Arriving at the USGBCMA Green Building Showcase, I had a sense of crossing a real threshold into a world of design and engineering that had previously inspired me, but I had not truly participated in. Entering the recently completed Northeastern Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex, I understood how exemplary design and performance could make a building something special.
I’ve always been interested in the environment, and recently changed my path of study to mechanical engineering with a minor in sustainability engineering to reflect this. Growing up near Boston, I remembered how each time I went into the city with my father, he would point out with pride the buildings he had worked on with AHA Engineers, as well as others that were significant. I learned about the engineering innovations on new buildings in Boston and how environmentally friendly they were.
As an intern new to the field of sustainability, the opportunity to meet so many of the important people in this field was incredible, and walking around and looking at the buildings on display was inspiring. I’ve always been impressed with the innovative ways the industry has developed to conserve materials and reduce energy and water consumption. The display boards featured buildings with rooftop gardens, net-zero buildings, heat recovery, building reuse, and passive solar design.
The actual design teams were present, discussing innovations and upcoming projects with the confidence and experience of professionals taking the field of Architecture and Engineering to new levels. I had the opportunity to speak with many of the people who are responsible for pushing the green building industry forward, such as Mark Stafford from National Grid, Steve Burke from Consigli Construction, and Judy Nitsch from Nitsch Engineering. Everyone was friendly and eager to share ideas, and made a newcomer like myself feel welcome. The layout of tables and project information along with healthy food and beverages made for a party atmosphere until the speakers began.
The presentations by Elkus Manfredi and Lendlease were memorable as well. The idea of creating an entire smart city is revolutionary, and more within our grasp than I had previously known. I also appreciate Lendlease’s perspective on collaboration. I attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute, which places a large focus on collaboration within its project-based curriculum, and is something that has struck me as the difference between an average and award-winning building.
I’m incredibly grateful to my mentor at AHA, Dan Whittet, for the chance to attend this event, as well as my coworkers, Tim Spencer and Allison Gaiko, for their support and investment in my future career in sustainability. I am also grateful to Celis Brisbin and Emily Kingston, for their work to make my first Green Building Showcase memorable and meaningful. I can’t wait to come back next year.
We are excited to announce that the 2017 Greenbuild Legacy Project winner is The Green Building Tech Club at Madison Park Technical Vocational High School!
The Green Building Tech Club is designed to create awareness of green building technologies in the early development of the trades in facilities management, electrical, plumbing, and carpentry. The Green Building Tech Club will expose the next generation of building operators and middle-skills trade workers to a wide range of “green collar” jobs. Our industry is demanding competent building operating technicians.
Architects, engineers, and contractors are great at designing and building high-performance buildings (LEED Certified Buildings). The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is delivering these types buildings at a record-breaking pace. However, when it comes to operating these high-performance buildings, the middle-skills workforce have difficulty operating and maintaining their performance as designed.
Too many building operators today are unplugging building automation systems or abandoning critical systems because they are unsure or unaware of the how high-performance buildings operate. Most of these facilities managers usually have a high school degree, GED, and maybe a two-year community college degree. The Green Building Tech Club is the first of its kind in the Boston Public Schools system. The program is designed specifically for career technical education high schools. We need to focus our education efforts on the next generation green building operators to strengthen and maintain Boston’s thriving, healthy and innovative economy.
This winning project was one of five amazing finalists to become this year's Legacy Project. The Green Building Tech Club proved to hit the following five criteria most effectively and thus was chosen:
Imagine a world with fewer cars and more people biking and walking to get to their destinations. Walking, biking, public transit, ride sharing, car sharing—all modes of transportation working together seamlessly to make it simpler, faster, greener, and less expensive to get around. Imagine more bike lanes, less congestion, and healthier lifestyles, all as a result of an improved urban mobility network.
At Zipcar, we’ve been working toward this future, with the goal of building a world in which car sharers outnumber car owners, for over 16 years. During that time, we’ve found that our nearly one million members share this same vision. They value access over ownership—and the freedom, convenience, and cost savings that comes with it.
If you live in a city, figuring out the best way to get around is already a part of your daily (maybe even hourly) life. With so many options from public transit to ride hailing to good old fashioned walking and biking, urbanites tend to make every transportation decision with ease, speed, cost, and in many cases, environmental impact in mind. Along the way, they’ve developed a savviness that comes from leveraging many different modes of transportation—and picking the right mode for each trip.
But how do we take this even further?
Cities nationwide are working to encourage this “multi-modal” behavior. Xerox’s integrated mobile apps in Denver and Los Angeles now make it possible for residents and visitors to make transportation choices based on cost, speed, and environmental impact in one easy-to-use app. Bike sharing programs are popping up across the country, making it even more convenient to commute or explore a city on two wheels and reduce environment impact. And many cities are partnering with car sharing and bike sharing to offer both services at public transit stations, presenting “first mile, last mile” solutions for users.
Plus, the significant response to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Smart City Challenge further demonstrates that cities nationwide are committed to implementing integrated, smart mobility solutions that make it easier to get around—and we’ve pledged Zipcar’s support in making these proposals a reality.
Zipcar members already report biking nearly 20 percent more after joining Zipcar, and today, we are taking steps to make it easier and more convenient for our members to use our service in conjunction with other modes of transportation. We’ve partnered with bike share providers in many cities, including Chicago, Washington, D.C., Toronto, Philadelphia, New York, San Diego, Detroit, and Atlanta. We have partnerships with public transit agencies, including in Boston, Los Angeles, Portland, and Toronto. And we’ve added Yakima rack systems to select Zipcars, so members can get out of the city and enjoy their favorite outdoor activities.
But there’s still much more to be done. Improving walkability, extending bike lanes to create streets where bikes and cars can co-exist, improving reliability of public transit, increasing access to car and bike sharing—these are all steps we can begin to take together to make car-free and car-lite lifestyles possible in our cities.
I’m excited about the road ahead and Zipcar’s ability to lead the way in shaping a new era of mobility in our cities, defined by efficiency, convenience, and sustainability.
About the Author
Kaye Ceille is the President of Zipcar and a leader in transportation innovation.
Funding Provided by Cambridge Savings Bank to Facilitate Redevelopment for Rebranded Asset
July 7, 2016 – Tewksbury, MA – Rubenstein Partners, L.P., (including its affiliates, “Rubenstein”), announced today the closing of a loan commitment of $28,105,000 for the Center at Innovation Drive, a 706,000 SF office, manufacturing, and warehouse complex in Tewksbury, MA, a submarket of Boston. The recently rebranded property, formerly known as 495 Business Center, is comprised of four conjoined buildings located at 200, 300, 400 and 500 Innovation Drive. Cambridge Savings Bank provided the funding.
