Amy Upton, LEED Fellow, Experienced Sustainable Design Director, Project Architect, and Project Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the architecture & planning industry. Focus on public architecture and K-12, recreation centers, and libraries. Skilled in BIM, Concept Design through Construction Administration.    As a LEED Fellow, she has dedicated her career to designing and delivering green community architecture and highlighting systems, materials, and features that allow the buildings and site to be learning labs. She has experience in Net Zero Energy design and worked on the second and third NZE schools in the state of Maryland.    Amy is committed to integrating the environmental literacy curriculum in our K-12 green schools, and keeping connections to work with students and staff on Green Apple Day of Service projects annually.   Show Highlights   Focusing on public architecture and community-based architecture. Embodied carbon should be embedded into the design process. Highlight standard design and anything related to sustainable design or metrics. Make sense of co-located facilities or multi-agency facilities with competing interests that need to be balanced. A lot of different ways AI is integrated into our daily business and practice.  Questions to consider when incorporating and working together to move the needle on sustainability goals. Future buildings and restorative practices need to impact people’s lives holistically.        Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

  Brittany Storm is a LEED Fellow with LEED AP specialties in BD+C and ID+C. She is also WELL AP, FItwel Ambassador, as well as USGBC and IWBI Faculty   She has extensive experience in the sustainable building industry and over 15 years of experience working on projects seeking various green building certifications including LEED, the WELL Building Standard, and the Living Building Challenge. Her professional background allows her to speak to audiences about both big picture and technical aspects of a green building project. Recognized as a thought leader, Brittany has a depth and breadth of technical expertise in the areas of healthy, sustainable construction materials, green building standards and rating systems, and sustainable manufacturing.   Brittany has directed numerous projects and managed the development of sustainability guidelines for a wide range of industry associations and green building standards. Brittany has consulted on more than 150 buildings with experience working with many different building types, including office buildings, tenant spaces, hotels, retail, warehouse and distribution centers, multifamily properties and public order and safety buildings. Brittany has also developed 2 LEED volume prototypes and has certified many LEED volume projects, representing over 2 million square feet and counting.    In her role as a sustainable building consultant, she advocates for healthy, sustainable building materials and construction practices. As a sustainable consultant to manufacturers, Brittany influences the identification and implementation of sustainable alternatives to manufacturers’ products and processes. She advocates including manufacturers as part of the project team in order to select products that best meet the project’s budget, performance, aesthetic, and sustainability needs.    Using her background in construction, Brittany offers a technical approach to problem solving and finding the best product(s) for each project team’s sustainability goals. From advocating for healthy materials to developing critical industry content for healthy materials, she exemplifies leadership in transforming the design and construction industry.    She is active on many sustainability committees including LEED’s Materials and Resources (MR) Technical Advisory Group (TAG), mindful MATERIALS, and several industry trade associations.   Show Highlights   Manufacturer engagement needs to evolve to create a better understanding of what goes into their products, how their products impact human health and the environment. Brittany’s shares how to help develop your career and the many sides of sustainability.  Proactive wellness is much more than green cleaning and the air quality.  Florida Green Building Coalition certification similar to LEED. A prototype to simplify and streamline the LEED certification process to address the actual volume of projects and client's needs. Shift the demands and responsibility away from architects and contractors to educate clients on decarbonization. Avoid panic mode thinking to achieve LEED certification in the initial planning stages.  Design a healthy space by selecting building materials that impact wellbeing, ecosystems, environments that are diverse, equitable, and cohesive.   Show Resource and Information L Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES  

TITLE:  Regenerative Business Coach Monique Allen   Monique Allen, is CEO and Creative Director of The Garden Continuum, a landscaping design company that brings the principles of regenerative agriculture to ornamental gardening. The central work of The Garden Continuum is to create outdoor living spaces, both public and private, that draw people out into those spaces and begin to build that reconnection with nature.   Monique's approach infuses life back into systems and landscapes that have been abused by degenerative practices.     Through regenerative gardening, Monique breathes new life into the soil, and through her personalized landscape business coaching she helps clients build a high-integrity business reflecting care for the entire earth community. Check out her book, Stop Landscaping, Start Lifescaping.    Show Highlights   The garden continuum and understanding regenerative business and the landscape movement. Jumpstart ecosystems and create an energetic loop on projects. Understanding the conundrum of care to create longevity and not just sustainable. Monique shares how to partner with mother nature on projects. Match your work with clients and people who are already invested emotionally, mentally, financially in what you do. The built environment needs to embrace creating “healthy sites” and not just regenerative spaces. Approach landscaping differently with a  “codify” tool to help you stop landscaping and start life.  Know the difference in a landscape as something pretty to look at, compared with “Life-Scapeing,” a space you interact with nature in.   “Have that triple bottom line mindset where it's: planet, people, and profits. One cannot happen without the other. It's not a question of its linearity. You roll these three aims of planet, people, and profits together. You are always looking through that triple lens to say, ‘Is this project creating a betterment or is it at least somewhat neutral,’ but it just can't be degrading or detrimental.” -Monique Allen   Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

  Michael Beckerman, is a leader in the commercial real estate technology and sustainability sectors. He entered these sectors in 2012 after a 25-year career in commercial real estate media relations, in which he started and built Beckerman Public Relations into one of the largest firms in the country before eventually selling the agency.   Michael now serves as CEO of CREtech, the largest conference company devoted to technology and sustainability in the Built World.   Michael also hosts the CREtech Climate Cast, a podcast series devoted to educating, inspiring, and leading the built environment to invest and adopt climate technologies and embrace sustainability. Tune in to in-depth conversations with the leading real estate and tech innovators from across the globe.   Show Highlights   Technology in the built environment that embraces the marketplace of the built environment. The overall umbrella and difference between PropTech vs Climate Tech vs Construction Tech. The industry has to adapt to be a customer-centric hospitality space in office spaces and residential.  Fragmentation in the tech sector created gaps in infrastructure for companies.   Every building is a snowflake in need of technology tools to decarbonize and create building efficiency.  Focus on climate risk mitigation, in the real estate industry, but also  for the homeowner/consumer.  Do your due diligence on AI. It’s the wild, wild, west.    “Our struggles are our greatest teachers. I've learned to embrace the struggle. When I make a mistake, it's like, ‘Okay, why was that given to me? What am I supposed to learn from that experience?’ I think the things I wish I knew when I was younger were more about mindfulness, more about being present and letting go of the stress and the anxiety of like the future, the unknowns.” -Michael Beckerman     Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES  

    David Douek, LEED Fellow, is the director of OTEC, since its foundation in 2007. He has  dedicated himself to building one of the leading consulting and service providers for the real estate, design, construction, properties management, energy efficiency and sustainability markets. Together with OTEC’s team he has worked with companies such as: Coca Cola, P&G, GE, GM, Siemens, Deloitte, Brookfield, Hines, Cyrela, Prologis, Santander, Bndes, USP, GLP and others of the same importance, always helping them achieve their goals.   His academic background is in business, architecture, engineering, real estate, data science and sustainability. In addition to this, he has gained valuable international experience which has helped me develop foreign businesses such as DesignBuilder software in Brazil.   Show Highlights   The main difference between the American and the Brazilian market in building design and construction procedures. The transformation of WELL and the introduction of a variety of WELL certifications and programs to adopt post pandemic.   OTEC consulting firm believes that to improve the quality of the buildings, we have to understand what they represent for the market.   David further shares:   his company’s achievements and contributions to the green building industry.  how to pinpoint what the challenges are.  how to  help the clients increase their performance towards a concrete and a reasonable goal.  why a designer, contractor, a developer, has to incorporate sustainability within the process. how to  drive the market towards IGO.  Why wellness is important, but should be incorporated in a much larger perspective. The balance is in understanding that technologies and finances have to work together. Tips to help whoever's interested in understanding what their ESG strategy should be regarding their facilities.   Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES  

  Charlie Cichetti, CEO, LEED Fellow and WELL AP, is one of the leaders in the green building industry. He’s built a career around green building services/education/and technology, and has co-founded multiple companies that hold sustainability leadership as core values. His career has evolved from a strong construction background, to real estate, to early LEED expertise, to starting his own business, to buying a business, and now to co-founding two technology companies - all in the built environment. ESG | Decarbonization | ClimateTech | EdTech | LEED Charlie is invested in the success of the green building industry. He works with people and buildings around the world to create the highest level of sustainability possible. Show Highlight Current Trends and a glimpse to the future for programs and rating systems around resiliency for the industry. The Past 10 Episodes you should check out * Episode 298: Alvis Yuen, head of ESG Real Estate for Bain Capital. * Episode 297: Silas Mahner with NextWave to help advance the world to a cleaner future. * Episode 296: Keith Fine the Principal at SLAM for an in depth conversation on innovation and AI. * Episode 295: Tucker Perkins with PERC for a conversation on Propane Education and Research Act. * Episode 294: Isela Rosales is the Managing Director, Head of ESG & Sustainability at Bridge Investment Group, a leading $50 billion investment portfolio. Charlie’s Playlist of 8 episodes to check out on GBES Podcast Episode 48: Maria Perez, LEED Fellow at Gensler . Episode 37: Vivian Loftus and the amazing work she's doing at Carnegie Mellon. Episode 57: A Wild Conversation with Jason Twill. Episode 172: Drew Shula, a social entrepreneur focused on building up our green building consulting firms. Episode: Emmanuel Powells, who is a living Future hero. Episode 180: Peter Templeton, the current CEO of the US Green Building Council. Episode 224: A live podcast interview in Munich, Germany last year. Episode 287: The Founding Father of LEED Rob Watson. Inspirational Projects to check out Companies are focused on climate risk and opportunities to support the CDP framework. Show Resource and Information Charlie's Podcast Playlist Inspirational Projects Cal Guerxo Show Notes Don’t forget to catch more episodes and resources for all of your green building news at the website. Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES: GBES is excited our membership community is growing.  Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more insurances that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community! If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on . We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the ! Copyright © 2023 GBES

  Daniel Brown works to promote public health, green spaces, wealth building, and community engagement. He has served on the Cleveland-Cuyahoga Food Policy Coalition, the Cuyahoga County Next Generation Council, and the U.S. Composting Council's steering committee for community composting prior to starting Rust Belt Riders. Mr. Brown is a social entrepreneur and climate fellow. Show Highlights Learn how Rust Belt communities are fighting deindustrialization and the impacts of climate change with economic development, climate resiliency, and the re-imagination of communities. Why does the climate crisis make all other crises that much worse?  The biggest leverage and point of leverage that we can have on affecting human driven impacts on the climate. Learn more about the intersecting issues related to our food and agricultural system on both public health, air and water quality. The work Rust Belt Riders is doing work that provides  a template for how other cities and communities can affect change at a systems level to truly be the rising tide that lifts all boats.  community leaders, businesses and residents a way to reframe their waste stream as a resource stream to avoid the very worst impacts of the climate crisis. Highly dense urban areas need an alternative to landfills because they do not have the infrastructure or capacity to process all of the organic material that they ingest. Food and food systems are the building block for all and any type of circular economy.  The top three things we need to balance the push and pull of the  environmental economic equation.    “It's important to acknowledge that no one does anything on their own. Anything I've ever been able to accomplish has been because of the people whose shoulders I stood on and who were in the trenches with me. I don't think that there's any singular thing that I alone have done. But what I will say is I think that like the building of the organization that I'm here representing, Rust Belt Riders is among the most proud things that I've worked and been part of.” -Daniel Brown   Show Resource and Information   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

