Julie Banerjee, Seattle City Light
Julie Banerjee is an energy professional with eight years of international and domestic experience in strategic development, financial management, and process improvement. She currently manages City Light’s New Construction portfolio, working with stakeholders to future-proof new buildings. Interested in the intersection of the built environment and equity, Julie worked with a renewable energy company in India for almost three years, developed policy recommendations for the City of New York on interventions to reduce its citizens’ energy cost burden, and worked with municipalities in rural Alabama to develop decentralized wastewater systems.
Becky Bicknell, Walsh Construction
Becky Bicknell has been engaged in the development or construction of affordable housing in King County for the past 16 years. She recently served as the real estate development manager at Bellwether Housing and is currently the business development manager at Walsh Construction, a multifamily general contractor actively supporting mission-based projects in the Pacific Northwest. Becky is passionate about bridging the gap between policy and practicality and finding innovative solutions to improve how we construct well-built and cost-effective affordable homes.
Brad Carmichael, JRS Engineering
Brad Carmichael, PE, Assoc. AIA is a senior building science specialist with JRS Engineering and has been consulting on building enclosures throughout North America for over a decade. Brad has consulted on a wide array of different project types and sectors, including high rises, educational and healthcare facilities, cultural institutions, workspaces, historic landmarks, and many affordable housing projects. Brad is passionate about good design and the role it can play in social and environmental stewardship. He believes that durable and efficient building enclosures are critical for a built environment that is low consumption and long lasting.
Mark Deutsch, Volunteer, Housing Development Consortium Seattle-King County
Mark Deutsch is a volunteer with HDC who focuses on encouraging the development of environmentally-friendly affordable housing. He brings broad experience in project management and meeting facilitation within the technology, manufacturing, and retail industries and works with project leadership and partners to manage program implementation and uptake. Mark earned an MBA from the Wharton School and has completed the Commercial Real Estate Certificate program at the University of Washington and a Sustainable Building Advisor program. He previously volunteered for the Seattle chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, serving as board co-chair and supporting the organization’s LEED training.
Emily Evenson, Weber Thompson
Emily Evenson (RA, AIA, CPHD) is an associate at Weber Thompson and has been practicing architecture in the Seattle area for 10 years. She chairs HDC’s Policy Advisory Group and firmly believes housing is a basic human right. Emily specializes in mid-rise, multifamily residential buildings, many of which fall under the affordable housing umbrella. Due to her passion for high-performance buildings and the fight to slow climate change, she attained her Certified Passive House Design credential in 2017. Her goal is to help colleagues and developers deliver beautiful, socially responsible, and sustainable projects to the region.
Steve Gelb, Emerald Cities Seattle
Steve Gelb began his career in the environmental space as a founder of SustainableWorks, a residential energy efficiency program in Washington state, where he served as executive director for three years. While there, he helped pioneer a community-based model with a one-stop-shop that retrofitted over 500 homes. As director of Emerald Cities Seattle, Steve has partnered with the City of Seattle on a High Road Agreement for residential contractors and a Community Workforce Agreement for commercial contractors that insures quality opportunities for apprentices and those under-represented in the construction workforce.
Joe Giampietro, JGA Consultants
Joe Giampietro is a principal at JGA Consultants. With more than 35 years of experience in real estate development, land use planning and architecture, Joe provides high performance design strategies to reduce energy use, increase durability and comfort, and lower maintenance costs. Joe’s passion led him to develop one of Seattle’s first Passive House projects, the Mini-B Passive House Backyard Cottage. While a principal at NK Architects, he led the design team for Pax Futura in Columbia City, the first multifamily Passive House project in King County (completed and occupied in 2018). Joe is a founding member of Passive House Northwest.
Jon Heller, Ecotope
Jonathan Heller, president at Ecotope, has over 30 years of experience providing design, research, and consulting on energy and resource efficiency in the built environment. His research has provided the technical basis for the development of regional energy codes and energy conservation programs. He provides consulting services to local developers, architects, universities, and housing authorities, as well as regional utilities and municipalities. Jon’s mechanical engineering design work has focused on integration of emerging energy efficient technologies in highly efficient commercial buildings, multifamily, and small residential projects with an explicit focus on energy efficient construction.
