As of this morning – Friday, January 13th – 2017 Board elections are now going on.
For members of the US Green Building Council Massachusetts Chapter, you should have received an email this morning asking you to fill out a short survey and to decide who you want to see as a member of the 2017 Board of Directors.
If you didn't receive this email, please check your spam folder, or contact us at info@usgbcma.org.
If you aren't currently a member but would like to get involved, please join as a member now, and we will be sending a follow-up email with voting instructions next week for any new members.
For more information on each candidate and to read their statements, please go here.
Julie Conroy | Senior Environmental Planner, Metroploitan Area Planning Association (MAPC)— As Senior Environmental Planner at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), Julie develops policy documentation and regulations for environmental protection in numerous Massachusetts cities and towns.
Darien Crimmin | Vice President of Energy & Sustainability, Winn Development— At WinnCompanies, Darien is responsible for managing a range of energy efficiency projects and sustainability programs across Winn’s residential portfolio.
John Markowitz | Vice President- Infrastructure Finance at MassDevelopmentExperience– John currently works for MassDevelopment, the Commonwealth's Development Agency, financing infrastructure for large scale real estate development projects across the Commonwealth, including from project inception to stabilization and beyond.
Johanna Jobin | Director, Global EHS & Sustainability at Biogen— Over the past 10 years, Johanna has supported and participated in a number of green building projects, including several projects that have achieved LEED Silver or higher, in the U.S. as well as Europe and India.
Sarah Brylinsky| Sustainability Manager, MIT Office of Sustainability— Sarah works in the MIT Office of Sustainability as a Sustainability Manager, where she is responsible for guiding the strategy of the campus.
Steven Burke | Sustainability Manager, SMMA— Steven is a Sustainability Manager at SMMA, an integrated, multi-disciplinary design, engineering, and commissioning firm, where he guides green building certifications on projects of many different types and sizes.
Samira Ahmadi | Director of Energy Services, AHA Consulting Engineers— Samira's practice at AHA Consulting Engineers, Inc. focuses on sustainability and energy performance analyses for new construction, pursuing LEED certification and energy-upgrades, and Life Cycle Cost Analyses of existing building retrofits for utility incentives and government founded initiatives.
You can read about each of our new directors on our Board page here!
Congratulations to the six new board members for the USGBC Massachusetts Chapter! We look forward to working together as a community to improve our built environment and meet our mission.
Thank you to all the candidates that ran for our board! The diversity and experience of our candidate pool is a testament to the strength of our community.
Barbra Batshalom, Sustainable Performance Institute
Barbra is the founder and president of the Sustainable Performance Institute, a national organization that assists the building industry in institutionalizing sustainability. Additionally, she has founded The Green Roundtable as well as leading the way in forming our own USGBC Massachusetts chapter! Barbra is a trailblazer is transforming businesses and the building industry into a more sustainable field.
John Dalzell, Boston Redevelopment Authority
John has been deeply involved with USGBC and LEED for many years now as illustrated by his awarded position as LEED Fellow, Accredited Professional in BD+C and Neighborhood Development, and as a founding member of the USGBC Massachusetts chapter. John is also a senior architect for sustainable development at the Boston Redevelopment Authority and a champion for Green Building and Community Programs.
Mike Davis, Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC)
Mike has a rich and varied past working in housing and urban planning, including the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Bronx Planning Unit, and the HUD Multifamily Unit. Currently, Mike is a Program Officer with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation in which he manages the MA Green Retrofit Initiative, works with energy auditors, and analyzes funding opportunities.
Carrie Havey, The Green Engineer
Carries joined the USGBC MA chapter within her first few months in Boston and has brought sustainability into all aspects of her work. She currently works as a Project Manager at The Green Engineer. Carrie has over twelve years of experience in planning and landscape architecture from Concord Square Planning & Development, Stantec, Tompkins County Planning Department, and others.
Shawn Hesse, emersionDESIGN
Shawn leads the Cambridge office of emersionDESIGN and focuses on integrating sustainability into all of his design, planning, and policy work for clients. He has proudly designed and consulted Net Zero energy projects and LEED Platinum Certified buildings. Furthermore, Shawn has educated and trained hundreds in LEED with support from USGBC. He also serves on the national board of Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility.
Tiffany King, Commodore Construction
Now a Project Manager at Commodore Builders, Tiffany was previously at E.M Harris Construction Company and Paric Corporation. Through her experience in commercial and residential construction management, she has demonstrated superb collaboration skills and a passion for sustainable and high-efficiency design.
USGBC MA Chapter friend and Board member Chris Schaffner is a candidate for USGBC's Board of Directors. Chris has provided an overview of his intentions and reasons for seeking a seat designated for Sustainable Practice Leader: Engineer. Voting for the 2015 USGBC Board of Directors is ongoing, through October 30.
Via Chris Schaffner
Friends and Colleagues:
I'd appreciate your consideration when you fill your ballot.
People ask: “Why are you running for the Board”.
Chris Schaffner Image credit W. Marc Bernsau, Boston Business Journal
The USGBC has come along way in the last two decades. 20 years ago, the USGBC was in its infancy, and green building was seen as a niche, practiced by only a very few. Today, a market transformation is in progress, as witnessed here in Boston’s Seaport District, where every one of the new buildings recently finished or under construction will be LEED Certified. That’s the impact that we, the members of the USGBC have had. We succeeded in beginning a market transformation, a transformation that has brought green building practices into the mainstream. We’ve communicated the message that green buildings are not only good for the environment, they’re also good business, good for communities, and good for people.
But our work is not finished – it has really barely begun. What do the next 20 years and beyond look like? That is the question before us. I want to help us, the members of the USGBC, plan and lead the next 20 years. That is why I'm running.
With our many accomplishments, we face a few challenges.
1) We’ve succeeded in making green buildings a desirable object. How do we make sure that they are available to everyone, everywhere?
2) With our growth and power come new challenges, organizations and individuals who are threatened by our mission. How do we face these challenges?
3) Our growth has also created vested interests within the green building movement. How do we challenge our friends to raise the bar, to improve what is working, and fix what is not?
4) And finally, we must remember that the USGBC is a 501(c)(3) charity –we’re not a professional organization, and we’re not lobbyists. How do we go beyond just advancing the interests of our current members, and become a force for good everywhere, for everyone?
These questions need answers. I hope to help answer them.
—
Chris Schaffner, PE, LEED Fellow
Principal and Founder
The Green Engineer, Inc.
Sustainable Design Consulting
54 Junction Square Dr.
Concord, MA 01742
The Green Engineer, Inc. is a Certified B Corporation and a Massachusetts Benefit Corporation – Employee Owned since 2014
