Raths, Raths & Johnson Inc. (RRJ), a national engineering, architecture, and forensics consulting firm, located in Willowbrook, Ill., is pleased to announce that Andrea L. Baird, AIA, LEED AP BD+C has joined the company as an architect. In this role, she will be responsible for providing building enclosure consulting services and technical management of projects across RRJ's forensic architectural practice.

Andrea Baird has eight years of architectural experience specializing in the evaluation and repair design of building enclosure components and systems, field testing of air/water infiltration, and architectural and structural design for new and existing buildings. Andrea’s building enclosure expertise has focused in the areas of peer review, remedial design, performance testing, construction quality assurance programs, and litigation support on related failures. She brings extensive knowledge in THERM, WUFI, and other types of computer simulation to perform the analysis of building enclosure performance.

Prior to joining RRJ, she gained experience in forensic architecture and design working for both A/E consulting firms and traditional architecture and structural engineering design practices in the Midwest and Texas. Most recently, she was an architect at Building Technology Consultants, PC, an Arlington Heights, Illinois-based consulting firm specializing in forensic evaluation and repair of building envelop components, structural systems, and architectural elements.

Baird received both a Master of Architecture and Master of Civil Engineering from the University of Detroit Mercy. She is a licensed architect in Illinois, Texas, and Wisconsin and a LEED Accredited Professional in Building Design & Construction. She is an active member of the American Institute of Architects, the Building Enclosure Council of Chicago, the Construction Specifications Institute, and Chicago Women in Architecture.