The Center at Innovation Drive is in the process of a dramatic interior and exterior renovation and capital improvement plan, which began in August 2015 and is projected to be completed later this year. This redevelopment will transform the project that birthed Wang Laboratories, and its pioneering research of the last millennium, into a state of the art ‘creative office’ complex fostering innovation and collaboration for the current millennium. Aimed at satisfying the demands of the modern workforce, the current capital plan includes substantial site work and landscaping, the rebirth of 200 Innovation Drive from a class C flex asset into a Class A office asset and extensive core and shell upgrades to 400 Innovation Drive including a new façade, amenity center and state of the art building systems.
“We are pleased to have closed another loan transaction with Cambridge Savings Bank, one that will help facilitate the striking repositioning going on at the Center at Innovation Drive,” said Deke Schultze, Regional Director of New England for Rubenstein. “We believe there is significant potential for this redeveloped property to meet the demands of a rapidly changing workplace and be uniquely positioned to do so in the495 North submarket. The financing we have secured will help support these substantial upgrades already underway which we look forward to delivering later in the year.”
The Center at Innovation Drive campus provides a new alternative to older properties located along the I-495 belt’s office inventory and serves as an ideal option for companies seeking more efficient, collaborative and highly-amenitized space. The property also benefits from its great location providing ease of access throughout the metropolitan area, being located on I-495 only a few miles from both the Route 3 and I-93 north/south corridors.
About Rubenstein Partners
Rubenstein Partners, founded in September 2005, is a private real estate investment management and advisory firm with operations throughout the Eastern United States. The firm is led by its founder, David Rubenstein, and a group of senior real estate executives, and is focused on directing and managing value-added office real estate investments, primarily in the Eastern United States. Rubenstein Partners’ predecessor company, The Rubenstein Company, LP and affiliates, founded in 1969, was one of the largest private owner operators of Class A office real estate in the Mid-Atlantic, owning and operating a portfolio of assets valued at approximately $1.2 billion at the time of its disposition in 2004. Since 2005, Rubenstein Partners has, on behalf of its investors and clients, invested in more than 10,000,000 sq. ft. of office real estate assets throughout the Eastern United States. For more information, visit www.rubensteinpartners.com.
Transforming Corridors with Sustainable and Healthy Infrastructure Design
Our transportation infrastructure has traditionally prioritized the car over all other modes of transport, unwittingly compromising the health of the environment and our communities. This auto-centric paradigm coupled with conditions of fiscal and space constraint, often forces us to choose between growth and mobility. However, growth and increasing the livability of our communities can be achieved without compromising mobility by transforming our corridors using sustainable and healthy infrastructure design. As recognized by green rating systems such as LEED, a balanced approach to development, mobility, and infrastructure needs enhances safety, increases opportunities for healthy and active movement, supports environmental stewardship, and helps municipalities achieve long-term ecological and community health benefits.
The Greenough Greenway Project
Faced with a struggling and underutilized corridor along the Charles River, residents and community leaders of Boston, Cambridge, and Watertown, Massachusetts were determined to transform Greenough Boulevard into a multi-use greenway, offering active transportation opportunities and giving back the stretch of riverfront to the community instead of vehicles just “passing through”. The project offered the opportunity to encourage residents to use non-vehicular modes of transportation, improve experience of people enjoying the river as a recreation resource, and improve the environmental quality of the Charles River.
VHB worked with the Lawrence and Lillian Solomon Foundation and the Department of Conservation and Recreation to reconfigure and right size Greenough Boulevard, now referred to as Greenough Greenway. We reduced the pavement from four lanes to two; allowed for the construction of a tree-lined multi-use path separated from auto traffic by a substantial green buffer; stormwater drainage improvements; and a generous strip of parkland to sustain the river bank. The path links to a broad network of regional recreational and commuting paths, improves non-motorized access to diverse land uses adjacent to the corridor, and greatly improves an important commuter bicycling connection.
Today, the Greenough Greenway is an inviting shared-use path that promotes the health, safety, and livability of the people in the surrounding communities while improving the environmental quality of the Charles River, all while maintaining a fully functional roadway.
The Importance of Sustainability and Health
Planning for requires more than a specific engineering technique; it requires a balanced and sustainable approach to transportation, the environment, and community health. The Greenough Greenway project shows us how residential and business community needs can be met without compromising mobility requirements.
This approach not only helps us achieve better outcomes, it also makes a lot of sense in our current political and social climate. We are under increasing pressure to think globally and act locally Simultaneously, the resources required to accomplish our communities’ goals and initiatives are ever more limited. Keeping current and future human, ecological, and economic health and vitality in mind as we upgrade and build new infrastructure will ensure that we are creating long-term solutions for local and global communities.
Take advantage of Greenough Greenway when you are in Boston and keep low carbon transit options in mind for getting to and from Greenbuild. We’ve helped by calculating the carbon emissions for different modes of travel between your hotel and the convention center. Carpool with your colleagues or set out by foot in America’s Walking City!
Written by: Albert Ng, Sharon Ron, Kari Hewitt with VHB.
Yesterday evening (June 28), a joint presentation and tour of Arup and Tsoi/Kobus Design brought together more than 40 professionals in the green building industry. Both located at 60 Street, Arup and Tsoi/Kobus Design have designed their offices with sustainability and wellness in mind.
These two leading-edge firms prepared a joint presentation and tour on how they each approached the design of their new spaces. The discussion included design process overviews, comparing and contrasting requirements of LEED, WELL, and Fitwel certifications, lessons learned, and the benefits of implementing WELL, Fitwel and LEED. The tour began at Tsoi/Kobus Design on the 18th floor before we head to Arup’s office on the 10th floor.
In order to meet WELL-compliant features, both offices incorporated the following strategies including material selections that promote good indoor air quality; circadian lighting systems that simulate daylight; “active movement design” layouts with sit/stand desks; ventilation to optimize air quality through filtration; and furniture and finishes with minimal VOCs and contaminants.
Tsoi/Kobus Design's open project space, an unconventional combination of a waiting room, a presentation room, and an open kitchen, took an alternative approach towards not only the spatial design but also the requirements to meet the WELL certification. The Arup office, the first WELL Gold certified in New England, was also designed to meet LEED v4 Platinum and Fitwel 3 STAR certification, serving as a living laboratory to test its own wellbeing assessment to help quantify the impact of health and well-being strategies in the workplace. As practices in the green building industry that promotes people-centered design and social sustainability, it is important that both offices represent these core values with their own office design as paragons, inspiring more industry leaders to follow.
Huge thank you to Arup and Tsoi/Kobus Design staffs for holding the tour and all the attendees for participating from the USGBC MA Chapter!
LEED is the go-to green building rating system for architects and builders worldwide. But in the quest to make our entire environment healthier and more sustainable, there are also other, specialized ways to achieve our goals—such as Parksmart, for parking facilities, and SITES, for landscape design.
