If you couldn't make it to yesterday morning's lively and important advocacy breakfast about Green Tax Benefits, here's a brief summary of what you missed, and some of the great resources that were shared.
There was a big turnout of both regulars and newcomers, who came for the donuts—and stayed for the invaluable tips about how to save big on their energy efficiency projects. Jerome Garciano, an attorney at Robinson & Cole and one of Chapter's Advocacy Committee members, spoke about tax credits, deductions, and other financial incentives at the federal and state level. Jerome shared an very worthwhile resource for green builders with his Green Tax Incentive Compendium, an easy-to-access tax guide with federal and state-specific information about tax incentives for renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Below is the one of the slides that prompted the most questions and discussion from the audience. The chart simply illustrates the process and players in an energy investment tax credit. There are a lot of other valuable slides in Jerome's PowerPoint presentation, which you can access here.
IRS Code 179D—Big Tax Breaks, But Surprisingly Unknown
We also heard from Jack Keleher, the Deputy General Counsel at Massachusetts' Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAMM). He explained an incentive program that surprisingly few architects, engineers, and developers in the green building industry are aware of—even though 179D could potentially bring huge tax breaks to their businesses. Check out this article from Forbes.com that clearly explains what IRS Code 179D means for project developers, or email Jack Keleher if you have questions about how you can get DCAMM to sign off on your energy-efficient projects (the IRS requires that your projects are approved by a third party).
Thank you to our engaged audience and our wonderful presenters for sharing their expertise. We're looking forward to hosting more Advocacy breakfasts like this in the near future; please email advocacy@usgbcma.org if there's a green building advocacy issue you'd like to hear about at an upcoming breakfast meeting, or if you would like to be a presenter. See you next time!
Here are some photos of Massachusetts' green building advocates at yesterday's breakfast:
What could be better than talking about green buildings? Talking about green buildings while eating a delicious (and sustainably-sourced) dinner!
Join us in Cambridge on Thursday, November 12 for our 6th Annual Sustainable Dinner. Hosted by the highly-rated Commonwealth Restaurant, this trendy market serves upscale, locally-sourced American fare. Participants will be treated to a sampling of these dishes from the fantastic menu created by Chef Nookie, as we discuss healthy living in buildings–the theme of this year's event.
Eating sustainably grown food is an important part of leading a green, healthy lifestyle. But our indoor environment also has a major effect on our wellbeing. Making our indoor environment greener and healthier is especially important at this time of year, as we spending increasingly more time inside as the days get colder. Jane Slade of RAB Lighting will speak to our group about one aspect of a healthier indoor environment–how proper lighting can affect your circadian rhythm. That means simply improving your lighting might be the key to feeling rested as you head to work on these dark winter mornings!
Founded nearly 70 years ago, our event sponsor RAB Lighting designs energy-efficient LED lighting and controls. Their high-quality, affordable designs ease the process from distribution to installation to in-home use, which helps more people save energy–and money. Thank you to RAB Lighting for your commitment to the green building movement, and for sponsoring our event.
Please register here for this fun night of great food and green conversations. We're excited to see you there!
What: USGBC MA Chapter's 6th Annual Sustainable Dinner
When: Thursday, November 12, 6:00-8:00PM
Where: Commonwealth Restaurant | 11 Broad Canal Way | Cambridge, MA 02142
Here is the group at last year's Sustainable Dinner:
An article from the USGBC National site recently highlighted Arlington County, VA, for their commitment to improving their constructed environment. Arlington got a head start by updating their Green Building Incentive Program and adopting LEEDv4 a year before the “sunset date” for LEED 2009 project registration.
Starting on October 1, developers had to begin seeking certification under “v4,” the latest version of the LEED green building rating system. Arlington implemented these higher environmental standards because they align with the County's Community Energy Plan. Their framework has set a specific milestone for the energy performance of new buildings, which notably ensures that energy efficiency is an ongoing priority.
A business-friendly option
Arlington County moved to LEEDv4's baseline with the aim to incentivize higher levels of energy efficiency. Officials pointed to the importance of incentives in overcoming barriers, such as split incentives between developers and future tenants or owners.
