Meet the 2023 Board of Directors

Jennifer Taranto brings more than 20 years of experience in the commercial real estate and construction industry. She joined Structure Tone in 2001, where she served as a superintendent and project manager before becoming STO Building Group’s Director of Sustainability, and now, Vice President. Jennifer gets involved in the early stages of design and construction to define the client’s sustainability goals and help the project team create an internal roadmap to achieve them. With her guidance and expertise, organizations around the world have been able to improve people’s health and wellbeing while reducing the construction and operating costs of facilities. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Engineering from North Carolina State University.

Kristen Fritsch is an architect with more than 20 years of experience championing collaborative and resilient design, initially as a designer, then as a principal of a small sustainable design firm in Seattle, and since 2012 a sustainability coordinator at Elkus Manfredi Architects. Her role involves implementing energy reduction initiatives, advising and assisting design teams with rating systems, materials and systems research, and administering firm-wide training on sustainable design practices. Kristen is active in several industry organizations and was a co-chair of the Legacy Committee for the 2017 Greenbuild in Boston.  She holds degrees from the University of Nebraska and has been a thesis advisor and taught design studios at the Boston Architectural College on using Biomimicry in the design process.

Sarah Michelman, RA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP, has been with The Green Engineer, Inc since 2010. Sarah has over 16 years of experience working as an Architect. She holds a B.A. in Art History from Oberlin College and an M. Arch. from Washington University in St. Louis. She is a registered Architect in the State of Massachusetts.

Daisy Chen has been an investor for 12 years and most recently leading investment opportunities in Sustainability space at Bain Capital Double Impact, a fund dedicated to doing social & environmental good while generating financial returns. She also works with sustainability companies in scaling and growing their operations, and as a result, significantly amplifying their sustainability impact.

N Jonathan has a BSc in Civil Engineering, a M-Arch and a PhD in Architecture. He has taught fifth grade to PhD students. He teaches design studios that involve travel to Africa, including Cape Verde, Benin, and currently Morocco. He teaches another studio that involves the Solar Decathlon. He also teaches courses related to how to put together buildings, and the systems within buildings. He also teaches seminars on design ethics, building materials, and on waste in the industry . He has worked at design firms in Boston, New York City, Milwaukee, and San Francisco on a range of projects including institutional, commercial, and residential buildings. He has also participated in sustainable development projects in the US, such as in Milwaukee, and in Kiowa Nation, Oklahoma, and abroad in Liberia, Nigeria, and elsewhere.

As development project manager, Brad Mahoney is responsible for all aspects of MP Boston’s commercial development, including design, construction, leasing, and tenant coordination. In addition, he is also the sustainability and technology lead on MP Boston’s next Boston project, an iconic 1.5 million square foot project in Winthrop Square. Brad holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University.

Chad Laurent oversees the Sustainability & Energy practice. He specializes in renewable energy law and policy, sustainable business strategies, and renewable energy project development. He is a nationally recognized expert in renewable energy market development strategies.

Prior to joining Cadmus, Chad was Vice President and General Counsel at Meister Consultants Group, where he oversaw the firm’s contracting, legal, and financial operations, and supported corporate-wide strategic planning, and business development. Since 2010, he has overseen multiple U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technology Office projects on behalf of MCG and Cadmus. He frequently works with corporate, university, nonprofit, and municipal clients to develop 100 percent renewable, decarbonization, electric vehicle, net-zero, renewable energy supply, and procurement strategies. Chad has developed international power purchase agreement toolkits and procurement policies and is an on-call legal and policy expert for the Clean Energy Solutions Center and the Clean Power Hub. He has provided legal and policy consultation on national renewable energy programs from Azerbaijan to Vietnam.

Jacob Knowles is the Chief Sustainability Officer at BR+A Consulting Engineers. He has championed over sixty million square feet of carbon neutral buildings and campus master plans. His work has resulted in numerous grants and awards, including three AIA COTE Top Ten awards. Jacob recently served on the board of the Boston Society for Architecture (BSA). He also advised the City of Boston and the State of Massachusetts in the development of zero carbon zoning and a net zero code, so that all future buildings will be carbon neutral.

Kate works to ensure building performance simultaneously creates social, health, environmental, and economic benefits for all people and places. Over the last twenty years, she has completed numerous high-performing and transformative projects for clients to enhance their missions with a special focus on wellness, sustainability, and resilience. Kate is an expert and national leader in net zero energy, integrated design, materials evaluation, occupant engagement, and rating system certification.