There are many places where LEED intersects with these other rating systems so that your project can achieve both. For example, you can use LEED credits to achieve Parksmart credits, and vice versa. Take a quick look at our crosswalk resources:
Parksmart
LEED-certified projects often include high-performance garages employing sustainable parking and transportation tools and practices. In June, GBCI released a guidance document with a detailed list of credits within LEED that can also apply toward earning Parksmart certification. Download the synergies document.
SITES
In 2016, SITES released a list of over 40 credit substitutions, so that similar credits need only be earned in one rating system, not both. Many SITES and LEED credits are almost identical. Now, it is also possible for LEED v4 projects to automatically earn all the points in the Sustainable Sites credit category in LEED when they achieve SITES v2 Gold certification or higher. Download the synergies document.
2018 International Green Construction Code
The International Green Construction Code (IgCC) is in the process of being harmonized with ASHRAE Standard 189.1 for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings. The merger of these two technical documents into one green code will begin to take shape in the next version of the IgCC, due to be published in the summer of 2018. Learn more.
The CEO of Arc Skoru, Inc., shares his thoughts on how data is driving a new era of green building performance.
When it comes to sustainability, data is ushering in a new era of green performance. Thanks to the digital age, our ability to capture data is virtually limitless, and the information we gather has the ability to drive better decisions—economically, socially and environmentally.
Over the last two decades, USGBC and GBCI have gathered vast amounts of green building data through transformative tools such as LEED. Recognizing the critical role data is playing, GBCI created Arc, a digital platform that is helping buildings, communities, and cities around the world benchmark and improve green performance.
As we continue to prove that financial benefits accrue with environmental benefits, performance data will be at the center of market transformation.
Here are five ways data is driving a new era of green building performance:
Transparency: Data creates a holistic picture of sustainability efforts and impact. Tracking green performance also helps businesses keep pace with industry changes. Arc gives its users a transparent look at performance using real-time data. The approach encourages incremental improvement and uncovers innovative opportunities.
Comparison: Comparing performance leads to better results for everyone. Data is a powerful motivator and allows us all to learn from one another's successes and shortcomings. Projects on Arc can see how their efforts are working and how they stack up to similar projects locally, regionally and globally.
Benchmarking: When you benchmark against yourself, you improve. Benchmarking against others helps you know how much you can improve. Leadership can occur anywhere, at any point. Benchmarking through Arc provides an immediate entry point, no matter where you are on your sustainability journey. It is a clear starting point and can help you move toward LEED certification.
Collaborative learning: Projects pursuing multiple sustainability efforts at once—energy, water, waste, transportation and human experience—make better decisions when data is shared across teams. Arc connects actions so that buildings, communities and cities can ensure they are performing at the highest possible levels. It also integrates with Energy Star’s Portfolio Manager and other industry tools to drive even greater results.
Performance beyond buildings: Data allows us to see results. Results are the core of performance. In Arc, net zero performance in energy and water is shown through a perfect score. Data also allows us to be non-linear. So we don’t have to separate buildings from communities and cities. With Arc, users can look at performance of buildings, neighborhoods, districts, cities and more.
By connecting actions, data is redefining our built environment. The more projects harness the power of their data, the more connections are made, the more actions are taken, the more real our work and the better our quality of life.
Interested in using Arc to benchmark, track and manage the performance of your project or community? Get started by visiting arcskoru.com, and connect with Arc on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Starting last month, 80 Boylston St was taken offline as a dorm for Emerson College and began an estimated 2-year renovation plan. Suffolk Construction was selected to complete the historic renovation of Emerson College’s Little Building. The Little Building was originally built as an office building in 1917 (100 years ago!) and was then converted to a dormitory and dining hall in 1995. The building consists of ornate cast stone on the Boylston and Tremont Street façades and brick masonry on the other two façades.
This incredible renovation is targeting LEED gold upon completion. A major component of the project scope includes replacing the exterior façade with high-performing architectural precast concrete. The existing conditions of this ornate façade are being replicated using VDC and 3D Laser Scanning technologies to preserve and replicate the historic nature of the building. Additionally, there will be major interior renovations on floors 2 through 12 and the construction of a new 13th floor located behind a 14-foot parapet. Interior renovations include new common rooms, student social spaces, and updates to the 450-seat dining facility. The building is currently 238,955 gross square feet and, upon completion, will increase to 275,900 square feet. The renovations and addition will result in an increase in the number of students the building can accommodate: from 750 to 1,044 student residents. Look forward to seeing this beautiful new building to be completed in Fall of 2019 located in the heart of our city downtown by the Boston Common!
Did you know Boston is committed to being carbon neutral by 2050? John Dalzell, Sr. Architect for Sustainable Development, gave a fascinating presentation this morning on E+ and Net-Positive Development that will help us get to this prestigious goal. We had a packed room with both new and familiar faces all eager to hear what's new with Net Zero Building operations in Massachusetts. The USGBC MA is devoted to bringing together practitioners, engineers, and architects alike in order to move forward with net-zero planning in our state. We heard of many various examples this morning of projects that were successful in constructing net energy positive buildings such as the Highland Park projects.
In order to achieve net -zero, the key aspects of the building to focus on are the envelope, the orientation, site, and the mechanical systems. The envelope must be air tight and incorporate 12 to 14-inch walls so that the temperature inside is stable throughout the day. Even if there was a power outage, a tight envelope would secure the building with one to two degrees of temperature variation without heating or cooling. Proactive testing such as the blower door test is done during construction phases to check the air tightness and ensure that there is no leakage. The orientation of the building is also a very important aspect because the use of solar panels is the predominant energy source. Net-zero buildings must be oriented so as to maximize the slope of the solar panels to the south side and allow for south facing recess windows with overhang. The windows themselves are also important to have with triple-pane glass for best insulation. Mechanical systems for net-zero buildings will most likely be smaller highly efficient mini split systems. These compact systems contribute to the building's efficiency by heating and cooling individual rooms while they are being occupied compared to a larger central system that requires more time and energy to heat/cool larger spaces. In addition to the mechanical systems, orientation, and envelope efficiency features such as low-flow water fixtures, air source heat pumps, taped sheathing, and passive ventilation all contribute to the zero net energy of the high-performing building.
A huge take away that John left with us this morning is that a building team must work together efficiently on new projects in order for them to be the best they can be. Achieving a net-zero or net-positive building is not a difficult nor expensive task if a team is designing, constructing, and working smart on the building's features and communicate well on all of the several sustainable aspects that make the building high-performing. Performance monitoring is critical throughout every stage of construction to evaluate how a building is holding up to the desired outcome.
We cannot thank John Dalzell enough for sharing with and inspiring our community to push forward with net-zero and net-positive projects. Boston, a national leader in green building, is promoting the next generation of high performance deep green buildings. The E+ Green Building Program demonstrates the feasibility of regenerative multi-unit residential buildings and brings energy and environmentally positive homes to Boston’s neighborhoods. Stay updated with the USGBC MA for more news on the net-zero movement!