“Arlington's voluntary green building incentive program is a business-friendly option designed to speed the transformation to green and energy efficient construction,” said Arlington’s Green Building Program Manager, Joan Kelsch. “Arlington’s move to LEED v4, with a specific focus on energy efficient design and performance, is the newest tool available to guide that transformation.”
These laudable green building benchmarks established by Arlington County raise the bar for energy efficiency expectations across the nation. Towns & cities in Massachusetts should follow Arlington's lead, and lead the charge of raising the green building standard for the US and the world.
I hope that you all are enjoying a well deserved Labor Day weekend! If you have not heard, the MIT Climate Colab is in its final week of public voting and the buildings category has a few ideas which could be a catalyst to the green building mission. One of the final ideas, Open Control Building, has been a project that I have been working on with Alec Danaher and Scott Balboni, both members of the USGBC MA! The idea is to use a third party to temporarily turn off your smart electric device for a period of time, while power plants rev up. This is called demand response and there is a commercial market for this and rate payer can make money this way. The idea allows residential home energy management systems like the Nest, and EV chargers to tie into the program and increase impact/revenue.
There is a more robust explanation below via link. Your support would really help. Please forward to your network if you would like to share the idea and support. Please vote!
Buildings consume more than 39% of all energy consumed in the U.S. each year. More stringent building energy codes and advances in lighting and HVAC technologies have reduced the energy use intensity of buildings. A study by the EIA indicated that new homes built after the year 2000 are on average 30% larger than homes built before the year 2000, but use only about 2% more energy (EIA, 2013).
As construction standards improve and more efficient equipment is installed in homes, additional savings must come from improving the way we control the energy-consuming equipment in the home. Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) can optimize the energy use within a home by coordinating the timing of lighting and HVAC systems, as well as an increasing number of “smart” devices. Additionally, HEMS systems can benefit both homeowners and grid operators by increasing the ease and compliance with demand response events.
One of the primary challenges of implementing a HEMS system is the upfront cost to purchase and install the equipment. Additionally, the large variety of technologies on the market can create choice paralysis that makes it difficult for consumers to select and implement a system for fear that they are betting on a system that will not integrate with future technologies.
We propose promoting the widespread implementation of Home Energy Management Systems by providing simple systems at no cost to homeowners in exchange for their participation in automated demand response events. We will install a smart thermostat and a few simple controls in homes and provide homeowners with a secure platform to integrate our controls with other smart devices they may have in their home. Homeowners will then have the nucleus of a HEMS system – provided free of charge – to which they can then add additional components to outfit their smart home.
The Greenbuild International Conference and Expo is coming to Washington, DC, this November. In recognition of Washington's status as a world leader in green building and to showcase the city as a premiere location for Greenbuild, we present a multimedia tour through some of DC's most iconic locations and LEED certified spaces.
Starting in Ward 8, we spotlight the new William O. Lockridge/Bellevue Neighborhood Library, which was certified LEED Gold for New Construction in January 2013. After that we move north to showcase an educational non-profit, a 363,000 square foot LEED Platinum government agency headquarters, and a building in the heart of Chinatown whose tenants serve the community and beyond. The tour continues with one of the greenest schools in the nation, the first LEED certified embassy, an iconic capital hill landmark and more.
We hope you enjoy this journey through our nation's capital and hope to see you at Greenbuild 2015.
We know that you have been working on green buildings all year. We realize that your team is setting precedents for the most advanced and cost-effective designs. We acknowledge that you deserve the recognition of your industry and peers.
We know that you belong at Showcase!
Come join your community of practioneers and share your project while learning about others. This year the Showcase will be at the Harvard Art Museums, recently certified LEED Gold.
Join us at the 2015 Green Building Showcase, the Chapter’s premier fall event to showcase and celebrate exceptional green buildings conceived, designed, built & operated by our community of practitioners over the past year. Over 75 projects will be on display. More than 250 leaders in our industry will be in attendance for this open bar reception and entertaining collection of green buildings (submit projects here).
