March 2017 EPMA Meeting – All About Low-Impact Stormwater Management

By Alex Testa


Monday’s night EPMA meeting ended with a great discussion about our responsibility as emerging professionals and brought new perspectives to the table.

Lindsey Machamer gave a thought-provoking presentation on Low Impact Stormwater Management, highlighting her work at Plymouth South High School. The decentralized system she designed was triggered by a number of influences we can all relate to: MassDEP guidelines; Plymouth stormwater bylaw; USGBC/LEED. Lindsey navigated through each set of standards, demonstrating how engineering innovation and design can be applied to meet a variety of criteria (within a budget!). She also outlined the site conditions in Plymouth, which had sandy soil and a deep ground water table.

Making use of bioretention areas, water swales, separate discharge points, a turf field, and tree box filters, the final design is one that mimics the natural hydrology of southeastern Massachusetts and takes advantage of everything the site offers. Although not everyone was familiar with stormwater management, Lindsey’s case study opened our eyes to a different aspect of building design and how stormwater management factors into a green building. Lindsey’s presentation motivated a fascinating, open discussion with Boston city councilor Tito Jackson, who had dropped in the meeting, about green buildings and Boston’s future.

Upcoming Sustainable Energy Spring Seminars

By Derek Newberry, Advocacy Fellow


Interested in the future of renewable energy? Do you think there should be a carbon price? What can we do to improve our energy use? These and many other questions will be answered in the coming weeks at multiple university public seminars, including Boston University's Institute for Sustainable Energy’s Spring 2017 public Seminar Series starting March 20 and going until late April. Come to these events and learn about the many aspects and issues of transitioning into a economically and socially sustainable future.

Come to Boston on March 20 for “Energy Storage Economics: The Impact on Renewables & Climate,” to learn about modern energy storage, feasibility, and applications. On April 3rd there will be “Pricing Climate Risk,” a discussion on carbon prices and taxes; on April 13, “Hurry or Wait: Pacing the Roll-out of Renewable Energy in the face of Climate Change“; and on April 24, BU will hold “US State & Local Policies: Key Catalysts to Renewable Electricity’s Ascent” to go over the ins and outs of environmentally sustainable policy.

These events are free and open to the public. They feature specialists in economics, engineering, business, law, and multiple authors including Brett Perlman and Gernot Wagner. Check out the events, their speakers, and RSVP here. The events will be from 4:00 to 5:00 pm at the Hariri Building, Room 508, 595 Commonwealth Avenue Boston MA, 02215. 

Also, check out Harvard's sustainability events here! They have many fun, free, and public events going on in the near future. 

Mentoring Kick-Off Recap

By Aminah McNulty


The EPMA Mentor Program Kick-Off event was a great success! People came on the eve of the storm to share drinks, stories, and fun as we got to know our fellow mentors and mentees. We met at Elephant & Castle in downtown Boston for an informal happy hour. While the program is organized to group us by industry, interest, and geography, there was no grouping or categories at this event. People chatted eagerly across generations, industries and experience levels. Two of our mentees were classmates during their masters programs and re-connected at our kick-off after two years of losing touch! 

I was inspired to welcome a new mentee into our community from the world of sales and nutrition. It was great to unpack the USGBC mission of net positive buildings and practices, and hear her experience of the built environment from a health and well-being perspective. 

Joining Our Mentor Program? Attend Our Kickoff Party Feb 8!

By Alexander Landa


For those of you who are signed up to be a part of our 2017 Green Building Mentor Program – or are planning to – please attend our upcoming event that will celebrate all of the upcoming successes from this program.

Mentors and mentees will come together on this Wednesday evening for a fun night of food and drinks in Downtown Boston to your group for the upcoming 2017 cycle. You'll be able to meet established professionals who will be the mentors, as well as all upcoming Emerging Professionals.

The mentoring program is a year-long commitment pairing a group of college seniors, grad students, or young professionals with local industry leaders. Get the chance to hear first-hand from these professionals if you're interested in becoming a mentee, or share your guidance with those following in your footsteps if you want to become a mentor.

Register here!
Wednesday, February 8th, 2017
5:30pm-8:30pm
Elephant & Castle
161 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA, 02110

Go here to learn more about the 2017 Green Building Mentor Program

Interested in Joining Our Emerging Professionals Committee?

By USGBC MA


Are you in college, a recent graduate, or a millennial kicking off your career? If you answered yes to any of those, then consider joining our Emerging Professionals Committee! You're never too young to start making a difference in the built environment, and now's a great time to start engaging with your peers.

This group works to provide an avenue for all our members to become engaged with the greater green community of Boston and the greater Massachusetts area.
 

EPMA [Emerging Professionals of Massachusetts] strives to provide these connections through educational and career development events, networking gathering, volunteer programs and other events which promote the conservation, regeneration and stewardship of natural resources through sustainable building practices.