Michael Gryniuk, PE is a Structural Engineer at LeMessurier in Boston. As the leader of LeMessurier’s Sustainability practice, he is responsible for strategy, project consulting, and education for LeMessurier. He is currently on the Steering Committee of Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) Sustainability Committee of ASCE and currently serves as Chair of the Structural Engineers (SE 2050) Commitment Program Working Group whose aim to establish a national commitment program for structural engineers for the purpose of achieving net zero embodied carbon in structural systems by 2050. Mike taught for many years at the Boston Architectural College. His current projects include the 2 million square foot Hub on Causeway development as well as upcoming developments of Kenmore Square. Mike has also led several other projects for institutions including Boston College, Holy Cross, RISD and UNH. Mike attended Syracuse University and Tufts University.
ANNE PECK
Vice President, AEW’s Architecture & Engineering group
As Vice President in AEW’s Architecture & Engineering group, Ms. Peck is responsible for physical property inspections, engineering and mechanical system evaluations and environmental audits on potential investments for all commercial property types. She is also responsible for the review and analysis of energy audits and LEED gap analysis with respect to acquisitions, and oversees the scope and results of third-party due diligence reports on property acquisitions. For development projects, Ms. Peck is responsible for the evaluation of construction documents to assess the constructability and recommend sustainable products and practices. She is responsible for overseeing the construction of new development projects from AEW’s initial involvement through closeout and warranty completions. Ms. Peck assists asset managers with large capital improvement projects or physical problems at various properties. In addition, Ms. Peck Co-Chairs AEW’s Sustainability Committee and provides guidance and assistance with most sustainability initiatives with the objective of reducing operating costs, improving indoor air quality and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. She sits on the GRESB Real Estate Benchmark Committee in North America and assists with all sustainability reporting for AEW. Ms. Peck is a licensed Massachusetts Construction Supervisor with LEED AP Certification, and passed her FE exam towards a mechanical engineer/registered professional engineering license.
ANDREA ALAOWNIS
Interior Designer, Jacobs, Boston
Andrea Alaownis is an Interior Designer with the Jacobs, Boston, MA office. After graduating from Radford University, she has concentrated on commercial projects through all phases of design and construction. As a WELL Accredited Professional, she participated in assisting the Jacobs Boston office to achieve WELL V1 Gold, Fitwel 3 Stars, and LEED V4 Gold certifications and continues to educate the design community and clients on wellness through design.
KIMBERLY LEWIS
Senior Vice President, Market Transformation and Development U.S. Green Building Council
As Senior Vice President for Market Transformation and Development in North America, Kimberly Lewis knows better than anyone that market transformation begins with community. Kimberly is laser focused on diversity, inclusion, equity and advancing transparency and excellence. By honing our community’s focus on collaborative impact, Kimberly incorporates people‐centric strategies to provide the organization and movement with a strong foundation of stakeholder based support.
Kimberly’s efforts encourage innovation in the market and challenge all of our community members to go above and beyond what was possible yesterday, to define the built environment of tomorrow. Kimberly knows that when we celebrate our leaders and advocate for growth across sectors, regions, and programs, taking care to bring our best to underserved populations and communities, we achieve real and lasting market transformation of the highest order.
To this end, Kimberly directs all of USGBC’s local communities, volunteers, and emerging professionals around the world, delivering on the USGBC mission to improve the quality of life for all through more sustainable cities and communities worldwide.
Kimberly was the founder of the Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, which is now globally represented in five international markets. She has served on the advisory boards of Starwood Hotels, Marriott International Hotels and the convention and visitors bureaus in New Orleans, Atlanta, and Denver. She is a member of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC) and the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), where she has served on the CSR task force.
Kimberly serves on the board of directors for Groundswell and is the former chair of the board of trustees of the Green Building Foundation. Committed to healthy communities and equitable access to green buildings regardless of income level, Kimberly has been recognized with numerous awards. In April 2011, Kimberly received prestigious recognition as the White House Champion of Change for Clean Energy. She was also named Glamour Magazine 70th Anniversary 70 Women Leaders to Know in Sustainability. Most recently Kimberly was recognized with GB&D Magazine’s 2018 Women in Sustainability Leadership Award.
JIM STANISLASKI
AIA LEED AP BD+C | Senior Associate, Gensler Boston
Jim Stanislaski, AIA LEED AP BD+C is an Architect at Gensler in Boston. As co-leader of Gensler’s northeast region Design Resilience practice, he is responsible for strategy, project consulting, and education for over 1,000 staff in four offices. He is currently a Director on the Board of USGBC MA and a member of the Architecture Boston Magazine Editorial Board. Jim is a former President of AIA MA and has served on two National Academies research panels for renewable energy and energy efficiency at airports. As a past co-chair of the Boston Society of Architects Committee on the Environment (BSA/COTE), Jim led the AIA 2030 Professional Series at the BSA, serving to educate local designers on strategies to achieve net positive energy goals for buildings. Jim has also testified before state and city government committees to advocate for environmental legislation and regulation. Jim started his career as a US Air Force officer and attended Syracuse University.
CARLIE BULLOCK-JONES
LEED Fellow, WELL AP | Founder and Principal, Ecoworks Studio
Carlie Bullock-Jones, LEED Fellow, WELL AP, is the founder and managing Principal of Ecoworks Studio and has dedicated her entire career to bringing about a greener, healthier built environment. As a nationally known expert in sustainability, Carlie has facilitated on numerous award-winning projects. With a passion for green sports, Carlie has spearheaded LEED certification efforts for several stadiums, arenas, and training facilities for the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLS and higher education projects. Most notably, Carlie was the LEED consultant for the new home of the Atlanta Falcons, Mercedes-Benz stadium, which achieved the highest LEED Platinum score of any sports facility in the world.
As a LEED Faculty mentor for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the first external WELL Faculty for the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), Carlie is a highly sought-after speaker and writer for national events and publications. She has been extensively involved in the development of LEED standards over the years, serving as a Subject Matter Expert for USGBC and GBCI, assisting in course curriculum, exam development and reference guide creation. In 2012, Carlie was inducted by USGBC as a LEED Fellow, one of 77 in the world at that time. Carlie is also one of the first WELL Accredited Professionals on the planet, demonstrating expertise and extensive knowledge of human health and wellness in the built environment. As an early adopter of the WELL Building Standard, Carlie facilitated WELL certification efforts for the 27th, 37th and 100th WELL certified projects in the world (Silver, Gold and Platinum respectively). Most recently, Carlie was the recipient of the 2018 Inaugural IWBI WELL Leadership Recognition Award.