What is this event?
The Green Building Showcase is a gathering for exceptional green buildings completed in the New England region between October, 2013 and October, 2015. Project teams are given the opportunity to display information about their buildings, highlighting the project team members and their successes. Attendees are invited to critically browse the projects and review the displays while networking over cocktails and appetizers.
The hall will be full of display boards of awesome green buildings!
This year, the Showcase will also host our annual Green Building Awards. In the past, these were announced during our Earth Day event. This year we have matched the Green Building Awards with the Green Building Showcase happening in the fall season.
You do not have to enter the awards contest to participate in the Showcase – we encourage project teams to show off their building(s) in the Showcase, and optionally enter the awards competition.
The Massachusetts Chapter would like to thank Ann Sussman for sharing her presentation, Architecture + the Human Subconscious Response, for today's Green Breakfast. We had a full room of architects and professionals who enjoyed the presentation and contributed to a robust discussion following the presentation.
The presentation covered four learning objectives:
1. Understand how our responses to the environment reflect human evolution.
2. Explain how our brain has built-in responses to edges, specific patterns and shapes.
3. Explore how considering human perception will gain importance in building design.
4. Identify connections between new findings in cognitive science and the future of Green Building.
Next Month!
Next month, we will be welcoming Carrie Havey from The Green Engineer, for our next Green Breakfast. Carrie will be presenting on the intersection of Transportation and Green Buildings and LEED. Carrie is involved with many LEED projects in the Commonwealth and is also a very active volunteer with the Chapter. Keep an eye out for more information on this in the next few days. Don't forget to reserve your seat!
More about today's presentation
Ann Sussman, AIA, is interested in how buildings influence our behavior. Her new book, Cognitive Architecture, written with Justin B. Hollander, an urban planning professor at Tufts, reveals the subconscious tendencies at work when we navigate the world around us. Her studio is in Concord, MA, at ArtScape in the Bradford Mill, an art and business center.
The 21st Century has already been labeled “The Age of Biology” where new findings in the life sciences are reframing our understanding of how we function and came to be. They also offer insight into our behavior in the built environment, from why we head down some streets and avoid others to how it is older cities maintain their charm. This talk reviews recent scientific findings relevant to our behavior in and around buildings. The slideshow will look at our innate responses to edges, patterns, and shapes and discusses how all these tendencies came to be for one very good reason: they helped us survive. The most successful green buildings in the 21st century, the author maintains, will use this new science to good advantage; for the more we build buildings people like to look at and ‘attach to' – the more likely the new constructions wilI last.
The Seven Secrets of How Nature Designs: how to apply the lessons of biomimicry to your business
Eric Corey Freed joined us from Portland Oregon on Thursday morning to talk about how nature can inform and improve our efforts to design the buildings of our communities.
He described how twenty years ago no one would have believed that any company without a website would not be in business in the future. Not everyone recognized how communications patterns were changing, rapidly. You soon realized you had to have a website. Today, you may not believe that a company not taking charge of their environmental footprint or their approach to sustainability will also not be in business.
In the talk we discovered how the threat of climate change is already affecting business. We uncovered how to take a leadership position in one's industry by leveraging the challenges of environmental responsibility. We are motivated to uncover new opportunities, inspire the upsell of new services, and tap into our lifecycle to uncover new product lines. Instead of being a depressing talk on the environment, it was a hilarious talk that inspired and transformed how we look at business.
Key Takeaways
how to reduce the future liability and risks of climate change to lower operational costs and increase product profitability
examine the lifecycle of your products to uncover ways to increase profit margins and lower costs
learn how to explain your environmental mission statement to your customers to engage them and attract new ones
how to set a “Mission Zero” for your company and use it to transform how you do business
Living Building Challenge 3.0
Eric explained the The Living Building Challenge™ as a building certification program, advocacy tool and philosophy that defines the most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment possible today and acts to rapidly diminish the gap between current limits and the end-game positive solutions we seek.
The creators sought to structure a system to spur fundamental transformation in the building sector. Rather than evaluate the features of a building that make it “less bad,” the Living Building Challenge starts from what sustainability advocates want in the first place – building that make the world better. It is rigorous and no shortcuts are allowed.