  Alvis Yuen is an ESG and Sustainability professional with expertise in ESG reporting, building decarbonization, energy systems, sustainability policy, investor relations, strategy, and project management. He has strong analytical and scientific background, recent sustainability portfolio oversight with the largest landlord in NYC, and currently leading Bain Capital’s Real Estate ESG initiatives.    Alvis is a graduate of the City College of New York, earning his Master’s degree for Sustainability in the Urban Environment. His interest in the interaction of the environment and business interest began during his undergraduate studies at NYU where Alvis pursued dual majors in biochemistry and economics. This background allows him to understand the more technical aspects of sustainability problems as well as their economic implications. His immersion in diverse academic disciplines enabled Alvis to balance the perspectives of many stakeholders when addressing the issues of sustainability.  At the G&A Institute, Alvis analyzed hundreds of corporate sustainability reports for submission into the global GRI database. His work has been incorporated into research on corporate governance and sustainability reporting trends of S&P 500 Index companies. Alvis has also contributed to Wikirate, a global open-source database for corporate sustainability performance.   Alvis’ specific interests include: green buildings, renewable energy, transportation, and urban development. In recognition of his accomplishments, Alvis has been awarded the inaugural REBNY Sustainability Fellowship. He is also a LEED Green Associate.  Show Highlights Companies are focused on climate risk and opportunities to support the CDP framework. Bain Capital is a large, global, multiple asset investor. A general partner for investing with different funding sources Invested in real estate associated investments Whole Business Unit of Bain Capital Real Estate Pro tips for transparency to ensure you are reporting, collecting, and tailoring accurate data for your portfolios. Deciding what green best practices to use for your projects and not just chasing a certification.  Alvis shares some of the more aggressive mandates that may be coming to a city near you. Get your foot in the door with roles that are a little more narrow and specialized in the industry. Charlie and Alvis discuss the trillion dollar question in our industry.       Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

  Silas Mahner  is working for NextWave to help advance the world to a cleaner future. He is passionate about Talent Attraction & Retention as well as Sustainability and the Circular Economy. At NextWave, he is helping shape the future of Talent Attraction & Retention and ESG & Sustainability. Silas is also a podcast host: “Cleantechies.”   He has three primary remits: Leading the North American ESG, CleanTech, and Sustainability Recruitment Practice Helping develop and expand our Channel Partnerships Supporting Global Marketing Strategy and Initiatives Show Highlights Career advice to help everyone navigate their green careers Learn the number one asset in business to be a good partner.  NextWave recruitment consultancy Climate tech, ESG headhunter  and certified B Corp Help companies find particular technical talent.  Serve renewables, climate and sustainability around the world. Build entire teams  working with funds, and then following the money into their portfolio companies.  There’s one principle Silas has to help the green building industry understand about their applicants and specific skill sets. Understanding the segmentation and nuanced specialties inside of companies. Tips to help you shine among other applicants to get an interview. Breaking down the nuances  and specialized future of a green building.   “If we really care about fixing the climate problem, you need to decarbonize everything, which means you have to reinvent the entire world, and everything has to be re-engineered from the beginning. It's just so exciting. Obviously there's a lot of challenges with climate change, but it's super exciting to be alive right now. So many opportunities to build companies and to just make a really big difference in the world.” -Silas Mahner Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

    Keith Fine is a Principal at SLAM and serves as the Management Lead, for the Los Angeles Studio as well as the Director of Innovation for the firm nationally. Keith combines his unique experiences including construction, technical design, leadership   passions for both design and innovation from a unique perspective. Keith approaches all challenges with a strong team-building focus that leverages the very best from those around him. Through these networked relationships and exposures, Keith has a unique skill at understanding the interconnected nature of seemingly disparate technologies and cultivating the development of new and innovative solutions.   Show Highlights   Working with progressive clients concerned about the climate. Let nature inspire and define the character of the project to bring sustainable thinking to do the greater good. SLAM focuses on bringing creativity and design to enrich lives. Innovative projects and tools to keep an eye on in the industry. Understanding how much waste you have when things are kind of brute forced out in the field. Keith shares two big themes for sustainability and the green building movement. There's not enough connected data between firms and tools to start to move it to the next level.  UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs-17) Moving towards a marketplace of digital assets with higher performance selection standards moving towards an ecosystem where you get the data upfront.   “We're kind of re-imagining how we deliver projects from stem to stern, from concept to delivery, and it's very heavy visualization based. And, it's about real-time problem solving. We've found a way to leverage our assets and build our asset library of just all the different things you'll have in a building. We're focused right now on using this on very technical projects, healthcare/labs/advanced tech…the kind of stuff where you really can virtually put people in spaces and pull up every bit of reference you need and modify it around them in real-time, and then push that straight towards a fabrication pipeline.”  -Keith Fine   Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

  Tucker Perkins is the president and chief executive officer of the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), an organization authorized by the U.S. Congress with passage of the Propane Education and Research Act (PERA), Public Law 104-284, signed into law on October 11, 1996.   Tucker assumed the role of PERC president and CEO when Roy Willis retired July 31, 2017, having previously served as PERC’s chief business development officer since 2012 and then as chief operating officer since December 2016.   He has worked in the propane industry for 26 years, having served as the director of business development for Inergy, chief executive officer of Premier Propane, and the chief operating officer of Columbia Propane, a unit of the Columbia Energy Group. Tucker is also the former chairman of a PERC advisory committee on engine fuel matters and is active with the National Propane Gas Association and the Virginia Propane Gas Association.    Show Highlights The most important topic in green buildings. Understanding how propane is such a different fuel and can support the demands of the industry as a fuel of the future. PERC in the Propane Education and Research Council and there are three roles they play in the industry. Solutions to address where the power gaps are and how to begin to fill them with a changing and fragile electric grid. Tucker shares innovations that will minimize our environmental footprint. Not all fossil fuels are equal. The high level difference between natural gas and propane and what is the best fuel for the environment, our health, and economy. Addressing the energy needs of a building and how to pivot to provide the best efficiency.  Where is propane needed most in infrastructure?   “We're really looking for the recipe that is the most efficient initial cost, the most efficient operating cost. But at the end of the day, it's still about minimizing our environmental footprint. It's a responsibility of all energy providers to rethink that equation. We've moved from wood to coal and coal to oil, and I would say oil to natural gas. And we're really moving from natural gas to renewable electricity, particularly in the built environment as fast as we can. And there isn't one solution. There's not one silver bullet. Renewable electricity is not the silver bullet because it'll take 40 years to build it out. And if we're not careful, we won't be able to afford the solutions nor will all the solutions be reliable. So propane [and renewable propane] will be part of the recipe.”  -Tucker Perkins  “I don't think all fossil fuels are equal. Certainly coal and oil and wood, I'd argue they're all fossil fuels. They're not nearly the same as natural gas and propane. I think those are low carbon fossil fuels and with this great combustion property. I think the last, particularly five years now have been really engaging in this conversation about what are the fuels of the future and what is good for the environment, what's good for our health, and frankly, what can we afford at the same time brings us warmth, hot food, hot showers bringing, bringing that whole conversation together.” -Tucker Perkins      Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

    Isela Rosales is the Managing Director, Head of ESG & Sustainability at Bridge Investment Group, a leading real estate investment firm. Isela is based in San Francisco, CA. Prior to joining Bridge, Ms. Rosales lived and worked in New York City for nearly a decade in the financial services sector building and managing large institutional client relationships for multiple global asset management firms.    She pursued and earned the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation in 2016 and decided to expand her financial services background from the hedge fund industry to include private real estate. She began her career at Cambridge Associates, working in Menlo Park following her graduation from Stanford University before receiving a promotion that would take her to the firm’s Boston headquarters.    Ms. Rosales received her dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in International Relations and Spanish from Stanford, graduating with honors distinctions, and achieved top of her class ranking from Elsie Allen High’s first graduating Class of 1997. She is fluent in Spanish and competes in Ironman and marathon competitions in her spare time.    Isela was the first alumna to start giving back to Elsie Allen through her Ironman competitions prior to the Foundation being established. She currently serves as a Community Member on the Board. Show Highlights A platform of strategies in renewable energy ventures and in secondaries in the real estate value arena to meet where the market is heading. Where real estate meets technology with the five areas of PropTech and ESG/sustainability is one of those five.  Tips to determine what to put effort into, what's important, and  selecting frameworks, scoring systems, and which plaques to go after. Unpack the vast menu of building certifications from the smallest to the largest that exist around the world.  What you need to know about PRI and PRI Signatory to achieve important milestones. The secret to ESG with some high level tips. What to consider for your organizations employee engagement, developing  talent and supportive measures for DEI. Selecting programs that make sense for a given property type.    “The S of ESG, does not represent sustainability, it actually represents Social - you can have the most efficient building out there, but you still have to factor in the People side of the equation. I really believe that when the topic of the S comes up, it's important to look at it from two perspectives. One, as the S relates to your company, what is going on for the employees of your company. And then the S is also for your company's investments in society.” -Isela Rosales        Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

  Robert Fleming is an AIA, LEED AP, NOMA, an award-winning educator, author, keynote speaker, sustainability advocate, and architect. In all his work, Rob strives to: Advocate for social equity in the built environment; Regenerate the natural world, Design beautiful places; and Bring economic viability to sustainability projects.    Rob is an educator He is the Director of Online Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania’s Weitzman School of Design and he Is the Director of the Design Leadership Program. From 1996 to 2021, Rob served as the Founding Director and Professor for the Award-winning Master of Science in Sustainable Design Program at Thomas Jefferson University, where he taught hundreds of emerging sustainability professionals who have made important contributions in the world.    Rob is an author  His 4th book, Sustainable Design for the Built Environment, has become a required textbook for many college courses around the country. In all his books, Rob breaks down complex topics using straightforward language and compelling graphics, leading to a better understanding of how we can address the challenges of the climate emergency.   Rob is a speaker  He has delivered over 250 public presentations on sustainability where he brings humor, enthusiasm, inspiration and hope for a sustainable future to audiences around the world.   Rob is an advocate  Rob co-founded the Justice Alliance for Design Education which features an alliance of six universities and six non-profit organizations all working together to transform the principles and practices of design programs across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Starting in 2022, Rob will become the President-Elect of the Philadelphia AIA.    Rob is an architect Rob works with clients and design firms around the country to facilitate integrative design charrettes using co-creative, stakeholder driven design processes. In this way, built environment projects reach higher levels of sustainability and the design teams themselves develop stronger bonds through a shared sense of purpose   Show Highlights Design education has a long way to go before it begins to transform the curriculum to be authentically sustainable.  NOMA, National Organization of Minority Architects is an influential group of young emerging leaders in architecture.  Robert shares pet peeves with the building industry and how to fix them. Shifting away from mitigation into resilience to prepare for “survivability.”  The debate if Sustainability and resiliency fit under one another or they are separate. One of the greatest challenges that we face with wellness and climate change. AI framework for design excellence and how we need it to get through the challenges that we're facing in the future. Joining organizations is critical and effective to pull out the best in yourself through collaboration.      Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES  

    Chris Kaiser is the VP of Business Operations at Sona Energy in Atlanta, GA. He’s been a student of sustainability and uses his position  to implement sustainable solutions for the clients he works with. His focus is defining, designing, and delivering clean energy solutions ranging from EV Charging, LED lighting and controls, and Solar PV & Microgrid.   Most companies today talk about the importance of sustainability, but Chris focuses on how do they actually make it happen? As a people-facing engineer, he uses his passion for minimizing waste and maximizing efficiency to help clients define and execute their sustainability goals. Creating change at an industrial level has broad, positive impacts that help him create a better Earth for his children.   Show Highlights Chris shares all things energy, decarbonization, and EV charging. The three pillars of clean energy. Legislation and incentives to fund the technology and address mandates. The breakdown and pro tips on EVcharging, the different levels and recommendations for businesses. Understand the technical realities, grid stability and what it's gonna take to balance electricity.  What is needed to move the needle in the industry to avoid greenwashing and create a more sustainable future with clean energy infrastructure. Clean energy boards and continuing to drive the clean energy space forward.  Understanding how to convince decision makers to find and address pain points. “I hear, or I see, or I read these articles with people saying, ‘Oh, until I can charge my EV at the same amount of time it takes to fill up my gas car, I'm not gonna get an EV.’ And I'm like, ‘Well that's not really a fair analysis because if you live in a single family home, you can fuel up 90% of the time you're fueling up while you're sleeping and you can't do that with your gas car.’” -Chris Kaiser    Show Resource and Information ​​ Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