ANITA SNADER
LEED AP BD+C | Environmental Sustainability Manager, Armstrong World Industries
Anita Snader is the Environmental Sustainability Manager of Armstrong World Industries in Lancaster, PA. She manages the sustainability strategy for Armstrong Ceiling and Wall Solutions, and serves as an internal environmental advocate, and environmental spokesperson. She is a LEED accredited professional, and well versed in the LEED rating systems and USGBC initiatives. As co-chair of Armstrong’s LEED EB team, she led the corporation to a LEED EB Platinum for their Headquarters building in Lancaster, PA in June 2007, and served on the team obtaining LEED EB recertification in 2014.
Recently, Anita has led Armstrong in a new initiative focusing on the Health and Wellbeing of occupants called Better Spaces. She drives the material health and transparency efforts, and created and manages Armstrong’s commitment through our SUSTAIN™ portfolio of high performance ceiling systems.
Anita joined Armstrong in 1997. Her experience is in Marketing, Research, Product Development and Customer Satisfaction both in the consumer goods, hospitality, building products and advertising industries. Her passion centers in developing strategies for reducing our impact on the environment through product and process innovation, and is always looking at opportunities to share knowledge and innovation with others.
Speaking Engagements: • Mindful Materials Series (2018 – NYC, Chicago)
• USGBC Central PA – 2017 – Green Con – Healthier Buildings
• USGBC GreenBuild – 2016 – Los Angeles, CA – LEEDv4 and Material transparency
• Living Future – Seattle 2016 – Declare and Living Building Challenge
• Costa Rica Green Building Congress – May 2015 – Materials and LEEDv4
• Canada Green Building Conference – June 2015 – Panel on Material Transparency
• USGBC GreenBuild – 2014 New Orleans, PA – two sessions
• State of Green Business – 2011
• PA Green Growth Partnerships, Pittsburgh, PA 2009
• PennTap, Green Workshop, Harrisburg, PA 2008
• Central PA USGBC Chapter Construction Waste Workshop, 2008
• LEED for Existing Building Workshop, Lancaster, PA, November 2007
• NeoCon East, Green Building Workshop, Baltimore, MD, October 2007
• ICA International Conference – Madrid- Acoustics and Green Building, September 2007
• ASHRAE ‘007 Conference – Long Beach, CA – Acoustics and Green Building, May 2007
• GreenBuild 2006 – Got LCA?, November 2006
• Local Green Building Council of PA –LEED for Schools Workshop, October 2006
• Various Recycling Summits throughout the nation
• Customer and sales presentations each month
Tune in:
Listen to a podcast interview with Anita Snader here.
LAUREN HILDEBRAND
Sustainability Director, Steven Winter Associates
Lauren Hildebrand is a Sustainability Director at SWA. Her work focuses on sustainable and high performance residential and commercial building design, construction, renovation, and operation. Ms. Hildebrand’s expertise includes: sustainable design integration; indoor air quality and energy performance testing; and implementing project certification for both commercial and residential programs, such as LEED®, ENERGY STAR®, NYSERDA, NJ Clean Energy, and Enterprise Green Communities. Awards presented to her clients include the 2013 USGBC NJ Urban Green Project Award. Ms. Hildebrand works as a LEED® for Homes Green Rater and verifies implementation of the LEED® for Homes criteria. She is an integral part of the initial strategic planning sessions and workshops with builders, architects, and homeowners based on the LEED for Homes program. She also partners with and implements criteria for Enterprise Green Communities (EGCC), NYSERDA’s Multi-Family Performance Program, and the ENERGY STAR® Multi-Family High-Rise Program Certification. Ms. Hildebrand also has experience with a variety of commercial and mixed use projects, including LEED® for New Construction, Commercial Interior, Core and Shell, and Schools. In addition to her project experience and program guidance, Ms. Hildebrand manages classroom training and curriculum development for architects, owners, developers and building management staff on green and high performance building design strategies, cost effective building system operation, and energy-saving maintenance practices.
DR. JOSEPH ALLEN
Assistant Professor of Exposure Science | Director of the Healthy Buildings program
Dr. Allen researches community and occupational exposures and health risks related to a broad range of chemical, biological, physical and radiological stressors. In particular, he focuses on the built environment, emissions from building materials and consumer products, and building system performance, each of which has the potential for both positive and negative impacts on human health, well-being and productivity. He is the Director of the Healthy Buildings program at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health and faculty director of the Harvard Sensors for Health research group. Dr. Allen teaches a class on the Impact of Buildings on Human Health, and is the faculty advisor for a new initiative out of Harvard’s Office for Sustainability – the Harvard Healthier Building Materials Academy.
HEATHER HENRIKSEN
Managing Director, Harvard University Office for Sustainability
Heather Henriksen has served as Harvard University’s chief sustainability officer since 2008, advising the President and senior leadership on strategy and building an organizational change enterprise. Heather leads the Office for Sustainability which oversees the implementation of the Harvard’s comprehensive Sustainability Plan (co-created with faculty and students in 2014) and the University’s ambitious new Climate Action Plan (to be fossil fuel-free by 2050 and fossil fuel-neutral by 2026) which builds upon the 2016 achievement of Harvard’s initial science-based climate goal.
The Office for Sustainability has expanded a multi-disciplinary living laboratory research program that partners with faculty and students to use the campus as a test bed for piloting and sharing innovative solutions to real-world sustainability challenges. A nationally recognized leader in healthier building materials, Heather is leading an effort with faculty within Harvard to translate research into practice related to heath in the built environment including a focus on addressing the use of chemicals of concern in common building products. Through this work, Harvard is partnering with business and non-profit leaders as they strive to transform the marketplace for a healthier built environment. Heather also advises courses throughout Harvard College and the professional graduate schools and speaks nationally and internationally on sustainability.
Heather is on the Board of Directors of the Health Product Declaration Collaborative. Heather serves as Advisory Committee Co-chair of the International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN), and she is a member of Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2). Heather holds a Master in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School.
LAUREN M. WALLACE
Principal & Director of Certifications and Consulting, Epsten Group, Inc.
Lauren M. Wallace is a Principal and the Director of Certifications and Consulting at Epsten Group, Inc., where she has helped facilitate sustainability and wellness measures for thousands of projects around the globe. Ms. Wallace is a USGBC and WELL Faculty member, WELL AP, LFA, LEED AP BD+C, LEED Project Reviewer, BREEAM USA In-Use Assessor, Fitwel Ambassador, Parksmart Advisor, and TRUE Advisor. With a background in Architecture, Ms. Wallace has more than ten years of experience in sustainability. She speaks regularly to audiences with varying expertise about implementing change in the building industry, focusing on technical information and application.
BECCA RUSHIN
Vice President of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility, Jamestown
Becca Rushin is the Vice President of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility at Jamestown where she leads ESG initiatives through the Jamestown Green program and the Jamestown Charitable Foundation. Prior to joining Jamestown in 2012, Ms. Rushin worked as a local government consultant for Clark Patterson Lee, where she served as Community Development Coordinator and Sustainability Commission Staff Liaison for the City of Dunwoody. She is a Certified Energy Manager (CEM) and holds a LEED AP O+M credential. Ms. Rushin is an active volunteer with the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Environmental Policy from Sewanee: the University of the South and a Master of Science in Sustainable Development: Environmental Policy and Management from Utrecht University.