As a BE+ member for over a decade, Kate has worked to support the organization’s advocacy efforts for net zero buildings and was a member of the Greenbuild 2017 Host Committee.

Neetu joined BXP in 2021 as a manager in the sustainability team. Her focus is on strategic initiatives and implementation of decarbonization projects and carbon-neutral operations planning for the 52 million square feet portfolio. Engaging with stakeholders across BXP’s six regional offices, with a focus on carbon neutral & energy efficient operations, renewable energy procurement, decarbonization & electrification of new development and existing buildings, solar PPAs, embodied carbon reduction strategies, transition risk assessment for a low carbon economy, etc. Prior to joining BXP, her work focused on sustainable and high-performance building design consulting and technical analysis, helping projects implement energy efficiency and carbon reduction strategies, and achieve aggressive sustainability goals.

Neetu holds a M.Arch from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) and a B.Arch from the Indian Institute of Technology at Roorkee, India. Prior to arriving in the US, Neetu also worked as a green building architect in India and Singapore.

Rebecca has worked as an architect and part-time educator in Boston for the past 15 years on a wide range of project types and scales at area firms including Shepley Bulfinch, Architerra, Inc., Maryann Thompson Architects, and Touloukian Touloukian Inc. Rebecca has served as a regional conference moderator, BSA awards jury member, and most recently as the Massachusetts State Representative on the AIA Small Firm Exchange.

Becca has worked in the affordable housing field since 2014 and joined Pennrose’s New England development team in 2021. She is currently working on both new construction and adaptive reuse projects in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Over the past decade, Becca has been focused on the sustainable construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing. After completing her Kuehn Fellowship at Homeowner’s Rehab, Inc. (HRI) in Cambridge (2015 to 2017), Becca stayed on as a Project and Portfolio Manager, furthering HRI’s mission to bring healthy, green building technologies and an equity lens to affordable housing developments and the industry as a whole. Becca is also co-chair and board member of A Better Cambridge (ABC) a local housing advocacy group that supports more sustainable, affordable housing and community-based development. She earned a BA from Wesleyan University and an MA from Tufts University’s Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning.

As an Economic Development professional,  Sandhya has been working with developers, architects, design engineers, and many environmental advocates to assess the built and the future development in a community to maintain sustainable systems. As the Town of Lexington works towards rezoning its commercial landscape and develops an aggressive roadmap for achieving net-zero by 2035, there has been more proactive efforts in my role to advocate, educate, and participate in green building industry. I recently also completed a course in Zero Energy and Passivehouse Buildings from Harvard Extension and participated in ICMA Sustainable Cities Virtual Study Tour.

In Leah’s roles on the Government Affairs team at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, and now as Director of the Department, she is focused on helping cities and towns achieve the necessary and ambitious net zero emissions targets set in statute. For her, this focus is mostly legislative and budgetary– ensuring that state statute and programs are making needed actions simpler, incentivized, and directed to meet the needs of historically underserved populations. It is also grounded in coalitions- both staffing coalitions of municipal leaders and in working together with policy experts to bring the best ideas to agencies and legislators.

As the VP & Business Manager, Eudad develops and leads the execution of the business development strategy for Turner’s Boston business unit to ensure long-term marketplace viability and success. He creates and executes the strategic sales plan, develops and manages industry relationships, negotiates contracts and business terms for future projects, and drives their engagement. He is involved in the local community, advocating for the advancement of diversity and inclusion. He is currently a board member of the Ace Mentoring Program, AGCMA, A Better City, and Saint Rock Haiti. He is also a co-chair for the Diversity and Inclusion committee within the AGCMA, a former board member of Girls Incorporated of America Holyoke, and involved with Boston Harbor Now, Timber HP.

He has worked across multiple market segments, including healthcare, commercial interiors, data centers, industry, and life science. Prior to his current role, he helped lead the Special Projects Division.

Axel Jeremie LEED AP BD+C studied Interior Architecture and Design at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He graduated in 2022 and subsequently joined WSP Built Ecology as an Assistant Sustainability Consultant. He has gained experience in Boston’s Permitting processes as well as administering LEED, WELL, and Fitwel certifications for buildings in Boston and across the US. He wants to expand his knowledge into the realm of social and environmental justice. Axel currently participates in his team’s JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) where he helps facilitate workshops and speaks to the need for diversity in the workplace. He was a panelist at the 2023 Management and Social Justice in April where he spoke about the work he is doing to advance social equity in the built environment.