U.S. Green Building Council California Announces 2024-25 Board of Directors, Reflecting Breadth of Communities as part of Recent Statewide Unification
LOS ANGELES (September 23, 2024) The U.S. Green Building Council California (USGBC-CA) has selected its Board of Directors for 2024 – 2025, reflecting for the first time the geographic breadth of the recently unified statewide organization. The 28-person Board of Directors represents the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) community and includes changemakers from across the public and private sectors including banking and finance, ESG, higher education, real estate, utilities, entertainment and non-profit. The Board Chair is Gary Lai, Landscape Architect and owner, Quixotic Nature-based Solutions, with Christine Marez, Vice President, Sustainability and ESG, Cumming Group, serving as Vice Chair.
“This year we set out with an ambitious goal of restructuring our entire organization and governance structure to attempt to equitably represent this beautiful, diverse state and I couldn’t be more pleased with this inaugural group of board members from across California. We have assembled a group of dynamic leaders with a wide range of experience to help us tackle decarbonizing the built environment while creating a more resilient future for all,” states Ben Stapleton, Executive Director, USGBC-CA.
The 2024 – 2025 Board of Directors are (* denotes Executive Committee):
Gary Lai, Landscape Architect and owner, Quixotic Nature-based Solutions *
Christine Marez, Vice President, Sustainability and ESG, Cumming Group *
Monique Johnson, Senior Vice President, Director of Client and Community Partnerships; CRA Officer, Beneficial State Bank *
Jessie Buckmaster, Director of Sustainability, Hathaway Dinwiddie *
Ravi Bajaj, ESG and Sustainability, Citadel EHS (San Diego)
Katherine (Kate) Diamond, Civic Design Director/Design Principal, HDR, Inc.
Rick Duarte, Construction and Engineering Sustainability Program, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Emily English, Sustainability Director, BNBuilders (Northern California)
Ariel Fan, Founder, CEO, GreenWealth Energy
Farrah Farzaneh, Director, Facilities Planning, Emergency Management & Construction, San Bernardino Community College District
Mark Fuller, CEO Howard Building Corporation
Melissa Gutierrez-Sullivan, VP, Head of Environmental, Social, and Governance, CIM Group
Avideh Haghighi, Associate Principal, Sustainable Design Leader, ZGF
Jeff Herrera, Director of Impact and Asset Management, Rising Realty Partners
Kathleen Hetrick, Senior Sustainability Engineer, BuroHappold Engineers
Sara Hickman, Senior Vice President, Leading Edge
Erik Johnson, CEO / Owner, Greneker
Nick Kassanis, President, Sustainable Investment Group
Robyn Mancell, CEO, Green Energy Solutions Holdings LLC
John Moore, Director of Development, Housing Authority of San Bernardino County
Marcela Oliva, Architecture Professor, LACCD / LATTC
Paul Poirer, Principal Architect, Poirier + Associates Architects (Central Coast)
Jacob Raykhelson, Senior Manager, Environmental Sustainability, The Walt Disney Company
Jay Shipley, National Director of Public Sector Services, Roux
Ryan Tinus, VP, ESG, LivCor, a Blackstone Company
Megan White, Principal & Senior Sustainability Program Manager, Firecrown Advisors (Northern California)
Oren Wool, Principal, 108 Technologies (Redwood Empire)
Candice Wong, Principal, Ten Over Studio (Central Coast)
In collaboration with the green building communities around the state, Stapleton and the Board have established one unified movement for those interested or already involved in the green building industry. USGBC-CA is focusing much of its effort on accelerating positive change through both existing and new initiatives that can be rolled out statewide for greater regional impact led by local community members, leveraging USGBC-CA’s digital platform, content, and tools. The initial focal points are:
- Workforce Development
- Environmental Justice
- Building Electrification
- Embodied Carbon
- Climate Resilience
Since the April unification, a wide range of trainings and certificate programs have been provided statewide including Wildfire Defense, Extreme Heat and the new Sustainable Production for Entertainment; USGBC-CA is accepting Green Building Corps interns from across California; and the application has launched to be part of the USGBC-CA Statewide Trainer Network to Accelerate Building Decarbonization. Additionally, the first San Francisco-based Thought Leadership Series event will be on Oct. 17th on the status of Data Centers and sustainability, and the Green Schools Program is poised for statewide expansion (3000+ students to date taught Sustainability Fundamentals).
The recently termed-out or departing Board members include a number of highly engaged members who have left a lasting legacy including: Steve Baule, City of Los Angeles; Karen Klepack, Prologis; Todd Lynch, UCLA; Vaishali Sampat, Kilroy Realty Corporation; and Seth Strongin, HDR.
For more information about USGBC California (or USGBC-CA), please contact Ben Stapleton, ben@usgbc-ca.org.
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About USGBC California
USGBC California is a 501(c)3 non-profit and member-based organization whose vision is to transform California’s built environment into a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable region for all. USGBC California comprises green building communities across the state. We lead by inspiring leaders throughout our communities to take action on climate change, public health, and environmental justice while educating, developing, and empowering a diverse talent pipeline through our training, mentorship, and direct-to-community programs. We connect by merging interdisciplinary perspectives and collaborations to create positive systemic change. We advocate through promoting innovative, impactful policy solutions addressing the most urgent environmental and social challenges of our time.(www.usgbc-ca.org)
