Jan 24, 2013 | Uncategorized
By Grey Lee
Key Details:
LEED-GA
Sustainability Coordinator at A Better City's Challenge for the Environment
Market Sector: Non-Profit Organization
Contact information:
email: mramey@abettercity.org
LinkedIn profile: Megan Ramey, LEED Green Associate
Personal Blog: pugvelo.com
Megan works for “A Better City” here in Boston. For those of you unfamiliar with the organization, it is a non-profit formed out of an organization begun by around 100 businesses, mostly in real estate, around the Big Dig concerned how their employees would get to work during construction. They formed to mitigate and talk through all the issues with government and planners. Her job is to conduct programs for the members as part of the “Challenge for Sustainability” under the environment arm of the group. She likens it to a diet support group for businesses.
When did you first become interested in sustainability?
That would be in 2006 approximately. I was working on my MBA at the University of Wisconsin. As part of that program we had to take a course on “Ethics and Sustainability.” That was my big light bulb moment. No one had talked to me about sustainably in terms of businesses and market transformation. Around the same time, I remember seeing an interview of Joni Mitchell and her writing Big Yellow Taxi and suddenly my career future became clear.
I tell people that my gateway drug to sustainability is transportation and this comes from a series of dramatic shifts in lifestyle from an early age. As a child, I grew up in rural Wisconsin where I learned to bike after taking a Safety School class in kindergarten. My bike symbolized freedom and I used it for riding to school, playing in the woods or for soccer practice. When I was 14, we moved to the suburbs of Atlanta in a planned community called Peachtree City that is designed around a series of paths for golf carts. Even with this great system, it was still very uncool to bike, walk or take the bus. As soon as I turned 16, I started driving to high school. The car is definitely king in Atlanta and my life revolved around driving. In college, I did a work abroad in London for a summer and took the Tube everywhere I needed to go. When I returned home to Atlanta, I remember being skinnier and my mom commenting on how great my legs looked. Driving felt really weird and disconnected me from society. After graduating from college, I moved back to my birth city of Madison, WI where I began to design my life around walking, biking and taking the bus. Over the course of two years, I gradually lost 15 pounds without trying. This lifestyle has remained a core value since and I can no longer live anywhere with a walk score less than 80 or where I am required to own a car.
How are you an environmental steward?
In my professional world, our Challenge for Sustainability is goverend by the Barr Foundation. Unless we achieve greenhouse gas reductions, we aren't funded. If my job was not impactful in a positive way on the environment, I would be out of one.
Personally, I spend a lot of my time in advocacy. I serve on Livable Streets and the Boston Bikes advisory board. Most of my personal volunteering time goes into complete streets and livable communities advocacy.
In my immediate life, I made the conscious choice to not have a car in 2008 when we moved to Boston. We were spending more time moving our car from parking space to parking space than spending with each other. With Zipcar being here, it was an easy choice to make. We also get most of our groceries from Boston Organics, so no car was necessary.
I am continually trying to improve. This year my goal is to install container gardens in my yard.
Why are you a member of the chapter?
Architecture has always been something I've always been passionate about. When I was forced to make a decision between fashion and interiors, I did fashion. Though looking back, it seems that was the wrong choice. I’ve always had a huge appreciation of the built environment, in terms of facilitating community interactions.
LEED and the USGBC was the first framework for sustainability that I came across. At one point I started a business called MoCo Market, an organic convenience store. My friend designed MoCo to LEED-Gold standards, so the USGBC has been there at the front of my head. When I moved to Boston, I went to Greenbuild and volunteered as a young professional. It was like church for me, helping to inspire me and connect me to other young professionals. Now there are other organizations more specific to the work I do, but I still need to have a working knowledge of Green building 101 for my job.
If I wanted to find you on a Saturday afternoon, where would you be?
Most likely on some sort of multi-modal adventure. Say it was snowing: I will take the Fitchburg commuter rail ski train and ski right off the train onto the trail system in Lincoln. The weekend is filled with finding local places we have never been, whether they are cities, buildings, museums or public space. It’s fun to do something different by bike or train. We chronicle all the family adventures we have on a blog called pugvelo.com. Our pug, Gordo, narrates it like a comic strip and it was inspired by Curious George. Most recently we exposed the fun that is the traffic in Central Square.
We are looking to highlight our diverse and talented members. If you would like to be a future member profie, use the Contact Us form.
Jan 22, 2013 | Uncategorized
By Grey Lee
I attended a great meeting this morning with the Boston Society of Architects'
Committee for the Advancement of Sustainability at the invitation from co-chairs Vernon Woodward and Ken Fisher.
