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For over twenty (20) years, Jim has served on the staff of the Natural Stone Institute (NSI). He assists lead the organization’s mission in the areas of industry promotion, membership advocacy, and advancing safety/educational programming. A key 2025 initiative is the “Silica & Slab Safety” training certificate and scientific research to support fabricators.
Jim Tobin, Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Home Builders, has more than 25 years of association experience and a diverse housing policy background.
Jim’s tenure at NAHB began in 1998 as a Congressional Representative for the western US, and he quickly broadened his policy expertise to the environmental and tax policy arenas. Most recently, Jim served at the association’s Executive Vice President and Chief Lobbyist responsible for directing the federal, state and local lobbying, as well as political activities for NAHB.
Jim was promoted to Chief Executive Officer in June 2023 and has achieved the Certified Association Executive (C.A.E.) credential from the American Society of Association Executives.
Prior to joining NAHB, Jim served as Senior Legislative Assistant to former U.S. Representative Frank Riggs (CA) and former U.S. Representative Gary Franks (CT).
Jim holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Connecticut. He lives in Falls Church, Virginia, with his wife and their two children.
In 2008 Carlos Blanco started working for Vascan Tile, a large flooring contractor based in San Diego. In 2011 Carlos became a Partner and Co-Owner 2011 and shortly after opened a large 15,000 square-foot fully-automated fabrication shop in Tijuana, Mexico that fabricates almost 2,000 square feet per day exclusively for the US market. Today, Vascan Tile has 211 employees, with 60% of their revenue coming from the flooring side of the business, and 40% from stone fabrication. Vascan Tile business is primarily focused on the Production Builder segment, with the balance in Commercial or Custom Home markets. Vascan Tile’s success is largely due to its strategic embrace of technology and innovation, both in terms of equipment and new products. To that end, Vascan Tile recently helped Lennar Homes switch from a 4×12 tile to Dekton Optimma panels for all shower walls for over 1,200 homes in 2024.
Neil got his start in the woodworking industry in 1992 with the advent of Sullivan’s Shutter Factory. For over 30 years the company has supplied southern California with what industry experts describe as the finest quality shutter in the United States. In 2002 Sullivan’s Stone Factory began operations alongside Sullivan’s Shutters. The two companies now share a six-acre property with a fully stocked slab yard and nearly 60,000 square feet under the roof. Notable projects include the construction of The Grande Del Mar in San Diego California as well as projects at The University of San Diego and The Annenberg Estate in Rancho Mirage.
Kevin Brooks has spent nearly thirty years learning everything there is to know about the surface industry – from materials and logistics to cutting edge technologies and service excellence. Being born into the surface industry, Kevin has developed a great passion for it. He studied Music and Media, Information and Technoculture at the University of Western Ontario and has served as a former VP of Technology for the NKBA, Ontario Chapter. He strives to innovate, educate, and inspire.
Starting as a floor sweeper and sample maker, he worked in every facet of his fabrication business and is currently applying this knowledge in the role as COO for Latitude, in Toronto, Canada. He is responsible for cultivating teams, relationships, processes and, most importantly, growth.
Latitude was founded in 1978 and established itself as a leader in the countertop manufacturing industry in Canada. What began as a small operation has evolved into a renowned company known for its high-quality products and innovative practices. Latitude has consistently stayed ahead in the industry by embracing both traditional craftsmanship and modern technology.
Over the decades, Latitude has grown significantly, adapting to changing market demands and technological advancements. Originally focused on high-end countertop surfaces like DuPont Corian® in the late 70s, the company expanded its product range to include Natural Stone, pioneered Quartz with Silestone in Ontario in the 90s, and is now a leader in Dekton Ultra-compact surfaces. This diversification reflects Latitude’s commitment to catering to a wide array of customer preferences and design needs.
Kevin and Latitude are incredibly proud and humbled to have past honors of being named Kitchen and Bath Fabricator of the Year and the Dekton Fabricator of the Year by Cosentino.
Bill Darcy is the Global President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) and KBIS, a forward-thinking trade organization serving the nearly $200 billion k&b industry. Within his 10+ year tenure with the NKBA, Bill has pioneered key industry initiatives: creating solutions in the face of skilled labor shortages, establishing the NKBA’s 30 under 30 program, and orchestrating the 2014 collaboration of KBIS and IBS to create Design & Construction Week – now one of the world’s largest, most comprehensive industry trade events.
Javier Calvo is an expert in interior design and stone techniques. He creates and transforms with Dekton, Silestone, and natural stones the most incredible projects. His work goes beyond the norm, incorporating an eye for aesthetics with quality and functionality. He has been in the Kitchen and Bath industry for more than 25 years, working with high-end projects In the USA and Latin America. Service, technology, and Design are the focus of his work.
Designing incredible kitchens, closets, and baths for over 20+ years, both in the US and internationally, Juliette leads the DellAnno franchise in the West Coast, Based in Pasadena. Dellanno operates more than 15 showrooms in the US and 60+ worldwide. A passionate well-being expert, her work expands through whole homes that trust her experience and expertise in contemporary design with a bespoke quality. Her vision for Dellanno in California has been extremely successful, proposing amazing creativity, truly impeccable service, and highly functional spaces. Juliette has integrated only top brands into her portfolio, with an exclusive use of Cosentino products in all her projects.