JIM NEWMAN
Founder and Principal, Linnean Solutions | LEED AP, O+M; EcoDistrict AP
Jim is the Founder and Principal at Linnean Solutions, a mission-driven firm that helps local governments, organizations, and communities reach sustainability and resilience goals. Jim’s twenty years of experience includes carbon mitigation planning and life cycle assessment; sustainability and resilience building certification; climate action and adaptation planning for municipalities, agencies, and organizations; resilience analysis, policy, and design standard development; EcoDistrict planning and management; and stakeholder engagement processes to strengthen communities. As a Living Environments in Natural, Social, and Economic Systems (LENSES) Facilitator and Trainer, Jim regularly leads community planning workshops, and trains others in becoming effective facilitators.
Previous to Linnean, Jim worked with BuildingGreen as the Director of Strategy, where he led the development and introduction of most of BuildingGreen’s online products including LEEDuser.com, BuildingGreen Suite, and the High Performance Buildings Database. Jim is a founding board member of the Resilient Design Institute, and a key author of several influential resilience reports and tools—including the Building Resilience in Boston report and
the Enterprise Community Partners’ Ready to Respond: Strategies for Multifamily Building Resilience manual. He is a member of the RELi/USGBC Steering Committee, where he has worked to bring a social equity lens to the development of the new certification standard for resilient buildings.
JODI SMITS ANDERSON
Director of Sustainability Programs, DASNY | LEED AP BD+C
Jodi Smits Anderson is the Director of Sustainability Programs for DASNY, an architect, LEED AP BD+C, AIA member, lifetime member of NESEA, past regional and national U.S. Green Building Council committee member, wife, mom, hiker, kayaker, knitter, and storyteller. She has spoken at the ILFI unconference in Seattle, WA, at the NACUBO conference in Austin, TX, at the first Wellness in Design conference in San Diego, CA, and several times each at Greenbuild, NESEA’s Building Energy Boston, and the NYS Green Building Conference, and has been a guest teacher at SUNY ESF, RPI, Ithaca College, NYU, Cornell, and SUNY Albany. She is a NY Energy Code trainer, the 2018 recipient of the Green Building Advocate award, and has assisted in research and writing for Project Drawdown, which cites the 100 market-proven ways we already have in our toolkit to reduce CO2 in our atmosphere. She has a featured article appearing in the Journal of Green Building’s V14 N3 in July of 2019, on Excellence in Building Envelopes, and is currently working on a ZNE renovation to an existing residence hall, a project intended to change how we do renovation projects in New York state. Jodi’s goal is to understand and incorporate informed sustainable practices into design, construction, and living, and to share whatever she has learned and learn still more from whomever will talk with her.
JULIE JANISKI
Associate Principal, BuroHappold Engineering
Julie Janiski leads integrated teams of engineers, designers, analysts, and subject-matter experts at BuroHappold Engineering for projects with ambitious goals related to design innovation, building performance, and the health, wellbeing and experience of building occupants and community. Julie’s recent work includes: Cornell Tech’s new Verizon Executive Education Center with Snohetta; Glenstone Museum with Thomas Phifer and Partners, St. Ann’s Warehouse theatre in Brookyln with Marvel Architects; a number of U.S. Embassy projects internationally for the U.S. State Department; a new corporate headquarters campus in Baltimore for Under Armour; an integrated “roadmap” plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by the year 2050 (80×50) for the City of New York; and The House at Cornell Tech – a residential high-rise in New York City which is certified Passive House. Julie also teaches at Columbia University’s GSAPP in the first-year core studio, and has been a guest critic/lecturer at other universities including MIT, Tulane, and NYU.
SARA NEFF
Senior Vice President, Sustainability at Kilroy Realty Corporation
Sara Neff is Senior Vice President, Sustainability at Kilroy Realty Corporation. Sara took Kilroy from having no sustainability program to being named the #1 publicly traded real estate company on sustainability in North America by GRESB, and under her leadership the company recently committed to becoming the first carbon neutral real estate company in North America by the end of 2020.
At Kilroy, she oversees all sustainability initiatives such as solar and battery deal-making, the implementation of energy and water efficiency initiatives throughout the existing and development portfolios, the integration of sustainability standards into annual financial reports, the launch of the Kilroy Innovation Lab, and the award-winning green leasing program. She holds a BS from Stanford and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
TRISTAN ROBERTS
Co-Founder, Facilitator at The Laurentia Project | LEED AP BD+C, LFA
Tristan Roberts is responsible for leading staff support for HPDC’s Technical Committee, education programs, and the evolution of the HPD Open Standard. Mr. Roberts is a leader in the advancement of green building practices. Prior to joining HPDC in May 2018, he was part of BuildingGreen, Inc. for eleven years, where he most recently served as Chief Strategy Officer, moderating and leading the community development of LEEDuser forum which supports over 10,000 users. He is the author of hundreds of articles and in-depth reports on building industry trends and technologies, and is a frequent speaker and educator in the areas of green building and sustainable design. His objective stance and focus on practical tools has earned him the trust of a wide spectrum of stakeholders in the industry, including architects, sustainability professionals, manufacturers, and nonprofit groups. Mr. Roberts has taught sustainability and building science at the Boston Architectural College.
BILL WALSH
Founder and President, Board of the Healthy Building Network
Bill Walsh is the Founder and President of the Board of the Healthy Building Network (HBN). Since 2000 HBN has been defining the leading edge of healthy building practices that increase transparency in the building products industry, reduce human exposures to chemicals in building materials, and create market incentives for healthier innovations in manufacturing. He has been Visiting Professor at Parsons The New School for Design, is a Fellow of the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production at the University of Massachusetts, and a founding board member of the Health Product Declaration (HPD) Collaborative. Bill and HBN have been awarded the Design for Humanity Award by the American Society of Interior Designers (2019); WEACT for Environmental Justice Leadership Award (2018); Healthy Schools Network Hero (2013); US Green Building Council’s Leadership In Advocacy Award (2012). Previously he served as a national campaign director at Greenpeace USA, and held staff attorney positions with the US Public Interest Research Group and the Institute for Public Representation at Georgetown University Law Center. He holds a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law and LLM in Public Interest Advocacy from Georgetown University.
BRENT TRENGA
Building Technology Director, Kingspan North America
Brent has truly run the construction industry gamut serving in various roles including Architect, Construction Manager, Developer and even project owner, allowing him to fully understand the sustainability ecosystem. As Building Technology Director for Kingspan North America, Brent is committed to reducing the environmental impact of business operations, products and services through continuous improvement and environmental transparency.
