Mike Ross, Christy Vider, Jonathan Koch and Emily Peddicord, all assistant project managers at Denver’s Mortenson Construction, have received LEED accreditation from the U.S Green Building Council. Mortenson now has more than 270 LEED-accredited professionals.

Alan Ford of Alan Ford Architects and Bruce Flynn, principal at Barker Rinker Seacat Architecture recently co-chaired the 2009 Design Conference & Practice Management Symposium, presented by the American Institute of Architects Western Mountain Region.

The three-day event ran from Oct. 15 to Oct. 17 at the Keystone Resort and Conference Center in Keystone. One of the biggest regional events in architecture, the annual conference draws architects and industry professionals from all over Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

The AIA Western Mountain Region, which represents more than 3,000 AIA members, celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Neil F. Dunbar and David D. Gillaspie, two long-time principals with Martin/Martin Inc. of Lakewood, recently announced their retirement.

Dunbar retired after 45 years of service to Martin/Martin and its predecessor firms. During the past 25 years, he has served as the structural department manager. He started his first project in 1964—six months after graduating from the University of Colorado at Boulder—it was the 20-story Holly Sugar Building in Colorado Springs, now the Hilton Antlers Hotel.

Gillaspie retired after 41 years with the firm. Upon graduating from CU-Boulder, he became a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for two years, serving in the 46th Engineer Battalion in South Vietnam, where he served as assistant battalion operations officer and received a Bronze Star.

Bruce Tonilas of HDR’s Denver office has been elected president of the Colorado chapter of the Construction Management Association of America.

Tonilas is a professional engineer and construction manager in HDR’s transportation business group. He has more than 26 years experience in project management, construction management and structural inspection on a variety of vertical and horizontal projects, including Denver International Airport, Glenwood Canyon and major manufacturing and institutional facilities.

He holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in civil engineering from Michigan Technological University and the University of Colorado at Boulder, respectively.

Four design professionals recently joined the staff at Denver’s klipp: John Schwarz, intern architect; Chris Aronson, designer; Michelle Lopez-Orsini, project manager; and Mackenzie Manson, designer.

Before joining klipp, Schwarz was an intern architect at H+L Architecture in Denver and Horst, Terrill & Karst Architects in Topeka, Kan. His current projects at klipp include the North High School renovation, on which the firm is working in association with Humphries Poli Architects.

Aronson previously worked for klipp as a summer intern in 2005, and from June 2006 to June 2008, he was a member of the firm’s Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse project team. His current projects include St. Vrain Valley School District High School No. 8.

Lopez-Orsini has more than 13 years experience with a wide variety of project types, including civic and institutional, library facilities, educational, and retail and commercial. Before joining klipp, she was a project manager and designer at Humphries Poli Architects. Her current projects at klipp include St. Vrain Valley School District High School No. 8.

Before joining klipp, Manson worked at Carvell Page Southerland Page. Her current projects at klipp include Garrison Station, a mixed-use development in Lakewood. Manson graduated in May 2007 from Kansas State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture.

Allen H. Aardsma has joined Denver-based CH2M Hill as director of healthcare services. He brings more than 30 years experience as a healthcare professional, with a focus on program management and real estate consulting services, and has been responsible for the planning and delivery of these services for more than $1.5 billion in capital improvements.

Brian Raber, vice president and head of Merrick & Co.’s GeoSpatial Solutions business unit, was recently elected to Merrick’s board of directors. Before the election, Raber served as board recorder for two years and will serve on the board until 2010. He has been with Merrick since 1991 and was promoted to vice president in 1994.