The Green Building Matters Podcast with Charlie Cichetti

As Principal and Director of Sustainability at , Kathy directs the office’s research and sustainable design advisory team. Kathy joined the firm in 2002 with a strong commitment to sustainable design and construction, and has considerable experience working on LEED and Living Building Challenge projects. On a firm wide level, Kathy helped author, implement and direct Perkins&Will’s Sustainable Design Initiative. She regularly speaks and writes about sustainable design and healthy materials, and has authored several articles on healthy building materials and transparency. Kathy is a past-chair of the Cascadia Green Building Council.   Show Highlights   Degrees that support reducing impact on the built environment How do we work with industry to think about different green business practices? Market barriers to reusing materials in new construction.  Unique opportunity to empower a sustainable sustainability corporate strategy to connect essential knowledge with the entire organization. Perkins&Will’s Living Design Initiative addresses issues with clients, staff and what the world is facing.  Perkins&Will will future proof their company by identifying strategic opportunities. Elevate up and look at bigger strategy issues affecting our industry and the impact we have on climate climate change. Help clients navigate the best tool to select for a project, occupants, and stakeholders to justify third party validation value.   “It pays to persevere and to stick to your values and what you're passionate about. When times are tough, we're in tough times right now during a pandemic, but stick to your values and things will work out” -Kathy Wardle Kathy Wardle’s Show Resource and Information   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community! If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2022 GBES

As Manager of Special Programs for the innovation team at Blue Ocean Sustainability, Danielle performs research and analysis to help develop software and technology to improve sustainability within the built environment. Her focus is on developing new resources for SIG’s [green building consulting sister company] consultant teams as well as cultivating new opportunities to better support green building clients in meeting their sustainability initiatives. Education Danielle originally planned to pursue a career in Architecture, earning a B.A. in Art and Architectural History from Columbia University in 2008. After a year of working in the field, however, she changed course and went back to school for engineering, earning a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland in 2013. She has been a LEED Green Associate since 2015. Experience Danielle has a diverse background that blends architecture, education, engineering, and consulting. After spending a year at a New York architecture firm, she taught math and science to middle and high school students while simultaneously earning her engineering degree. She then joined an energy efficiency consulting team where she worked with commercial utilities; state, local, and international governments; private sector clients; and most notably, the federal government. Before joining SIG, Danielle spent most of her time on the U.S. EPA’s ENERGY STAR Commercial Buildings team, helping to develop the 1-100 ENERGY STAR scores for commercial buildings and leading the ENERGY STAR certification review team. Interests Danielle enjoys traveling as much as she can, especially when her trips can incorporate hiking, food, wine, or scuba diving. When at home, she enjoys cooking, reading, and binging TV shows. She lives in northern Virginia with her husband.   Show Highlights Balancing ethics and sustainable implications for the industry  Blue Ocean Sustainability’s innovations for green buildings. Cloud-based software to help with measuring the shift to embodied carbon on construction sites.  Energy Star Portfolio Manager experience that led to scoring in our new tool: True Carbon Rating Systems and Certifications from various agencies for health and safety efforts.   An inevitable change in intensity for mitigating climate change.  A peek into evaluating companies you want to do business with to be a responsible consumer. How do buildings really tie into climate change and the responsibility we have to fix this. “One thing I’m really proud of is making the pivot from my original plan of Architecture into Engineering and then more specifically into Sustainability…in your career you have time to change, you can pivot.” -Danielle Wilmot     Danielle Wilmot’s Show Resource and Information     Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2022 GBES

Gautami Palanki, currently serves as VP, Sustainability at The Howard Hughes Corporation, where she leads sustainability strategy, advancing their commitment to innovative placemaking, design excellence, and operational high performance. For more than a decade, Gautami worked in both private and non-profit environments, where she led architectural design projects, technology implementation, deploying global sustainability standards and technical programs. Passionate about community-based climate action, Gautami has given keynote talks and led workshops for audiences in more than 20 countries and serves on the boards of mission-driven organizations. Gautami holds a B. Arch from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, and M.S. in Sustainable Design from Carnegie Mellon University. She is a Licensed Architect and LEED Fellow. Show Highlights The intersection of science and art in architecture. Bioclimatic design and vernacular in architecture.  Apply LEED and LEED For Cities in new, advanced and creative ways. Accelerate the path of architectural design in green building design and certification.  How can architecture ‘look forward’ using data and technology? Arc platform and why all buildings should use it.  Howard Hughes’ work in creating ecosystems with master-planned communities. Taking problem/solution driven toolsets and applying them towards ESG principles. “​​I'm really proud of the fact that I have a tribe of people like you and everyone who's listening on the call, whom I can rely on and exchange very candid notes and say ‘Hey, challenge here. What did you do in a similar situation?’ For any green building professional having that network, of a very transparent conversation, is key. I'm very glad to have that peer group.” -Gautami Palanki Gautami Palanki’s Show Resource and Information Linkedin ​​ ​​ Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2022 GBES

