[smart_track_player url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/gbespodcast/Green_Home_Design_Thought_Leader_-_Melissa_Rappaport_Schifman.mp3" ] Melissa Rappaport Schifman is an experienced sustainability and finance professional with a demonstrated history of creative problem-solving, thorough analysis, and bottom-line financial results. Skilled in Sustainability Tools and Metrics (including LEED, GRI, and ISSP), Renewable Energy, Strategic Planning, Business Development, Finance, Energy and Environmental Policy, Writing and Editing. Environmental Policy Melissa grew up in Minneapolis and then went to Georgetown University in Washington D.C. where she majored in Government and spent time on Capitol Hill as a legislative assistant, handling energy and environmental issues. Melissa earned her Masters in Public Policy and her MBA from the University of Chicago and spent several years in finance in the airline industry before she pivoted to the world of green building. “I was living in Phoenix, and there were just some really obvious things that were a problem there. First, there was the sun that was just omnipresent, and I couldn’t understand why there wasn’t more solar power. Then, there was a lack of water. You would see people watering their lawns in the middle of the day, and the water was just evaporating. What really hit me, when I lived there, were these air quality alerts that warned you about high air pollution days that it was really unhealthy to go outside. I hike a lot, and that was my form of exercise; so, to not be able to go outside just seemed ridiculous. We as humans were creating that pollution that made it unhealthy. None of that made sense to me; so, those were the seeds that got me thinking that we need to be more sustainable.” – Melissa Rappaport Schifman Shifting from Policy to Green Buildings Melissa shares that shifting from policy to buildings and green buildings was the combination of becoming a mother and wanting to make sure we have a healthier world for our future and her children. She had also left the toxic corporate environment and didn't want to go back to the “corporate ladder”. Additionally in 2006/2007 Melissa and her husband had the opportunity to build a new home, and the LEED for homes rating system had just come out. Melissa wanted to make her home as sustainable as it could be. After she led the LEED certification of her own home, Melissa became a LEED accredited professional and spent the next eight years working as a sustainability consultant, primarily LEED certifying commercial buildings under the LEED EBOM rating system. “I believe the LEED rating system is the most powerful and impactful rating system because it measures ongoing performance. We even used LEED for a basis of one client's Corporate Sustainability Report.” - Melissa Rappaport Schifman Building a Sustainable Home and Melissa’s Book  “I’m most proud of my book: Building a Sustainable Home: Practical Green Design choices for Your Health, Wealth, and Soul” – Mellissa Rappaport Schifman During the process of getting her new home LEED certified, Melissa started a blog and wrote about all the different LEED credits, the associated costs, and her thoughts on whether it was a good credit worth pursuing. She posted one blog a day Monday thru Thursday. This turned out to be the seedlings of her new book. She felt like she needed to write her book because all the other guidebooks and resources she had been exposed to seemed to be missing things.  “I took everything that LEED has to say, and I reorganized it into something that is relatable and comprehensible, and hopefully not overwhelming. I tried to really bottom line it for people.” – Melissa Rappaport Schifman Influences The biggest influence early in Melissa’s career was reading Paul Hawkin’s book the Ecology of Commerce. He really took all the issues that that were being created in terms of pollution and waste and showed how businesses are contributing to it. She loved Paul Hawkin’s positive attitude about how businesses can be an agent of change and that businesses can get on board to become more sustainable. Book Recommendations     by Melissa Rappaport Schifman by Paul Hawken by Paul Hawken By Les Fehmi and Jim Robbins Tune into this podcast to listen to the rest of Melissa Rappaport Schifman’s amazing journey in this podcast hosted by Charlie. Connect with Melissa Rappaport Schifman: Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES: Announcement:  Starting on January 1, 2019, GBMS will begin rolling out it’s new membership community.  Members will be given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions to, 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. 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 © 2019 GBES

Steve Guttmann is a Principal and the Director of Quality Assurance at Guttmann & Blaevoet (G&B). With more than two decades of leadership in integrated building design, energy conservation, and sustainable and healthy building design, he has been a Principal since 1991. G&B is a mid-sized consulting engineering firm in California that has received national and regional ASHRAE awards for innovation in sustainable design. The firm’s Sacramento office was named Sacramento Sustainable Business of the Year in 2007, and again in 2012. Engineer and Environmental Studies Steve is a native San Franciscan.  He is a 1983 graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a B.S. with Honors in Mechanical Engineering; and a B.A. with Honors in Environmental Studies.  As a 4th generation engineer, Steve didn’t start done this avenue in college but discovered it was in his blood and after 6 years embarked on this journey with the family business. “I graduated with a double engineering and environmental studies and had an idea that I wanted to combine the 2 but wasn’t sure how to do that.  I decided I didn’t want to go to work for my dad right out of college so I figured I better find out what I could do and what I could offer this industry.” - Steve Guttmann Areas of Expertise Steve has extensive experience in the energy analysis, design and construction of complex projects, including higher education facilities, libraries, hospitals and medical centers, laboratories, museums and aquariums, and performing arts/media facilities. Steve serves on national committees that developed guidelines and best practices for sustainability in our nation’s healthcare facilities. “I quickly realized when I joined my dad that the old style engineering was dying and we need to rethink how we approached delivering our products and services.” - Steve Guttmann Mentors Some of Steve’s contemporaries who he met early on and he is still close with were his inspiration.  Amory Lovins was a large presence in his mind. David Brauer was a big influence that challenged how engineers did things.  These people really pushed market transformation and gave Steve a headstart to be an early adopter of LEED. “Most of my mentors were outside of the engineering field.” - Steve Guttmann Book Recommendations Eight Years My President Tune into this podcast to listen to the rest of Steve Guttmann’s amazing journey in this podcast hosted by Charlie. Connect with Steve Guttmann: Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES: Announcement:  Starting on January 1, 2019, GBMS will begin rolling out it’s new membership community.  Members will be given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions to, 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. 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 © 2019 GBES

Tim Trefzer is a Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at the Georgia World Congress Center. With his team, he creates and establishes the CSR strategy not only for the GWCC but also for, the Centennial Olympic Park, Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center. "Green building has definitely leveraged sustainability. It has affected all aspects of organizations aside from the building environment." - Tim Trefzer   Green Super Bowl This podcast is featuring a new format at GBMS Headquarters in Atlanta, GA.  Today is a Town Hall and Tim is going to take us through how the Super Bowl is going to be a very sustainable event even though we can’t see that while watching on television.  The Mercedes-Benz Stadium is the first platinum LEED professional sports stadiums in North America. It is one of the greenest sports facilities in the world. Being green brings business to Atlanta and provides more efficient events. “I like to think that we are one of the greenest places in the world for events, conventions, and sports.  It’s definitely a complex campus with a lot of LEED event space.” - Tim Trefzer   Waste Waste helps get LEED points and Atlanta is growing in this area.  Convention Industry standpoint they are one of the leaders. They compost their food waste which is a big part of their waste stream and they donate food and materials when they can and have great relationships with the non-profits.   “We have a lot of construction demolition type material so we work closely with our contractors to separate that material to make sure it is recycled.” - Tim Trefzer   Construction Projects Renovation of Centennial Olympic Park and have a giant sculpture of the Olympic rings-a new selfie spot has just been finished.  An underground cistern has been added to help with water and the water features recycling. In addition, it has been made more pedestrian friendly.  A new hotel, 1,000 rooms, will begin construction in Q4 and will be a LEED Gold facility. Q & A Tune into this podcast in it’s new Town Hall format to listen to the Q & A session hosted by Charlie and Tim.   Connect with Tim Trefzer:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   Announcement:  Starting on January 1, 2019, GBMS will begin rolling out it’s new membership community.  Members will be given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions to, 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. 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 © 2019 GBES

Announcement Starting on January 1, 2019, GBMS will begin rolling out it’s new membership community.  Members will be given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions to, 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. John Harrison is the store development services manager for the innovation & sustainability support group at Starbucks Coffee Company. He is a licensed architect and LEED Fellow with over 25 years of diverse experience in private practice, and as an owner/owner's representative. As a part of the company's high performance building team, he co-authored the Starbucks LEED for Retail Volume Build Program and leads the execution team responsible for sustainable strategies and LEED certifications. To date, the program has certified 1,615 CI and NC projects in 20 countries/US territories across the globe including stores in Europe, the UK, North America, South America and Asia. In addition to leading the programs global development, he has worked with directly with teams in China, the U.S., Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Korea, Singapore and Thailand to certify Starbucks stores. Before joining Starbucks, John spent 13 years at Mithun, Inc. in Seattle working with a variety of retail, commercial and institutional clients including: REI, Seattle Coffee Company, Precor, Mirival and the IslandWood Environmental Learning Center. John Harrison- Love for Drawing Led to Architecture John grew up in a small town in southeast Idaho in a farming community.  John was the first person in his family to graduate from a university. Finding that he loved to draw, he went to the University of Idaho to become an architect.  John moved to Seattle in the spring of 1990 and has been there ever since. He has been with Starbucks for the past 11 years. “I looked at my dad’s hands when I was about 10 or 11 years old and decided that I would be going to college.” - John Harrison Sustainability Minded John’s sustainability mindedness began in Environmental Control System and Design classes in school.  His professor, Bruce Haglund, an offspring of a movement in the late 70’s early 80’s where it was about integrating both active and passive systems to heat, cool, provide daylight.  This was not a time when sustainability was a keyword in architecture. “So it’s something that has been implanted in my since I was 19-20 years old so ever since then it has been about integrating architecture and engineering systems to some degree.” - John Harrison Mentors Burt Gregory, CEO at one time of Mithun and is still there as a partner.  John first worked with him on the REI flagship store in Seattle which was a groundbreaking project in sustainability.  Burt also taught John how to get projects done and that the architect doesn’t have to be passive but an active member of projects.  Rob Deering, another mentor was a huge influence by being a hard worker with high expectations for quality. At Starbucks, Tony Gail is the mentor who pulled him into the current sustainability. “When I came here to Starbucks, Tony Gail who was the corporate architect became another mentor was the one who pulled me into the program we built at Starbucks, the sustainability program.” - John Harrison Achievements John is a LEED Fellow which is a culminates years of work and he highly recommends that you take advantage of this.  REI built a flagship just outside of central Tokyo, Japan. While it wasn’t that successful financially for the company, the building itself was. One of the best integrated both active and passive sustainable projects that John has ever done.  At the same time he was working on a project on island with the Environmental Learning Center on Brambridge Island and it ended up being on of the first 5 LEED Gold projects in the world. Listen to the podcast to hear more achievements. "At the time we really didn’t know what LEED was about it was just one of these things emerging and it was on the cutting edge but we decided to try it and it ended up being a groundbreaking experience for us." – John Harrison Pro-Tips/Routines/Rituals John is really relationship driven and gets a lot out of peer connection.  He loves doing presentations, podcasts to share and to learn from others. John also believes that everyday that you need to try and learn something.   “A job is a job, but a career is a highly orchestrated and random things at the same time where you need to take in information; it may not mean anything for 6 months or 6 years but it eventually turns into something that you can utilize to make progress. ” - John Harrison To hear more about John’s journey with sustainability, download and listen to the episode! Book Suggestions: by Mark Haddon by David M. Masumoto Learn more about John Harrison: Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES: Announcement:  Starting on January 1, 2019, GBMS will begin rolling out it’s new membership community.  Members will be given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions to, 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. 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 © 2019 GBES

