USGBC Announces First Graduates of Emerging Professionals Leadership Academy

William Nutt
Associate, Marketing and Communications
U.S. Green Building Council

This week, the U.S. Green Building Council celebrated the first graduates of the USGBC Emerging Professionals Leadership Academy. The Academy identifies future leaders in sustainability and fosters their development through educational trainings and special projects completed with the support of the individuals’ local USGBC chapters.

The 2011 class comprises a diverse group of 36 outstanding young professionals between the ages of 21 and 30 hailing from five countries, 18 states and the District of Columbia. The program has equipped them with leadership skills to impact organizations and communities across the globe.

The class received premier leadership training through a series of webcasts drawn from USGBC’s renowned collection of online educational resources. The class later convened in Atlanta where they engaged with prominent leaders within the USGBC community and in the field of sustainability. In the final phase of the eight-month program, participants employed their new leadership skills as they led sustainability-oriented projects designed to benefit their respective communities and USGBC chapters.

Graduate Jeremy Knoll of the Central Plains USGBC chapter organized three service-learning workshops in the Kansas City area for his special project. Each focused on a specific topic in sustainable technology and green living. Developed through the collaborative effort of residents, community leaders and like-minded organizations, these workshops offered AIA continuing education credit and developed a range of community enhancements, including the construction of bird feeders and planters using recycled material at a community center for impoverished children and the establishment of a community garden with a rainwater-only irrigation system. As a result of the project’s success, the Central Plains chapter received USGBC’s Chapter Innovation Grant, and Jeremy was nominated to join the chapter’s Board of Directors.

The 2011 graduates of the Emerging Professionals Leadership Academy are:

Avkash Patel, Texas Gulf Coast Chapter
Komal Kotwal, Texas Gulf Coast Chapter
Aaron Roche, Deleware Valley Green Building Council
Anna Winn, Cascadia Regional Green Building Council
Anupam Jain, India Green Building Council
Belle Farish, North Carolina Triangle Chapter
Bob Wade, Illinois Chapter
Daniel Cazap, Argentina Green Building Council
Felipe Faria, Brasil Green Building Council
Greg Mohrman, Northern California Chapter
Jack Feichtner, Los Angeles Chapter
Jenn Whitney, North Dakota Chapter
Jennifer Speece, National Capital Chapter
Jeremy Knoll, Central Plains Chapter
Jim Ratliff, Cincinnati Regional Chapter
Jonathan Burgess, South Florida Chapter
Kaisa Puhle, Florida Gulf Coast Chapter
Katharine Eggleston, North Carolina Triangle Chapter
Katie Dahlgren, Wyoming Chapter
Katie Flynn, Green Building Alliance
Kirsten Adair, California Central Coast Chapter
Lili Pan, PLATINUM – Hong Kong LEED AP Society
Lisette Cortes, Florida Gulf Coast Chapter
Mara Browne, Hawaii Chapter
Marc Costa, Los Angeles Chapter
Mariah Howard-Porath, Urban Green
Mark Schrieber, South Florida Chapter
Michael Peel, Inland Empire chapter
Mohamed El-Sayed, Central Ohio Chapter
Myer Harrell, Cascadia Regional Green Building Council
Roshini Das, New Mexico Chapter
Ryan Murphy, Georgia Chapter
Sarah Newton, South Carolina Chapter
Trenaya McCullough, Colorado Chapter
Tristan Van Slyke, Idaho Chapter
Zach Mathern, North Dakota Chapter

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