I had a chance to introduce myself to the 15 or so attendees, describe a bit about the Chapter, where we are in terms of cultivating our community, building our capacity, and advocating for green building friendly state and local regulations.
One of the main points we discussed was the Coming of the Casinos to the state. Julie Taylor, of Noble & Wickersham, provided a great overview of the collaboration between AIA, MA, BSA, and ACEC. She was holding the draft white paper for the Gaming Commission regarding design standards and an outlined design review process, which the commission had asked them to produce. This was a follow-up to the “Promoting Sustainability and Strengthening Communities: Design Excellence for Massachusetts Casinos” forum held on December 12th last year (which many USGBC MA members attended).
Julie reviewed the State's charge to the Commission and how design professionals can help weigh in on the casinos. Many in attendance hoped that the process would result in casinos that could support sustainability goals for their host communities. I asked Julie what would be the one priority that peer associations could push for and she said getting renewable energy into these casinos, since they really will be energy hogs one way or another. You can read more about the forum here, and stay tuned to John Nunnari (ED of the Mass. AIA) who chimed in considerably with Julie, as he is also one of the white paper authors, to keep track of this process.
We also heard from Carolyn Sarno from the NEEP (Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership) speaking a bit about the base building code and also the stretch code for the state. It sounds like a lot of things were waiting for the recent fall's election and now we are just stuck in bureaucratic backlog. It may be one thing our Chapter could specifically advocate for, which would be asserting for the stretch code and demanding the state issue appropriate regulations for green communities, as per Green Communities Act of 2008.
I look forward to promoting good green policy at the state and local levels! Let me know what you'd like to see us move forward on. The USGBC (national) has a great list to work on, but we need to think locally, strategically, and creatively to help move the levers of influence throughout Massachusetts.
See you soon! – Grey
PS – the image on the right side of the photo is what? It's probably obvious, even if it looks like some kind of mini-monster from this angle…
Jan 17, 2013 | Uncategorized
By Grey Lee
In two weeks, a few members are presenting Flip the Switch: New Energy Efficiency Requirements, Incentives and Tools for NIOP. Board member Greg Sampson, Attorney at Robinson & Cole, will moderate. Former board member Brian Swett, Chief of Energy & Environmental Services for the City of Boston and member Mark Stafford from National Grid, will be on the panel. Good luck, gentlemen!
When: January 31, 2013 from 7:15am-9:00am
Where: Atlantic Warf Fort Point Room, Boston
More info: http://www.naiopma.org/index.php?src=events&submenu=events&srctype=detail&category=Building%20Blocks&refno=182.
Jan 8, 2013 | Uncategorized
By Grey Lee
Key Details:
Communications Associate, USGBC – MA Chapter
Student in Urban and Regional Policy program at Northeastern University (Master of Science expected May 2013)
Contact information:
Blog: http://www.usgbcma.blogspot.com/
Email: communications@usgbcma.org
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/zakpatten/
Twitter: @USGBCMA
This being my first week on the job, it seemed like a great time to introduce myself to the community and share what appealed to me about working at the Massachusetts Chapter of the USGBC.
When did you first become interested in sustainability?
Growing up in Vermont surrounded by so much unspoiled beauty, it never occurred to me that there was any other option than to take care of the land and water on which we depend. I was always drawn to cities for their excitement and possibility, however, so I suppose I just took my homegrown sense of sustainability with me when I moved to Boston.
How are you an environmental steward?
I pride myself on a multifaceted approach to taking care of the environment, from where I live to how I eat, get around, and deal with household waste. My family's home is in a dense urban neighborhood that allows us to walk, bike, and ride public transportation for the vast majority of our trips. At the same time, we have the space to garden and grow a variety of vegetables. When not gardening, we purchase organic foods and farmers' market produce whenever possible. In terms of output, my family is able to recycle a great deal, compost our yard waste, and pay a fantastic service called
Bootstrap Compost to take a 5-gallon bucket of food scraps away every week. In return, Bootstrap regularly leaves containers of rich compost for us to use on our own garden.
What attracted you to working with the chapter?
I was drawn to the idea of helping to minimize the environmental impact of the built environment, which I have learned in graduate school is responsible for about 40% of carbon emissions. I had previously interned at LISC's Green Development Center and wanted to continue working in the arena of building sustainability.
If I wanted to find you on a Saturday afternoon, where would you be?
On a perfect summer day, building a sandcastle on the beach with my two young kids. In the winter, either skiing a remote Vermont trail with my camera handy or curled up inside reading a great book.
We are looking to highlight our diverse and talented members. If you would like to be a future member profie, use the Contact Us form.