Jason Packer, president of has been named a 2021 LEED Fellow by Green Business Certification Inc. (). Jason is among 21 professionals from around the world who represent exceptional practitioners and leaders within the green building community and have demonstrated mastery of the technical application of LEED, the world’s most widely used green building rating system. Beginning with starting a green renovation business and leading to roles as an educator and consultant, Jason has over twenty years of experience in the building design and construction industry. In addition to Passive House, Living Building Challenge, and Zero Carbon projects, Jason has been responsible for over 35 LEED certifications and participated in over 35 more. Jason is known for his tireless work with clients, colleagues, and industry members to uphold the highest green building standards. Recollective is proud of all the work that he has done over the years to achieve the prestigious LEED Fellow.   Show Highlights A program that is planting seeds in the industry. B Corp recipe for how to do things better and to account for those things.  Recollective’s company culture to divide tasks to increase experience.  Unpacking “sound bite culture” to drive the direction green building must go.   Happy Homes toolkit, allows on site critical connections in concrete fashion. Join the “revolution” to live in a manner that sustains us without impairing future generations. Tips on how to look through a lens  from 10,000 feet to see what's needed on projects.  Critical relationships and connections you need to make in your career.  Sustainable Energy Association   “If I asked you, how's your relationship with your romantic partner going? How's your family? and you said ‘Things are sustainable.’ That's hardly a ringing endorsement.  It should be far more than sustainable, it should be fun, it should be regenerative, it should be forward thinking and we have a long, long way to go here [within the green building movement].” -Jason Packer   Jason Packer’s Show Resource and Information   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2022 GBES

Balaji Sreenivasan is the founder, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and board member at Aurigo Software Technologies based in Austin, TX. Balaji has played a critical role in shaping Aurigo over the last 18 years to be a modern enterprise cloud software business that is helping (construction) infrastructure owners plan and build over $300 billion of capital projects more efficiently. Balaji spends his time on product strategy, customer delight, and enabling the amazing people at Aurigo to be their best. He is an alumnus of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Trichy, and the University of Florida, Gainesville. Aurigo has helped plan and deliver over 40,000 projects across North America. Their customers include eight US DOTs, the Ministry of Transportation, Ontario, and several large agencies, including Cities of Seattle, Houston, and Las Vegas, and the Dallas Area Rapid Transit, to name a few. Aurigo is North America's #1 provider of Enterprise Cloud Software that helps Infrastructure owners plan and build smarter so they can build better. Their mission is to digitally transform the way capital infrastructure, such as roads, highways, sea ports, airports, water authorities and light rail transits are planned and delivered in North America. They have a leading portfolio of software subscription offerings with over $100M bookings.   Show Highlights Aurigo, a cloud based enterprise focused on infrastructure and the construction lifecycle from an owner's perspective. Combination of business opportunity and core skills to benefit infrastructure. What drove Balaji to fill gaps in this industry? Entrepreneurship tips on building a network, finding mentors, and later angel investors. A platform to deliver funded projects across the US. ​​Infrastructure and resiliency and so much more? Native mobile apps that harness data across the entire construction lifecycle to make better decisions at every stage. Project Sentiment Analysis from conceptual design to ribbon cutting.  “Everyone out there, if they're not thinking of sustainability, thinking about how to have an infrastructure asset that can protect the environment and not harm it…they're not thinking of building a better tomorrow. They may not be asking themselves: how do I build a better tomorrow? You build a better tomorrow by planning with confidence; you build with quality and you maintain with efficiency.” -Balaji Sreenivasan     Balaji Sreenivasan’s Show Resource and Information     Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community! If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2021 GBES