Announcement Starting on January 1, 2019, GBMS will begin rolling out it’s new membership community.  Members will be given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions to, 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.   Dan Carney & Brett Taysom, both of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta join Charlie Cichetti live at the Fed.  Dan Carney grew up outside Boston and moved around quite a bit as a child.  Dan went to the Ohio State University and earned a Master's of Architecture.  He joined the Fed after the big recession and for the last 9 years has worked on sustainability for the bank.  Brett Taysom is from Roswell, GA but went to school in the Carolinas. His undergraduate studies were at Furman University where he started to get into the sustainability arena.  Brett then went to school in Charleston in an environmental studies and started focusing on sustainability.   Dan & Brett- Introduction to Sustainability Brett grew up loving science and enjoyed the environment and became more focused on sustainability in grad school.  Dan heard about the term LEED for the first time during grad school in his second year during a Mechanical Systems class.  This peaked Dan’s interest but wasn’t a strong connection at that time with architecture. When he started working, the buildings included sustainability and he took his first LEED exam.   Mentors Brett recognizes his professors at Furman University as the ones who got him started. They encouraged him to go to grad school.  He also credits his father who was in the real estate industry who recognized changing trends and shared those with Brett. “If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t have gone to grad school and found sustainability and wouldn’t have found this path.” - Brett Taysom Dan credits his parents as a big influence.  A big part of his childhood upbringing included not being wasteful, conserving energy, and not wasting water. “I think about those aspects of my childhood and I think that planted some seeds that later on shaped who I was; a sustainability professional.” - Dan Carney   Real Estate and LEED Dan and his team developed a sustainability plan and strategy when he first joined the FED.  That was 10 years ago, but was the first time that they had developed a strategy and thought about all the environmental impacts.  Planning their strategy and setting goals was something they pursued vigorously for the next 5-6 years. "Brett came on board and was really able to apply a lot more attention to our sustainability program, work with the green team and really refine and enhance our communication with bank employees and how we engage with bank employees so we were able to take our reporting and data to the next level." – Dan Carney   Pro-Tips/Routines/Rituals “Have coffee every morning.” - Brett Taysom “Exercise daily, stay up to date in the sustainability world.” - Dan Carney   To hear more about Dan and Brett’s journey and their thoughts on Sustainability download and listen to the episode!   Book Suggestions: Brett Taysom’s Suggestion: by  T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell II   Dan Carney’s Suggestion: by Michael Scott Moore   Learn more about Dan and Brett:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   Announcement:  Starting on January 1, 2019, GBMS will begin rolling out it’s new membership community.  Members will be given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions to, 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. 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 © 2018 GBES

GBES helps you pass any LEED or WELL exam and then keep up your continuing education. We've done that for a long time (over 10 years). We've built on that experience. Now, within our community, you can get your LEED project questions answered, grow your network, get additional coaching, and so much more! It's time for you to be a part of our community. Learn about the different levels at   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   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 © 2019 GBES

John Zinner, LEED Fellow, is Principal of Zinner Consultants,having founded the firm in 1990. He brings clients a broad sustainability and environmental perspective as well as experience in policy development, project and program planning, and project management. John has developed and managed groundbreaking sustainable development and environmental mitigation programs for, among others, Playa Vista, Whole Foods, Boeing Corporation and the City of Rancho Cucamonga. His leadership has been recognized through numerous awards, he has lectured nationwide before professional, university and public audiences, and he has been interviewed on Good Morning America. In acknowledgment of John’s contributions to the field of green building and sustainability, he was recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council as a Fellow in 2012.   John Zinner - Sustainability Opportunities John was born and raised in Los Angeles, California.  He started his career in policy and program side.  John was involved in solar energy in grad school and has leveraged his experiences to future jobs.  1978 was John’s first sustainability project. Prior to founding ZC, John founded and managed the Los Angeles office of an environmental consulting firm, and served as both Energy Coordinator and Planning Advisor for the City of Los Angeles Office of the Mayor. He holds an MA in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Southern California, and a BA in Political Science from The Colorado College. "I was asked to lead a charge to write a residential sustainability guideline for over 5,000 residential units in 1978 and LEED was in pilot." – John Zinner   1970 Challenges Early challenges in the 1970’s centered around education.  On the Playa Vista project, workshops were held but everyone wanted to know what they really had to do and that is how guidelines were developed. "Playa Vista is a project that I am still involved in and have a lot of support." – John Zinner   Mentors John recognizes Dave Peterson a grad school professor was a mentor that stood out.  He was involved in the solar energy lab and was the one who got it started. We were all excited about getting involved at the ground floor as something new.   LEED Movement One of the first LEED projects for John was the first Platinum Museum.  There were a enough developers doing LEED core and shell that it spiked the interest for others to join in for market purposes. "It was an interesting voyage.  Some developers were eyeing it, not quite sure what to do with it.  A lot of the early push came out of the local government." – John Zinner   Pro-Tips/Routines/Rituals "Having a good staff, focusing on where my skills are best and letting my staff do the technical side of LEED including documentation and I am more focused on client relations and strategic opportunities.  I think knowing who you are, knowing what you are good at and knowing what you’re not good at and surrounding yourself with or joining a team with the skills to fill the holes." – John Zinner To hear more about John’s journey and his thoughts on LEED, Solar Energy, Sustainability and Carbon download and listen to the episode!   Book Suggestions: by Charles C. Mann   Learn more about John Zinner:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   Announcement:  Starting on January 1, 2019, GBMS will begin rolling out it’s new membership community.  Members will be given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions to, 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. 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 © 2018 GBES

Brendan Owen oversees technical development and integration of rating systems at USGBC. In this role Brendan collaborates with teams developing LEED, PEER and other rating systems and led the team that established the overarching system goals for LEED v4. He is currently working to integrate this thinking into the other programs USGBC collaborates with.  Brendan is a member of the integration committee working to align Standard 189.1, the IgCC and LEED. He is a board member of the New Buildings Institute and is deputy director of the center for cycling technology at USGBC. Additionally, Brendan is a board member of the foundation USGBC that is partnering to build the William Jefferson Clinton Children’s Center in Port au Prince, Haiti. Brendan is a proud Boilermaker, a licensed Professional Engineer and was honored as a LEED Fellow in 2012.   Brendan Owen - Spark of Interest Brendan was born in Alabama and his father was in the Coast Guard.  He bounced around from mostly Great Lakes and Gulf Coast states throughout his childhood. Brendan ended up at Purdue University largely because of the strength of the engineering program. He had little affiliation to the Purdue prior to ending up there. Brendan never considered sustainability a conscious choice, but part of his dad’s job in the coast guard was environmental protection under sort of a marine safety heading and a lot of times his dad would end up doing response activities to oil spills or any other type of a disaster at sea.  It was easy for Brendan to sort of understand the environmental ramifications of that type of activity and the responses that were necessary. "I think if there's one, there's one moment Exxon Valdez was the thing that sparked my interest in the idea of being a part of the solutions that could be created from an environmental perspective.  I just wanted to engage in a problem solving way." – Brendan Owen   Mentors The person who had the most profound effect on the trajectory of Brendan’s career at USGBC is Malcolm Lewis. Malcolm was the chair of the technical and scientific committee. When Brendan started at USGBC this was the place that they stuck all of the issues that were too hard to deal with.  There was a group of brilliant people that would get together and bang around on the pieces of the technical aspects of the rating system development or generally USGBC policy that were impossible to solve. Malcolm is the right person to lead that group. "Malcolm also work with the steering steering committee and just was a brilliant thinker; sort of introduced the idea of a pragmatic approach to systems engineering that  I think has been something that I've tried to carry throughout the time that I've been involved in the technical development of any other rating systems that USGBC and GBCI are working on." – Brendan Owen   Current Projects Brendan has been spending a lot of time on carbon in all of its forms. They are looking at the embodied carbon of materials and looking at the embodied carbon and water. In addition, they are looking at the embodied carbon of energy and transportation.  They are trying to make sure that they are positioning the rating system to provide incentive for and reward project teams that are taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint of the projects that are being rated. "I'm understanding that the metrics that we care about is something that is so cross cutting and ubiquitous in terms of how you look at issues in terms of building sighting and what you're going to make the building out of in terms of how the building's gonna be oriented on the site as it affects the energy use of the building." – Brendan Owen   Advice "Tell all of us people who have been doing it for the last 15 years to get out of the way." – Brendan Owen To hear more about Brendan’s journey, download and listen to the episode!   Book Suggestions: by Charles C. Mann   Learn more about Brendan Owen:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   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 © 2018 GBES

Maria Perez is a Senior Associate and Director of Sustainable Design for Gensler, an integrated architecture, design, planning and consulting firm of 5,000+ professionals networked across 46 global offices. In this role, she serves as one of the firm’s leading sustainability ambassadors and promoters, engaging staff, clients, and the public on innovative and sustainable design, construction, and operational thinking. A recognized expert in LEED standards and sustainability rating systems, Maria is a leading advocate for performance-based design. Maria is a licensed architect in Texas. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from ITESM, Monterrey, Mexico and a Master of Science in Architecture from the University of Houston. In 2015, she was named a LEED Fellow for her exemplary leadership, impactful commitment, service, and advocacy in green building and sustainability. She is an Accredited Professional in multiple credentials including Building Design(BD+C), Interior Design(ID+C), Operations and Maintenance(O&M), Neighborhood Development(ND) and WELL. Maria is currently serving in the GBCI Credentialing Steering Committee and USGBC Texas Chapter Board of Directors. Maria Perez - Cultural Impact on Future Maria was born in Mexico City and grew up in Chihuahua, Mexico.  She was influenced at a young age by the three, distinct people groups within her hometown -  the Tarahumara Indians, the Mennonites and the Mexicans.  Each different in their own culture and lifestyle, the Indians lived without electricity in their homes made of stone or adobe, the Mennonites produced their own energy, made their own clothes, and did not use anything civilized and lastly, the Mexican culture seemed more wasteful, taking many of their natural resources for granted. As a child, Maria began questioning these varying lifestyles and knew she wanted to help find a balance. “I decided in high school I wanted to be an architect to design buildings that reduce environmental impact.” – Maria Perez Influenced in Sustainability   A few years into her career in Monterrey, Mexico, Maria and her husband applied to several Masters programs across the United States. Upon both her and her husband’s acceptance to the University of Houston, they relocated their family and she began her Masters of Architecture with a focus on historic buildings and adaptive reuse. Following graduation, Maria accepted a job in Gensler’s Houston office, where has worked on everything related to sustainable design for the last 18 years.   “We need buildings that do more and use less” – Maria Perez The 3 B’s Maria strongly believes that three design principals could help solve our biggest challenges related to sustainability and climate change: 1) Biomimicry, which deals with nature. 2) Biophilia, human connection with nature and 3) Bioclimatic Design, where all buildings in their local environment look the same.  Focusing on these three B’s could satisfy the pressing need for resilient communities and to build them with limited resources in the face of shrinking materials, energy and water supplies. “If I ever write a book, I will write about the 3 principles of  sustainable design 'biomimicry, biophilia and bioclimatic design'”– Maria Perez Greatest Skill Maria embraces change and would argue it is one of her greatest skills.  Once she is comfortable with a certain task, she tends to find another to learn. Being passionate about learning and exploring change allows her to pursue just about anything in her professional and personal life. “Change always brings new opportunities.” – Maria Perez Book Suggestions: by Paul Hawken Advice Maria’s favorite quote is “Everything we imagine is real.”  Pabla Picasso Never say no, keep pushing if you think it is for the greater good. Learn more about Maria Perez: Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES: Announcement:  Starting on January 1, 2019, GBMS will be rolling out it’s new membership community.  Members will be given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions to, 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. 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 © 2018 GBES

Scott Bowman is passionate about high performance buildings and helping design teams succeed. Recently, Scott retired as Principal and Corporate Sustainability Leader with KJWW after 25 years with the firm to develop a consultancy related to early project development, sustainability, high performance, and to help the practice of integrated design to become the norm for the built environment. He represents over 30 years of extensive experience in mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering design and overall project management. His specialties include direct digital controls, energy efficiency, sustainable design, LEED, and systems commissioning, but he has also developed significant skills in engaging and leading teams…helping them reach higher performance within constraints of time, site and budget. He is a licensed Professional Engineer and LEED Accredited Professional. Scott has worked extensively with alternate delivery methods such as integrated, design/build, collaborative, negotiated, and fast-track. Scott Bowman - Exposed to Sustainability Scott grew up in Mason City, Iowa and graduated from a community college there in Pre-engineering, went to Iowa State University and earned a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering.  Started with a firm in Des Moines and spent rest of his career in Iowa.  That first job was with a smaller foundational firm. Scott retired from KJWW; was their first branch office and he started to  expand that organization with approximately 550 engineers and an extensive sustainability portfolio. Aha Moment Scott was fascinated by passive solar and read the book Passive House which really sparked his interest.  His aha moment came in high school in drafting class where they were designing a solar home using passive and active solar.  The 70’s was the first energy crisis he went through and he eventually started designing energy efficient buildings. "I learned a lot from the idea of how can we use the environment, how can we use our buildings to power themselves, their own conditioning." – Scott Bowman Mentors Scott mentions Frank Pulley as his first mentor.  Frank taught Scott that everything had to have a basis and make sense technically.  Scott had an internal drive for efficiency and reducing the impact on the environment. "I had some good professors that showed me the holistic view of energy in buildings and looking at the bigger picture instead of what we are contracted for and just what we are suppose to design to." – Scott Bowman Proudest Achievements Being part of growing a firm is one of Scott’s proudest achievements. The number of engineers he was able to mentor in those years and working with many quality engineers are included in his career achievements. The Iowa Utility Board Office of Consumer Advocate building in Des Moines. It is still the most efficient building in Iowa. “That whole process is what really got me into integrated design and why I think it is such an important part of sustainability and green buildings .” – Scott Bowman Book Suggestions: To hear more about Scott’s journey, download and listen to the episode! Learn more about Scott Bowman: Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES: 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 © 2018 GBES