Dec 27, 2012 | Uncategorized
By Grey Lee
Key Details:
Associate AIA, LEED AP BD+C
Sustainable Design Specialist at SMMA
Market sector: Architecture and Design
Contact information:
cday@smma.com
Phone: 617.520.9416
Twitter: @PracticeEcology
Personal Blog: www.practice-ecology.net
During this busy holiday season Carolyn Day, who serves on the membership committee, took some time to share who she is and why she's is a part of the Massachusetts Chapter of the USGBC.
When did you first become interested in sustainability?
That's difficult to say. I think I've always cared. As a kid I remember being taken in by the
LitterBug campaign. Does that count? In all seriousness, its been a part of my philosophy as a designer from the start. I became an architect to make the built environment a better place. And to me, sustainable design is a huge part of that.
How are you an environmental steward?
In my position at work I ensure that project teams make the most sustainable choices for our projects. Much of my time is spent educating and encouraging the other architects and engineers in the office. In my personal life I've been using reusable bags since before anyone else in my neighborhood, confusing some baggers, and I choose to live in multi-family housing in a dense urban area. I gave up my car over a year ago and don't miss it – especially since I've always used public transportation to get to work, even when I lived in Worcester.
Why are you a member of the chapter?
It energizes me to be around others who have the same passions that I do. Just being a part makes me better able to do the work required to make our buildings more environmentally sound. It also is a huge lift to attend a gathering when I've been pushed into pessimism and cynisism by the world at large.
If I wanted to find you on a Saturday afternoon, where would you be?
If I'm not at the MFA or cooking, I can usually be found with friends playing board games like Cosmic Encounter or Pandemic. In the summer, you might even find me at a drum corps show.
We are looking to highlight our diverse and talented members. If you would like to be a future member profie, use the Contact Us form.
Dec 13, 2012 | Uncategorized
By Grey Lee
We had a great event on Tuesday night. The photos are forthcoming (thanks Carlos!!!)
And the winners of our various Member Awards were:
Most Likely to Send an Email at 3AM – Carrie Havey
Most Likely to Take Recycling Home from the Office – Dee Spiro
Most Likely to Be Completely Off the Grid in a Year – Laura Fitch
Advocate of the Year – Kathleen Arthur
Educator of the Year – Chris Schaffner
Mentor of the Year – Jim Newman
EPMA Rising Star – Laurel Kruke and Javier Burgos
AND we had a special mention to our awesome previous Chapter Operations Manager Suzanne Abbott, who's now at Vidaris. She showed up in style and managed to score the biggest contribution of the night – a $1000 sponsorship from Jack Mackin at Sterrit Lumber – Thanks you Suzanne, and thank you Jack!
It really was a great time had by all. Many of the old familiar faces, but also a whole slew of new folks. Thanks to all of those who signed up to become members due to the event. We are ambitiously kicking off a membership drive in the new year, so it's nice to see that our messaging and outreach is already starting to pay off. Thanks, once again, to all the members for joining the Chapter.
Thanks must also go to Rachel Zsembery and her team on the Special Events committee – Dee, Katya, Keith, Krista, Suzanne and Carlos. You all know how to make it happen, with style. Thanks again for all your hard work.
The night also meant the community had a chance to give back – our philanthropic beneficiaries this year have been the Jowney Elementary School in Brockton – combined, we brought in $667 for the kids for school supplies. We have partnered with the school as they have been working on greening the facility and engaging the students very well and we want to continue to support their efforts.
Thanks again, everyone, I'm proud of this Green Building Community.
Grey
Dec 5, 2012 | Uncategorized
By Grey Lee
Last night we hosted a great program on the intricacies and details of LEEDv4 – the latest version of LEED which will be operational in June 2013 (we expect). Currently, the process to approve the new version is still open to comments (until 12/10/12) from any relevant party – such as any member of the MA Green Building Council or LEED professional in general. Here's a link to more info, and the slides from the presentation, on our site: http://www.usgbcma.org/LEED
Chris Schaffner, from The Green Engineer (really, he is
The Green Engineer), came and presented. Chris is a former board member of the Chapter and a LEED Fellow – one of a few dozen in the country recognized as outstanding leaders in our industry. He is also on the Technical Advisory Group for the new version of LEED and knows a lot of the ins and outs, having worked on streamlining the credits on this new version.
We went through a great slideshow describing how the various credits in each subsection of LEED have morphed into the new line-up. Some have disappeared, others are brand new. He described how the USGBC is trying to balance market adoption (make the system easy) with environmental impact (really make a difference for the planet), and how this version is a little more aggressive on sustainability.
The market has taken up LEED and now we can use it to drive real change in environmental impact. Of course, the entire industries that have grown up around LEED are a little bent out of shape with the change of the status quo – and resistance is significant. There are also the complicated logistics of getting the whole system finished in the next six months! That's going to be tricky, eh?