The group is particularly interested supporting:

  • Students
  • Recent Grads who are new to professional positions in our industry
  • Women in sustainability in A/E/C
  • Under-represented groups in A/E/C

The EPMA holds meetings on the third Monday of every month.

“The USGBC mentor program successfully brings together people from different professions and in different points in their careers, but with a shared interest in sustainability and green building. My own group consisted of a young professional working at a nonprofit, an experienced sustainability director for a local engineering company, and myself, a civil engineer. Meeting bimonthly gave us a chance to check in with each other, ask for advice, and see how we were all progressing with our professional goals. The support of my group was invaluable this past year, as I transitioned from an engineering career path to one specifically geared toward green building. I am grateful to my group for expanding my network, providing me with advice from an outside perspective, and increasing my self-confidence as a young professional.” -Katie, USGBC MA 2016 Mentee

TheUSGBC MA mentor programs is collecting interest participants for the next cycle to begin in early 2017. Interested parties should email Rebecca Slocum (mentoring@usgbcma.org) to receive further information or sign-up on the website (https://usgbcma.org/mentoring)

Interested in Becoming a Mentor or Mentee?

By Alexander Landa


For anyone considering making a larger impact in the green building community, consider becoming a mentor or mentee. Through our mentoring program, you can either help guide someone to unleash their potential, or learn from a distinguished professional yourself.

Established by the USGBC MA Emerging Professionals committee, we believe that these relationships can help connect anyone willing to make a difference in the built environment. 

A 2016 mentee, Katie, had this to say about her experience: The USGBC mentor program successfully brings together people from different professions and in different points in their careers, but with a shared interest in sustainability and green building. My own group consisted of a young professional working at a nonprofit, an experienced sustainability director for a local engineering company, and myself, a civil engineer. Meeting bimonthly gave us a chance to check in with each other, ask for advice, and see how we were all progressing with our professional goals. The support of my group was invaluable this past year, as I transitioned from an engineering career path to one specifically geared toward green building. I am grateful to my group for expanding my network, providing me with advice from an outside perspective, and increasing my self-confidence as a young professional.

If interested, please contact Rebecca Slocum (mentoring@usgbcma.org).

 

Women in Design Mistletoe Mingle & Holiday Charity Party 12/7

By USGBC MA


On December 7th, the Women in Design group in partnership with the USGBC MA will be hosting the Mistletoe Mingle, meant to benefit Rosie's Place.

Rosie's Place supports poor and homeless women by collecting monetary and material donations to give to women in need. Everything gathered from this event will go right to this generous charity.

Come next week, bring donations, bring a friend, and get ready to have some fun!

Register here
Wednesday, December 7th, 2016
6:00PM – 9:00PM EST
290 Congress Street
#200
Boston, MA, 02210

The Next USGBC MA Mentor Cycle is Going to Launch Soon!

By Rebecca Slocum


The USGBC MA Emerging Professionals committee is working to further develop a mentor program for USGBC MA members. In an effort to foster relationships in the green building community, this program aims to connect Emerging Professionals with Experienced Professionals.

  • Mentee | Would you benefit from having someone to speak about Professional Development with?

  • Mentor | Are you an Established Professional willing to share knowledge & insight?

If you’re interested in becoming a mentee or mentor please submit your information below. The success of this program is dependent on our ability to gather a great group of sustainability professionals – Help us spread the word!

Please direct specific questions to Rebecca Slocum or the EPMA Committee.

Last Night's EPMA HallOlympics Was a Good Time!

By Alexander Landa


Last night's EPMA HallOlympics event was a blast!

Decked in our best athlete costume (or in the Behr Pro guys' case, Colonial attire), the Peadbody Office floor welcomed our Halloween party. We had good food, drinks, healthy competition, and an informative presentation by Behr Pro on their devotion to creating green-friendly paint products.

Thanks to Peabody Office for hosting the event at your awesome Boston location, and thanks to Behr Pro for sponsoring.

(Thank to Brian Fontaine for the group picture!)






UMass Boston University Hall Tour 10/20 Recap

By Aminah McNulty


EPMA hosted a tour of UMass Boston's University Hall. We were joined by project architect Jason Pollutro of Wilson Architects, civil engineer PARE Corporations and sustainability consultants from The Green Engineer. A group of 21 sustainability professionals made the tour a lively, engaging and interactive discussion about the latest strategies and technologies showcased in this project. 

A highlighted feature of the project is the large copper clad wall wrapping around the main auditorium of the building connecting the interior and exterior of the building in one sweeping gesture. In addition, the seating upholstery of the building's seating highlights the succession of color found throughout the lifespan of copper. 


We toured the main atrium, music performance authority, black box theater, 500 and 200 seat classrooms and the penthouse floor of utilities. It was noted that all the building's utilities were designed for the top floor as part of a resiliency plan against flood events and sea level rise. 

A big thank you to EPMA's Lindsey Machamer for organizing this tour and sharing her expertise on the engineering of the project. 

Also thanks to UMass Boston for hosting us and to Pare Corporation for sponsoring the event.