Tommy Linstroth is the founder and CEO of Green Badger, a cutting edge greentech software solutions company, and Principal of Trident Sustainability Group – a triple bottom line consultancy firm. To date, Tommy has been involved with over 70 LEED certified projects nationwide. He has leveraged a decade of industry knowledge to launch the Green Badger LEED Documentation software - the world's first truly mobile LEED Construction Documentation software. Green Badger manages all aspects of LEED Construction documentation, including construction waste, sustainable materials, erosion control and indoor air quality reporting, and VOC management and tracking.   Tommy Linstroth - Pioneer of Sustainability Tommy grew up in Wisconsin where he went to high school and college.  He earned his Masters of Science, Environmental Studies from the College of Charleston.  Tommy’s junior year he knew he had to focus on sustainability. He made his home in Savannah, Georgia and began to figure out how to apply it.  Tommy then became the Director of Sustainability at Melaver, Inc. who believed in sustainability to the level of everything they do needed to be green.  They were truly a pioneer of sustainability. "It was a great opportunity that I find myself fortunate to be in and it really diverted me out of that public policy side into the actual development side." – Tommy Linstroth   Mentors Martin Melaver, CEO of Melaver, Inc. was Tommy’s mentor when he first started.  They still collaborate occasionally, but Martin is a leader who focuses morally, ethically and is a visionary.  He helped Tommy early in his career and they still communicate 14 years later. "There are a lot of people who can do great things but it is really empowering to work with someone who has the type of vision of what we need to be doing and how we need to be doing it. " – Tommy Linstroth   Highlights of LEED Tommy started with Melaver on new construction where everything would be green.  He was working on the first LEED Cornshell Shopping Center and as part of that they did LEED McDonald’s and then they moved into affordable housing. Tommy started TriDents and consulted up and down the coast which led him to Green Badger due to the administrative hassle to try and eliminate the headache and barrier of further adoption of green adoption. "Before the wave of LEED affordable housing came out and it really redefined how they recognize green affordable housing in the state of Georgia which was great because we were the first ones to get certified in the state ." – Tommy Linstroth   A Few Current Projects Tommy is currently working with 8 of the top 10 green contractors using Green Badger on projects.  He is focusing on how they can continue to improve the functionality. Tommy is also looking at other ways they can address some of the other rating systems. "The impact that we have and the feedback we are getting from our customers-is how great this is and easy this is making it for them is what keeps us going everyday." – Tommy Linstroth   Pro Tips Tommy works out 4-5 days weekly to re-focuses himself because he is wearing about 20 different hats with his start up company as each day is hectic.     “If I can find the time to get a good workout in it helps rejuvenate me and keep me on task.”– Tommy Linstroth   Book Suggestions: by Martin Melaver by James Clavell by Thich Nhat Hanh   To hear more about Tommy’s journey, download and listen to the episode!   Learn more about Tommy Linstroth:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   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 © 2018 GBES

Kimberly Pexton is an innovative executive level leader that possesses the business skills needed to inform the development of operational programs that yield high performance results. Kimberly is a LEED Fellow and the Director of Paladino and Company.  She leverages her experience in developing solutions that meet the challenges of corporate sustainability and social responsibility, environmental management programs, and supply chain transparency.   Kimberly Pexton - Exposed to Sustainability Kimberly grew up in Willoughby, Ohio close to Cleveland.  Kimberly went to Ohio State University and earned a degree in Journalism. Additionally, Kimberly pursued a graduate degree in Architecture. During her coursework she was exposed to structural engineering and structural design. This sparked her early interest in sustainability.   Mentors Kimberly recognizes Sandy Mendler was the head of the sustainability practice at HOK in Washington, D.C. and ended up being one of Kimberly’s critics and an influential mentor. Sandy provided support and encouragement to incorporate sustainable design in every project.   "[Sandy was] definitely one of those people I looked up to." – Kimberly Pexton   Developing Green Programs Kimberly was managing construction projects and presented a business plan on sustainability and was hired into a new position on that focus. Kim grew the company’s number of successful LEED projects and eventually moved to another company as a GC to do the same. She built their book of business and got into integrating environmental compliance in the safety department. "I have enough self-motivation to be able to develop programs that address green building needs, specifically on the construction side and be to implement them in a way that was integrated into the process and not bandaid it in." – Kimberly Pexton   A Few Current Projects Kimberly is currently running the practice for Paladino practice in Washington, D.C. Her role is to make sure that Paladino is making good on their promise of creating value through a sustainability lens. Kim is currently working on a Hotel and Convention Center in Columbia, South America, with LEED aspirations for Platinum. She is also working on reimagining a fortune brand in NYC and collecting sonar data in various places across the world for the department of state to dictate where they are installing wind turbines. "I think what kind of gets me on a day-to-day basis, especially clients who develop and hold property, it’s great to take the sustainability aspect past what they are doing in the real estate space and actually link it to stakeholders." – Kimberly Pexton   Pro Tips Kimberly discovered yoga years ago and cannot live a day without it. It helps her re-center.  She reads like crazy and encourages everyone to do the same. “I think it is a routine of curiousness and helps you to continue to be creative.”– Kimberly Pexton Book Suggestions: by James Ridgeway by James Redfield   Advice Have self-awareness.  Self-awareness is the key to growth.  Continue to be curious and learn your craft. To hear more about Kimberly’s journey, download and listen to the episode!   Learn more about Kimberly Pexton:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   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 © 2018 GBES

Nathan Gauthier is a sustainable real estate professional with global experience in program management and facility design, construction and operations. As Director of FM Integration and Sustainability with Shawmut Design and Construction in Boston.  Nathan works to improve the transition of construction projects into the facilities management infrastructure and support efficient and sustainable building operations.   Nathan Gauthier - Marine Biology to Sustainability Nathan grew up in very rural Michigan and went Texas A&M at Galveston- Maritime Academy and studied Marine Biology.  Going from a midwestern town to Texas was quite a change for Nathan. He was loved the water but became interested in sustainability at a younger age by hiking and the outdoors. “I just really like being outside and have continued throughout whatever I’ve done; I really wanted to spend time outside whether near the water our mountains.”– Nathan Gauthier   Mentors Nathan was in South Carolina in grad school and recognizes Trish German as an influential mentor.  Trish ran the sustainability university initiative and was the first sustainability professional Nathan had met.   Nathan interned there and Trish had him working on influential projects and motivated him to finish his thesis. Dr. Phil Barnes, a professor who managed the Environmental Management Systems Program.  Nathan became an auditor with him. "I really liked the explorating nature and problem solving just going into a facility and pulling people aside and asking what their environmental policy was and seeing if they were walking the walk ." – Nathan Gauthier   Teaching and Consulting Nathan teaches graduate courses on green building at the Harvard Extension School and MMA. He has consulted on real estate projects across 5 continents, more than 100 of which have become LEED certified (14 Platinum). Nathan has chaired the USGBC Energy and Atmosphere Technical Advisory Group and been a member of their board of directors at the state (MA) and national level. Nathan is a Licensed Residential Builder (MI), Certified Energy Manager, Facilities Manager, Energy Auditor, Construction Document Technologist, Ground Source Heat Pump Installer, Cx Process Provider, Existing Building Cx Professional, LEED AP, Fitwel Ambassador, NCI Charrette System accredited, and more. Nathan was selected as a 2014 LEED Fellow.   A Few Current Projects Nathan is currently working on a solar installation as an owner’s rep.  He is learning a lot through this project. Nathan has done a lot of projects on the roof but this is his first parking lot.  They have also been dealing with a lot of net zero energy proposals lately and is excited about seeing this in an RFP. Our group does a lot of integrated product delivery and are co-located once a week for one of their projects. "Construction hasn’t gotten more efficient over the years, it is kind of lacking behind the industry, hopefully IPD will address that." – Nathan Gauthier   Best Practices Nathan is committed to professional development.  He splits his time between technical and managerial to learn and apply more.  Nathan also pushes himself to talk at conferences and write case studies. “I like telling my story on my projects-successful and unsuccessful attempts.”– Nathan Gauthier   Podcast Suggestions:   To hear more about Nathan’s journey, download and listen to the episode!   Learn more about Nathan Gauthier:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   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 © 2018 GBES

Michaella Wittmann is the Director of Sustainability for HDR and leads the Office of Sustainability, which oversees the integration of sustainability into HDR’s projects, as well as our own day-to-day business practices. She is A LEED Fellow and Envision Sustainability Professional.   Michaella Wittmann - Commitment & Contributions Michaella grew up in Omaha and had a passion for the environment and specifically the ocean very early.  She was encouraged by her dad to pursue engineering and marine science did so at the University of San Diego.  After college Michaella did some informational interviews, one with HDR where she is today.   Influential Mentors Michaella has had many mentors, one that stood out is Ray Anderson, the founder of Interface Carpet.  He changed his whole company and set aggressive sustainability goals. He would give career and career advancement advice.  Michaella took to heart a lot of the things he did and said. "I have many mentors as you might imagine, some of them were well known." – Michaella Wittmann   Proudest Achievements Michaella is has fond memories of and is very proud of the Pentagon project.  HDR was responsible for the underground extension to the Pentagon that was the remote delivery facility. It was a LEED pilot project.  There was a second project on the Metro Entrance Facility that Michaella has personal memories from 9/11 and had the honor of being part of the team that rebuilt that ledge in a years time.   "I was humbled and honored to be a part of that institution and sustainability very early on.." – Michaella Wittmann   Inspiration and What’s Next? HDR has an annual sustainability summit and they invite outside speaker in and they had a local coffee roaster who is setting some aggressive zero waste goals among other inspiring points.  Michaella also pointed to other games created by staff helped jazz up the employees of HDR to think outside the box. "Absolutely looking outside the architecture engineer community often brings ideas we wouldn’t have thought of." – Michaella Wittmann   Advice Think outside the box, read opinions other than your own, go to conferences and ask people that are doing things in the industry that are really cool.  Connect with people and look for opportunities.   “Don’t be afraid to ask questions and challenge things you are told and challenge yourself.”-Michaella Wittmann   Michaella suggests the following books: by Linda Akeson McGurk To hear more about Michaella’s journey, download and listen to the episode!   Learn more about Michaella Wittmann:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   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 © 2018 GBES

Jason Kliwinski is a Certified Sustainable Building Advisor (CSBA) 2014, LEED Fellow, Licensed Architect, NJ, NY, PA, LEED AP BD+C, LEED AP O+M, and LEED Faculty.  Additionally, Jason is the Co-Founder of USGBC-NJ Chapter founded in 2002.   Jason Kliwinski - Commitment & Contributions Jason grew up in Jersey and knew he wanted to be an architect in high school. His high school had an architecture program and his senior year he earned college credit. Jason currently specializes in Sustainable Design, LEED, State and Federal Energy incentives and Grants, Carbon Neutrality planning & design, Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy systems design, and implementation.     Aha Moment and Mentors In Jason’s second year of college, he took the only class offered on sustainability.  The class focused on passive energy and this peaked his interest. Jason’s high school architecture teacher Mr. Clayton was his first major influencer.  During his first real job, David Gibson gave him a platform and some significant projects to explore sustainability in high performance design. "When LEED came out, I saw it as a way to be a real good organization structure to talk to people about green buildings." – Jason Kliwinski   Advice and Words of Encouragement Jason wishes there would have been more green building education in his college years and early in his career.  He highly suggests that anyone in the field get as much hands-on experience as they can. He encourages everyone to always look out for the next wave in green buildings. "The way you really learn this stuff is by doing it." – Jason Kliwinski   Proudest Achievements & Favorite Books Jason Kliwinski was the first in his family to go to college and pay for it all. He is also proud of getting his architect license, being an early LEED adopter, and a LEED fellow. Another proud achievement is the creation of the Green Building Center. "If you haven’t read these 5 books you don’t really know the sustainability movement." – Jason Kliwinski   Jason suggests the following books: by Bill McDonough and Michael Braungart by Paul Hawken by Daniel C. Esty and P.J. Simmons by Michael Pawlyn by Al Gore To hear more about Jason’s journey, download and listen to the episode!   Learn more about Jason Kliwinski:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   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 © 2018 GBES