  Andres Prera is a LEED Fellow.  He has worked in a sustainable architecture firm in St Louis, Missouri. In 2003, he became one of the first in Latin America to gain LEED AP credentials. Upon his return to Guatemala, Andres co-founded ENVIRO. The firm specializes in green design, project management and sustainability consulting. Since 2004, Andres has worked to promote and provoke change in the building industry towards a sustainable future for the country and the region, now working in several countries. In 2006, Andres earned his Masters of Urban Management degree from the Technical University in Berlin. In 2010, a small group of professionals from different sectors in the industry got together and founded the Guatemala Green Building Council, and AndrÃes became the first president of the Guatemala GBC.   Show Highlights Green design mixing biology, nature, and architecture. Tips to show the industry it doesn’t have to be more expensive but make more sense when building in different regions.  Understanding what goes into LEED and LEED Ebom projects in the Guatemala region.  Push towards regenerative buildings,  bio chromatic design and Bioclimatic architecture.  Create great performance and sustainable buildings while being climate responsive.  The logic in having Biophilic design in every build and design.  Create value in the business and services you promote to select products that fully support a healthy living.  “The green building movement is still ongoing, it's still innovative, and it's still a great community, so it's always welcoming new people and professionals…I encourage everyone to think about climate and people. I think those two things are always there. If you're thinking about architecture and construction/development, it has to be human-centered.”  -Andres Prera   Show Resource and Information Linkedin Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES  

  Norbert Szircsak is Head of ESG Strategic Advisory Services for Colliers International based in Budapest, Hungary. Norbert started his career with Colliers International - Hungary in August 2007, joining the Valuation and Advisory services team.   Norbert has over 15 years’ experience in the real estate and green building industry. He has been directly involved in more than 30 LEED certification projects, including Commercial Interiors,  Existing Buildings and New Construction projects. In the majority of these projects, he has been the overall project manager. Hungary's first certification in LEED version 4, which is also the first certified office building in the countryside, and the first LEED Platinum certification are on his & his team’s list of accomplishments. Norbert has also contributed to more than 10 BREEAM In-Use certifications, similarly in project manager roles. Norbert graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering from Gábor Dénes College in 2009. He obtained his local appraiser qualification in 2009 and is also a member of the Hungarian Real Estate Association. Furthermore, in 2009, he obtained the LEED Green Associate and in 2013 the LEED Accredited Professional with specialty qualification from the U.S. Green Building Council. In 2019, he became a WELL Accredited Professional.   Show Highlights Get a better understanding of Hungary and the European regions. Usage of renewables  A peak into what rating systems are easier and harder to apply   Taxonomy   European Green Deal  Connecting engineering and technical backgrounds into a green building career. Challenges building within an advanced green building environment.  90% of Collier’s work is green building certified with green building advisory for various types of buildings. Learn where green building is expandings in competitive markets. A total carbon plan to reduce your carbon footage with electrification and the renewable energy production on site. The grid infrastructure development needs.        Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

  Angelica M. Ospina Alvarado is a LEED Fellow with over 15 years of experience and deeply passionate about contributing to our planet. Angelica has been a forefront leader of the adoption of green building, and integrative design practices in Colombia. Her strategic thinking, technical rigor and integrative approach has brought together the work of government, academia, industry and professional associations to advance the field. She is one of the founding members of the Colombia Green Building Council where she has volunteered her knowledge and experience since its foundation, currently, she is the Technical Director of the Council. Angelica is part time professor at the civil engineering master’s program at Universidad de los Andes, in the field of construction engineering and management.   Show Highlights Understand how to include natural ventilation and different simulations to support the needs of the region.  Moving topics that have a huge impact in public policy.  Comparing LEED to the various rating systems used in the region.  EDGE’s great impact in the social and in housing sector. CASA Colombia supports the residential sector ARC influence on reporting energy consumption The difficulties of building for a climate lower energy consumption . A roadmap for Columbia’s goals to meet the demands of new buildings and existing buildings as the country develops.  Sustainable construction is growing faster in the region with incentives and the influence from the economic perspective . Decarbonization hurdles Columbia faces. The broader scope of urban development to focus on building green communities. “Urban development has a broader scope to not only focus on green buildings, but entire green communities. This is important. Decarbonization is a must now and moving to that for us is very, very important for resilience. Our countries really have a huge problem related to climate change. We need to move to that faster because we have not mapped those effects of climate change in each country. I see that we're moving in that direction.” -Angelica M. Ospina Alvarado     Show Resource and Information   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

TITLE: From Romania to Spain With Green Building Expert Patricia Abrudan    Patricia Abrudan is an architect certified as a Sustainability Consultant with post graduate training in Project Management and Facility Management and her work has mainly been oriented towards sustainable development projects. She has been focused on green building, life cycle assessment and sustainability consulting and certifications and is currently leading the ESG and Decarbonization Consulting team at JG Ingenieros in Barcelona, while continuing my work as a LEED Project Manager for several projects in the EMEA region.   Additional Work and Education: - Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Consulting - Carbon Footprint consulting for real estate assets - Life Cycle Assessment and Costing - LEED ZERO and Net Zero Carbon Services - Circular design development - Space planning and workplace consulting - Architecture planning, measurements and compliance   Show Highlights   Reimagining “matchbox” neighborhoods to make a difference in urbanism projects. Improve the deliverability sustainable projects in our cities to make better spaces by embracing the various challenges from public vs private enterprise. Transform projects into reality and impact people’s lives with so little.  Work with different types of clients to achieve their goals and make the environment better, with contradictory objectives. Walk the path of sustainability and embed sustainability in your business model, construction projects and real estate.   Patricia shares a unique opportunity to use our engineering infrastructure.  Expertise in engineering to assist clients in implementing global strategies into practice from the building level, portfolio level and wellness level..  Fascinating college classes and questions for the industry to consider and be an eco-engineer.  Switch the paradigm from a linear economy to a circular economy in order to achieve decarbonization.  “The first requirement for you to start a green building career is to believe in the movement. And not to just sign up because it's fashionable. Investigate a little bit what's behind this movement, and if you actually are in sync. And then, try to formalize your learning/education path, because it helps you discover where you can contribute.” -Patricia Abrudan   Show Resource and Information Linkedin   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

    Andrea Costa  is a qualified chartered engineer and building energy rating (BER) assessor in Italy and a Certified Energy Manager (CEM) affiliated to the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE).    He is expert in building simulation with experience on an array of building energy simulation software and ISO 50001 certification tools. Andrea is originally a graduate from the Politecnico di Milano where he obtained a BSc(Eng) in Building Engineering in 2005.    In 2007 he was also awarded a summa cum laude Masters of Science degree in Building Engineering. During the master degree programme, he was awarded an Erasmus Scholarship and studied at University College Cork in the academic year 2005/2006.    He pursued and was awarded a PhD in Civil Engineering from the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) with a PhD topic of providing support to the energy manager in improving the building operation strategy with considerations on building energy use and occupant comfort throughout the building lifecycle.    After his PhD, Andrea was awarded an industrially supported Postdoctoral Fellow co-funded by IRCSET (Irish Research Council for Science Engineering and Technology) as part of the Enterprise Ireland Partnership Scheme and D’Appolonia Spa in Italy.    Andrea brings with him a balance of field and research experience including FP7 projects for energy efficiency with targeted focus for office buildings, airports, sport facilities, and schools.   Show Highlights Play sustainability Legos to inspire your direction. Aims and innovative solutions and technologies to speed up change to the construction industry and the real estate industry. Research funded projects to support green building consulting and projects. R2M focus and industry impact    Making buildings more digitally sustainable and eco digital. Understanding new European directive for building energy efficiency Educating stakeholders to manage their own assets.  A framework for digital initial log books directly working with requirements and guidelines for green building. Unique approach to digitizing and keeping digital data available for buildings during daylight time. Providing internal occupants with the digital solutions that maintain better conditions. Understanding the difference between the European Green Deal and EU taxonomy mandates and priorities.  The secret to growing a sizable business for budding entrepreneurs.   Transform buildings into digital assets.  “Find the right balance or the mood of the dial. When you are very excited, it's easy. Longer when you are very frustrated, it's easier to reduce. The challenge is when you're frustrated, you should try to keep pushing a bit more than when you would like to stop. And when you are super excited, you should try not to overwork too much because otherwise another dry spell of being not so excited will come. It's a hard balance to keep.” -Andrea Costa     Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

  Rob Watson  is an international leader in market transformation, circular economy, sustainable materials management, and green buildings. Watson is known as the “Founding Father of LEED.” Under Rob’s direction, LEED became the largest and fastest-growing international green building standard. Author Thomas Friedman called Rob "one of the best environmental minds in America." In 2019, Dartmouth Alumni Magazine recognized Mr. Watson as one of the "25 Most Influential Alumni" in the College's 250 year history.   Watson is a Principal with Upland Road, LLC, which develops eco-industrial campuses around a disruptive technology and business model that will revolutionize the global materials management industry by separating, diverting, and recycling up to 95% of municipal mixed waste that is collected in one bin.   Rob is also the Founder and Co-Chair of the SWEEP (Solid Waste Environmental Excellence Performance) Standard, a system of market transformation standards geared to move the waste industry toward sustainability.   Previously, Watson launched ECON Group and EcoTech International to implement cutting edge lifecycle optimized LEED projects in the US and China.   Watson was a Senior Scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) for 21 years and received the 2013 International Conservation Award from the Botanical Research Institute of Texas. In 2011, he was an international Zayed Energy Future Award semi-finalist & was profiled on CNN International. Watson was the first foreigner honored for Green Building Innovation by the Chinese Ministry of Construction in 2005 and received the first lifetime achievement award from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2002.   Mr. Watson is an Adjunct Professor at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and has an MBA from Columbia University and a MS from UC Berkeley. He is married to Green Schools Alliance Founder Margaret Howard Watson and has a 23-year-old son, Max.   Show Highlights Rob Watson, the Founding Father of LEED shares his stories and expertise on making a difference in the industry.  The ability to grasp complex systems, understand how they're put together and how to change them.  The curve balls thrown from the industry and how to adjust your swing to support and create systems that work.  Rob breaks down the SWEEP standard as “LEED for solid waste.” Creating a structure where value is captured by providing: buildings as a service.  The problem of the industry that the USGBC needs to be focusing on to transform and deliver sustainability that has true value.  The development of eco-industrial campuses that recycle 90-95% of everything. Smart centers sustainable materials and advanced recovery technology. Be part of “Humanity Inc. and a subsidiary of Planet Co.” by being systems thinking, but with a futurist mindset. AI could possibly be the seed of our salvation. Beyond tweaking LEED. We need to figure out how to deliver the Living Building Challenge and LEED Zero in a cost effective way. The need for radical confidence and a Star Trek moment before 2200. "Radical confidence. The Dalai Lama was asked by a colleague of mine, what's it going take to solve our environmental crisis? And he said, ‘Radical confidence.’ And that's basically, the old person who plants a tree. It's just doing something that you're never going to receive the benefit of because you have a positive vision of the future. I'm going to do it because it's the right thing to do and whether I benefit from it or not is not super relevant. Obviously, you’ve got to keep the roof over your head and food on the table. But at the end of the day, you have to have a life that's worth living. And that means, doing things outside of yourself to make it, you just make the world a better place." -Rob Watson   Show Resource and Information Linkedin   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