JENNIFER TARANTO
LEED® AP ID+C, BD+C, USGBC Faculty, WELL® AP, WELL Faculty and Fitwel Ambassador Structure Tone, Director of Sustainability
Jennifer Taranto ensures the principals of sustainability, wellbeing, and Lean construction are incorporated into client projects and everyday work practices throughout the STO Building Group.
Jenn is a passionate advocate for reducing environmental impact of the built environment and enabling organizations to improve people’s health and wellbeing while reducing the construction and operating costs of facilities. She gets involved in the early stages of client projects to define the needs and the overall sustainability goals in order to create an internal road map to team success.
Jennifer brings more than eighteen years of experience in the commercial real estate and construction industry, and joined Structure Tone in 2001. Her previous roles included superintendent and project manager prior to becoming Structure Tone’s Director of Sustainability in 2008.
As a founder of the USGBC Massachusetts Chapter and the former Chair of the Chapter’s Board of Directors she is recognized as a leader in the sustainable built environment. She has lectured at Wentworth Institute of Technology and Boston University and spoken at Labs21 Conference (I2SL), Delaware Valley Green Building Council’s Sustainability Symposium, Living Futures and Greenbuild. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Engineering from North Carolina State University.
Jennifer has a Bacon number of 2.
LEIGH STRINGER
Workplace Strategy Expert and Researcher, EYP
Leigh Stringer is a workplace strategy expert and researcher whose work has been covered recently by BBC News, The Globe and Mail, Fortune, CNN and Good Morning America. She works for EYP, an architecture and engineering firm. She is the author of two best-selling books, The Green Workplace and The Healthy Workplace. Leigh is currently collaborating with Harvard University’s School of Public Health on a new Health and Human Performance Index and the Center for Active Design in New York on their Fitwel building certification program to create new tools, connect like minds and blur the boundaries across industries in order to advance our improve our well-being at work. Leigh is on the board of directors of a new non-profit, Global Women for Wellbeing, an organization that aims to give women a voice to create better health and wellbeing for themselves, their businesses, and their communities.
CHARLEY STEVENSON
Principal, Integrated Ecostrategy
Charley Stevenson has been delving deeper and deeper into healthier building materials since beginning work on his first Living Building Challenge project in 2011. With the team at IES, he has developed process and software to integrate better materials selections into all project types and to transform the market as quickly and easily as possible. The Red2Green platform has reduced Red List research and documentation effort by a factor of three while building up a library of over 10,000 products screened for compliance.
PETER SMITH
Senior Vice President, International WELL Building Institute
Peter is engaged with leading organizations and institutions seeking to transform their real estate portfolios to enhance health and business metrics. As Senior Vice President at IWBI, he leads a team driving the global growth and adoption of the WELL Building Standard, the first performance-based building standard to exclusively focus on human health. Peter is also an active speaker and educator, promoting health in the built environment through industry events and technical workshops. Previously, Peter served as Vice President of Delos Solutions, a team of consultants and subject matter experts incorporating health and wellness strategies into the pioneering WELL Certification projects. Working closely with Delos Labs, an internal research group, he identified best-in-class design solutions, products and technologies to improve the built environment and optimize for human health, well-being and environmentally sustainability. Peter has an extensive background in building science and energy efficiency. Prior to joining Delos and IWBI, he worked as a Sustainability Consultant at Steven Winter Associates, an industry leading green building consulting firm. Focusing on affordable housing in the greater New York City area, Peter worked with multifamily developers to implement sustainable design principles and energy efficiency measures into new construction projects and validate high-performance building criteria. Peter holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a Bachelor’s degree from Colgate University in Environmental Economics. He also maintains accreditations for WELL AP™ and WELL Faculty™.
KOMAL KOTWAL
AIA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP
Komal Kotwal is a Sustainable Design Leader and Project Manager at HOK with over 13 years of experience. Komal has led sustainable design and LEED Certification efforts for over 2M square feet including 1+M sf. of LEED Platinum projects and two Net-Zero projects. With the intent of bringing the human connection to sustainability, Komal currently focuses on intentional design to address human behavior and foster physical, mental, and emotional health. As a WELL AP, Komal is one of HOK’s leads in promoting and practicing health and wellness in architecture. Komal has served on the AIA Houston Chapter’s Board of Directors, Texas USGBC Regional Council and on USGBC’s Greenbuild Program Committee among others. A strong advocate for equity and inclusivity, Komal serves on HOK’s firm-wide Diversity Advisory Council and is a recent addition to HOK’s Management Board.
Speaking Engagements
TSA Convention 2016: Design for Healthy & Livable Communities
Gulf Coast Green Conference 2015: Integrating LEED ND Communities
CSI Chapter Annual Meeting 2014 : 2030 Commitment and how to get there
American Society of Indian Engineers ( ASIE) 2016: Getting to LEED Platinum
University of Houston, 2018: Staying Ahead of the Commercial Energy Code
Texas A&M University, 2016: Integrating Sustainability: A path to Net-zero
JASON JEWHURST
Principal, Bruner/Cott
Jason’s passion for reconnecting with the natural environment informs all of his work as a specialist in sustainable and high-performance building design. With a strong technical background in building systems, technology, and sustainability, Jason is driven by a deep respect for craftsmanship and the art of making and by the possibilities created by merging tested traditions of construction with new fabrication technologies and material production. He leads design teams to explore possibilities inspired by a shared set of values and goals to create high-performance contemporary architecture that is beautiful and inspiring. He is a recipient of a 2017 Living Hero Award.
BLAKE JACKSON
Architect, Associate, and Sustainability Design Leader, Stantec Architecture and Engineering
Blake Jackson is an architect, Associate, and Sustainability Design Leader with Stantec Architecture and Engineering in Boston, Massachusetts. His work focuses on the nexus between sustainability, wellness, and resiliency, and he has over fifteen years’ experience in planning, retail, hospitality, labs, healthcare, commercial, higher-education, and multifamily projects. Blake is a prolific author and speaker on his three main areas of focus, is an adjunct faculty at the Boston Architectural College and at Mount Ida College, and he currently serves as the Vice President for Advocacy for the Boston Society of Architects. He was named a national top “40 Under 40” built environment professional by Building Design and Construction Magazine in 2015.
ANNE HARNEY
FAIA, LEED Fellow, Long Green Specs
Anne Hicks Harney has over 30 years of experience, focusing on high quality design imbued with a solid technical and sustainable foundation. Formed in 2016, Long Green Specs provides sustainability focused construction specifications and building science material expertise to Architectural firms across the country. She is a member of the AIA COTE Advisory Group. She was a founding co-chair of the Baltimore – Building Enclosure Council, chair of the AIA Materials Knowledge Working Group, and a member of the USGBC Materials & Resources Technical Advisory Group. In 2016, Ms. Harney was awarded fellowship by the AIA and became a LEED Fellow.