Marc Mondor has been a licensed architect for over a decade and has been an influential voice in sustainability since the early 1990’s. As Managing Principal and Cofounder of evolveEA, Marc works with greening design and construction projects in order to leverage organizational and operational sustainability.  His consulting work has led to many notable and innovative firsts, including the first LEED certified project in Africa, the oldest LEED EB certified project (1869) and the first LEED certified supermarket.   Marc Mondor - Commitment & Contributions In 2015, Marc was selected as a for his service, commitment and contributions to the green building and sustainability field. Marc has lectured nationally, is one of several dozen international professionals to be named US Green Building Council LEED Faculty and is a trained facilitator. Prior to co-founding evolveEA, Marc was Project Manager for the Pittsburgh Green Building Alliance, where he consulted for organizations, managed the Green Building Fund and helped chair the USGBC Greenbuild Conference.  Marc received his Bachelor’s of Architecture from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo and studied sustainable design in Scandinavia and Denmark and this is what kindled his interest. He is a Registered Architect and a LEED O+M BD+C and ID+C Accredited Professional.   "There was really no name for the type of work that we wanted to do back then." – Marc Mondor   Studying Abroad and Mentors Marc studied in France, Scandinavia and Denmark.  This opportunity did spark his interest in sustainable design.  Marc had several mentors along his journey. Bill Browning was one of the mentors later in his studies that provided much needed validation to ensure this was the career for him. “You look far beyond the components of the building, you are looking at all the systems that impact the building.” – Marc Mondor   Projects with Impact Marc notes that the work done on supermarkets is one of the projects he feels is making an impact still today.  Additionally, they did a project in Egypt for HSBC which was a global concern and they were mandated to do a LEED project without being fully aware of what it was.  Ended up with the Regional Headquarters and was the first LEED project in Africa. “We had to create a lot of communications graphics for them in regards to what LEED is and why should they care about this rating system that is from the United States.” – Marc Mondor   Around the Corner, Routines & Favorite Books Marc believes technology is going to cause massive efficiency at all levels in the future.  This will allow people to be engaged and contribute in a way they haven’t been able to before with sustainability.  Marc and his partner try to empower their employees and personally works out to keep a balance. He would like to begin writing books in the next decade.   “90% of being successful is showing up.” – Marc Mondor   Marc suggests the following books: by Jeffrey D. Sachs by Dr. Dan Ariely Biographies:   and by Walter Isaacson by Irving Stone   To hear more about Marc’s journey, download and listen to the episode!   Learn more about Marc Mondor:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   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 © 2018 GBES

Rick Carter is a Senior Vice President in LHB’s Minneapolis office where he utilizes his 30 years of experience to lead the firm’s Integrative Design Team, a group of 100 architects, mechanical and electrical engineers, landscape architects, planners and interior designers serving five market sectors. An early adopter of healthy building principles, Rick has led LHB’s focus on high-performance design since the early 1990s. He is recognized as an expert in sustainable design and speaks regularly at regional and national conferences on this topic. Rick Carter-Sustainability Minded During Career When Rick was younger he was fascinated by the underground space center.  That center has evolved to the Center for Sustainable Building Research. Sustainability has always been in the forefront of his mind but didn’t really come to fruition until he started working.  Rick works extensively on design for efficient resource use and occupant well-being, leading efforts for LHB to be visible experts in regenerative design and research. His projects range from the building to regional scales with the goal of contributing to achieving Minnesota’s greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. Rick helped develop the Hennepin County/Minnesota Sustainable Design Guidelines and currently co-manages the Buildings, Benchmarks and Beyond (B3) Project including execution of sustainable guidelines for the State of Minnesota. "We know it’s something that we don’t know enough about, so we are going to try and learn about it.  We also know that it’s okay to go out and tell people we are good at it." – Rick Carter   Proudest Achievements Rick’s proudest achievements include his family and two children. Professionally he helps lead a diverse 90 person team; Integrated Design Team. His current projects include the ongoing development of the Regional Indicators Initiative and Local Government Project of Energy Planning (LoGoPEP), large scale efforts created by LHB to provide data and tools for Minnesota local government energy and climate action. “We do amazingly cool projects.” – Rick Carter   Routines and Suggested Books Rick is a list maker and follows through quickly in order to prepare for the next step.  He likes to “clear the stacks” and works hard so he can play hard. Rick enjoys books about the outdoors and climbing. He suggests the following books: by Lonnie Dupre by Gabriel Weinberg (Author, Narrator) Justin Mares (Author) LLC Gildan Media (Publisher by Daniel James Brown   “The key to reading books is when you finish one book you immediately pick up he next book and start reading.” – Rick Carter To hear more about Rick’s success at LBH and Green Team, download and listen to the episode!   Learn more about Rick Carter:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   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 © 2018 GBES

Marcus Sherrer is an energy/environmental consultant with over 30 years of professional experience.  He formed Energy Opportunities, Inc. In 1993 to provide technical consulting service on projects relating to energy management, efficiency and conservation; renewable energy systems and the environmental impact on human enterprises.  Marcus is a LEED Fellow and partner in 7Group. In addition Marcus published the article Regenerating Our Place In Earth dated September 15, 2018   Marcus Sheffer – Early Adopter of LEED for Existing Buildings Marcus grew up in the Pennsylvania suburbs and attended State University Shipmanburgs.  He studied Environmental Studies as an undergraduate and continues to practice in that area.  He is also a partner in 7Group which came about while working on server all different projects for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection as they were not doing green building projects.     Path Picks Us In Sustainability Marcus discovered that environmental impacts and ecology fascinated him. He is very passionate about these issues and believes that sometimes we pick the path we want to go down.  In Marcus’ case, everything while growing up continue to point him in the direction of environmental issues and ecology and this is where he focuses. "I think the path picks us as wellso in many ways there all these signs in school that pointed me down this path of energy impact." – Marcus Sheffer   Mentor In Form of a Book Marcus recognizes Emery Lovens’ book Soft Energy Paths as his first mentor.  The book resonated deeply with him. He followed the soft energy path and he continues to implement strategies from his reading.     “I tend to think that a mentor is someone who has a personal connection to me.” – Marcus Sheffer   Recommended Books Marcus recommends two books for a foundational start. by John Tillman Lyle by Carol Sanford   “If you are early interested in how you can apply a regenerative design process, I would say these 2 books would be foundational to get started.” – Marcus Sheffer   To hear more about Marcus’ success with sustainability, download and listen to the episode!   Learn more about Marcus Sheffer:     Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   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 © 2018 GBES

RDH Building Science with Steve Kemp Steve Kemp has joined RDH Building Science in their Toronto office as a Senior Energy and Sustainability Specialist. At RDH, Steve will play a senior role in the development of their low-energy building design services, building-energy research, and team development in Toronto. Prior to RDH Steve lead MMM Groups Buildings-Sustainable division, the firm's world-renowned green building, energy modeling, and building performance monitoring group. With unsurpassed experience in building energy modeling (particularly for green buildings), Steve guides design teams through the process of choosing financially-appropriate, high-return energy-efficiency strategies. During and after construction, Steve's team works with owners to install metering systems to monitor energy use and find opportunities for improvements.   Steve Kemp – Becoming Sustainability Focused Steve grew up in Canada and attended Dalhousie University where he earned three degrees.  A B.Sc., Physics; B. Eng., Mechanical Engineering; and a M.A.Sc., Mechanical Engineering. Early on, Steve joined Enermodal Engineering and was surrounded by design decisions that embodied the same ideals as LEED prior to LEED making its stamp in the world. This was the turning point when he became sustainability focused.     The Importance of a Mentor Steve was fortunate to work at Enermodal Engineering from 1998 to 2015.  He was part of a team of eight that included three individuals he considers excellent mentors and lifelong friends. First, Stephen Carpenter, LEED Fellow in Canada. Second, John Coco who was essentially their measurement guru and started their commision group. Finally, Richard Lay who served as the mechanical design engineer.  All three influenced Steve in very positive ways.   Proudest Achievements   Steve’s proudest achievement was an invitation to help design a solar community in a small town south of Alberto consisting of 52 homes.   “The design goal was to provide 90% of their heat from the sun.” – Steve Kemp   More recently, after transitioning to RDH, Steve is proud of the Joy Center for innovation and Partnerships at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario. Steve helped win this net zero project and deliver a net zero building.   “I believe the next phase of this high performance building and partnership is going to be very much enclosure focused.” – Steve Kemp   Advice for Success and Recommended Reading Steve encourages everyone to reach out to the decision makers before meetings take place to let them know what you are thinking and discuss. This alleviates any surprises and tension in the meeting. “More decisions happen outside of the meeting room than you think.” – Steve Kemp   Steve believes that the next big challenge we have is what we are going to do with all the existing buildings. He recommends reading .   To hear more about Steve’s experience and leadership with sustainability, download and listen to the episode!   Learn more about Steve Kemp:     Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:     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 © 2018 GBES    

Vivian Loftness is a University Professor and former Head of the School of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University.  She is an internationally renowned researcher, author, and educator with over thirty years of focus on environmental design and sustainability, climate, and regionalism in architecture and design for performance in the workplace of the future.  Her research has contributed to innovative design projects with leading architectural firms, the General Services Administration, and international governments. She has served on ten National Academy of Science (NAS) panels, the NAS Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment, and has given four Congressional testimonies on sustainability.   Vivian Loftness – Sustainability Minded Early Vivian received her BS and MS in Architecture form MIT and has served on several National Boards.  She is a registered architect and a LEED Fellow. She knew as early as high school she wanted to be part of the environmental movement.  Vivian had the opportunity to travel to Finland on a Rotary Scholarship and focused on modern architecture and continues to be sustainability minded.   Mentors with Different Backgrounds Vivian’s first mentor was her father.  He was a Physicist focusing of energy from the supply side while Vivian was on the demand side.  He gave her incredible insight and taught her the way energy was going to change practice. She credits John Everhart, an MIT Advisor and Fred Dubin, an engineer she worked with.  Lastly, she had the privilege of joining her husband, Volker Hartkopf at Carnegie Mellon who was involved in the heart of both energy and environmental design. “It’s absolutely invaluable to have a partner and a spouse who is as dedicated to the same kind of revolution you are.” – Vivian Loftness.            Greatest Achievements Vivian’s proudest achievements include serving on several boards in advocacy roles.  Hence, accomplishments in research and practice. Vivian was part of a collaborative team that built a 7,000 square foot Living Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon to explore and research the next generation of lighting, facades, mechanical, networking and interior systems. ”It’s a real wonder to know that we’ve been able to transform education and practice to a certain extent.” – Vivian Loftness   Book Recommendations: Vivian recommends to start with books on biophilic foundations, cities and patterns.  There is a series by author Stephen R. Kellert that she believes everyone should read.     To hear more about Vivian’s connection with sustainability, download and listen to the episode! Learn more about Vivian Loftness:     Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   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 © 2018 GBES

Matt Grace is currently a Sustainable Buildings and Communities consultant in Canada and served in the same capacity in the UK from 1995 to 2007.  He has over 25 years of experience and has excellent experience in net zero energy buildings, LEED of all types, Built Green, Living Building Challenge, WELL and many other aspects of sustainability.  His professional goal is to work with project teams to make more of the construction industry more sustainable. Matt Specializes in Green Building Rating systems such as LEED (BD+C, ID+C, ND), BREEAM and BuiltGreen.   Matt Grace – Enthusiasm Nurtured Matt was only 15 years old when he became interested in energy and everything going on with the climate.  He went into engineering at The University of Manchester and specialized in Aeronautical Engineering. Matt then went to Cranfield University for one year of intensive coursework in Energy Conservation and The Environment, Sustainable Development.  Matt wanted to solve the world’s energy crisis by building wind turbines. "You can’t be a good engineer without having that creative zest as well, it’s not just about the science.” – Matt Grace   Proudest Moment Matt is very proud of what they have done at Mission Green Buildings.  He has a great team and loves to watch the interactions they have with clients.   "I am very pleased that I have been able to arrange my life so I have pretty low environmental impact; I’ve been able to bike to work and most meetings and I can reduce my own personal environmental footprint." – Matt Grace   Recommended Books/Routines/Rituals Over the years, Matt has read many books regarding the industry.  He recommends the following books to our listeners.  by Edward Allen by Dave Cheshire by Jason F. McLellan In addition, Matt shares what routines/rituals make him successful. Have Fun Biking to work-avoid driving or taking transit Guided Meditation Have a stand up meeting with the whole team 10-15 everyday-best thing he has ever started.   Matt’s Advice and Words of Encouragement Matt earned his Professional Engineer License and advises that engineers log the hours and take the test.  This gives engineers the confidence, logic and rigor behind decisions being made. “I would encourage anybody going down that path of coding to pursue a Professional Engineering designation.  It’s really a good backstop for any career.” – Matt Grace To hear more about Matt’s success, download and listen to the episode!   Learn more about Matt Grace:     Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   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 © 2018 GBES