  Tom Liebel  is a FAIA, LEED Fellow is the Vice President of Moseley Architects, where Tom has been involved in integrating sustainable design principles into a variety of ground-breaking adaptive use and historic preservation projects over the past twenty years, with these projects recognized with multiple awards for design, smart growth, sustainable design and historic preservation.   Tom is involved in ongoing research exploring the relationship between sustainability, preservation and urban design, with a particular emphasis in the use of urban adaptive use projects to promote neighborhood revitalization and civic engagement.   Tom served two terms as Chair of the Maryland Green Building Council, served on the Maryland Advisory Council for Historic Preservation, Chairs Baltimore City’s Commission on Historical and Architectural Preservation, and served as a Mid-Atlantic Regional Representative on the American Institute of Architect’s Strategic Council, serving as the 2020 Moderator.   Specialties: Historic Preservation/Adaptive Use Sustainable and Resilient Design Affordable Housing Innovation/Visioning/Implementation Strategies Show Highlights The technical rigor of the sciences and blending of creativity in the industry. Green architecture particularly focuses on sustainable preservation, affordable housing, and how to build sustainable communities. Blending adaptive reuse with historic typology to drive sustainable building. Moseley Architects ability to understand the unique challenges that sustainable building presents and ways to innovate. Rediscover low energy approaches towards design by tapping into the past.  Tom breaks down understanding resilience into three buckets, natural, technical, and social. Interact with the best and brightest in the profession by involvement with trade organizations like AIA. The first approach is thoughtful designing down to the minimum load using basic principles orientation, lighting, natural ventilation, and bolting on modest technology to solve a modest energy demand.  “The idea of resilience and expanding sustainable design principles from dedicated green projects to every project. It's just kind of what we do. What is interesting is, when I'm teaching classes on sustainability…the concepts are so basic that my shorthand is: don't build stupid. And literally that's all you're doing once you know the principles, once you know the basic building physics, …you just kind of dance with the building.” -Tom Liebel Show Resource and Information Linkedin Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

      Adam Stark  is the Co-Founder | Wellness Author | Special Forces Veteran | NYU MBA | Endurance Athlete | Photographer & Artist | 500HR Yoga Trainer | Meditation & Mindfulness Coach | Conscious Leader   Coming from the RE development industry, he and his Co-Founder initially built Jet for themselves- to manage the portfolio of projects and assets at the companies they worked for. As they evolved the Jet.Build product, they began sharing the Jet solution with our network of builders. Long story short, today, Jet.Build is a Real Estate Developers, General Contractors, and Operators cloud-based Command Center.   Jet is servicing a clientele of national builders: from pre-con to project closeout, and through real estate management.   Adam is a Business Operations leader with 12+ years of experience leading and executing strategic planning for high-complexity projects and organizations. Collaborative team leader and experienced negotiator capable of stewarding both growth- and efficiency-focused change management initiatives across various business functions. Special Forces veteran who excels at navigating crises calmly whilst building partnerships and consensus among internal, external, and C-Suite stakeholders. Show Highlights The school of hard knocks is a great way to learn the necessities of the industry.  Tips to collaborate and communicate with a lot of different people, with a lot of different companies. Understanding the collaborative nature of building a project, the design element, and then having that literal tangible outcome.  Translatable skills from the military to construction sites.  Jet Build’s Command Center management tool for efficiency and simplicity in 3 clicks reduce the amount of administrative tasks with a central hub. support  roles of multi-company stakeholders on the real estate and construction side.  essential tech stack for companies. assist in creating an ecosystem. reduce waste for a lifecycle of an asset Tech enabled teams to move past the “friction point.” Utilizing software can really help every green building project. “Technology is pushing more and more into our space and real estate as a whole. Eventually it will get there, it’s just a matter of continuing to push adoption in our industry to support everyone really, the entire ecosystem.” -Adam Stark Show Resource and Information SHALOSH-Adam-Stark Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

    Sengavi Thirupathy  is the Senior Decarbonization Analyst responsible for managing project progress and deadlines, facilitating team meetings, and assisting the Associate Director of the Decarbonization team. Additionally, she serves as the QA QC lead for Energy Modeling scopes, the energy modeling training lead for the Decarbonization department, and Decarbonization lead participating in the VIM initiative. Sengavi graduated from Anna University, Chennai, India in May 2016 with a Bachelor of Technology in Chemical Engineering and completed her Master’s in engineering in Energy Systems from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Previously, Sengavi has worked on over 10 Net zero energy building design and modeling and 3 Net zero carbon projects. Sengavi has worked on various sectors such as medical office buildings, schools, and animal houses, semiconductor manufacturing units, multifamily residential buildings, automobile manufacturing buildings, data centers and office buildings. Sengavi has worked on Energy Audits, Utility incentive program management and grid carbon assessments as well.   Show Highlights A senior decarbonization analyst shares everything you need to know about decarbonization energy modeling, high performance buildings, and so much more. Working with the mandates surrounding energy efficiency and energy modeling for green building.  How to successfully shift your majors to work with your passion.  Sengavi shares her successful shift from chemical engineering into complete energy systems in the civil and architecture test side. High level tips on what really affects an energy model.  Useful tools like IES, Energy Plus, Energy Pro and eQuest to learn the ecosystem is an open source to use for energy modeling. Include passive strategies in your design, construction or existing buildings to reduce the need to bring in energy. Adaptability and grid harmonization will drive all of the design in the future.  Understanding the challenges with existing buildings vs new construction in energy modeling.   “I feel like buildings need to adapt to all of the things that nature is throwing at us right now. Adaptability and grid harmonization is what is going to drive all of the design in the future. The grid is becoming cleaner, and so how is your building going to adapt to it?” -Sengavi Thirupathy      Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

    For today’s GBM Podcast, we want to talk about conferences. Let’s talk about, in particular, two AEC conferences, our host, Charlie Cichetti, attended in June 2023. We’ll also share some networking best practices while you're at your own conferences.   One of the first conferences our team attended to was at the very beginning of June, and the AIA Conference this year was in San Francisco. There were about 15,000 attendees!   Another conference our technology team attended was NXT BLD / NXT DEV in London June 20th & 21st, hosted by AEC Magazine, with about 500 attendees. It was really unique to be in one room where you had architects, tech startups, journalists, and investors - all collaborating and talking about the future of design & construction including AI & Data.   Show Highlights Top 5 Tips on how to get the most out of networking at a conference. AIA Conference: San Francisco  Preparation for architects coming to this conference Explore technology, materials, and service providers that support the industry Top 10 greenest projects from 2023’s AIA COTE awards NXT BLD + DEV in London Sessions on the future of design and architecture.  AI, data sharing are accelerating our industry.   “Conferences are a fantastic place to get encouragement, some continued education, see what’s trending, and also just meet people that you never know how your paths may cross again in the future. Maybe someone that becomes a friend. Could be a future business partner, could be someone that becomes a colleague or maybe they have an opportunity for you that's really exciting. Conferences are back and full - get out there!” -Charlie Cichetti     Show Resource and Information 2023 2023 NXT DEV 2023 Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES  

  Charles Anderson is a landscape architect and fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, He is a Principal of the Phoenix-based landscape architecture firm, Charles Anderson Landscape Architecture, which is the continuation of his practice of the Seattle-based firm Charles Anderson Landscape Architecture. Anderson is recognized by the American Society of Landscape Architects for combining nature, community needs, and art into his designs, emphasizing sustainability, indigenous plants and urban ecology.   His firm has an extensive record of award-winning multi-disciplinary park projects including over 25 community-based projects within the Seattle metropolitan area. Many of CALA's projects involve extensive public participation, including collaborations with community and neighborhood groups and public presentations. Recent neighborhood park projects include Roxhill Wetland and Bog Park in West Seattle and, the restoration of the 500 Area of , both of which received Merit Awards from the Washington Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and improvements to Mineral Springs Park to enhance public access and use including a new art walk and gathering spaces.   Show Highlights Charles shares tips for creating landscapes all around the world.  The importance of ASLA, American Society of Landscape Architects and other trade organizations to propel your career.  Everything you need to know about selecting native and adaptive plants. The dangers to the industry and environment if you ignore the native plants for something that grows quicker. Resource suggestions to figure out what is native in different regions to optimize the landscape. Why we need to love weeds more. Environmental landscape is an essential card in your lens. Seeing buildings  like mountains will help shape your design and create a natural system that benefits the earth.   “Mentors, I think, are the most critical part of the practice if you really want to aspire and get the opportunities of the greatest projects to work on. You observe how they behave, you observe how they create opportunities. And with each one of 'em [mentors], I captured something from them that became part of who I am. You can't always pinball, can't just read about it, you have to actually witness it. Some of us learned by rhythm, some of us had to see or hear.” -Charles Anderson   Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

  Cynthia Adams is the founder of nonprofit and for profit businesses, her focus has consistently been on growing the cleantech industry. She raised grant and investor funding, developed products from the first discovery interview to sale, hired great teams to execute on the vision, and won a leadership award at a national conference. Her current company, Pearl Certification, is transforming the US housing market by changing the way we build, improve, and sell homes. Pearl drives demand for energy efficient and renewable energy technologies by helping homeowners recoup the value of these investments at resale. Pearl sits at the intersection of new build, home improvement, real estate, utility, and home insurance markets. Our certification system and software platform enables an ecosystem of quality professionals to differentiate by making the value of their work visible.   Show Highlights  Pearl Certification features to benefit sustainability  Real estate agent division that is transforming the US housing market. Contractors and new construction division focusing on industry partnerships and business development.  Public-private relationships division to create programs, utilities for states and localities to meet their carbon emissions goals. Certification, appraisal addendum, and the other documentation to help different stakeholders improve investments. Software to promote technology solutions for data discrepancy.  The Green Doors App to engage and create a customized investment plan.  Tips on how to account for the community when implementing your projects to ensure they  contribute to the community and not harm.  It is vital to educate homeowners on electrification to impact decarbonization. Construction practices and startups suggest you need to consider. Tips for entrepreneurs to take risks that will impact the movement. Understanding the connection to the ecosystem from new construction, public entity,  utility, contractor, and the homeowner. “Being involved in sustainability and the built environment can apply itself in a lot of different ways…follow, develop something that you're really good at, whatever that love is. If you care about the green movement and you care about sustainability, you can take those skillsets and find a way to apply them to a company that's doing work in this space…” -Cynthia Adams   Show Resource and Information LinkedIn ​​ Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