Speaking Engagements
Living Future unconference 2019 – Using the AIA COTE Toolkit to Elevate Every Project –
Living Future unconference 2019 – Entering the material pool – deep end jump or shallow slide?
2019 AIA Women’s Leadership Summit – Go Forth and Prosper, While Changing the World
Greenbuild 2018: Chicago IL, November 2018 – Closing the Transparency Loop: Collaboration in Action
AIA Conference on Architecture 2018, New York NY: Holding Ourselves to Higher Standards – Healthy Materials Every Time
BRENT EHRLICH
Products & Materials Specialist, BuildingGreen
Brent is the products & materials specialist at BuildingGreen, where he has been researching and writing about green building products, materials, and their health and environmental impacts for more than a decade. He brings a nuanced understanding of materials, their constituents, and lifecycles to his work as a consultant and speaker and leads a team of editors that selects products for the company’s BuildingGreen Approved database and annual Top 10 Products Award.
Speaking Engagements
• Annual BuildingGreen’s Top 10 Products award at Greenbuild (8 years as presenter)
• Northeast Sustainable Energy Association: NESEA 2014: The Forest and the Trees
• NESEA 2011: Materials Track Chair + Cool New Products presentation
MATT EDLEN
Director of Acquisitions and Development
Matt Edlen oversees acquisitions and development in the Midwest and East Coast for Gerding Edlen’s various investment funds. Matt is responsible for sourcing, negotiating and executing on investment opportunities across key urban markets within those regions.
Prior to his role in acquisitions, Matt was focused on the development and management of the firms internal multifamily marketing and sales platform. His efforts have helped the firm invest over $1 billion worth of real estate across the country in cities such as Seattle, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago.
Matt currently serves as national chair of the board for Design Museum Foundation and as a board member for Boston’s NOAH (Neighborhood of Affordable Housing), and The Oregon Sports Authority. He has also served as board member and chair of the site selection committee for PHAME Academy, board member and co-chair of the Arts Connector Program of Business for Culture and the Arts, and alumni board member of Young People’s Theater Project. Matt earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Loyola University of Chicago.
MIKHAIL DAVIS
Director of Restorative Enterprise, Interface
Mikhail Davis is Director of Restorative Enterprise at Interface, a world-leading modular flooring company with a fully integrated collection of hard and soft flooring. Interface’s mission, Climate Take Back™, invites industry to commit to making a profit in a way that is restorative to the planet and creates a climate fit for life. Mikhail is responsible for advancing Interface’s mission in the Americas by building internal leadership capacity, facilitating strategic alignment of efforts, and creating external partnerships that shift the marketplace toward sustainability. He leads Interface’s product transparency efforts in the Americas and was lead author and editor of Interface’s Radical Industrialists column at GreenBiz.com for two years.
An expert in sustainable materials and NGO collaborations, he represents Interface in many organizations focused on sustainability innovation, closed-loop systems, recycling, and chemicals of concern, including serving as 2016-18 Chair of the US Green Building Council’s Technical Advisory Group on Materials and Resources (MR TAG), Co-Chair of the Materials Working Group of BizNGO and Program Advisor to the Next Generation Bio-based and Sustainable Chemicals Summit.
TIM CONWAY
Vice President of Sustainable Development, Shaw
As a flooring industry expert, Tim Conway is focused on the positive affects that sustainable flooring products have on our buildings, and more importantly, the people that occupy and live in the spaces we design. Tim has worked closely with Bill McDonough and the internal team at Shaw for the past twelve years developing and maintaining Shaw’s Cradle to Cradle certifications, HPDs and EPDs. His unique role at Shaw enables him to drive the communication between clients’ requirements and the product development team at Shaw. He has presented at GreenBuild, Living Future, and Design Future Council and has been an integral part in the development of healthy carpet specifications for clients all over the world. Tim is passionate about collaborating with clients to develop flooring specifications that are safe throughout a product’s entire supply chain, from raw material chemical building blocks to end of life replication. He has a unique ability to translate complex systems like Cradle to Cradle and HPDs into simple stories that empower change and deliver buildings that have positive intent for the future of our people and our planet.
STEVEN BURKE
Sustainability Manager, Consigli Construction Company
Steven is a Sustainability Manager at Consigli Construction Co., Inc., an 800+ person construction firm based in Massachusetts. His position involves management of company sustainability processes and sustainable construction projects at Consigli. He has a Master of Science in Sustainability Management from Columbia University, and has delivered many presentations on how to integrate health and wellness into the design and construction of the built environment.
ANNIE BEVAN
Global Head of Sustainability, Superior Essex
Annie is widely regarded within the marketplace as an expert in third-party verification and sustainable program development. She previously held positions like Vice President of Certification Services at GreenCircle Certified, LLC until starting her own independent organization in 2017. She sits as a technical advisor to: the US Green Building Council’s Materials and Resources TAG, the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), Clean Production Action and the GreenScreen Program, the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council, the ASTM E 60 Committee, and the Collaborative for High Performing Schools National Technical Committee.
PE | Associate, LeMessurier
Vice President, AEW’s Architecture & Engineering group
Interior Designer, Jacobs, Boston
Senior Vice President, Market Transformation and Development U.S. Green Building Council
AIA LEED AP BD+C | Senior Associate, Gensler Boston 
LEED Fellow, WELL AP | Founder and Principal, Ecoworks Studio
LEED AP BD+C | Environmental Sustainability Manager, Armstrong World Industries
Sustainability Director, Steven Winter Associates
Assistant Professor of Exposure Science | Director of the Healthy Buildings program
Managing Director, Harvard University Office for Sustainability
Principal & Director of Certifications and Consulting, Epsten Group, Inc.
Vice President of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility, Jamestown
Founder and Principal, Linnean Solutions | LEED AP, O+M; EcoDistrict AP
Associate Principal, BuroHappold Engineering
Senior Vice President, Sustainability at Kilroy Realty Corporation
Co-Founder, Facilitator at The Laurentia Project | LEED AP BD+C, LFA
Founder and President, Board of the Healthy Building Network
Building Technology Director, Kingspan North America
LEED® AP ID+C, BD+C, USGBC Faculty, WELL® AP, WELL Faculty and Fitwel Ambassador
Workplace Strategy Expert and Researcher, EYP
Principal, Integrated Ecostrategy
Senior Vice President, International WELL Building Institute
AIA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP
Principal, Bruner/Cott
Architect, Associate, and Sustainability Design Leader, Stantec Architecture and Engineering
FAIA, LEED Fellow, Long Green Specs
Products & Materials Specialist, BuildingGreen
Director of Acquisitions and Development
Director of Restorative Enterprise, Interface
Vice President of Sustainable Development, Shaw
Sustainability Manager, Consigli Construction Company
Global Head of Sustainability, Superior Essex