning with extensive experience in commissioning, energy conservation, engineering design, and construction administration. Mr. Stritch brings a strong design and controls background to his detail-oriented work, overseeing commissioning projects that range from a 5,000-square-feet retail store to an 800,000-square-feet manufacturing facility. EME Group’s approach toward commissioning is in accordance with procedures outlined in ASHRAE’s “Guideline 0-2005, The Commissioning Process” as well as compliance with the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) requirements for fundamental and enhanced commissioning and the NYC Energy Conservation Code. He directs his staff of engineers through all aspects of the process from developing the initial owner project requirements through to project closeout and is responsible for maintaining project schedules, quality control, and commissioning deliverables.

Mr. Stritch currently manages commissioning projects at 50 New York City public schools, including the NYC Department of Education's (DOE) first net zero school located in Staten Island. Additionally, he provides commissioning services for other educational facilities such as Barnard College and Allen Stevenson School as well as office buildings such as New York's 26 Federal Plaza and the Royal Commission headquarters in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia.

He is a licensed professional engineer in New York State with ASHRAE’s Commissioning Process Management Professional (CPMP) certification. Mr. Stritch obtained his bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Limerick in Limerick, Ireland.

Jim Priolo is the director of technical services, responsible for ensuring technical excellence and code compliance throughout the company’s portfolio of projects. Mr. Priolo has over 40 years of design experience with all aspects of building mechanical systems in new and retrofit projects. His expertise includes the design and commissioning of building management system controls for complex HVAC systems installed in state-of-the-art acute care hospitals and universities. He has worked on a wide range of projects.

Mr. Priolo managed a project for the Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center (founded in 1930) in Brooklyn, New York that received an ARRA grant to upgrade its mechanical infrastructure including upgrading the building management system. The hospital has undertaken significant additions and renovations, which required his team to perform extensive field surveys to identify the existing conditions and develop strategies to ensure the new controls delivered energy savings when designing the BMS upgrade. As a result, the necessary mechanical repairs were included in the project as well as detailed control drawings and sequences of operation. In order to meet the grant schedule requirements, the project was bid as two phases to meet its deadline.

Additionally, Mr. Priolo managed the design project for Associated Blind at Selis Manor, a residence for the blind and visually-impaired in Manhattan, New York. The building mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection and alarm systems were upgraded to enhance general safety, reduce energy usage though the use of variable air volume systems and ducted energy recovery, and improve themal comfort, including providing the tenants enhance control of their living spaces through the use of "talking thermostats" in each apartment to allow room heating and air conditioning capacity to be programmed, rather than fixed.

He has commissioned hospitals and academic facilities including the Vivian and Seymour Family Heart Center, Harlem Hospital New Patient Pavilion, Harlem Hospital Martin Luther King (MLK) Chiller Plant, Manhattan College's Raymond W. Kelly Academic Building, City University of New York's (CUNY) Brooklyn College Performing Arts Center and Queen's College Chiller Plant.

Mr. Priolo studied mechanical engineering and received a bachelor of engineering degree from Cooper Union and a master of engineering degree from Manhattan College. He is a licensed professional engineer in New York State.

Jose Higgins is the director of sustainability, responsible for the EME Group’s programs to green built environments that range from assisting clients negotiate projects through various certifying programs such as the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), NYC School Construction Authority (SCA) Green Schools Guide (GSG), Enterprise Green Communities (EGC), and Green Building Initiative’s (GBI) Green Globes processes to consulting clients on specific projects to reduce their environmental footprint. Mr. Higgins has strived to improve how buildings and sites interact with the environment and people for over 25 years, He is widely recognized as an expert in the sustainable design community-he completed some of the groundbreaking work in the early years of USGBC LEED certification process.

Mr. Higgins directs a staff of expert architects and engineers to assist client green initiatives through various LEED, SCA GSG, EGC, and GBI building rating systems. A notable project success is the firm’s Omega Institute Center for Sustainable Living in Rhinebeck, New York, which achieved LEED Platinum certification. In addition, the project was the first building to be certified under the stringent “Living Building Challenge” as it demonstrates net-zero energy and water use after one year of full operation. The facility was also named a 2010 American Institute of Architect’s Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top Ten that recognizes escalating standards of sustainable building design and performance.

Mr. Higgins is a licensed professional architect in New York State and is a LEED Building Design + Construction (BD+C) and Building Operations + Maintenance (O+M) accredited professional. He received his architectural degree from the New York Institute of Technology. He graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BA degree from the New York Institute of Technology.

David Houle oversees EME Group's Albany, New York office, primarily managing firm projects located in Upstate New York; although, he has also been responsible for projects as far away as Hawaii. He directs his Albany staff of engineers and provides project management, technical expertise, and client outreach. Mr. Houle has a strong background in the design, assessment, and commissioning of mechanical systems. He has worked extensively in a wide range of building types including healthcare, commercial, academic, and multifamily.

Mr. Houle manages EME's contract with the Power of Action Program administered by National Grid, the utility that provides electricity and gas throughout much of the northeast. The program provides incentives for energy efficiency improvements and targets commercial and industrial customers. He typically works closely with potential program participants to first identify opportunities through scoping visits, and then oversees his staff to provide technical services.

He manages NYSERDA's Single Family Residential, Standards and Quality Assurance Program, working closely with NYSERDA's Quality Assurance Contractor Scoring System (QACSS) team to increase market uptake of quality assurance methods and services, and supporting technical and work standards to expand the development of energy efficiency as well as supporting investor confidence in those projects. Mr. Houle also manages EME's contract with the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY), providing MEP design and construction administration services to DASNY clients and oversight to meet its goals including code analysis and compliance, cost projections, and each phase of project development.

Mr. Houle obtained his bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. He is a licensed professional engineer in New York State.

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Joseph Ho is a senior associate with EME Group. Mr. Ho is a licensed professional engineer in New York State with ASHRAE's Building Energy Modeling (BEMP) and Commissioning Process Management Professional (CPMP) certifications and a LEED Building Design + Construction (BD+C) accredited professional. He is experienced in mechanical systems design and building commissioning–he supports EME’s MEP systems design, commissioning and retro-commissioning, and ASHRAE Level I, II, & III energy audit initiatives. Mr. Ho is currently providing engineering support for the design, installation, and commissioning of 17 roof-mounted, grid-tied solar PV systems totaling nearly 2,000kW at New York City public schools.

He has approximately 10 years combined experience in HVAC systems design and analysis, energy modeling, energy auditing, and hands-on commissioning experience, working in critical environment spaces such as museums, computer data centers, laboratories, and hospitals. Additionally, Mr. Ho has experience designing, specifying, and commissioning a broad range of HVAC equipment and systems including, but not limited to: hot and chilled water plants, various hydronic distribution systems and controls, low pressure and vacuum steam heating plants, central VAV air handling distribution systems, humidification and dehumidification systems, and VRF systems.

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Jake Grabiner is a senior associate who oversees EME's Local Law 87 (LL87) services. Mr. Grabiner is a licensed professional engineer in New York State with ASHRAE's Commissioning Process Management Professional (CPMP) certification. He is experienced in mechanical design, energy auditing, energy modeling simulation, and commissioning, supporting the firm's engineering design for the NYC Department of Education supports as well as various energy analysis projects for clients including National Grid, NYU Langone Medical Center, NYC Department of Education, New York Power Authority, and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority's (NYSERDA).

Mr. Grabiner joined EME in 2012 and is responsible for providing technical analysis, ASHRAE energy audits, and construction administration services. He holds a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, WI.