  Paige Tisdale is currently the vice president for the IFMA, Portland Oregon and Southwest Washington chapter. Paige also is in a Business Development role for Dennis’ 7 Dees Landscaping. She has a greater affinity for plants than those around her. She learned (and now teaches) the benefits that plants give to us Mentally, Emotionally, Physically, and Subconsciously. These multiple angles have grown her passion for enhancing our environments indoors and out through moss art, living walls, green roofs, and more.    Office spaces need to attract and retain top talent, help mental health issues, and make people feel awesome. She works with designers, architects, and facilities teams to help bring nature into the office. She is an Ambassador for plants everywhere, and will continue to share in whatever way people will listen.   Paige loves interacting with and helping others. She loves building long lasting and meaningful relationships, and has proved that honesty and transparency go a long way in forging these connections.   Getting to share her passion and see other people enjoy the end results of her work, grow relationships, and become a trusted partner, rather than ‘just another supplier’ is very important to her.  Show Highlights Tips encouraging sustainability by incorporating greenery in design for all commercial services with varying environments.  Paige’s company can help develop and design for all commercial services and multi-tenant buildings to increase aesthetic and knowledge. The Oregon State Treasury Building is one of the first buildings of its kind in the nation as a resiliency building that will withstand any disaster. Understanding the benefits and difference in designing with moss art walls vs Living Wall in Biophilic design. Benefits of IFMA, the facility manager's trade organization. Green Plants For Green Buildings is a national organization trying to bridge the gap between architects, designers and interior landscapers.  Research and education on why greenery is important for our wellness in our built environment. CEU courses to support your credentials. Connection to Bioflu design, Fitwell, the Well Building Standard and the Living Building Challenge. Tips for how architects can coordinate and collaborate with interior landscapers to select products and materials that support the foundation and design of  buildings. Help companies with their brand image by creating better wellness rooms or lounge spaces to increase productivity.   “We saw a huge influx of people wanting to redecorate office spaces. A lot of companies want to adjust their offices to draw more employees back. You want that extra reason to go to work instead of staying at home where you're comfy and you can walk your dog at lunchtime and do whatever you want. Bringing people back to offices means you have to create a cooler workspace.” -Paige Tisdale    Show Resource and Information NY Times article: Sarah J Maas: CEU Courses: Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

  Shai Shaul is the Director of Commissioning services at SIG. Shai has over 17 years of experience in building commissioning, designing HVAC mechanical systems, ASHRAE energy audits, and energy modeling. His portfolio includes office buildings, laboratories, residential high-rise, hotels, retail, restaurants, and net-zero energy projects. Shai specializes in commissioning complex MEP systems for LEED and CA T24 compliance and performing engineering calculations for various energy efficiency measures. He also has experience in reviewing equipment sizing, equipment selections calculations, cost estimates, value engineering, mechanical systems, due-diligence reports and energy analysis.   Education Shai has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering Degree from San Francisco State University and has the following licenses and certifications: Professional Engineer (PE) – California Certified Building Commissioning Professional (CBCP) Certified Energy Manager (CEM) LEED AP Building Design & Construction (BD+C)   Experience Shai has extensive experience managing new construction commissioning and retro-commissioning projects. Shai worked on many building types including office, mixed-use, schools, universities, laboratories, hospitals, warehouses, manufacturing facilities and cogeneration plants. Interests Due to his personal path in the engineering world, Shai is a great believer in sharing and acquiring knowledge. One of Shai’s passions is teaching and making sure that the next generation of engineers is well versed and has a solid foundation of knowledge to build upon. This passion does not stem from personal recognition and appreciation, but instead, it is driven to create the next generation of mentors and future industry subject matter experts.   Personal interests include soccer, tennis, and ping pong.   Show Highlights  Energy modeling and design can coexist in their interactions. Demystify the different components and types of commissioning in the marketplace. Tips to excel in both fundamental  commissioning and retro commissioning to optimize those systems. The critical role mentorships play in shaping the knowledge and to the next generation in the industry.  An inside look at what a director of commissioning auditor looks for in projects. Recommendations for unfamiliar systems and credentials not usually achieved to understand opportunities to save energy, how energy is being spent, drawn from the grid, and what calculations come with it.  Learn what is going to push companies and cities to the next level in efficiency. “Another great mentor took me under his wing for about two years and showed me how to design mechanical systems and much more throughout the day. It showed me what it is to be a mentor. But all they (mentors) have done for me was not for their gain, it's for my gain. It's put in me the fact that I need to support the next generation of young engineers. It's not for my success, it's for their success. So they can become great mentors for the ones after.” -Shai Saul     Show Resource and Information Linkedin Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

      Petinelli coordinates and manages all aspects of the green building process, supporting developers, project teams, builders and owners to identify their objectives, ensuring that the intentions and sustainability parameters are properly executed and that the benefits of sustainable construction are deployed and clearly perceived.   Guido received his LEED Fellow designation in 2018.   Show Highlights The World Green Building Council  and how to accelerate the transformation of the construction industry towards green practices.  Increase building performance by tunneling through the cost barrier to increase productivity and output for every unit of input.  Innovation is how we reach higher levels of performance through ample spectrum, efficiency, comfort, wellbeing and environmental impact.  Understanding the “Goldilocks situation” when building in the vast climates in Brazil.  Guido shares his expertise with building in environmental conditions perfect for exploring and experimenting projects. Help your clients with large portfolios, retail portfolios, the schools, financial institutions  scale up and reach their goals much sooner than 2030. Understanding the differences in green building expectations, innovations, architects, engineers and consulting work in Latin America vs the US to drive the sustainability conversation. I One of the hard to reach sectors for net zero or net positive for regenerative is the real estate market.  And now we're seeing discussions around it and the idea of developing both the technical solutions, but also the business models around it. The advancement of energy efficiency, water, health, wellbeing and waste depends on the data.   "LEED is most effective when it is aspirational," says Petinelli. "It is human nature to want to do better, and recognition is a powerful motivator. I find it easier to convince clients to go for Platinum, and now LEED Zero, than just to certify." -Guido Petinelli   Show Resource and Information Linkedin Instagram Facebook Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

    James Nash has founded 3 companies. The first was Bike Dock Solutions in 2008 which started life as a university project. Much of his focus currently is on ActiveScore which helps building owners and developers improve their cycling and active travel facilities. They have helped design and certify 350+ developments in Europe, US, Asia, Middle East and Australia-including 22 Bishopsgate in London, which is the largest office building in Europe.   Clients include Blackstone, Brookfield, Lendlease, Invesco, Vornado Realty Trust, BentallGreenOak, GID, JLL, CBRE, Savills, Knight Frank, Colliers, Perial, AXA IM, PATRIZIA, Bruntwood, and EcoWorld. ActiveScore is recognized by GRESB as a design and/or construction green building certification scheme.   He has also been an advisor to WELL Certification on all things Cycling and active travel related. For real estate sustainability/mobility consultants and architects they have an extremely popular free AP Programme with over 500 AP’s from over 40 countries. Show Highlights The proactive part of wellness in and around buildings and communities you need to consider for healthier buildings. The movement towards bike connective travel and bike share systems.  James shares his entrepreneurial journey and start-up tips that transformed his business. The evolution of bike storage on ESG, various rating systems, tools and services provided for people who are occupants of a building. Active Score tools, advisory rolls and educational supports AP program that brings these best practices forward. Global expansion  and global standard  within buildings An emissions calculator that also includes scope free emissions The electrification of bikes and all things on wheels. An incredible opportunity and an area that currently isn't really getting much attention. “The main driver for this is the mindset change. I think building owners have realized the importance of these services from a sustainability point of view, but now also from a business case point of view. I think they realize that their tenants actually want much better cycle facilities or active travel facilities. It can actually help them attract tenants, whether it's a commercial office or whether it's a residential building.” -James Nash ! Show Resource and Information   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

    Nikola Kravik is a member of the Sales and Business Development Team at Sustainable Investment Group (SIG) as a full-time Director of Business Development – West Coast. His main responsibilities focus on client relationships, partnerships, management, strategy, project delivery and leadership, while providing business support for our other modules of Green Building Holdings (GBH): GBES, Blue Ocean Sustainability and Aetos Imaging special projects. As our presence on the West Coast increases, and sustainability demand rises pushed by decarbonization and carbon focus, he hopes to strengthen existing AEC+RE relationships and open new avenues for collaboration.   Education Nikola studied at the Mechanical University in Skopje, Republic of Northern Macedonia and got his AA in Motor Vehicle Design in 1998 and graduated from the San Francisco State University School of Mechanical Engineering with BS, major in Thermo & Fluids, 2007. His is a LEED AP and has a BEMP certificate provided by ASHRAE. He is past President of the ASHRAE Golden Gate Chapter and AIA Board of Directors in San Francisco.   Experience Nikola started as a Mechanical Designer after college using software modeling tools to predict energy use in the high rise residential and commercial market in San Francisco and worked for several Bay Area/US based renowned MEP companies. His roles included building and leading energy modeling teams, working with architects, contractors, and owners by designing ZNE pioneer buildings and managing large scale projects involving multidisciplinary consultants for a variety of industries and delivery methods. The projects range from small 10k Softball stadium at CAL Berkeley to 11M sf Vallco Town Center project in Cupertino-that had highest Sustainability and Low-Energy targets. He is an expert in codes and standards and has worked on the design of over 25 ZNE Buildings. Nikola’s focus the past several years have been team building, client management, engineering excellence and sustainable business operations.   Interests Nikola enjoys spending free time mostly with his wife Tiffany and 3 children Alexandra, Kian, and Kyle-taking them outdoors (when there are no fires around sunny California or crossing state lines), swimming up in the Russian River, kayaking and skiing in Lake Tahoe, camping in Big Sur or going down to Muir Beach near our house to read a book. He is a proud 5th/7th grade basketball coach now for Alexandra and Kyle. Nikola loves languages and meeting new people, and cultures on different continents!   Fun Fact Nikola was a professional basketball player and played for the Northern Macedonian National Junior basketball team in the mid ’90s. ​​ Show Highlights Tune in to the changes happening around the world in terms of crisis and policies because it will directly impact your projects.  Client service roles to bridge sales, business development and marketing to ensure clients get services in a timely manner and exactly the thing you promised. Understanding decarbonization and LEED won’t be enough if you don’t build relationships to connect those programs.  It’s imperative to get closer to the communities you are building for when trying to revitalize their town. Accelerate public and private partnerships by investing your time in key areas.  Nikola shares why California is a leader when embracing new eco technology in buildings.  Bridge in the gap of knowledge by using AI tools to help progress faster and innovate better. “People can talk about what it’s going to look like in 2050. But if we don't take care of some of the emergencies, visible things that are happening with climate change and some of the initiatives from the government or the local governments, then we're gonna be behind. I encourage everybody to be alert and be aware of what's going on around the world.” -Nikola Kravik    Show Resource and Information Linkedin Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

  Grace Kwok has over 23 years’ experiences in sustainable design and green building projects in Hong Kong, China and across Asia-Pacific, she has led the AEC group to set up a robust sustainability governance structure and is committed to promoting sustainability from the inside out. The Group committed to ambitious sustainability commitments, including Science-Based Target and Net Zero Carbon Operation by 2030, and is a Signatory for the Business for Ambition for 1.5°C campaign organized by SBTi and UNGC.    Also, took the lead to uphold sustainability standards by conducting climate risk assessments using TCFD framework and adopting GRI Standards in its annual ESG reports. AEC Group has obtained many awards for its sustainability governance and ESG initiatives, including Honorable Mention Award in the Hong Kong Corporate Governance Excellence Awards 2020 and Grand Award in the Hong Kong Sustainability Award 2020/21. In support of World GBC’s net-zero built environment agenda, AEC Group has joined the ranks of WorldGBC Asia Pacific Net Zero Collaborators in 2021.   Driven by a vision to shape a sustainable future, Grace is dedicated to work with the building and construction sector to build climate resilience and accelerate net-zero transition. She had played a key role in encouraging the early adoption of green building rating systems and worked on the earliest batch of HK-BEAM and LEED projects in Hong Kong. Grace had also been facilitating the localization of international green building and sustainable infrastructure rating tools, including BREEAM and CEEQUAL. In recent years, she created a stronger momentum for the green building movement with ESG and green finance as drivers and leveraged her expertise in corporate sustainability to promote sustainable real estate from fund and developers’ group to project levels.   With an environmental engineering background, Grace is a keen advocate of regenerative sustainability for the built environment. She is often invited to share her insights at local, regional and global conferences, including Internoise 2017, USGBC Greenbuild China 2019, International Symposium on Regional Air Quality Management in Rapidly Development Economic Regions 2020, APEC Workshop Training on Retro-commissioning 2021 and BREEAM Summit 2022, etc. She was recently selected to join GRESB Real Estate Standard Committee to develop ESG standard for sustainable real estate and has been appointed to join major government committees to advise on matters related to sustainable development, environmental conservation as well as innovation and technology. ​​ Show Highlights Raising the bar to manage stringent building and energy codes in the Hong Kong region.  Driving new industry standards and creating alternative solutions to the problems the industry is facing. Understanding the local and international standards in the finance sector to achieve a green classification. Driving green capital in the real estate sector by finding common language.  Speeding up different initiatives like the quality of life category in how you present them to a client. Solving challenging problems for clients with alternative solutions shape industry standards.  Working more on sustainable infrastructure to go beyond building.  The city’s programs need to align with the sustainable development goals.  Carbon management and climate resilience tips. “Green building is very dynamic and it's got a changing landscape.  Explore more about all the areas related to the green building movement. It's not only about buildings, it's about the people in the built environment as well. When we are working on a project we always remind ourselves so that we won't lose the focus, not just in the number or the modeling. Lastly, encouragement. When we're working on a green building project, you can expect it (the building) will stay there for a long time. You need to consider the whole life cycle of the building. It could become a legacy because it is going to be standing there for 50, 60 years.” -Grace Kwok      Show Resource and Information Linkedin Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

