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Meet Our 2010 Staff

Dennis Brachfeld DENNIS BRACHFELD: Dennis Brachfeld is a Class A Licensed General Contractor and principal of About Saving Heat LLC, a company which has retrofitted over 25,000 homes since 1976. Dennis was the first certified rater by E-Star in Colorado in 1995, is currently certified as a Home Performance with Energy Star professional, and was named Engineer of the Year by the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers. He has served as a consultant to Xcel Energy for their Energy Makeover House competition. Dennis earned his Graduate degree in Real Estate Finance and Construction Management from Denver University.

Skip Dewhirst SKIP DEWHIRST: Skip is founder of Meerkat Design and Handwork. A furniture maker and timber framer, he has been actively pursuing his passion for woodworking and teaching for twenty years and is looking forward to his fourth year of teaching at Pingree Park. When not building timberframes or teaching, Skip can be found building custom furniture in his shop in Worcester VT.

Peter Haney PETER HANEY: Peter has been a builder and woodworker for over twenty five years. The founder and workshop organizer of Rocky Mountain Workshops, he has travelled the world organizing building workshops and bicycle tours.  Peter is experienced in both timber framing and log building.   Peter lives and works in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Josh Jackson JOSH JACKSON: Josh received his BSME from Yale University in 1989, and after a brief stint in the real world discovered the Holy Grail of timber framing as an apprentice at the Heartwood School in 1992. He has been designing and building everything from lamps to timber frames since, specializing in organic shapes and materials. Having co-founded Timber Homes LLC, Josh now lives in one of his own - a 16x18 timber frame in Middlesex, VT and continues to enjoy teaching at RMW, Heartwood, and Yestermorrow as well as designing and crafting fine frames and furnishings.

Curtis Milton CURTIS MILTON: Curtis Milton, a carpenter and builder with a wide range of building experiences, joins the other instructors this year, having previously teamed with Will Beemer in the 1998 Compound Joinery workshop at Pingree Park. He has presented on compound joinery, the steel square, builders' math, and more at Guild conferences, workshops and rendezvous. He has participated in many Guild events as a volunteer, instructor and project manager. A Guild member since 1987, he is a former member of the Timber Framers Board of Directors and remains deeply involved in the educational initiatives of the organization. His long term goals for the Guild include more and more affordable educational opportunities, curriculum development and a formal apprenticeship program. Curtis founded Monolithic Building Services in 1988 and continues to work on challenging projects at home and nationwide with some of the most talented individuals, teams, and companies in the building industry. Learn more about Curtis at www.curtismilton.com.

Al Wallace AL WALLACE: Albert Wallace is President of Energy Environmental Corporation, a firm specializing in the design and installation of energy efficient and sustainable heating, cooling, ventilation, and indoor air quality systems. His expertise lies in the integration of these systems in order to reduce building loads as a prerequisite to installing alternative power systems in on-grid applications (solar, wind, and micro-hydro). Al gained his initial understanding of timber frame construction, as well as advanced timber framing skills, through the Rocky Mountain Workshops. He holds a B.S. degree in Aeronautical Engineering and Masters Degrees in Architecture and Landscape Architecture and consults worldwide on these systems.