Jason Gaare has been the President of KG Stevens and Minnesota Tile & Stone since 2022. He assumed his role when both businesses were purchased by Borgman Capital. KG Stevens, established in 1997 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, first began as a leader in the Solid Surface industry and quickly expanded into a full-service fabrication company with over 200 employees. KG Stevens is the market leader servicing the residential retail, wholesale, and commercial markets out of a 150,000 square foot state-of-the-art fabrication facility located in metro Milwaukee. KG Stevens has added cabinetry and luxury appliances to its portfolio to complement its countertop offering.
Nate Kolenski is the President of Block Tops, Inc. – a Countertop Fabrication and Installation Company headquartered in Anaheim, California. Block Tops provides installation services to large National Retailers throughout Northern and Southern California. Block Tops, Inc. was founded in 1977 and currently has locations in Sacramento and Anaheim. Block Tops’ niche is residential remodel and light commercial. They have been featured on several HGTV “CRASHERS” Home Remodeling Shows. They are longtime members of the Natural Stone Institute (NSI), International Surface Fabricators Association (ISFA), and the California Chamber of Commerce.
Ted Sherritt has been the CEO of FLOFORM Countertops since 1995 and is the Incoming President of ISFA for 2024. FLOFORM was established in Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada in 1961 and is a full-service countertop fabrication company with over 800 employees that sells, manufactures, and installs more than 20,000 premium countertops per year. With a geographic footprint that covers Canada’s four western provinces and seven states in the Northwest USA, FLOFORM operates 14 sales locations and 11 stone and/or laminate manufacturing facilities.
Khoi Vo, IIDA, CIDA, IDEC, IDECF brings more than 20 years of experience across the worlds of interior design, architecture, and education. Most recently a leader at the renowned Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Vo has touched the design world for nearly two decades as both a designer and an educator. In 2002, he founded Studio Four Los Angeles, where he worked as the design director and designed and sold architectural products. He later founded Khoi Vo Design and operated as the studio’s design director for 12 years and oversaw all phases of the firm’s projects. Vo began his career at California State University as an assistant professor for the interior design program. He later became a professor at SCAD’s department of interior design and later served as Chair. After a stint at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Vo returned to SCAD to head its former Hong Kong campus and then served as the institution’s vice president for industry relations.
Vo is a distinguished member of various industry organizations. He currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Interior Design Educator Council Foundation and was previously an ASID board member from 2017-2019. He has also served as Site Visitor and Co-Chair for the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA), and as a member of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) for more than a decade.
Vo has received numerous awards during his career, with highlights including the 2015 Honorable Mention for the CIDA Award for Excellence in Teaching, the 2017-18 DesignIntelligence Top 25 Most Admired Educators, and a SCAD Presidential Fellowship.
Vo earned a Bachelor of Arts with a design focus in architecture from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fl. He later received a Master of Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles.
At 19, Jeremy Poincenot was your typical college sophomore. Friends, sports,
fraternity and most importantly, perfect 20/20 vision. Then it happened, no
warning, no time to prepare. Life began to blur. Over the next few months, Jeremy lost central vision in his right eye, followed closely by his left. The diagnosis: a rare genetic disorder called Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), a disease that affects a mere 100 people in the U.S. each year with no treatment or cure in sight. At first, Jeremy thought losing his vision meant forfeiting his life. But he soon learned that with every challenge comes an opportunity for growth.
When Jeremy lost his central vision, he thought the game of golf he loved was over. But with some hard work, dedication, and the support of his family and friends, he quickly learned that his golfing career had just begun. At 20 years old and with his Dad as his guide, Jeremy competed in and won the 2010 World Blind Golf Championship with a dramatic chip-in in a playoff. They have since gone on to win 7 National Championships, an Australian Blind Open, and two more World Blind Golf Championships. In 2011, Jeremy was honored as the San Diego Hall of Champions Challenged Athlete of the Year. Like all things, it’s the most difficult trials that shape who we are—and Jeremy is a better athlete and person because of this sport.
Now, Jeremy strives to raise awareness of LHON, and along with the help of his friends, they have created the C.U.R.E. (Cycling Under Reduced Eyesight) Ride, an annual fundraising bike ride that has raised over $300,000 for LHON research. Their goal is to raise a million.
Today, Jeremy is an Inspirational Speaker traveling the world, sharing his story to inspire audiences to take control of life and turn trauma into triumph. Jeremy is not your ordinary motivational speaker. With a powerful personal narrative, a little wit and a strong inspirational message, he has made it his mission to help his audiences rise up to their biggest obstacles and see them as opportunities.
Jeremy’s objective when he steps in front of an audience is not to dictate how to succeed in life; it’s to convince individuals that independence is good, while
interdependence is great. He speaks from experience and has discovered that with a focus on the good, key insights, and the determination to persist through the challenges, anything is possible.
Jeremy has had the privilege of being featured on ABC’s 20/20, ESPN.com, CNN’s “Great Big Story” and MTV’s True Life and has spoken for many prestigious companies including Aflac, Honda, John Hancock, Kaiser Permanente, Wells Fargo and many more.