  Jacob Lehrer is currently an Architecture Student at Wentworth Institute of Technology. He has been fascinated by engineering and design his entire life and has put a focus on sustainability throughout. His first job in college was in a sustainability consultant role.    He  passed the LEED Green Associate exam in June 2019 at 17, the LEED AP BD+C in June 2021 at 19, the LEED AP O+M in July 2022 at 20, and the LEED AP ND in April 2023 at 21. These credentials and experiences help inform his designs and thoughts about how buildings should be constructed.   His hope is that we, as a species, can move forward in a more positive and sustainable direction. He is excited to help realize that vision by seeking how technological innovations and forward-thinking can push architecture and sustainability into the future.   Show Highlights Great tips from a rising star in the industry on trends and how to navigate and personalize your career.  Successful strategies for the test taking process for LEED and other systems exams.  Benefits of Wentworth Institute of Technology  Master emerging technologies Internship and co-op programs Invaluable industry experience embedded in the curriculum Wentworth Sustainability Society LEED green associate prep course Looking at the sustainability tools from every angle to build something new. Main gripe with many of the rating systems and how to synergize categories or credits. Get a lens into how to design for different types of inhabitants and different types of loads. Exploring some of the techniques, architecture, and how to design your buildings for passive systems around the world. Using  software and tools as an extension of your own arm to express your ideas more succinctly and with your own designs. “The main goal for me in the future of my career is I want to use these sustainable technologies and stable rating systems in parallel with things like computation and research. These innovative technologies do exist but haven't really been involved in architecture that long. Finding out ways to kind of combine those two worlds in a way that makes buildings more economical, more viable, more useful for people who use them because the way we use our buildings has changed a lot with the pandemic too.” -Jacob Lehrer     Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

  Jeff Stewart is a Senior Energy Manager – Existing Buildings and is responsible for energy audits, LEED O+M engineering, ENERGY STAR benchmarking and certification, and city/state benchmarking ordinances. He has extensive experience in the commercial HVAC industry and ten (10) years of experience working on projects seeking LEED certification.    Prior to working for SIG, Jeff worked for an Atlanta-based HVAC design engineering firm using AutoCAD to design and model commercial HVAC systems for single office and high-rise office buildings, including the Delta Dental building and First Data Center in Atlanta, GA.    Jeff has experience working with many different building types, including office buildings, tenant spaces, data centers, multifamily properties, convention centers, and sports stadiums. In 2021, Jeff and the SIG ENERGY STAR team completed 510 ENERGY STAR labels consisting of over 148M GSF. He has been instrumental in SIG being awarded the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence award every year since 2016.   Show Highlights   Applying a holistic approach to the green building movement by focusing on both design and impact. The Green Sports Alliance connects great sustainable standards.  Hear tips about that and Geocaching. Tips for someone trying to apply LEED for existing buildings to something besides an office building from an energy store portfolio manager expert.  LEED is a platform for benchmarking how you're building, how your structure operates, and impacts the world around it regardless of what the building is being used for.  Benchmark your energy and water data to make improvements from that to achieve your desired certification. Mix and match credits to ensure you are operating at peak efficiency to get LEED certification for your project.  Understanding the big push for mixed use developments for your clients.    “I would say it's considered a long game [your green building career]. If you're about to make a decision or buy something or move somewhere, consider a few things that would happen in the long term. If you move to Atlanta, do you plan to stay in Atlanta for five years or is this a temporary approach? Think about two or three things that could impact in the long term and that can help you make a better decision in the short term.” -Jeffrey Stewart     Show Resource and Information LinkedIn Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

  Joyce Lee, FAIA, LEED Fellow, is President of IndigoJLD providing green health, design, benchmarking and ESG planning services for exemplary projects and communities. She became one of 300 LEED Fellows worldwide while being on the board of trustees of the Grand Rapids Art Museum, the first LEED NC certified museum in the world. Joyce has also been on adjunct faculty at the University of Pennsylvania focusing on building healthy places and was board director of the French American Chamber of Commerce PHL. Since 2021, she has chaired the American Alliance of Museums Environment and Climate Network and serves as a Senior Advisor to Econsult Solutions. In 2022, she was appointed by Mayor Kenney in Philadelphia to serve as an inaugural commissioner for environmental justice.   She has been a Fellow at the National Leadership Academy for Public Health and one of the first LEED accredited professionals in New York City. She was the Chief Architect at the New York City OMB under Mayor Bloomberg overseeing the survey of major city-owned buildings (over 200 million sq ft) and waterfronts with the goals of enhancing long-term planning and identifying green design and development opportunities. During her tenure, the program grew over 25%. She was then the first Active Design Director, with a focus on design excellence and human health, in New York City. The Active Design Guidelines, a publication she co-authored, had won recognition from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as well as the Sustainable Building Industry Council.   Joyce is the recipient of numerous awards including the Health and Human Services Good Neighbor Award, Platinum Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies, the President's Award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) New York State, and the Aga Khan Award from Harvard/MIT. Recognizing her career achievement, the AIA New York honored Joyce with the Public Architect Award for "her indomitable spirit, committed environmental consciousness, and extraordinary ability to bring sustainability theory and practices to the public realm." Show Highlights Joyce shares her vast expertise with benchmarking, NetZero, and LEED for museums.  Hear from the National Green Building Advisor on new projects and policies coming down through the federal government.  Understanding the similarities between cultural institutions around the country.  Apply best practices with educational sessions on the green accomplishments of the Smithsonian and the Guggenheim Museum.  Review resources on green practices from energy to water to waste, new transportation, cultural programming, dining and retail facilities, and how the supply chain partners can bring all of those together.  IndigoJLD manages public and private sustainability projects.  Best practices that work for museums versus other buildings. Questions to consider to start building partnerships and connecting with firms that specialize in sustainability.   “We both agree that we learn more from our mistakes and than our successes. Absolutely be open-minded. I wish I knew back then this field was going to evolve so fast. The climate is something that is here today and is not for tomorrow. For those who are entering the field, another piece of advice with green buildings, I would say think globally and act locally.” -Joyce Lee      Museum Magazine / July−August 2022 (PDF)   Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

    Patrick Chopson, is the co-founder od the carbon-focused Atlanta-based startup, cove.tool. As the Chief Product Officer, he leads product development for cove.tool, a web-based software for analyzing, drawing, engineering, and connecting data for building design and construction.    A graduate of Georgia Tech with a Masters in High Performance Buildings, he is also a licensed architect with over 18 years of experience. Prior to cove.tool, he ran Pattern r+d, a successful building performance consulting and architecture firm. Multiple publications include Architect Magazine, TechCrunch, Site Selection, ArchDaily, and more.    Show Highlights   Understand the value of data-driven design. Cove.Tool Real-time understanding using BIN, Building Information Network. Connecting technology and the human experience. Trusted tools and simulations to optimize performance, product selection, design and more.  Consolidate different problems of data translation losses to promote timely decision making without issues. Databases that link everyone involved on a project to build common understanding and immediate updates. Why the carbon problem is a data problem. Factors that create uncertainty to drive cost increases.  Why you need to follow the industries #hashtags. Tips for entrepreneurs and companies to create a  detailed career path that champions the work and skills of their employees.   2 things that are going to transform how architects, engineers, contractors, and anybody involved in sustainability find information to make effective choices.  AI is going to unlock and transform the industry beyond focusing  operational carbon vs embodied. How to leverage new technology to provide a higher level of service.   “Meet a lot of different teams, meet a lot of really interesting people. That started to shape my understanding of this problem isn't just like we need one or two people that know simulation. We need to change how everyone designs. How everyone thinks about the problem. Realizing that it was gonna take more data analytics and probably software to be able to pull that off.” -Patrick Chopson   “We want to link everyone together, everyone have a common understanding of a project and then be able to see when one person makes a decision, that immediately updates using APIs or some type of connection across the internet to make sure that everyone's on the same page…And that's what will allow for low cost but high performance, low carbon buildings.” -Patrick Chopson   Show Resource and Information LinkedIn Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

  Libby Dunne is a member of SIG’s Sustainability Team and is based in San Francisco, CA. Her primary focus is within the health and wellness space, as she is primarily responsible for managing WELL and Fitwel projects, in addition to managing portfolios pursuing the WELL Health Safety Rating. She also helps to manage a variety of LEED projects, with a focus on BD+C and ID+C. Within each project she ensures that necessary information is obtained and verifies compliance through documenting and evaluating key data. Libby also teaches LEED Green Associate exam prep live courses with GBES.   Originally from San Francisco, Libby graduated from Emory University with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Environmental Science. Throughout college, Libby has worked on various research projects. Most notably, she worked on published work regarding the effects of antibiotics on bumblebee cognitive functioning. Additionally, Libby maintains a variety of credentials, including WELL AP, LEED AP BD+C, Fitwel Ambassador, and ActiveScore AP.   Libby likes to spend her free time hiking, swimming, and being with family and friends. As a certified scuba diver, Libby also has a passion for marine biology and for preserving our natural environment for generations to come.   Show Highlights   A combination of degrees in different fields compliment each other perfectly in green building work.  Interning is key to expanding your knowledge and for earning credentials that inspire your work. Meld the client communication side with the documentation side of projects to support your clients achieving their goals. ActiveScore AP Credential is a new and interesting credential program for the US. Make positive wellness impacts at the corporate level by reviewing the mind and community sections on a WELL Scorecard with HR teams. Eevie is an app that gives your team a tangible way to support individual sustainability. WELL provides a roadmap of new programs, each with a different focus, that are all focused on health and wellbeing in the built environment. Help your clients get their feet wet in wellness by recommending one of the three WELL ratings as a first step towards pursuing a full WELL Certification.  The flexibility of a Fitwel certification meets people where their understanding is as a manageable option for existing buildings.   “In this industry, something that's really important is just to listen, learn and absorb as much as you can. It's ever changing, there's new regulations that are coming out, so there's a lot of moving parts. Be open and willing to learn as you go throughout your career. But for someone that's kind of starting new to the industry, I think it's important to recognize that you bring a fresh perspective and a way of doing things to the table. You don't have to conform to the typical way of doing things as they've always been done. I feel like sometimes it really takes someone with that fresh perspective to kind of come in and rock the boat in a good way to make positive change.” -Libby Dunne      Show Resource and Information Articles Written by Libby: Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES  