Show Highlights Reflection questions to create professional and personal goals to direct your year.  Questions to consider and tips for effective communication. Planning tips to move from ideas to execution.  How to bring Intention to 2022. Sometimes avoid lagging indicators when setting goals. Time vs Attention Episodes 9 or 200 will help establish habits  Episode 152 how to build a company tips Call to Action to help the GBM Podcast Credentials and Education in 2022 to expand your skillset.   Show Resource and Information         Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community! If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the ! Copyright © 2022 GBES

Sharon Patterson Grant, LEED AP BD+C and Homes, has been providing green building consulting and education since 2006. She has consulted on over 100 LEED homes, neighborhoods and commercial buildings across the Pacific Northwest, and has developed and taught numerous LEED workshops. She has also consulted on dozens of projects to reduce energy use in buildings and green organizations, including the largest commercial property management firms in Idaho. Recently, Sharon has taken her expertise and gone all in on ESG (and Corporate Sustainability) with RE Tech Advisors. Sharon has specialized in energy codes, primarily through her work with the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, Bonneville Power Administration and Office of Energy Resources to provide education, co-facilitate a statewide collaborative, perform cost analysis and conduct a statewide market assessment. She also worked on a white paper for PNNL on incorporating orientation into codes. The scope of projects expanded to providing strategic energy management for commercial property owners, cities and school districts. Cities have included Boise, Tacoma, Missoula, Eugene, Providence and Grand Rapids. For the USGBC, Sharon was chair and vice chair of the Idaho Chapter for 4 years,and currently sits on the West Regional Council and is national co-chair for the Build Better Codes campaign. Her other board positions include GreenWorks, Northwest Integrity Housing Company and Idaho Smart Growth. As a Certified Sustainable Building Advisor and a Healthy Homes Specialist, Sharon has taught at BSU and Maui Community College and presented at conferences such as Region 10 EPA, Sun Valley Sustainability and the National Environmental Health Association. As a Provider and Instructor with ID and WY Real Estate Commissions, she has provided green building classes to hundreds of real estate professionals. Sharon has degrees in Ecological Design and Business. Her work received Idaho Grow Smart Awards in 2008, 2009 and 2011 and a Better Bricks Award in 2010. She is a published author on green building topics and was host of “Building a Greener Idaho,” a weekly radio show on Radio Boise.   Show Highlights Benefits of a broad theoretical based ecological design degree. Calculated leaps, travel, and trying different things will shape your career path.  Meaningful impact with affordable housing to educate operational costing and provide training to residents. Green design provides solutions to the drain on our health care system. Whole Neighborhood LEED Platinum project that promotes the value for the environment and educates people to support.  Different ways to provide education to trades to encourage respectful relationships that promote the green building process. Challenges to do renewable energy in a conservative population that doesn’t believe in climate change and has been “blacklisted.” Sharon shares what she is doing now, which has an impact across the nation. Practical business approach to climate change. “It's the most important and critical thing we can do in this day and age. If we don't change the amount of carbon emissions going into our atmosphere we're not going to have a future for our children and my son is eight. I want him to have a future. I want him to experience future generations and I want them to have a prosperous life.” -Sharon Grant     Sharon Grant’s Show Resource and Information       Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community! If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2021 GBES

Lisa Tharp, is the founder and principal of Lisa Tharp Design, an international design firm known for its clean-lined artistic blend of the classic with the modern, a hand-crafted custom furniture line, and industry leadership in design practices that support wellness of people and our planet. Lisa Tharp Colors, a curated non-toxic paint collection for ECOS Paints, launched February 2021. With studio presence in Boston, New York, Montreal and Auckland, Lisa Tharp Design transforms luxury spaces in the city, country and on the water. Beautiful, inventive environments enhance architecture, connect to a sense of place, and reflect and support the personality, lifestyle aspirations and well-being of those who inhabit them. The firm’s work has been featured by Architectural Digest, ELLE Decor, LUXE, House Beautiful, international publications, books, and by This Old House television productions. Lisa Tharp Design has garnered a number of honors, including successive Bulfinch Awards from the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, EcoHome Award for Tharp’s Concord Green Healthy Home which modeled healthy and sustainable building practices, Luxe Gold List, and Best of Boston by Boston Home magazine. Tharp was inducted into the New England Design Hall of Fame in 2021.  Show Highlights   Know the difference between green design and healthy design. Choose healthy products that make sense for both builders and architects. Lisa’s partnership with ECOS Paints results in a healthy package of “liquid gold.” Offer and educate clients to select choices that are better for their project and cities when they don’t ask. Combination of interest in design of old and new methodologies. Further expand the green reach with new collaborations focused on passive and self-sustaining small homes. How do we rethink cities to make them human friendly, include more public housing, and green space?  Switch thinking to what is sustainable, what is healthy and what is human centric design. Combine the best of historic, traditional building principles with the latest in modern technology.     “Don't just follow a path because it's expected of you or people recommend it to you. You really owe it to yourself to find your jam. If you follow your passion, you will be better aligned with who you are in your work, your mission, and your purpose.”  -Lisa Tharp     Lisa Tharp’s Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community! If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2021 GBES