Amanda Madrid is a Commercial Property Manager with 25+ years of experience in managing property operations to minimize costs and maximize income while achieving excellent client satisfaction. Amanda is a high-energy leader with excellent communication and negotiation skills who works effectively with staff, clients and fellow executive team members alike to consistently achieve or exceed operational objectives. Amanda Madrid – Early Adopter of LEED for Existing Buildings Amanda was an early adopter of LEED for existing buildings and help Charlie get his start on the LEED consulting side.  Being Energy Star since 2008 the next logical step was to look at how you can make things better in the industry. LEED was the logical next step.  Amanda is adventurous and always looking for something new and with Charlie’s energy and tenacity they took the LEED journey together. As a result, they had to convince ownership that this was a move toward the future and sustainability, not the mainstream. Precious Resources Instilling Sustainability Amanda has always been sustainability minded.  She grew up in a Latin America country where the resources are precious.  As a result, living in New York she was conservative and valued what she had.  Amanda recognized waste and immediately wanted naturally to do something about it.    "I had the vehicle to do that; I’ve had that here at my properties. I’ve always been empowered to do that and once again, why not?" – Amanda Madrid   The Importance of a Mentor When Amanda first started her career she did not have a mentor.  She went through some tough times growing up in this career and believes that having a mentor might have alleviated those.  Amanda now has a mentor that she values and still has to this day. “The day I have the opportunity to be one for somebody, I’ll do it in a heartbeat.” – Amanda Madrid   Greatest Achievements and Quality Routine Amanda’s proudest achievements are her children.  Additionally, she is also proud of gaining the respect and trust of her team as they value her leadership.  She is trusted and valued which consequently makes Amanda to want to give more. It’s all about relationships.  As part of her daily routine, Amanda uses blocks of uninterrupted time. She found herself scrambling from one thing to the next.  This helps her to keep things organized and reflect. Amanda’s Advice Always set out to accomplish and do what you love to do in your career.  She advises to educate yourself, listen, be respectful and know when to be quiet and lear. “Always look behind you and see what you’ve left behind that was not finished or forgotten.” – Amanda Madrid To hear more about Amanda’s success with sustainability, download and listen to the episode! Learn more about Amanda Madrid:     Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   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 © 2018 GBES

Eric Corey Freed is a nationally known architect, author, speaker and thought-leader based out of Portland, Oregon.  Eric has 25 years of experience with deep green and innovative buildings. He is the Founding Principal of organicARCHITECT, a visionary design practice focused on biophilic and regenerative design.  Additionally, Eric serves as a Sustainability Disrupter at Morrison Hershfield. Eric Corey Freed – Concrete Jungle to Rolling Hills Eric grew up in Philadelphia and went to Overbrook High School.  Living in a city with a strong sense of urban planning. His environment at the time was a concrete jungle of asphalt and graffiti and it was an unnatural place to play.  Consequently, Eric sought out nature. Behind his house, a fence with a hole in it lead to a golf course and ultimately a sustainability career! He earned his B. Arch from Temple University and his Masters in Ecological Design from San Francisco Institute of Architecture. "We went from a concrete jungle to rolling hills...it was our hidden escape." – Eric Corey Freed The Journey From the age of 8 years old, Eric knew he wanted to be an Architect.  During college he was able to live a year in Rome and then he worked for Beverly Willis in New York.  He was planning his escape from New York and started reaching out to mentors. One of the mentors he reached out to offered him an opportunity in Sante Fe, New Mexico.  Eric jumped at the chance. "New York is an exciting place to be but not when you are broke." – Eric Corey Freed Light Bulb Moment In Sante Fe, Eric built a dozen houses out of unusual materials and was able to apply this to his practice.  Becoming restless, he went to San Francisco. Eric had 21 interviews in 3 days and was offered 21 jobs. He lasted 6 months at one of these jobs and then was ready to branch out on his own.  His firm was originally his namesake, but his clients referred to it as organicARCHTECT. “I knew if I could speak passionately about sustainable architecture it would start to attract clients.” – Eric Corey Freed   Bucket (and Book) List Eric creates a bucket list each year.  He wants to travel to Japan and scuba dive in the Maldives.  Books he recommends are The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson and I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara. To hear more about Eric’s passion to affect change and make an impact to build green, download and listen to the episode! Learn more about Eric Corey:     Publications:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   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 © 2018 GBES

Charlie Cichetti, host of Green Buildings Matters, shares a public service announcement on how you keep up your credentials. Charlie discusses LEED and WELL AP credential maintenance to clear up any confusion, and he also answers frequently asked questions.     Charlie Cichetti – LEED Exams Around 2009, professionals were rushing to take the LEED AP exams for fear they would get more difficult.  These professionals were wanting to be grandfathered in; therefore, Charlie’s company was doing a lot of training preparing individuals for the exams.  The following 2009 credentials are still in place today. Tier 1 LEED GA (Green Associate), Tier 2 LEED AP (Accredited Professional), LEED BD+C (Building Design and Construction, LEED ID+C (Interior Design and Construction), O+M (Operations and Maintenance), LEED ND (Neighborhood Development) and Homes.   A Few Frequently Asked Questions What if am an old LEED AP only?  Technically you don’t need to do anything, and are referred to as a legacy LEED AP. For those of you who opted in or tested in to the elite LEED AP with specialty:  You have to earn continuing education every 2 years. 30 general hours total (of which, 6 of those 30 hours must be LEED specific to your specialty). After the major updates in June 2009, all professionals had to test into the LEED Green Associate and specialty credentials.  Charlie Cichetti did take and pass all LEED exams. "As a consultant and as an educator and as a trainer I wanted to see what it was like to take and pass all of these LEED exams and be ready for the rating systems, building projects, and to help others pass the exams." – Charlie Cichetti   Resources The LEED CMP (Credentialing Maintenance Program) Guide provides information on the requirements to be LEED specific.  The purpose of the LEED CMP Guide is to make sure you are keeping current and if not you could lose your credentials. “Why this change?  The folks at GBCI want to make sure that you are continually learning, staying up to date and you stay competent and know what is going on today.” – Charlie Cichetti   To hear more about how to keep up your credentials, download and listen to the episode! Resource:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   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 © 2018 GBES

Jorge Lopez, Founder and current Chairman of Eosis, Inc., joins Charlie Cichetti. Jorge received the LEED Fellow recognition from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2016.  He spends his time between Austin, Texas which he calls home and Mexico where he is from and has several sustainability projects. Eosis is a independent high-performance energy-modeling and LEED consulting firm, based in Austin, Texas.   Jorge Lopez – Traveling, Sharing and Learning Jorge studied architecture and graduated from ITESO (Universidad Iberoamericana) specializing in sustainable design and construction.  He then graduated from the Architectural Association in London, receiving a Masters degree in Housing and Urbanism. In 2014, Jorge participated in the program Leadership in Sustainability at the UBC in Vancouver. Although Jorge is based out of Austin, Texas he travels frequently to México and Latin America.  He has lectured and participated in forums in different cities, the US and Latin America, and teaches graduate courses at several universities such as UNAM, ITESO, Ibero and ITESM. "I love traveling for this." – Jorge Lopez   Sustainability Concept is Essential A consultant with an architecture firm from New York City introduced Jorge to the sustainability concept.  He discovered that sustainability is a great way to give purpose to the design. Clients want sustainability and having the tool to design with sustainability is essential. "Having this lever of energy modeling and letting the client know what the consequences of their decisions became a powerful tool." – Jorge Lopez   Consequently, the architecture firm began to design LEED buildings.   Several Early Influencers and Achievements Jorge has several mentors that he admires.  He also learns from those he dislikes if they have great careers and are intelligent. In addition, Jorge mentors others and believes it is very important for them to learn sustainability information.     Greatest achievement….”is having my own firm and keeping it going.” – Jorge Lopez   Advice Jorge shares is the importance of the research from the World Green Building Council about the impact of green buildings.   To hear more of Jorge’s sustainability entrepreneurship story, download and listen to the episode!     Learn more about Jorge Lopez        Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:     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 © 2018 GBES

Jenn Mahon, Sustainability Consultant with Sustainable Investment Group (SIG), joins Charlie Cichetti.  Jenn is based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is not only a LEED expert but is also out in front of the New Wellness Real Estate movement.   Jenn Mahon - Sustainability Radar Jenn went to the University of Minnesota.  She has a Bachelor’s of Design in Architecture and a Minor in Sustainable Design.  Sustainability became a hot topic her sophomore year of college during her minor program.   Eventually the university built programs around sustainability. Jenn had an early interest in architecture and grew up sustainability minded. Her career path included working in advanced programs for a large general contractor, also. "I have an engineer brain but I also have this artistic side - I really love to build things." –Jenn Mahon   Jenn also graduated from Boston Architectural College in 2013 with a Masters of Sustainable Design.  She worked with M. A. Mortenson Company for several years gaining valuable experience in rating systems even outside of LEED.   Sustainability Minded Leads To Success Jenn is always sustainability minded in her personal life.  She loves the outdoors and growing up, her family instilled the value of awareness of fixing and not always throwing things away.   Jenn stayed at Mortenson for 6 years and wore various hats including advanced green building programs and Building Information Modeling (BIM) to show clients virtual models of all facets of the project.  Jenn started to work on additional sustainability reporting which moved her into their sustainability department.   Due to her success and growing interest in multiple green building programs, Jenn joined the team at SIG and works on LEED for New Construction and Core & Shell projects in Mexico, New York City, and more.  Jenn is also currently working on Fitwel and LEED projects in San Francisco and Las Vegas. Additionally, Jenn is a WELL AP and Fitwel Ambassador.   "I like working on Well and Fitwel projects that deal a more with the occupant health and well-being - it’s a different conversation now." – Jenn Mahon   Jenn is currently a certified LEED Green Associate, LFA, GGP, Fitwel Ambassador, and WELL AP.   Early Influencer During Jenn’s sophomore year of college she had the opportunity to be part of a group that went to a conference in Denver where William McDonough spoke.  Although the speech was depressing regarding what is really going on around us, this speech helped Jenn change her focus to sustainability.   To hear more of Jenn’s sustainability success story, download and listen to the episode!   Learn more about Jenn Mahon:         Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   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 © 2018 GBES

Today is a special episode where host Charlie Cichetti shares his “Top 10 Tips to Make Your LEED Project a Success.” Many of the tips focus on new LEED projects, but the principles can be applied to some older projects too. Listen to the entire episode to hear Charlie unpack each tip for you! Top 10 Tips to Make Your LEED Project a Success      Decide to go for LEED early. IPD.      Set expectations of each team member on the design + construction iteam early.      Don’t just chase LEED points and check boxes.      Use the Energy Model as collaboration after getting modeler up to speed on wish list ECM’s.      Keep a consistent LEED update meeting format and agenda so everyone comes prepared.      Partner with the Contractor, share examples, and then have subs sort LEED data to the top.      Make sure your LEED Online data is consistent so you don’t get flagged (people count, SqFt, etc.).      Commissioning (Cx) expectations set early and try to avoid wasted testing visits.      When LEED Review comments come back, use narratives and only answer what they are asking for!      Market Your Building as a Green Building!   To hear host Charlie Cichetti unpack all of his “Top 10 Tips to Make Your LEED Project a Success,” download and listen to the entire episode!   Helpful Links from the Podcast:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   Don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on if you truly enjoyed the show. We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !

Michael Cichetti, Director of Marketing and Sales at Green Building Education Services (GBES), joins Charlie Cichetti in this episode. Residing in Atlanta, with an entrepreneurial spirit, he is passionate about sustainability in the green building industry. Michael and Charlie are brothers and share the same passion for focusing on the green building movement and environmental sustainability.   Michael Cichetti - Early Inspiration Growing up in Blue Ridge, Georgia, Michael fell in love with the outdoors.  Most importantly he enjoys the natural wonders of the mountains and the area he grew up in.  As a result, he went to college at Georgia State University, receiving his business management degree in 2010 and currently lives in Atlanta.    Early on, Michael had one professor that really stood out in an entrepreneurship class.  This professor is an angel investor. Hence, he was able to introduce experts to the class to give real world hands-on expert advice.  Therefore, Michael was intrigued and was able to apply this experience to his current work. Right out of school Michael was hired on at a real estate law firm as a Title Curative Specialist.  He then transitioned to SIG and GBES and focuses on helping commercial real estate professionals be more sustainable which he is very passionate about.   “Being able to work toward a good cause like sustainability really makes me feel like I am spending my time in a valuable way.” - Michael Cichetti   Big Learning Curve Michael initially lead the sales department with Sustainable Investment Group (SIG) and now Green Building Education Services.  Michael works on the company’s marketing and strives to boost sales to help scale the company. In the early years of these companies, most of the business SIG earned was through word of mouth for doing great work. So, a sales department was new to the company, and Michael, had to figure out what worked best by trying a lot of different things. Therefore, it was very challenging and big learning curve, but he appreciated the opportunity to learn so much so quickly. “I had to throw everything against the wall and see what stuck.”  - Michael Cichetti As a result, Michael brought in new business to SIG.  Furthermore, Michael has an entrepreneurial mindset and is very successful. Most noteworthy, his vast background allows him to share his knowledge which is beneficial to clients’ careers.     Survival and Sustainability When Michael was young, his interest in a survival course given by Tom Brown Jr.  certainly made an impact. Michael explains that Tom Brown Jr. was raised by native americans and they taught him about sustainability and how to rely on the land.  This intrigued Michael and consequently he continued to read and explore in this arena. “Taking things from nature, choosing the trees that will actually help the other surrounding plants and animals flourish more.” - Michael Cichetti Michael was very fortunate to have the exposure to the outdoors.  Because of this exposure, he loves the sustainability story of the native american ways.  Michael is a highly encouraging person. He believes the green building movement and sustainability are here to stay.  Above all, today there is more of a need for us to be sustainable in every industry. To hear more of Michael’s journey with SIG and GBES where he shares his daily routines and rituals that help him be productive and a better employee, download and listen to the episode!   Learn more about Michael Cichetti:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   Don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on if you truly enjoyed the show. We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !

Josh Radoff is a Senior Vice President at WSP. In today’s episode, he joins Charlie Cichetti to share his sustainability journey, including growing a respected green building consulting firm that has since merged with a larger company. Josh also discusses some pretty advanced projects he is working on and gets us thinking about what’s around the corner in this green building movement.   Josh Radoff - The Origin Story Boston-born, Josh came from the East Coast, moved to Connecticut when he was three, but eventually ended up in Colorado. He went to college in Maine. With his upbringing, Josh leaned more towards the Red Sox than the Yankees. Josh was a physics major at Colby College, a liberal arts school. Trying to get as much diverse experience as he could, he joined its soccer team. He was also into film, writing movie review columns, and even hosted a radio show with a co-host.   Career Start He liked physics but knew he wasn’t going to stay at a lab so Josh became a high school teacher in Virginia, handling physics along with earth science. With a new-to-him environment in the South, he went through some adjustments on top of his daily preparations for the job. Convinced that he wasn’t learned enough for his postition, Josh furthered his education by earning a Masters in Electrical Engineering. He didn’t realize he nursed an interest in sustainability until he sat in a course on energy and found out that it was something he would like to sink his teeth into. “That may have been my first taste into what would be my eventual career.” - Josh Radoff   The Epiphany The real shift began when Amory Lovins came to speak at his college. Josh had never heard of Lovins, but sustainability had already wormed its way into his brain. After hearing the advocate’s words, Josh decided that it was time for a change. “Amory Lovins has a certain way of introducing an idea and transforming the way people think about it. That was certainly true for me.” - Josh Radoff on the radical shift of his interest to sustainability To hear more of Josh’s sustainability tale download and listen to the episode!   Learn more about Josh Radoff and the books we reference:         Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   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 !

Today’s show is a special release. Host Charlie Cichetti takes some time today to pause halfway through 2018 and look at the Green Building Industry Trends he sees.   Charlie discusses: Statistics in 2018 LEED trends WELL trends Are the LEED exams changing?   Resources from today’s show:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:     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 © 2018 GBES

Bill Spohn is a mechanical engineer and the President and CEO of TruTech Tools. The company serves technicians in the HVAC&R and Energy Audit Industries by providing them with advanced tools and instruments. In this episode, he chats with Charlie Cichetti to discuss HVAC, Passive House, building science, and more. “I’m gonna commit to sneezing twice a week, and what I mean by that is: I want to spread the ‘germs’ of the idea of responsible use of energy and good home performance to one consumer and one technical professional a week.” - Bill Spohn   Bill Spohn - The Environment, Engineering, and Energy Bill grew up in an Italian-American neighborhood in the small town of Rome in New York. It was a beautiful community with a lot of great food and values, including his family’s own sensibilities regarding the environment. With his aptitude in math and physics, he decided to take mechanical engineering, a decision backed up by library books. Putting his natural inquisitiveness to work, he took up a four-year degree at the University of Rochester. Right before graduation, he had a feeling that he would want to pursue a career path related to energy, and so he did.   Gaining the Relevant Experience He worked with Kodak for a few years, got a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, and obtained his license as a professional engineer. Shortly afterwards, he went to work for an instrumentation company called Fisher Scientific, where Bill worked closely with lab instruments. He then transferred to Bacharach where he led an engineering team focused on HVAC. A couple of years later, with an impressive background of testing instruments under his belt, TruTech Tools came to be.   Homegrown Sustainability Advocate Bill has always been active in waste management and energy conservation. It’s mostly thanks to his parents who grew up in the depression era. With the lessons imparted to him at a young age, he was able to become the man that he is now. “It’s not so much the cost of energy, but it’s just being efficient with the finite resource.” - Bill Spohn This early exposure to responsible use of energy coupled with his mentors’ influence and his penchant for engineering shaped Bill into a leader of the sustainable energy and building movement in his own right. Together with his team, he’s helping raise awareness of their advocacy two sneezes a week. To hear more of Bill’s story on sustainable building and energy efficiency, download and listen to the episode! Learn more about Bill Spohn and the books we reference:     Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   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 !

Part of the Qatar Green Building Council, Hamoda Youssef is also a member of the USGBC. An architect by heart, his journey in sustainable building started upon pursuing a European education. Now a proud member (and leader) of the LEED movement in his region, Hamoda shares with us how sustainability has become an integral part of his career. Sustainability in Education and Career Hamoda grew up in Cairo, Egypt, where he studied architectural engineering at Cairo University. His early career was spent as an interior design architect before he moved to an architectural engineering multidisciplinary consultancy firm. Somewhere down the road he took up environmental planning for his graduate studies in Italy, which exposed him to the (USGBC’s) LEED movement through an internship. This is when it became clear that sustainability was a path that he could take, when back in college it was mostly a concept attached to loads of coursework. LEED Held The Answers Earlier in his career, Hamoda met a lot of people who advocated for sustainable building which allowed him to see how groundbreaking the LEED movement was for the built environment. Before LEED, there was no framework to validate sustainability designs. There was no way to convert designs into actual, usable (and recognized) products in the marketplace. “It’s not about technology advancement but how smartly [we] combine things and integrate them together from a multidisciplinary approach to enhance our overall design and products.” - Hamoda Youssef LEED gave the answers. There was no skyrocketing upgrade of technology involved, but a genius understanding of how best to approach the ultimate goals of the sustainability movement. Challenge as a Mentor Stereotypes dictated that architects must possess excellent freehand sketching skills and handwriting. Hamoda had neither, so he took it upon himself to fill in the niche of computer design and 3D software. This first challenger, he said, was also his first mentor. “If I have a good imagination, I can be a good architect. It’s a matter of finding a right tool to represent.” - Hamoda Yousef From there on, he had several mentors, in the form of (growth) challenges and people. To hear more about Hamoda’s journey as a LEED expert, educator, and project manager from Egypt to Qater, download and listen to the episode!   Learn more about Hamoda Youssef: Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   Don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on if you truly enjoyed the show. We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !

Daniel Dreher, Founder and Principal of Tecreation, LLC, joins Charlie Cichetti. Although primarily located at New Orleans, Daniel has projects in regions as far as India. Throughout his career, he has completed multiple projects with great partners and also has been able to overcome the challenges of hurricane Katrina. "Sustainability is a shift in consciousness. It's an evolution in our consciousness as individuals and as a collective. And when that starts to happen, other things start to follow." - Daniel Dreher Daniel Dreher - Sustainability Consultant Daniel's passion for sustainability traces back to his college years. He was studying Architectural Engineering at the Ohio College of Applied Science when he learned about Frank Lloyd Wright. His innovative architecture inspired him so much.   "LEED offered to really take a lot of these things that are intangible that I knew were good design principles and formalize them." - Daniel Dreher   Daniel later went to pursue a business degree. In 1986, he returned to Phoenix for his practice. By 2009, he became a LEED AP. The Boulders Resort is among the notable projects he completed with his partners. Hurricane Katrina Experience In 2004, he had another project. It was the renovation of the student campus of Tulane University. 2005 came and they were right in the middle of the project when Katrina swept over the US. Nonetheless, they completed it in 2006 and was awarded LEED Silver certification at this building. Inspiring Mentors and Partners Daniel sends his thanks to his mentors. Some of which he never got to meet in person, like Frank Lloyd Wright. He also learned a lot from his partners in the field. Among them are Allen Eskew and Ray Manning, with whom he had the privilege of completing great projects, namely, the IMAX Theater Aquarium, some of Xavier University, and an art village. To hear more of Daniel’s sustainability success story, download and listen to the episode!   Learn more about Daniel Dreher:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   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 !

Leslie Montgomery, Education Director at Green Building Alliance (GBA), joins Charlie Cichetti in this episode. Residing in Pittsburgh, she helps host events in the region to promote high-performance green buildings. Leslie is also an educator who shares the same love for teaching and sustainability as Charlie. “I am sort of one of those green building nerds who’s so much in awe of the people who innovated this industry and championed sustainability and green building.” - Leslie Montgomery   Leslie Montgomery - A Child of Nature Leslie lived in Baltimore, Maryland until college when she went to Winthrop University in South Carolina. A few years after getting her communications degree, she went on to get her master’s degree in sustainable systems at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. While she didn’t formalize sustainability as a career path until graduate school, Leslie admits that her love for the natural environment bloomed at an early age. Growing up, her mother would take the family to trips to undeveloped places. Her grandfather was also a huge nature lover who hugged trees in the backyard, a habit that Leslie emulated.   Shifting Interests During her undergraduate years, Leslie’s interest was in non-profit work. She did all her internships at non-profit organizations and landed a job in the same line upon graduation. It was around that time when she was first exposed to green building. Upon her move to Pittsburgh in 2007, her interest in green building peaked. She wanted a career change, but she knew that no one would hire her unless her credentials bore ‘sustainability’ in them. She took a shot at going after what she wanted and went through workshops on green remodeling to find out if it was for her, and it was. “I loved it and it felt like I was with my people. I was exploring what I wanted to do.” - Leslie Montgomery   The Definitive Move She went back to school and took up her master’s. She didn’t have any design and construction background, but she was able to get into a program that let her discover everything that has to do with green building. Eventually, she got involved with Green Building Alliance through a professor, marking the turning point of her career. To hear more of Leslie’s journey with GBA, her geek-level love for sustainability and teaching green building, download and listen to the episode!   Learn more about Leslie Montgomery: Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   Don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on if you truly enjoyed the show. We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !

In this episode, Charlie Cichetti talks about LEED and WELL history and statistics. Along with a bit of storytelling, he discusses the latest numbers, trends, and LEED professional exams. By listening in, he hopes you can take the next step towards becoming part of the LEED movement. “Maybe you have a colleague or a friend… or a student you know needs a little nudge to finally go ahead, study, take the exam, pass it, and advance their career.” - Charlie Cichetti LEED AP Exam: A History There’s been about eighteen years’ worth of LEED projects, but the first LEED Accreditation Professional Exam first came out a year later, in 2001. The exam wasn’t updated until June 2009, the last time anyone could take it LEED NCv2.2’s exam. Three tiers to the exams rolled around one after another, more advanced, specific, and challenging. Updated LEED AP Exam LEED Green Associate (GA), Tier 1 of the new version of LEED exam, came out that summer. Everyone starts with this hundred-question exam, but not everyone opts to take the other tiers. Following the GA exam, Tier 2: Specialty was launched. People taking this exam get to be accredited in their desired fields of specialization. Tier 2 can be taken on the same day as the GA exam, provided that they pass it first. Sometime later, Tier 3: LEED Fellow also came out but is for 10+ year industry leaders and is not exam-based. Statistics of LEED This April 2018, USGBC updated their interactive overview of the number of holders of LEED credentials. LEED Professionals have risen in number for the past eighteen years. Worldwide, they are now about 202,000 in total. While this number may look huge, you must keep in mind that this is almost two decades’ worth of exams passeed. There’s no need to worry about how this can potentially hinder your career growth with a lot of competition because these credentials will stay with you as an individual. All it takes is a different perspective to see the benefits of taking this exam. “These LEED Professional credentials really are gonna help you in your career, make your company more competitive for that next bid, help you ask better questions.” - Charlie Cichetti   To hear more firsthand information regarding the LEED and WELL credentials, statistics, and trends, download and listen to the episode! Learn more about LEED and WELL: History and Statistics:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   Don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on if you truly enjoyed the show. We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !

LEED and WELL AP Lauren Wallace has been the Certifications Department Manager at Epsten Group since 2010. Her team has tremendous experience with Architecture (including Zoo Projects), LEED Consulting, Third-Party LEED Reviews, Commissioning, and more. Not just LEED, she is out in front with SITES, TRUE, and more rating systems/certifications. Today, she shares the story of her architectural journey as well as her love for a community running on sustainability, with our host, Charlie Cichetti. Lauren Wallace - A Series of Changes Originally from Long Beach, California, Lauren grew up mostly in San Diego. Over 25 years ago, though, she transferred to Atlanta, where has spent most of her life. Lauren lives intown and walks to Epsten’s LEED Platinum HQ.   She had a passion for the medical field back in high school. Lauren had biology-based classes, trained to get certified as a lifeguard, and even volunteered for the hospital. Lauren knew she was going to become a radiologist, but a drafting course in her last semester of high school changed it all. Meant for Architecture Taking a drafting course for additional credits opened Lauren to her creative side. Designing, which has always been in her blood thanks to her father’s genes, became something that she embraced.   “When it’s science and math, there’s always an answer. And doing something in the design field tickled my brain in different ways because you’re never done.” - Lauren Wallace   While she signed up for both medicine and architecture, her letter of acceptance at Georgia Tech was all that she needed to know that she was meant to design. An After-College Sustainability Mindset Lauren spent a lot of her college years in studios. At these studios, there were a lot of people who influenced her to explore sustainability, the community, and built environment, but she didn’t get heavily into sustainability until after college.   By the dawn of LEED rating systems, she’d gotten her degree in architecture. It all began from there.   “I think there were some projects that kind of pushed those buttons, but there was not a lot of connection from the studio to the real world. And about that time, it was the birth of the LEED rating system... I think I’m not surprised that as soon as I graduated is kind of when I started to explore some more of that.” - Lauren Wallace   To hear more about Lauren’s story and her passion for the environment and sustainable communities, download and listen to the episode! Learn more about Lauren Wallace: Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES: Don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on if you truly enjoyed the show. We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !

Fernando Arias is the Director of Sustainability at Clark Construction Group. The firm has been named as one of the greenest contractors in the US, with a tremendous amount of completed LEED projects. In today’s episode, Fernando shares with Charlie Cichetti the story of his colorful childhood that helped shape the sustainability-minded professional that he is now. A Child of Nature Colombia-born, Fernando was surrounded by the fertile land of the City of Eternal Spring. Coffee plantations, flower farms, and a variety of butterflies are among his earliest childhood memories prior to his family’s big move to New York. “I’ve always been immersed and impressed by the abundance of natural and urban ecologies and I learned to respect the natural environment very much.” - Fernando Arias His first interests involved tinkering with toys and their machineries, eventually leading him to become part of the military as a tech mechanic, but his career track was never a linear path. Over time, he switched gears.   The Greatest Influencer It was when he moved to San Francisco that he met the person who enabled him to change paths. With his talent in collage and 3D art, Fernando was steered into thinking about taking up architecture classes. Fernando’s interest in the physics of buildings grew into a fascination with how forces and nature affect the form of buildings. He went abroad and got more immersed in the landscape environment.   Integrating Nature in Design A few years down the road, he furthered his studies at Columbia University. Fernando came to a deeper understanding of how various factors come into play to meet the green standards of the built environment. “Thinking about urban systems was not just merely about ways to transportation or energy. It was also about public health and economic drivers in cities and how all of these things work together to prepare cities for challenges.” - Fernando Arias To hear more about Fernando’s many realizations and the evolution of his career as a LEED specialist, download and listen to the episode!   Learn more about Fernand Arias:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   Don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on if you truly enjoyed the show. We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !

Michael Bean, Jr., LEED AP O+M, has always been environmentally aware. His passion for engineering and architecture has opened a lot of doors that advanced his career. Combined with his inherent concern for sustainability, he has managed to affect more people to become fellow stewards of the LEED movement. From HVAC to Property Management Michael worked his way up to where he stands now. He started out as a building mechanic during his early career. He eventually got into a hospital where he was exposed to a wealth of knowledge on building systems.   He eventually jumped over to property management involving smaller units, until such time that he was given the opportunity to take on properties with a cumulative area of 200,000 sq. ft. The experience of managing separate buildings joined together was as enriching as it could get. Two Degrees Stronger When he took up the 200K sq. ft. project, Michael was juggling his school work and career. During that time, he was on his way to earning his degree in architectural construction engineering. While it was a challenge, he found it quite valuable.   “I was able to leave school and then the next day apply what I’ve learned, which helped me immensely.” - Michael Bean, Jr. An Upgraded Sustainable Mindset Michael has always been an active campaigner for the environment, involved in his community’s efforts to mitigate environmental degradation.   “I’ve always been in the awareness level, but sometimes these issues morph into bigger problems.” - Michael Bean, Jr.   What really sparked sustainability within him is his curiosity for energy engineering.   To hear more about Michael’s story as a facilities manager, champion for energy conservation, and LEED advocate, download and listen to the episode!   Learn more about Michael Bean, Jr.:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:     Don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on if you truly enjoyed the show. We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !

Becca Rushin has been Vice President for Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility for Jamestown since 2016. Her involvement in sustainability began with being outside a lot as she was growing up, taking a ‘Walking the Land’ class in college, and getting hooked with environmental literature. She is now as active in the campaign for green building as ever. “Look, I have never heard of this sustainability thing before but it makes a lot of sense… why would we not do things this way?” - Becca Rushin on her life-altering breakthrough Sustainability: The Epiphany Becca grew up in the coast of Georgia, developing her love for travel and the outside world. In college, she took up a class that introduced her to ecology and the environment through a lot of classic reading. It wasn’t until after college that she got hold of Cradle-to-Cradle, which brought to the surface the part of her that leaned towards sustainability. With her undergraduate degree in environmental studies, she went on to study in Netherlands to get her MSc in Sustainable Development from Utrecht. Her degree has not only equipped her with the necessary credentials to land jobs befitting her education. She has also put it to use by testifying in defense of environmental policies, the ultimate culmination of her learnings. A Work Smarter, Not Harder Approach Becca thinks that sustainability is a lot simpler than most people would like to think. It’s a “work smarter” rather than a “work harder” kind of approach in making our way of life better for the sake of the environment. In fact, no one is exempt from adopting a sustainable manner of living. “I’ve never seen sustainability as kind of mutually exclusive with a kind of busy, happy, fulfilled life, like the one I grew up living.” - Becca Rushin Sustainability can be injected into everything we do. Through lighting, energy, and water conservation, we can all act with added environmental benefits. Like she said, it is silly to not go with such an easy upgrade. The Impactful Duos Becca’s career was defined by tandems. During her startup days, a pair of mentors with unique skill sets guided her growth by providing a leash long enough to cut her teeth on everything she needs to learn. Presently, Becca wears two hats, that of sustainability and of corporate social responsibility. It is her belief that both are actually important in achieving a company’s shared goals by involving charity and humanity in the process. To hear more about Becca’s story of sustainability and social responsibility, download and listen to the episode!   Learn more about Becca Rushin: Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES: Don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on if you truly enjoyed the show. We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !

WELL and Fitwel are two programs gaining momentum in the marketplace for the Wellness Real Estate movement. They’ve been out for about three and a half years, setting up the standard for advancing health and wellness in today’s buildings. Charlie gives us cliff notes on what these programs are, the building types that are easier fits to each program in their current form, and how they can be used as guidelines in their own right.   “This is where all the research shows we should be focused on when it comes to health & wellness and what we design, build, and operate.” - Charlie Cichetti A Focus on People Both WELL and Fitwel are people-oriented programs that aid in the promotion of policies and designs geared towards healthier workplaces. These standards seek to lower the chances of disengaged workers and discomfort, whether it be at schools, churches, offices, and homes.   “How do we have buildings that will actually produce more productivity, less absenteeism, more presentism?” - Charlie Cichetti   While they have obvious differences, WELL and Fitwel are actually one and the same in this vision of focusing on the people that will become the dwellers in buildings. WELL Building Standard Designed by Delos, a team led by Paul Scialla, WELL is the brainchild of a group architects and doctors crammed into a room and emerged out of it with the rating system. The program champions for people being more conscious of the air, water, and lighting systems in their buildings, even conversations on nourishment. Ultimately, it seeks for better human resource policies that will set up future occupants and tenants in a great environment.   WELL spun off the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), the health and wellness counterpart of U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in LEED. Both IWBI and Delos are based in New York, the former having remote colleagues from all around the world to keep their policies updated. Fitwel Building Standard The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and General Services Administration (GSA) initiated Fitwel. Administered by the Center for Active Design, it provides guidelines for the design, construction, and operation of healthier buildings.   Unlike WELL that is updated by the IWBI and certified by the Green Business Certification Inc.(GBCI), Fitwel is an all-in-one sort. The Center for Active Design keeps it updated and certified.   To hear more about the similarities and differences of WELL and Fitwel, download and listen to the episode!   Learn more about WELL and Fitwel:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   Don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on if you truly enjoyed the show. We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !

Asa Posner has been in the sustainability realm for ten years. His career began with a curiosity in geology, which eventually led him to take environmental studies courses in college. Along with learning grew his love for the ecosystem, and now he has made it his life mission to make the built environment eco-friendly. “Let’s make the built environment better so that it’ll have less of an impact on the ecosystem.” - Asa Posner   Asa Posner - A Not So Forward Path Asa remembers first being exposed to nature when his uncle would take him and his brother hiking. Originally wanting to pursue medicine in college, he enrolled in a geology course thinking it would be nice. Little did he know that this little detour would lead him to a truly different path. Through the mentoring of great geology and paleontology professors who shared the same concern for the environment, Asa’s career path was solidified. With his honors thesis, he was able to assess the impact of urbanization on flora and fauna. And while his findings compelled him to stand in line with the picket fence, he realized he wanted to affect change in a different manner.   Towards Sustainable Building Sustainability became a buzzword by the turn of the millennium. LEED became a guidepost in different projects in different areas, including building of college classrooms. Asa was in the frontlines of many school construction projects through which he was able to work with engineers and architects. This professional experience helped open his eyes as to how commitment to sustainable building should not end with the completion of a project.   Jiving the Dichotomy During his earlier stints in the built environment, Asa’s work culminated when the building was built. This puts into perspective where the industry stands in the context of sustainability. “Just because it’s designed and built green, doesn’t necessarily mean that it operates green, and vice versa.” - Asa Posner Asa realizes the need to bridge the gap of this dichotomy. LEED construction rating systems will help rid of this gap. He has been an advocate of the movement ever since. To hear more about how Asa is living and breathing sustainability and LEED, download and listen to the episode!   Connect with Asa Posner:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   Don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on if you truly enjoyed the show. We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !

Alyson Laura is an all-around Sustainability Maven, who seeks to evolve human success and planetary delight. She is currently the Director of Education for GBES. Her responsibilities include ensuring the highest quality product in their study materials, developing new on-demand webinar content, and staying updated on the latest green building trends and certifications.   "Think bigger. Don't just get stuck at what other people are doing or what seems to work, challenge yourself to really push that envelope and dream big." - Alyson Laura   She was also a Sustainability Consultant for SIG prior to joining GBES. And, she taught in-person exam prep classes all over the United States.   Coming from an architectural background, she became captivated by the triple bottom line of the green building movement. She worked as a LEED Reviewer for one of USGBC's veteran review firms, has reviewed hundreds of LEED certification applications, and has worked on dozens of successful LEED Consulting projects. Influence in Sustainability Alyson grew up in Florida, which gave her an advantage in sustainability. The place valued recycling, composting, and rain water catching. There was a lot of support.   They were so close to sea level, and so placed a high priority on conserving their environment. Her father was also a civil engineer who worked on conserving the Everglades. Into the Green Building Movement With the rise of technology in the early 2000s, she initially applied to Georgia Tech as a Computer Science major. But she changed her major into Architecture. During which, she was able to spend her entire senior year abroad in Paris, France.   "A big part of my education was being on a bicycle in the major city of Paris, seeing recycling bins on the public sidewalks -- just really living and breathing what it means to be in a connected society." - Alyson Laura   When she returned home in Atlanta, she challenged herself to live car-free and take advantage of the transits and bicycles. Specializing in LEED It was not easy for Alyson to break into the field of sustainability. There wasn't always a clear path for her to get to where she wanted. She first heard about LEED while working at an architectural firm.   "These are the buildings I wanted to be a part of. This is what I want to attach my name to." - Alyson Laura   It was the perfect marriage for her and her career. It allowed her to utilize her architectural education and background and to drive towards those that mattered most to her. Her first role in the industry was that of a LEED reviewer.   To hear about Alyson Laura and her contributions in making the world a better place with the green building movement, download and listen to the episode!   Connect with Alyson Laura:       Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:     Don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on if you truly enjoyed the show. We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !

Part of our job here at Green Building Education Services (GBES) is to stay out in front of the green building industry changes and then keep you updated on what you really need to know. LEED is really growing in the internationally. Apart from the United States, which has the highest number of LEED buildings (and professionals), there is rapid LEED growth in China, India, the Middle East, and Europe. Listen to this (short) Green Building Updates for 2018 episode, where we discuss major LEED and WELL updates that are coming our way. "40% of all LEED projects registered to pursue a LEED certification right now are outside the United States." - Charlie Cichetti Greenbuild-Europe Conference 2018 The recently took place with around 300 LEED professionals in attendance in Berlin, Germany. Greenbuild Conferences will also be held in Mexico, China, India, and the United States this year. A simulcast will be conducted for the events in India and the U.S. Major LEED Updates This year shows an interest in global growth and improvements in data and org platforms. USGBC President and CEO Mahesh Ramanujam announced a new LEED version. Version 4.1 has already been introduced on the U.S. website and newsletter for the O+M beta first. "LEED goes through major updates every five or so years, but in this case, v4.1 is an incremental upgrade in between a major overhaul of the most popular green building rating system." - Charlie Cichetti Beta Version Now Available LEED v4.1 O+M Beta is now out and available for download at the U.S. Green Building Council website. It does away with certain prerequisites and highlights substantial changes towards more performance and less prescriptive. Keep in mind, this is beta, can be commented on, and will be voted on later. To hear about the Green Building Public Service Announcement, download and listen to the episode! Links for Green Building Public Service Announcement: Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES: Don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on if you truly enjoyed the show. We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !

Stacie Stamper is the Commercial Marketing Associate for CertaPro Painters of Duluth & Norcross. She has a diverse background, but she has always been an advocate for reducing construction’s carbon footprint by diverting construction and demolition waste from landfills.   "The appreciation for things out in the industry … sitting in warehouses, storage units, garages … the things kept piling up … people didn’t want to throw them away, but they didn’t know what to do with them.” -Stacie Stamper   She is the creator of the “Follow the LEEDer initiative.” In this initiative she introduces the concept of a 'deconstruction' contractor.  This new type of contractor would remove materials for reuse and recycle as opposed to a demolition contractor that removes materials for disposal. With the creation of the Masterformat 2018, recycle and salvage vendors, liquidators, materials brokers, reuse retailers and manufacturers will be able to bid on salvaged waste from construction sites.   She volunteers as a Project Manager for the Gwinnett Habitat for Humanity. She has been a board member at Global Paint for Charity since 2012. Stacie received her BS in Computer Science and Computer Technology from Indiana State University. The Ah-Ha Moment It was working with Habitat for Humanity projects where Stacie Stamper became more aware about sustainability and started to understand the importance of conservation. Working there opened Stacie’s eyes to the opportunity of reusing materials from a job site.   Before that Stacie had an interior design studio. The space this firm occupied was in a 200 year old historic building. Her firm took it, refurbished it, and the creativity with reusing materials was born through this experience. The Recycling Challenge Some states have not figured out how to recycle used materials like paint although some states have a system in place that pays for itself. In California, paint is taxed by the gallon as a service charge and this pays for the recycling program. By paying up front, people are able to return the unused paint “free of charge” to have it recycled.   "My day job filters into my passion project which is ‘To rally the industry and bring people into the movement who can identify where the materials are. Then, we can engage before construction starts and have time to manage and plan the diversion.’” - Stacie Stamper   Expanding Recycle and Salvage Codes Inviting the procurement vendors to the table is the biggest change the industry is facing. If these vendors knew all materials were available prior to starting the project, they could come in and bid like contractors. Re-education is needed in the our industry to work with the construction industry.   "The word for 2018 is collaboration … it’s not just one industry that needs to take responsibility” - Stacie Stamper   Stacie shares an example of how as a painting contractor, she was able to reuse store fixtures marked for garbage and instead found a way to have this “waste” be reused to serve multiple purposes. At Habitat Restore the materials were sold to generate proceeds for families in need and as a contractor Stacie earned a tax receipt for the donation and reduced her waste disposal fees.   To hear about Stacie Stamper and how he is making with her “Follow the LEEDer initiative,” download and listen to the episode!   Connect with Stacie Stamper:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   Don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on if you truly enjoyed the show. We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !

At the age of 25, Davis Richardson already accomplished much in his life. He is the Founder, Brand Manager, and Design Director of Nomad Design-Build. Recently, he published a book called Going Tiny: Failure + Opportunity in the Future of Affordable Housing. "The fact that it's been on tv shows means that people are looking for it. We should move forward, so that we won't miss an opportunity to live greener and more affordably. There are also design opportunities that we can maximize." - Davis Richardson on tiny houses Passion in Baseball and Design Before attending the University of Texas, Davis attended the College of Charleston to study Historic Preservation and Community planning. He went on the receive his BA in Interior Design from Harding University. He was a student athlete, and was named 1st-Team Capital One Academic All-American in 2015 when he played baseball for the Harding Bisons. Pursuit in Architecture Davis is currently a M.Arch Candidate studying at the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture. His career goal is to become a licensed architect. Sustainability was a big part of his education. "This is a major issue that we have to deal with, and architecture has the opportunity to make a big difference." - Davis Richardson Mentors from the Community Davis sincerely appreciates his mentors. His first mentor was Greg of Smith Dalia Architects in Atlanta. He honest feedback and encouragements ushered him forward in his career. "You can't be afraid to ask. You have to know that what you are asking [involves] someone's time. "  - Davis Richardson on having a mentor Another mentor was his college professor in the interior design program. She made him think closely about design and also encouraged him in his pursuit. Nowadays, social media have made it easier to learn from others and get involved in the community. To hear about Davis Richardson and how he is making a difference with affordable housing, download and listen to the episode! Connect with Davis Richardson: Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES: Don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on if you truly enjoyed the show. We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !

Michael Deane is Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at Turner Construction Company. He is a LEED BD+C Accredited Professional, and a LEED Fellow. His responsibilities include developing and implementing sustainable policies and procedures for Turner’s national and international operations, green building training, operational oversight and sales. "Focus on the middle distance to see what's coming down the road, so you can say to people, 'Hey, this is going to be important, this can help us build better buildings, this can help our clients.'" - Michael Deane   Start in Green Building Michael received his BA in History from the University of Colorado in Boulder. He also has an MS in Historic Preservation from Columbia University. "All those early years and those that I was interested in came back and preservation seem to be that put all of the pieces together." - Michael Deane The path led him to work as the Project Manager at the NYC Cultural Preservation Unit. He worked closely with theatres as well as a public library. His career in a construction company later introduced him to green building.   Active LEED Fellow Michael served for three years from 2012 to 2015 in the Federal GSA Green Building Committee as a member. "It was a recognition of a commitment and of a certain level of achievement." - Michael Deane on getting the LEED Certification   At present, he is part of the Board of Directors of the Recycling Certification and of the Board of Governors of the Design Futures Council Institute. He was named a LEED Fellow in 2013 -- the most prestigious designation of LEED Professional. Green Building Track Record Now with more than 28 years of experience in construction management, Michael has worked with a wider array of clientele. It includes K-12 schools, cultural institutions and hospitality. He also served on the USGBC National Board of Directors from 2005 through 2008 and is a founding board member and past chair of the USGBC New York Chapter. To hear about Michael Deane and his insights in the green building movement, download and listen to this episode! Connect with Michael Deane:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   Don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on if you truly enjoyed the show. We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !

Francesca Mayer Martinelli is the CEO of the Peru Green Building Council, where she leads the comprehensive implementation of sustainable construction in Peru. Her responsibilities include ensuring the council’s profitability and efficiency, representing the council with government agencies, preparing the annual and monthly goals and objectives, and expanding the council’s network.   "Green building is for everyone ... It's very important for us to identify what the best strategy is to approach [specific] projects and what is [needed to implement that]." - Francesca Mayer Martinelli Woman with a Green Heart Francesca enjoys getting in touch with nature. The green building movement resonated with her even before she started her career.     "I liked how easy and how logical sustainable decisions actually were." - Francesca Mayer Martinelli   When she proceeded to college, she received a scholarship in South Carolina where she studied Interior Design. She discovered her love for research and learned about sustainability through her teacher. All for a Sustainable Environment Prior to becoming the CEO of the Peru Green Building Council, Francesca worked as the Senior Project Manager for SUMAC Inc., an international consulting and development firm committed to sustainability and energy efficiency.     She maintains LEED BD+C and ID+C accreditation and received her BFA in Interior Design from Converse College. She went on to receive her MPS in Sustainable Design and Construction from the New York School of Design. At Work with the Peru Green Building Council   It was in New York where she became deeply immersed in the green building movement. Francesca learned so much about sustainability and was able to apply her skills in various projects including designing beach houses and retail stores.   "We need things that are really important for the government to provide the right framework and the right tool to be aware of what is really happening in the market and to provide incentives." - Francesca Mayer Martinelli   Currently at the Peru Green Building Council, they have an exciting project with specific municipalities. They are working on raising more awareness and creating better systems for everyone.   To hear more about how Francesca Mayer Martinelli is leading the way for a sustainable environment in Peru, download and listen to the episode!   Connect with Francesca Mayer Martinelli:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:     Don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on if you truly enjoyed the show. We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !

Charlie is proud to be one of the leaders in the green building industry. Today, Alyson Laura interviews Charlie Cichetti.  They are long-time friends and colleagues. She's a sustainability maven excited to put him in the hotseat and find out what green building means and how it matters to Charlie.   “You’re a risk taker, you started a business in an emerging industry.” - Alyson Laura “Calculated risk...the industry was still strong even during the recession.” - Charlie Cichetti Charlie and Alyson’s Backstory Charlie and Allison’s friendship began in the early 2000’s soon after college at Georgia Tech. Go Jackets!   At that time, there was not the opportunity to obtain a degree in sustainability. LEED wasn’t eve taught in the School of Architecture where Alyson was enrolled. Those early programs whether construction or architecture did not expose students to LEED since it was still in its infancy.   “LEED, we need to teach people, help them pass exams so they can navigate this crazy market of what is going on right now in the industry.” - Charlie Cichetti   Charlies says his attendance at GT was natural from his upbringing in the mountains of GA and coming from a small town. Hie family encouraged sustainability. His mom is from OR where the early adoption of recycling programs got its start. His start in sustainability has its roots in the resourcefulness of his parent. Focusing on LEED Upon graduation, Charlie worked for a very large general contractor, Batson-Cook Company. They built a lot of building across the Southeast. Charlie started as an estimator and then project management. After Batson-Cook, Charlie took a job with a real estate developer, Opus.   Charlie’s professional path could have gone two ways, focusing on LEED or BIM. Those were the hot topics in the mid-2000’s in the construction world.   When he took job with Opus, they were focused on LEED certification. This was Charlie’s start in LEED projects.   To hear more about Charlie, download and listen to Alyson Laura Interviews Charlie Cichetti!   Connect with Alyson Laura:   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES:   We hope you enjoyed Alyson Laura Interviews Charlie Cichetti. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a 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 !