   As Atelier Ten’s planning practice leader, Ben has extensive experience with urban ecology, renewable energy systems and green development assessments. He has directed numerous projects and managed the development of sustainability guidelines for a wide range of master plans on a multitude of sectors including commercial, university, government, and transportation. He has consulted on more than 100 high-performance building and planning projects including one of the first outpatient facilities to achieve LEED for Healthcare certification in New York City and a comprehensive environmental framework for Harvard Business School.   Ben is a proud recipient of the ENR New York’s Top 20 Under 40 Award, which celebrates the excellence of young professionals who represent the “Best-of-the-Best” in the construction and design field. He is a member of the University Development and Innovation Council at Urban Land Institute (ULI) and serves as Co-Chair of the ULI New York Infrastructure Council. His dedication and enthusiasm to sustainable master planning and buildings and his attention to the wellness of people and the built environment have provided a unique, cutting edge perspective to all projects throughout his career.   Ben also teaches core courses on environmental design and building services at Yale School of Architecture. He holds an MA in Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and a BA in Environmental Science from Northland College. Ben has also earned the rare LEED Fellow designation.  Show Highlights Be proactive in creating a healthy building center that is flexible with metering and monitoring of these spaces too.  Atelier Ten strives to achieve higher levels of sustainability and connections. Leverage your involvement where you can make the most impact in the climate crisis, personally and professionally. Connecting the dots between all the different disciplines.  Hit your client goals and get as much green into the projects by motivating your design teams to find connections between their specialities.   Further and maybe even less than some of those travel carbon emissions. We still have to do that to a certain extent, but can really optimize that more than we did in the past. Optimize what tools to use that benefit operational emissions from energy and everything from passive techniques in the facade surrounding accounting for embodied carbon. Build resiliency in your projects to tackle climate change and “global weirding of climate trends,”for immediate and long term impact.  Tips to gain experience and fail along the way to carve out your path. “To all of the people still getting involved in this [green building] movement and industry, it's really important because your project might inspire others - that continues it going along and we can always design things better. I think that's the kind of hope and optimism we all bring to the foray. So keep, keep going. It takes us all and there's plenty more work to be done. -Benjamin Shepherd   Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

  Gregory Patton is a member of the Sustainability Consulting Team at Sustainable Investment Group (SIG) as a Senior Sustainability & Energy Consultant. In this role, he oversees multiple projects related to Sustainable and Healthy Buildings. In addition to managing LEED, WELL, and Fitwel projects for clients, he also provides support to SIG’s Engineering Team for ENERGY STAR, Commissioning, and technical expertise centered around existing buildings.     Gregory joined SIG in January of 2022 and brings two decades of operational experience to the team. Throughout his career he has successfully operated and managed numerous large commercial buildings as well as sustainability programs for clients. Gregory’s deep understanding of building systems and his passion to create a Sustainable and Healthy Future has enabled him to excel in the sustainability space. Gregory holds professional accreditations for LEED O+M, LEED BD+C, LEED ID+C, LEED ND, LEED HOMES, LEED Green Rater, WELL, Fitwel Ambassador, BREEAM In-Use Assessor, and ActiveScore AP.   Originally from Florida (GO GATORS), Gregory has adapted to Colorado life and can be found outside enjoying the 300+ days of sunshine and blue skies that Colorado has to offer. He enjoys hiking, kayaking, live sporting events, and traveling with his wife and son.   Show Highlights Greg’s entrepreneurship journey to build a top sustainability team. See the value of LEED and everything it touches beyond design and construction. Manage a smooth transition from residential to commercial builds. Tips for recommending tools and systems that provide a good maintenance model for clients to hit their performance goals.  Why BREEAM is a great certification system to use and recommend. Achieve decarbonization goals in the environmental space for your clients.  Follow your curiosity and prioritization credentials dedicated to meeting your goals.  How to build longevity and contribute to the success of the green building movement.    Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

Ramana Koti, LEED Fellow, is the Sustainable Design Leader at HKS Architects responsible for sustainable design facilitation and building performance analysis. His focus is on getting projects off to the right start with an inclusive and integrative effort, measuring progress against goals, and delivering a quantified outcome.   Ramana has published several technical papers on daylighting and energy performance in buildings and regularly blogs on green building related topics. He volunteers with the AIA 2030 Working Group and the USGBC at the local and national levels.   Ramana has been a certified ASHRAE Building Energy Modeling Professional (BEMP) since 2015 and was designated a LEED Fellow in 2019.   Show Highlights Tools that help push the industry with daylight analysis and energy modeling.  Ramana shares his experience with managing commercial mixed use practice all wrapped in one project.  Start the projects off on a right footing to make sure the initial goals and strategies are being implemented.  Packaging certification efforts at the end to achieve the targeted certification levels.  How do you share LEED best practices amongst a large team? Incentives from the inflation reduction Act put the industry on a broader path to decarbonization and making buildings much more greener than they are.  Tips on coaching your team on embodied carbon.   “I wish somebody had told me change happens, but it happens more slowly; because when you're young, energetic, & hungry to affect change, you become anxious when results don't happen within the expected timeframe. But once you spend 10, 15 years in a field…things have a way of compounding and happening. And to quote Lao Tzu, "Do your work and then step back.'" -Ramana Koti      Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

    As commuting trends evolve, influenced by global events and the rising cost of fuel, the built environment needs to reflect and support these changes. Updates to planning policies and urban design can take years, resulting in old solutions for new problems. Green certifications like ActiveScore allow new standards to be implemented quickly and in sync with industry trends.   What You Will Learn: You will understand what Active Travel is. You will understand what ActiveScore does. You will learn about the relationship between Active Travel and ESG. Learn how well-designed Active Travel facilities in buildings can positively impact tenant experience. You will learn about ActiveScore’s free AP Program.   This webinar can be self-reported for one half-hour of LEED or WELL continuing education.   James Nash has founded 3 companies. The first was Bike Dock Solutions in 2008 which started life as a university project.   Much of his focus currently is on ActiveScore which helps building owners and developers improve their cycling and active travel facilities. They have helped design and certify 350+ developments in Europe, US, Asia, Middle East and Australia-including 22 Bishopsgate in London, which is the largest office building in Europe. Clients include Blackstone, Brookfield, Lendlease, Invesco, Vornado Realty Trust, BentallGreenOak, GID, JLL, CBRE, Savills, Knight Frank, Colliers, Perial, AXA IM, PATRIZIA, Bruntwood, and EcoWorld. ActiveScore is recognised by GRESB as a design and/or construction green building certification scheme. He has also been an advisor to WELL Certification on all things Cycling and active travel related. For real estate sustainability/mobility consultants and architects they have an extremely popular free AP Programme with over 500 AP's from over 40 countries. Alex Georgiadis is the Head of Consultancy at ActiveScore. He oversees all of the certification and design projects ActiveScore works on. Alex has a design background and his passion is cycling. So much so, he spent some time working as a mobile bike mechanic, servicing commercial office buildings around London. This gave him great insight into the issues cyclists regularly face when commuting. He now regularly uses this knowledge to educate building owners and improve the active travel facilities within buildings across the world. David Reed is an entrepreneur who is passionate about solving problems with sustainable solutions. A leader in sustainable mobility, he has 13+ years of experience generating new revenue and building partnerships with and for municipalities, universities, startups, corporations, and real estate companies. He is a coalition builder and problem solver, deeply invested in colleague and client shared success. David's clients and partners have included the public, private, and non-profit sectors.     Show Highlights Active Score is this intersection of transportation, sustainability and the built environment.  Components and benefits of Active Travel Assess and certify buildings being active travel friendly. Help organizations and developments become future-proof by creating sustainable infrastructures and services.  Only globally recognized accreditation for active travel amenities in real estate.  Provide engagement services that set up active travel user groups within buildings.  Employer retention Active Score can help identify commuting trends within a region or group, connect with rating systems and ESG with their clean air calculator.  LEED benchmarks and credits Active Score blends with to determine which is the best standard and certification to align.  Active Score design benefits Creating a more efficient and streamlined design process for both the client and the design team. Build understanding of what makes a good active travel facility. Design consultation and the design lab services. Active Score certification can be applied to both existing and new developments.   “In terms of other benefits of Active Travel, health and wellbeing. I'm sure you are all familiar with how Active Travel can help an individual's health and wellbeing. The stat from this report that is very interesting is how 82% of people that were surveyed said they felt less stressed when they arrived in the office after cycling to work. So health and wellbeing. Active travel can have a huge impact on health and wellbeing” -James Nash     Show Resource and Information   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

  Amy D’Angelo is a wellness real estate professional with over 20 years of experience. Her wide range of interests over the years have included launching a healthy food business to managing facilities for an international non-profit. Her current passion is focusing on helping busy professionals and families achieve wellness at home by creating simple and affordable strategies that are based on the best practices of the wellness real estate movement. Amy believes that by making small and positive changes, in our homes, in the food we eat or the ways that we handle stress, we can inspire those around us to live a healthier, more fulfilled life. Responsibilities Amy D’Angelo is the Director of ESG for Sustainable Investment Group. In this role, Amy provides leadership to the ESG department and works with some of the country’s largest REITs to identify and manage risks that pertain to environmental, social and governance issues. She also is leading our Corporate Sustainability Program with a particular focus on the “S” – empowering women within our organization and ensuring that we can have the greatest impact in the communities where we live.  Additionally, Amy provides wellness content and webinars to SIG’s education partner Green Building Education Services (GBES). Education Amy graduated from the University of Florida with a B.A.in English and a minor in Political Science.  She is also a WELL AP and a Fitwel Ambassador. Experience Amy brings 20+ years of business, leadership and entrepreneurial experience to this position.  Her experience in building programs and leading teams in executive management positions for both nonprofit and for profit organizations gives her a unique perspective into ESG.   Amy’s passion for innovation in ESG, especially the “S” social aspect is founded in her core value to “effect change that positively impacts the people in all organizations”, in addition to helping her clients positively impact the communities where they live and work. Interests Amy spends her free time outside and enjoying the natural resources in the community where she lives, kayaking, biking or just walking on the beach.  When she isn’t outside, you can find her cooking for her family, playing with her dogs or tending to her vast collection of indoor plants. Show Highlights The biggest evolution with green washing and transparency in the industry.  Being able to pivot to embrace ESG data and reporting.  Essential questions to consider to shift from corporate sustainability to ESG wellness for employees and occupants of our buildings.  The secrets to the ESG umbrella and where companies should focus first. The ESG team at SIG provides opportunities to use all of the big reporting functions and frameworks correctly. The Energy Star program supports data you can trust and verify.  Preparation for climate related risk ties directly into resiliency.   “We're seeing the shift to ESG. Prior to the pandemic, we weren't talking about ESG, we were still talking about corporate sustainability. The pandemic really highlighted wellness in a way that we hadn't seen before. The green building industry really moved the focus into the health and wellbeing of people. That really shifted the conversation from ‘we have to just build green.’  No, it's not just about building green, it's also about making sure that our facilities are green on the inside for our people.’” -Amy D'Angelo   Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