Chris asked us to please submit comments – especially if you think any of the new changes are good – so that the USGBC has the valuable feedback it needs to continue the evolution of LEED so that it can be the best tool we have to change the real estate industry. Here's a link to USGBC's comment site: https://new.usgbc.org/leed/v4
It was a great evening with about 30 chapter members in the audience. A few mentioned to me that they are interested in getting more involved! That is great!
[Above: Grey Lee, Andrea Love, Chris Schaffner, & Bob Kohn]
Kudos to Bob Kohn, Chair of the Education Committee, for organizing the program, and to Andrea Love (on our board) for providing the space and facility logistics at Payette (290 Congress St – a LEED Platinum Building!) Thanks to Chris Schaffner for providing his expertise and facilitation skill. I am sure we can look forward to more valuable programs in the future. Thanks again, everyone!
-Grey
Nov 15, 2012 | Uncategorized
By Grey Lee
Key Details:
Certified LEED AP ID+C, BD+C
Director of Sustainability at StructureTone, Inc.
Market sector: Construction or Trades
Contact information:
jennifer.taranto@structuretone.com
Phone: 617.348.2800
Twitter: @BeantownGurl
We recently sat down with Jenn Taranto, board member and founding chapter member, to discover who she is and why she's is a part of the Massachusetts Chapter of the USGBC.
When did you first become interested in sustainability?
I remember charging my parents money for not turning off the lights from a very young age . We kept a jar in the house that everyone had to put a quarter into if they forgot. When I went off to college I thought I wanted to be an environmental engineer, but it turned out chemistry wasn't my thing, instead I turned to the familiar – my father was always involved in home improvements and built furniture on the side. At the same time I was reading about USGBC and what they were doing so going into construction engineering seemed like a natural fit.
How are you an environmental steward?
In my personal life, we are a small footprint family. We don't own a car and live in a condo in a dense urban environment. We try to eat organically as much as possible and, while we aren't vegetarians, we don't eat meat Monday through Friday. Professionally I strive to constantly improve our construction waste management process, especially with all the interior fit-ups Structure Tone does. We will have thousands of yards of carpet and hundreds of wood doors when we go into demolition. I look to repurpose as much as possible at other locations even before considering the recycling options.
Why are you a member of the chapter? For me, being a member of the chapter is a great meld of professional and personal environmental stewardship. Not only does it give me the chance to be with like-minded people, but it provides me with volunteer opportunities to make change, both locally or at the state level. It's important to me to be able to give back to the community and work to environmentally improve our state.
If I wanted to find you on a Saturday afternoon, where would you be? During football season I can be found with my fellow North Carolina State University alumni watching the game at the local bar. Go Wolfpack!
We are looking to highlight our diverse and talented members. If you would like to be a future member profie, use the Contact Us form.
Nov 13, 2012 | Uncategorized
By Grey Lee
Many of us are here for Chapter Day, and several will be arriving over the course of the next few hours. Everyone is getting pumped up. Be sure to keep in touch over Twitter using hashtag #usgbcma with #greenbuild so we can share with each other and those back home.
Not sure what sessions to go to? Check out our post from last week showcasing MA members giving presentations. Go and support them.
See you at the convention!
Nov 8, 2012 | Uncategorized
By Grey Lee
Next week is Boston's annual construction industry conference, ArchitectureBoston Expo (formerly BuildBoston) and it seems like there are going to be a whole slew of us USGBCMAers there. Even if you weren't planning on attending the full conference, there will be events of special interest to us. Question is, what are they and how do we find each other?
On Wednesday night in nearby Downtown Crossing is the Fall 2012 collaborative Young Professional Networking Event, which the EPMA are sponsors of. Go to http://ypnefall12.eventbrite.com/ for all the details.
On Thursday night there are two special events. One is Meet Massachusetts from 6pm-10pm, which the Chapter is a sponsor of. Even if you aren't going to the conference, you can still attend by calling 508.743.5864 and requesting to register for the Meet Massachusetts event for only $10. You can also get a free pass to the exhibit hall if you ask nicely! The other event, unfortunately at the same time (but we know you like to hop between parties), is the MA CHPS 10th Anniversary Celebration. Many of your colleagues will be honored for their efforts to make Massachusetts Public Schools the greenest they can be. Congratulate them enthusiastically.
During the conference we have several members presenting. If you still aren't sure what sessions to attend, see our post yesterday highlighting those people and the sessions they are running. Be sure to go up afterwards to introduce yourself as a fellow member.
Lastly, use the power of social media! If you have a Twitter account, use the hash tag #usgbcma to tell us what you are up to and follow your fellow member attendees. Look for (and instigate) impromptu meetups!