USGBC names 2021 board members bringing expertise in community development, public health and sustainability

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced in early February newly elected members to its 2021 board of directors. The members bring leadership and expertise in such areas as community development, the connection between human and environmental health, equity and sustainable real estate development. The members were selected to help further align activities with USGBC’s new vision, healthy people in healthy places equals a healthy economy. The board also announced its 2021 officers.

“USGBC’s board of directors brings diverse leadership, experience and insights to advance our mission  of green buildings for all,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO, USGBC. “The intersecting environmental, social and economic challenges our communities and businesses are facing requires us to leverage the full power of the green building community to shape a healthier, more sustainable world. We welcome our newly elected members and are grateful to the entire board for their continued guidance of our strategic plan.”

Elected members include Dr. Aaron Bernstein, Interim Director for Center for Climate, Health and the Global Environment at Harvard T.H. School of Public Health (Harvard C-CHANGE). His work at Harvard C-CHANGE examines the human health effects of global environmental changes with the aim of promoting a deeper understanding of these subjects among students, educators, policymakers and the public. He is also a pediatrician at Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Bernstein was re-elected to a two-year term.

Anyeley Hallová is the founder of Adre and brings 17 years of experience from mixed-use developments to office headquarters. She founded Adre, a real estate development firm focused on real estate projects that seek to create wealth for the Black community and underrepresented groups that traditionally lack access to real estate ownership and investment. Her civic work includes a governor appointment to Oregon’s Land Conservation and Development Commission, where she serves as vice-chair and a mayoral appointment to Portland’s Adjustment Committee, Community Involvement Committee for the Portland Plan and Policy Expert Group for Residential Development and Compatibility for the Comp Plan. Hallová was elected to a two-year term.

Dr. Ruth Thomas-Squance is the director of Field Building at the Build Healthy Places Network where she directs the organization’s national Field Building Strategy, positioning cross-sector partnerships from community development, public health and healthcare sectors to lead and leverage community-centered investments across the country to address social determinants of health and advance racial equity. She brings 15 years of experience working in multi-sector collaborations with diverse partners. Dr. Thomas-Squance’s passion for contributing to the promotion of health and social equity has taken her from a successful career in biomedical research to management in the non-profit and public sectors.

Lakisha Ann Woods is the president and CEO at the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) where she leads the organization in advancing building science and technology. Prior to NIBS, Woods was the senior vice president and chief marketing officer at the National Association of Home Builders where she oversaw all marketing, revenue-generating programs and national partnerships. Woods currently serves on the American Society of Association Executives board of directors and Advisory Board of Crosswalk. She was re-elected to a three-year term.

Dr. Marwa Zaatari is a partner at Dzine Partners and co-chair of enVerid Systems Advisory Board. She leads research and development of “Air as a Service” around heat exchanger coils, ventilation, filtration and IAQ measurements. Her work continues to advance building science methods in assessing performance-based procedures to design and operate buildings to optimize energy and people efficiency. Dr. Zaatari has extensive experience in identifying and quantifying the sources, fate and transport of indoor air pollutants, as well as assessing performance related to energy efficiency, exposure and economic impacts of indoor pollution. Dr. Zaatari was elected to a three-year term.

These elected board members will join USGBC’s CEO and two additional members: Daniel McQuade, managing director at Global Infrastructure Solutions and Karen Weigert, executive vice president of business strategy, finance and regional operations at Slipstream.

The board elected Dr. Aaron Bernstein as chair; Lakisha Ann Woods as vice chair; and Karen Weigert as secretary-treasurer.