AIA - American Institute of Architects NCARB - National Council of Architectural Registration Boards LEED AP - LEED Acredited Professional

Most of my experience is work on military projects on four different installations here in Alaska. Projects range from housing to hangars. Although projects were not registered with USGBC, each underwent intense scrutiny as to whether it met government required LEED rating levels. Within the past two years, the Army, Air Force and Coast Guard have all adopted LEED as their rating tool to meet new stringent federal mandates. I am currently the Project Manager writing a Design-Build RFP for the Army Corps of Engineers that will require Elmendorf AFB's first LEED silver certified project. Last year, I coordinated and facilitated an eco-charrette with the US Coast Guard for a project they plan to build in Homer, Alaska that looks to acheive a LEED gold rating.

While working in Texas in the early 2000's, I became dissatisfied with my small firms lack of response to sustainable issues in design and construction. My most critical criteria upon relocating then, was to work for a firm who would be on the cutting edge of green building. kpb architects has been one of the leading firms in Alaska, allowing me to pursue education, and educate others on green building. One of the first in the firm to acheive LEED AP, we now have over 1/2 our architecture staff accredited, due in part to my continuous encouragement, that all designers need to be able to educate the clients. I have also given Introduction to LEED lectures to several local organizations including, Society of American Military Engineers (SAME), Construction Specifiers Institute (CSI), and University of Alaska, Anchorage (UAA). As an associate of the firm, I was recently instumental in revising our Core Values to include sustainable design as a goal for every project.

Last year, I was elected as the Anchorage Chair of the USGBC Alaska Chapter. I have been actively involved in all aspects of the organization, from fundraising, to presentations, and even creating the flyers for our lecture series. As a member of the chapter board, I was extremely involved in the merger decision. My passion for this organization and my knowledge of the merger agreement led to my volunteering, and eventual appointment, as the interim board member for the January meeting.

Since the day I realized that people are going to build buildings, and architects are in a unique position to ensure those buildings are (or are not) built responsibly, I have vowed to educate myself, and others, in the possibilities of sustainable design. I am motivated to do something (yet to be determined) to make a difference. Living in Alaska and seeing first hand the effects of climate change, I, along with my fellow former board members, have many ideas and am looking for ways to implement those. I feel I am lucky to be working at this time when people are just becoming aware of, and beginning to desire a solution to, global climate change. I may not have treasure, but I do have time and hopefully some talent to offer the Cascadia organization to further the green building movement, especially in my home that is truly the last frontier. Although it would be considered a small town in the lower 48, Anchorage has a big city attitude. My involvement in the architecture community as well as the green building community has introduced me to many important people across the state. I hope to use some of those connections to help further Cascadia's mission in Alaska.

Having attended GreenBuild in Denver, I first heard of Cascadia when Jason introduced the Living Building Challenge. The reaction to the challenge was overwhelming, the talk of the conference. I was impressed how much influence one chapter could have on the entire organization. When the Alaska/Cascadia merger was proposed, I immediately thought about the benefits for our small chapter, and how we might be able to have a bigger voice that would better match the size of our state. I have heard many in our chapter state concerns about getting lost in such a large organization and at the same time, wanting to make sure Cascadia is aware of our temperamental issues and sometimes delicate political situations. With only two board seats, I think is is especially important that the elected Alaska Board members are not meek, even if their opinion differs from the rest of the board. I am not afraid to voice Alaska's concerns and issues on behalf of our branch, even if my own opinion may differ.