    Devon Bertram is the VP of Sustainability Consulting at Stok, focused on impact at scale, advising clients on how to define, implement, and manage customized sustainability programs and standards for their building portfolios that authentically align with their brand, values, and purpose. Her work aims to reinforce broader strategic goals to enhance ESG initiatives, develop corporate carbon strategies, and improve overall sustainability impact. Former and current clients and partners include SFPUC, Sitecore, Delta Dental, Twitter, Starbucks, Citibank, Subaru, and Sephora. Show Highlights Mapping Stok’s direction and impact. Role focuses internally and externally helping align culture to stay true while also helping clients tackle challenging climate issues.  Link: . Provide integrated solutions for our clients with a sustainability consulting team, workplace solutions team, engineering team and a commissioning team.  Latest Stok publication comprises survey responses that offer clarity about decisions and changes to the workplace experience that will positively impact employee productivity, retention and wellbeing. Integrating corporate initiatives, not just in building design but how a company works. Working with clients and partners to identify what challenges they're trying to resolve or solve and how to prioritize and identify the right SMEs to help push those solutions. Navigating decarbonization and ESG with clients to set operational goals to shift from hopeful to action. A new goal to “walk and talk” with clients and partners, and move this practice beyond internal team members Understanding there's no bad or wrong questions will drive the green building movement forward.    “LEED volume and portfolio-wide sustainability programs help to identify a standard process of education and quality control, and a standard for how you roll that out across a portfolio rather than just on a single building.” -Devon Bertram      Show Resource and Information ​​ by Charles Mackesy by Aaron DIgnan Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

Alvin Tejada is a LEED Fellow, an Architect, Project Management Professional (PMP), a pioneering LEED & WELL Accredited Professional, and TRUE Advisor in SE Asia; He is also USGBC and IWBI Faculty. Alvin has acquired more than 25 years of experience in architectural and interior design, corporate real estate, construction, property and facilities management. He has advanced his career as an independent practitioner and a team player in multinational companies. Specialties: Construction and Project Management, Sustainability/ LEED, WELL, TRUE, EDGE Consulting, Property and Facilities Management, Architectural Design and Space Planning Show Highlights Challenges with LEED and green building in the Southeast Asia region.  Partnership with USGBC & higher education to develop a center for sustainability learning in the Philippines.  Grooming future architects on key sustainability practices as part of their design process. Heightened alertness and awareness of carbon footprints has pushed the standards for practice and reporting to become a normal requirement for the built environment. How the market has been transformed to adopt green building practices. Academia has to catch up to train students in taking the correct mindset and practices to drive the change needed for the world.   “There's really an interest [in green buildings] coming from students, especially hearing me share actual experiences and the developments that are going on. I've seen how they've been performing with the exercises that I've been giving and it looks like they're up to the challenge of taking on extra credentials. I've also been encouraging them that this would really support them as they build their career early in life.” -Alvin Tejada   “While we're living in a challenging time, this is also an exciting time. The speed of technological development may be dizzying. We know that humankind continues to evolve with rapid changes. Just keep reading, keep learning, keep sharing, and eventually you get into the habit of this green building movement.” -Alvin Tejada   Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

    Walt Kanzler is a recognized leader in the green building industry, currently holding the position of Senior Director of Design at UCSD. Walt has over 20 years of experience as a licensed architect with a focus throughout his career on Sustainability. Working for several large public and private organizations Walt has delivered over $2 Billion in capital projects and currently is managing a capital program that exceeds that more than doubling his experience in diverse project types. Walt has served in a leadership role on several boards and committees that promote Sustainable Design and has been a proponent of LEED since gaining his LEED AP in 2001. Walt was awarded the high honor of LEED Fellow in 2022.  Currently an active change agent at UCSD Walt is directly involved in Sustainability initiatives on campus and supports cross campus coordination in the UC system along with his colleagues at nine other campuses. One of his passions is sharing Green Building concepts with students and finding ways to integrate Sustainability into Higher Education. Show Highlights The intersection between the capital projects and facilities management.  University of California’s (UCSD) direct path to making holitics improvements to best practices that break down barriers facing the green building movement. Structural Design Programs Campus Decarbonization  Climate Action Plans Minimum Certification Targets Sustainable Practices Policy  Green Building Working Groups The evolution ESG needs to make for system integrity of the data.  Building controls to newer buildings that allow occupants to really appreciate their space. Process improvements to streamline work challenging the status quo to make projects more efficient. Practices and opportunities to reduce our impact on the environment.     “When LEED first came around, it gave me a kind of framework to really understand all the different aspects of sustainability. And I think that's been one of the great advantages of LEED over the years - it created some structure for everybody to understand and then to move above and beyond those baselines.” - Walt Kanzler Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2022 GBES

  Charlie Cichetti, LEED Fellow + WELL AP Entrepreneur | Leader | Husband | Father   To our legacy and new listeners:   Over the last five years, we've produced over 250 Green Building Matters (GBM) Podcast Episodes! Amazing guests from all over the world. I still get lots of positive feedback all the time. Someone on LinkedIn will ping me and say “that was an amazing interview.” Sometimes it is someone that's been in this industry a long time and they need that new spark. “Oh, man, I'm so glad I heard that from so and so.” Or maybe it is a new to this industry, young professional or just someone that's making a career change. So it's still very encouraging. I think we timed this special episode because I'm doing a little reflecting myself as I'm going to be turning 40 this week. I am so grateful to all of you listening to our podcast, getting encouraged, and taking action. Keep up the great work! About Charlie:    Upon graduating from Georgia Tech, Charlie went to work in Construction and later Real Estate Development. This path ultimately led him over to Green Buildings. Over the course of his career Charlie has personally taught and trained over 10,000+ professionals in-person about LEED, the green building movement, and how to pass LEED exams. His green building education company GBES.com has over 150,000+ professionals around the world who use their study tools and CE materials to help maintain their credentials after Charlie and his team helped them pass their exams. Charlie also advocates for LEED and the green building movement to thousands of people monthly as they tune in to listen to his weekly podcast, Green Building Matters. Charlie is an expert in all of the phases (design/construct/operate) of green buildings. Charlie and his umbrella of companies are all about the Green Building Movement. His online education company (GBES) trains and equips green building professionals, his green building consulting & engineering firm (SIG) helps to “plant trees” in cities all across the globe as they help building owners and property management teams achieve the highest level of certification for green and healthy buildings, his software company (Blue Ocean Sustainability) is developing the tools that will reshape the industry and advance the green building movement forward by leaps and bounds, and he has also invested in a 3D scanning company (Aetos Imaging) that is helping to create digital twins of real buildings and innovating new ways of training building operators. Charlie Cichetti is truly a sustainability-focused social entrepreneur who is motivated by elevating people and the industry to be the best they can be! Show Highlights Green Building Holdings’ (GBH) Brands: SIG Aetos Blue Ocean  GBES.com Announcements of new technology on how to change the way buildings will be designed and built in the future. Charlie’s entrepreneurial journey - pro tips on how to inspire and develop teams. Navigate the new (green building) trends in 2023.  Get your team ready for collecting accurate data to create a total carbon plan.  Closing the gap between the LEED exam and LEED project experience for professionals. What you need to know for mandates and how to get ready for a framework shift in the industry.    “We've got some amazing storytellers here…in the green building movement. Honestly, that's one of the secrets to success. We have to be able to make sure the work we do in green buildings is relatable to those that haven't done it yet.” -Charlie Cichetti     Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

Pia Ohrling is an experienced sustainability Consultant. She has worked in the building and property industry for more than 30 years and with Sustainability for 20 years.   Pia is one of Sweden's leading environmental and expert consultants with more than twenty years of experience in environmental certification and sustainable buildings. She is a trained structural engineer at KTH, Stockholm and has worked for the major environmental consulting companies in Sweden. In 2010, she started Piacon to be able to influence the construction and real estate industry to a greater extent based on her genuine environmental commitment.     Pia has completed a number of successful environmental certifications, e.g. the world's first certified building according to BREEAM In Use International and Sweden's first pre-certified LEED building. She is a popular lecturer and holds courses in LEED, BREEAM, Environmental Construction and Work Environment and leads training courses at the Sweden Green Building Council (LEED and BREEAM).    Pia is a member of the Sweden Green Building Council (SGBC) and is part of the LEED committee. Between the years 2014-2021, she was active in the Technical Council for BREEAM SE. In the autumn of 2022, Pia was appointed a LEED Fellow – a prestigious title which means that you represent the top tier in the design, technology and development of green buildings. She is currently the only representative of LEED Fellow in the Nordics.    Pia is a committed and competent manager who is passionate about sustainability issues. She likes to farm, create habitats for bumblebees and wild bees, and cook and renovate things.   Show Highlights Pia shares how to navigate all the certifications systems available in Sweden (LEED, BREEAM, Miljöbyggnad, etc…)  to each client project.  The challenges with credits and systems like LEED in different  areas and parts of the world to consider. Adapting to the taxonomy, the European Green Deal, and the World Green Building Council when creating and managing projects.  Pia’s shift towards engineering and becoming an environmental engineering specialist and entrepreneur will motivate “who better than you to do it.”  The evolution ALL certification systems need to raise the bar to look at the bigger picture for sustainability and biodiversity. Pia’s company specializes in sustainability and pushes clients towards really wanting to make positive change, not just certify their projects.  She shares how to say "no" when clients  just want to certify on the lowest level. “Sometimes we think solutions are too easy. We think that 'Oh we can do that. We'll just change to this way.' But sustainability isn't that simple. There are so many things you need to think about, like biodiversity. There’s no quick fix.” -Pia Ohrling   Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2022 GBES

    Jim Hambright, is a professional registered architect that has worked in more than 30 states and 16 foreign countries over the past 48 years. He has a Masters in Architecture and is a member of the American Institute of Architects and the Royal Institute of British Architects. He is also a member of the US Green Building Council where he is a LEED Accredited Professional. He was recognized and selected as a LEED Fellow as one of twenty professionals globally for this honor in 2022 by the U.S. Green Building Council and Green Business Certification, Inc. Mr. Hambright was recognized as a Fluor Fellow in 2010 in the field of sustainability and has extensive experience and expertise in site master planning, facility planning, programming, project management, production, design and detailing of projects throughout the world.    He has specific experience in the field of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, electronics, specialized industrial facilities, sports facilities, office and retail facilities, food industries, military, power and chemicals facilities, educational facilities, as well as smaller residential and land planning development work. He has also performed work for governmental agencies and provided expertise and consulting for a variety of specialty, security, and confidential projects.   Underlying efforts in all of Mr. Hambrights' projects has been the fundamental incorporation of elements of sustainability, creativity, innovation, functionality, and appropriateness that fit into the community and environment specific to a given project and location. Mr. Hambright strives to make the best use of resources, innovative design, and time constraints and is constantly seeking optimization on each project.   Specialties: Sustainability, Carbon Neutral and NetZero project aspects, large and small-scale masterplanning, programming, international, national, and regional projects, governmental solutions, electronics facilities, industrial, camps and campuses, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, residential developments, single and multi-housing units, community projects. Also specializing is historic renovations and rehabilitation projects, as well and photography, modeling, and Computer Aided Drafting capabilities.   Show Highlights Jim shares the myriad of disciplines within the Fluor Corporation. The struggles you face when implementing sustainable changes in a very large organization.  Logistics, labs, and data centers are the growing sectors of the movement. How green hydrogen facilities and different gasses can best be produced, stored, and distributed. The strategies and laws for the variety and emerging energy sources.  Manufacturers and producers are getting on board with the science and microbes of how they can get better production, better yield rates and better customer satisfaction. The secret and advice for sustainable entrepreneurship. The balance in finding the right amount of flexibility within an organization to implement your goals and share your expertise. “When we're all out in the midst of the battles, if you will, it's hard to even think about recognition or anything else. You're just trying to get the work done, trying to solve the problems when they come,  and provide options, opportunities, and research to help the clients to do the best thing they can do. Of course there's always a struggle with scheduling, the budget, supply chain, and a lot of other issues that we have to deal with on a daily basis.” -Jim Hambright    Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2022 GBES