Founders
How was the USIBD Founded?
The concept of the USIBD was formed out of Founder, John Russo’s frustration of not having a good resource to turn to for standards and best practices, education, learning about new technologies and networking with other like-minded individuals involved in Building Documentation. After investigating other leading building industry membership organizations, he came to the conclusion that an organization solely dedicated to supporting the needs of the Building Documentation community did not existing within the United States. It was around 2008 he first thought, “there needs to be somewhere people can go to access the resources they need to help grow their businesses.”
In speaking with colleagues, and voicing his frustration, he soon discovered there were many others facing similar challenges. In a 2010 conversation with Tom Greaves, the founder of the SPAR Conference, John suggested such an organization should be formed. Tom asked, “why not present your idea in a session at the next SPAR Conference?”
And so it was that the concept of such an organization was first presented publicly at the 2011 SPAR Conference. Immediately coming out of that session was the formation of the USIBD’s founding leadership team. The initial Board of Directors responsible for founding and organizing the U.S. Institute of Building Documentation included:
- John M. Russo, AIA – President
- Bryan Merritt, PLS – Vice President / Secretary
- Joseph Romano, PLS – Treasurer
- Kevin Kianka, P.E. - Director
