MasterMind Summit

Helena Dobrovolski Arahuete was born in Belgium, raised in Buenos Aires, and moved to the U.S. in 1971 to work with John Lautner. Arahuete graduated from the University of Buenos Aires and worked for several Argentinean architectural, engineering, and construction firms.

Arahuete continued John Lautner's firm after his passing in 1994. Helena was acknowledged in John Lautner's book as his Chief Architect for over 20 years. Her recent and current projects are located in the states of California, Idaho, Michigan, Arizona, Hawaii, and Alaska, as well as the countries of Australia and New Zealand. Her projects were published in the following books: Organic Architecture: The Other Modernism by Alan Hess and Alan Weintraub; Cool Homes in Hot Places by Suzanne Trocme.

The innovative Lautner edge has become the go-to edge detail and just one of many innovative ideas Arahuete brought to pool and backyard design.

Paul John Boulifard is the GENESIS® Architecture Faculty Advisor. He is a designer and architect with a wide range of professional and academic experiences. Paul John has worked on large-scale projects ranging from skyscrapers, healthcare facilities, and performing arts centers while at Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects in New Haven, Connecticut, to small-scale civic buildings at Cherry Huffman Architects in Raleigh, North Carolina. More recently, he has collaborated with Manuel Zeitlin Architects, Van Pond Architect, William C. Johnson Architect, David Kidd Architect, Root ARCH, and Centric Architecture in Nashville, Tennessee. In conjunction with these professional activities, he has taught at the university level on an adjunct basis at such notable institutions as Wesleyan University and Connecticut College, and locally at Watkins College of Art. Paul John holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design in Architecture from the North Carolina State University College of Design and a Master of Architecture from the Yale University School of Architecture. He also has studied in France and Spain.

Terry Brannon, P.E., is the GENESIS® Engineering Faculty Chair. He began his career in public works, beginning with the cities of Irving and Tyler in Texas before founding The Brannon Corporation. He continues to specialize in public works projects, but the firm has carved out an aquatic niche using their expertise in water conveyance and treatment and structural design. Brannon is registered in 23 states as a licensed professional engineer. Now in semi-retirement from the engineering consulting business—50 years total in engineering and 40 years in aquatics—Brannon keeps himself busy sharing his experiences by writing and training engineers and contractors in the design and construction of aquatic facilities from public fountains, to splash pads, water parks, competition venues, lakes and streams, and private pools. He continues as a consultant to various construction management companies, hotels and resorts, municipalities, and branches of the U.S. Department of Defense.

Scott Hackworth is the President of Industry Insights – a 20-person research firm based in Columbus, Ohio. His research aims to understand the performance and nuances of various industries, with his work featured in publications such as National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, and The Economist. He and his firm have studied the performance of PEOs for more than 15 years.

Scott holds a Master of Science in Predictive Analytics degree from Northwestern University, an M.B.A. from Capital University, and a B.A. in Corporate Finance from Mount Vernon Nazarene University.

Sabeena Hickman, CAE, is the President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance, the largest global membership organization for pool professionals that crosses industry sectors, embracing every discipline from manufacturers to those involved in segments such as builders, service, retail, and more. Sabeena, an accomplished association management executive, joined PHTA in September 2019, bringing a broad scope of strategic leadership experience and business acumen.

Prior to joining PHTA, Sabeena served as CEO of the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP), a trade organization that represented approximately 1 million landscape, lawn care, irrigation, and tree care professionals. Sabeena served in this role for over a decade and through national advocacy campaigns, the association experienced growth in the industry and its workforce. NALP was highly regarded for its commitment to professional development through education, networking, training, certification, and accreditation programs.

Sabeena received the Certified Association Executive (CAE) certification in 2005 and Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) in 1998. Sabeena graduated from Virginia Tech in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and resides with her husband Michael, sons Bryce (22) and Jack (19), and four-legged daughter CoCo (9) in Northern Virginia.

Feras Irikat is the GENESIS® Design Faculty Advisor. He is the Director of Design & Marketing for Lunada Bay Tile, a leader in the design and production of handcrafted glass, stone, metal, wood, and ceramic tiles. An expert and innovative tile designer across all mediums, Feras holds a bachelor’s degree in interior design and a master’s degree in family and consumer sciences from San Francisco State University (SFSU), where he also did advanced graduate work and research in color theory and color psychology. He has taught color theory, applications, and psychology at SFSU, University of California Santa Cruz, West Valley College, and design seminars around the world. Feras is frequently quoted in publications such as Homes & Gardens, Real Simple, and others, and has collaborated with designers Jonathan Adler and Tommy Bahama.

Skip Phillips, Master CBP, is the co-founder of GENESIS®. Skip, former owner of Questar Pools and the firm's current principal designer, is one of the world's most renowned designers and builders of custom swimming pools, spas and other forms of aquatic architecture. In 1993, the Robb Report declared Phillips "the world's most influential swimming pool designer" and since then he has received extensive coverage in trade magazines and on TV, including multiple HGTV appearances, newspapers and prestigious national publications including Better Homes & Gardens, New York Times and Wall Street Journal. He is co-founder of GENESIS and is a charter member of the Society of Watershape Designers. He is widely credited for transforming and uplifting the pool and spa industry. Phillips' body of work includes some of the most beautiful and technically advanced watershapes of the modern era.

Neil Tarallo is a senior lecturer of entrepreneurship at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. He currently serves as the director of the Cornell University Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Disabled Veterans (EBV), which offers entrepreneurship education to post-9/11 veterans, and as the director (interim) of the Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship. He has also served as the curriculum lead and co-PI for the U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Veteran Business Development’s boots2business program.

As an entrepreneur, Tarallo has owned and operated companies in the fields of photographic retail and quick printing. He has also purchased, rehabilitated, and sold numerous businesses. Tarallo currently has an active consulting practice as well as a commercial real estate development and management company. He is also a member of a venture capital partnership and an active angel investor.

A seasoned active entrepreneur, academic, and consultant with a proven track record of bringing real-world experiences to students, veterans, and corporate/non-profit clients internationally in the classroom, online, and through seminars.

Brian Van Bower is the co-founder of GENESIS®. He has nearly 50 years of professional experience in the pool and spa industry and has long been one of the industry's most influential figures. He is CEO of Aquatic Consultants, Inc., an international consulting and design firm based in Miami with a satellite office in N. Redington Beach, Florida, specializing in upscale and unusual pool and watershape designs. He is also ambassador and co-founder of GENESIS through which his efforts have transformed the industry, and he has a long history of leadership across numerous industry organizations and programs. Additionally, he is president of BVB Consulting, LLC, which provides business consulting to consumers, business owners and industry manufacturers.

Bower has won well over 100 industry design awards. His work includes projects in Africa, Sri Lanka, Greece, Colombia, the Caribbean, Bermuda, Canada, and all across the U.S. He and his company's projects have been featured in numerous magazines and television shows, including coverage in Architectural Digest and on CNN and other local and national media outlets. He is a devoted food and wine enthusiast and pursuer of "the good life."

Rocky Wisley, Master CBP, is the GENESIS® Construction Faculty Chair. He is the owner and operator of Serenity Hardscapes LLC in Memphis, TN. He is an Certified Master Pool Builder & Design Professional with more than 15 years in the pool and landscape industry. Rocky also has a degree in Automotive Technology of Applied Science and is a licensed Tennessee General Contractor, American Shotcrete Association certified Nozzleman, and member of the NPC. He is an active member of the American Shotcrete Association Pool and Recreational Shotcrete Committee. His passion for the pool industry is strong and he loves to assist any builder who wants to perfect the skill of pool building.