The Challenge is comprised of seven performance categories called Petals: Place, Water, Energy, Health & Happiness, Materials, Equity and Beauty. Petals are subdivided into a total of twenty Imperatives, each of which focuses on a specific sphere of influence. This compilation
of Imperatives can be applied to almost every conceivable building project, of any scale and any location—be it a new building or an existing structure. Download the Living Building Challenge 3.0 Standard document below.
October 1, 2015, in Cambridge at the Harvard Art Museums on Quincy St.
The fabulous Calderwood Courtyard: our 2015 Green Buidling Showcase venue.
Get ready to show off your recent green building project – we are soliciting boards for any building completed between Oct 2013 and this October (2015). In the past, projects were required to be LEED certified, but this year, you can submit LEED, Living Buildings Certified (whole and petal), Passive House Certified and Net Zero Certified buildings.
Sponsors are sought – there are speaking roles, a bar sponsorship, and other packages!
Last year's awards were very well received:
And the 2014 Showcase had a lot of happy people attending:
We look forward to seeing you at the 2015 Showcase. Thanks go to the organizing group – our Events Committee: Alana Spencer, Tiffany King, Carrie Havey, Chris Meier, and John Picard. Celis Brisbin, our Programs Manager, is providing staff support.
Renan (far right) diligently taking notes during Zapotec's presentation on net metering, one of the Chapter's priorities
August 8, 2015
Our Chapter is constantly creating opportunities for our members to stay up-to-date on their green education and informed about the news affecting the green community and our state. From Webinars to Green Breakfast Forums and BBQs, there are always exciting events available for our members of all professions to enjoy! Through our website, we also offer educational resources for all to know about our Chapter's priorities and engagements. From professionals to emerging professionals and university students, our website is a useful resource for all to browse and indulge in. A fifth year civil engineering student at the Federal Technological University of Paraná, Brazil, Renan Mingrone contacted our Chapter searching for information on Sustainable Development and its Certifications and Technologies, the topic of his final thesis. We were able to arrange his participation in our Summer BBQ Picnic and Webinar session in July! Below is his reflection of his experience with USGBC MA:
Regarding my visit to Boston and the USGBC MA Chapter events I've attended, I can say they made my long trip from São Paulo more than worthwhile and rewarding. The first was on July 22nd, Fun in the Sun, a picnic at the North Point Park with some members of the green community of Boston. In this reunion, I learned a lot about the Chapter activities in progress and some of their accomplishments. This helped me situate myself in the subject as a future civil engineer on Green Buildings. It was very enriching to talk with professionals of the community and make valuable connections with Chapter members such as with David Bliss, Matthew Smith, James Jones and Paul Lyons. The event was very casual and pleasant and we had delicious drinks and food. The weather was very nice, even with a refreshing light rain. Some members made important announcements about issues like the Net Metering by Zapotec, issues I was able to be aware of and bring back to Brazil with other general acquired knowledges.
The second event was the Webinar about The Critical Juncture Where Sustainability Meets Building Structure & Commissioning and Integrative Design hosted by the SMMA Sustainability Coordinator, Steven Burke who was very kind and attentive to me. At this event I was able to better understand and learn some specific concepts of green buildings and sustainability like the relation between embodied carbon and structural materials, commissioning in the civil construction and its importance, and the hole of a commissioning agent.
Summarizing my experience, everything was extremely positive and I'm very grateful to all the USGBC MA Chapter crew, specially to Cherie with whom I had the first contact and who made possible my participation in those events. Also, Celis who helped me situate myself and was very kind to me by making my time in Boston more pleasant. I'm definitely going back to Brazil with valuable knowledge and connections and a huge amount of information and references for my thesis. This experience has been priceless.
We hope to welcome Renan back to Boston in the near future, as well as more students interested in taking advantage of our Chapter's exciting and educational events and resources!
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.
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.
MICHAEL GRYNIUK
PE | Associate, LeMessurier
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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™.
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.
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.