Brett Little, is the Program Manager at GreenHome Institute (GHI), a nonprofit whose mission is to empower people to make healthier and more sustainable choices in the renovation and construction of the places we live in. At GHI, Brett oversees their education and certification services such as LEED for homes, enterprise green communities, GreenStar Homes Certification, DOE Home Energy Score and Zero Energy Capable Program. He also runs their Weekly Wednesday webinar series, professional education, annual zero energy conference and the Grand Rapids green affordable housing program.  In addition, he helps administer Enterprise Green Communities on Low-income Housing Projects across the midwest region. Brett has his Bachelor's Degree from Aquinas College in the Sustainable Business program and previously served as a USGBC West MI board member (6 years). Brett lives in West Michigan with his wife and two young children - in a home that's seeking zero-energy certification via a renovation in a cost-neutral way to show that anyone can do it. Show Highlights How volunteering, the right questions, and Starbuck will open doors and allow you to fail upwards? Green Home Institute (GHI) empowers people to make healthier and more sustainable choices.  Education, training, and awareness on green building practices for new and existing homes.  Certify homes and multifamily buildings either to LEED standards or Enterprise Green or Southface  Entice developers build low income housing. The Heartland and Middle America is the second hardest place to convince people to support green building.  Incorporating the five pillars of green energy. The bigger conversation about when we're using energy and that it matches when renewables are being produced in our region.  24/7 zero carbon for real-time air quality. Michigan is the “canary in the coalmine.” “As we start the transition more to our homes and working from home, this is going to become even more important that we deal with sustainability in our housing.” - Brett Little Brett Little’s Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community! If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the ! Copyright © 2021 GBES

Lois Vitt Sale, a practicing architect for more than 25 years, has a career that goes well beyond the domain of project design. She has been a national leader in the application of green technologies and sustainable planning to the public and private sectors. She is a public policy advisor to elected officials and has participated in the development of policies to lessen the negative impacts of the built environment on the health of people and on our natural resources. Her specialty is found in the intersection between applied technology and the development of policy provisions for City, State, and Federal entities. Internationally, Lois is a Sustainable Designer for Kuwait Gulf Oil Corporation in Kuwait. In addition, Lois applies these technologies and practices to leading edge sustainable designs and consulting to design teams and clients to maximize the environmental potential for projects. Besides her work as a practicing architect, Lois is an adjunct faculty at Northwestern University where she teaches sustainable construction, LEED Fellow, and LEED Faculty with the U.S. Green Building Council. Lois’ career has been both driven and distinguished by environmentally sound building practices. Her portfolio consists of more than 70 LEED projects including prominent projects such as the LEED Platinum Hidden Oaks Nature Center and the Bachelor Enlisted Quarters at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center – one of the first LEED certified buildings in the country. Show Highlights From Renaissance woman to LEED Fellow, Lois shares key tips and advice for green projects.  Questions to consider to gear up for green building and deliver true sustainable building attributes. Find “fertile soil” professionally and personally. The hallmark of Wight & Company, a regional powerhouse. Positive partnerships between the design team, the construction team, and the real estate team. Evolution of energy efficiency goals for LEED projects. Necessary feedback loop to see a building through to occupancy. Everything the industry needs to do for the next ten years. The first project in the state of Illinois, that is verified as a net zero building.    “We set practice paradigms. We provide education, always looking at the horizon saying, ‘Is our practice on point? Are we focused in the right direction?’ Every day of my career is a new day. What we do is evolve, learn, and grow. I am proud of the fact that I have a sense of creativity and curiosity that has been able to find "fertile soil" [in green buildings].” -Lois Vitt Sale     Lois Vitt Sale’s Show Resource and Information   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community! If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2021 GBES