Alistair Jackson, O’Brien360
For more than 20 years, Alistair has applied his sustainability expertise to the built environment, particularly in the areas of multifamily building and affordable housing. As a Principal, Alistair oversees O’Brien360’s residential services team, providing feasibility analysis; design support and facilitation; verification and performance testing for residential projects. He sits on technical advisory committees for the Washington State ESDS and Enterprise’s Green Communities programs, and is the Primary Quality Assurance Designee (QAD) and senior consultant for O’Brien360’s role as a LEED for Homes Provider. Alistair is an experienced trainer, facilitator and presenter. He has developed educational curricula to expand industry capacity for high performance buildings and delivered green building presentations, trainings and workshops across the country.
Sharon Libby, Walsh Construction Co
Sharon is a graduate of the University of Oregon’s School of Architecture. She joined WALSH in 2013 and has 15 years of experience in the architecture and construction industries. As a WALSH Quality Manager, she is responsible for the implementation of Quality Assurance and Quality Control procedures. In the preconstruction phase of a project, Sharon reviews the drawings and specifications in progress and advises the project team on quality and constructability issues. During construction, Sharon oversees installation procedures and envelope coordination activities and conducts construction reviews with the installers responsible for execution to ensure a high-quality project.
Kasey Liedtke, Bellwether Housing
As an affordable housing developer, Kasey manages all stages of development projects at Bellwether Housing. He previously worked for Arlington County, VA, as a green building and sustainability consultant and supporting the county’s affordable housing loan portfolio. Kasey earned a master’s degree in sustainable real estate development from Tulane University and was an Environmental Defense Fund Climate Corps Fellow for the City of New Orleans working on energy efficiency and energy conservation infrastructure projects. Kasey has a passion for integrated development approaches to affordable housing that emphasize financial stability, sustainable design, and urbanism.
Ryan Meno, Rafn Company
Ryan Meno brings a wide variety of sustainable construction expertise and experience and is valued for his commitment to affordable housing and his collaborative nature in tackling challenges. Ryan earned a degree in Construction Management from the University of Washington in 1998 and has worked for Rafn Company ever since, currently as a Senior Project Manager. He is a LEED Accredited Professional and is Green Advantage Commercial Certified. He is committed to the intersection of sustainable building and affordable housing. Two of his most rewarding projects are the historic renovation of the Cambridge Apartments for Bellwether Housing and the LEED Platinum 21 Acres Center which led to his inclusion on the King County Green Building and Sustainable Development Renewal Task Force.
David Reddy, O’Brien360
David Reddy, Principal at O’Brien360, has nearly 20 years of professional experience, including 13 years focused on analyzing the performance of buildings. He is an advanced user and developer of whole building energy simulation tools, while also being well-versed in other methods for evaluating building utility consumption. David’s breadth of experience includes evaluation and optimization of building efficiency strategies, completing measurement and verification studies, documenting compliance with energy codes, and green building certifications. He has provided services on a wide range of building projects, from single-family homes to high-rises and sports stadiums, but is most passionate about supporting the development of sustainable, affordable housing.
Loren Tierney, Housing Development Consortium of Seattle-King County
As Member Services Director, Loren provides overall direction and support for the Housing Development Consortium‘s member services program, implementing a comprehensive member and business development agenda, and creating impactful programming for HDC’s wide array of membership, including support of the Exemplary Building Program and the Practical Development Solutions Affinity Group, focused on best practices in Design, Development, and Construction. Prior to joining HDC staff in late June of 2014, Loren worked as Director of the Municipal League of King County and the Municipal League Foundation, and concurrently worked at the philanthropic, member-based Washington Women’s Foundation.
Dan Whitmore, RDH Building Science
Dan Whitmore combines a passion for energy, sustainability, and the natural environment with over 30 years of construction experience. He melds knowledge of Passive House, building science, materials selection, and energy resources with his extensive background in hands-on craft, site management, and project troubleshooting. Dan joined RDH Building Science in 2018 as one of their in-house Passive House Specialists. Additionally, Dan is a Certified Passive House Consultant (CPHC), a Certified Passive House Builder (CPHB), and an instructor and curriculum developer for the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS). He also serves on the boards of Passive House Northwest and PHIUS and is a constant advocate for municipal and state advances in building practice.