BuildingsNY would like to thank our Education Advisory Board for all their help in building the 2012 Education Program to meet the growing needs of the NY metro area.
Meet Conference Chair Rob Watson
The BuildingsNY Education Advisory Board is led by Conference Chair Rob Watson. Rob has been programming the Conference since 2009. He is the Executive Editor of GreenerBuildings.com. He also serves as the Chairman, CEO and Chief Scientist of the EcoTech International Group, which helps clients around the world achieve cost-effective high performance green buildings.
Under Rob's direction as the "Founding Father of LEED" and as its national Steering Committee Chairman between 1994 and 2005, the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system became the most widespread and fastest-growing standard by which green buildings are measured worldwide. A pioneer of the modern green building movement for over 20 years, in 2007 Rob Watson founded the EcoTech International Group to meet the fast-growing demand for green building technologies and services in China, India and the U.S.
Education Advisory Board Members
Joy Bramble, McGraw Hill Professional
Karen Butler, EPA Energy Star
Patrick Curry, NYC Department of Design & Construction
Laura Marlow, Reed Construction Data
Lauren Yarmuth, YRG Consulting
Joy Evangeline Bramble is Sr. Editor, Construction Architecture & Civil and Electrical Engineering, McGraw-Hill Professional (MHP)-a division of McGraw-Hill Education, a segment of The McGraw-Hill Companies. Prior to joining McGraw-Hill Professional in July 2007, Ms. Bramble twice served as Acquisitions Editor, ASCE (The American Society of Civil Engineers) Press. In her capacity as Sr. Editor at MHP, she publishes in her program, in concert with McGraw-Hill Construction's GreenSource Magazine, titles in the GreenSource Press series, which cover a wide variety of green/sustainable topics. As part of the McGraw-Hill Construction series, Ms. Bramble oversaw the publication of Building Information Modeling: Planning and Managing Construction Projects with 4D CAD and Simulations.
Karen Butler is currently the National Manager for Commercial Building Design initiative at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR voluntary labeling program. She provides strategic outreach to the architectural commercial buildings community and its affiliates to elevate their awareness on incorporating energy performance targets during the project design phase. Ms Butler conceived and manages enhancements to the EPA Target Finder on-line tool; created in 1999 and received more than 45,000 hits during the fourth quarter of 2009. The tool helps architects set energy use targets and rate the relative energy efficiency of commercial building design projects. She helped orchestrate Target Finder's acceptance to establish energy goals for Architecture 2030, American Institute of Architects' Sustainable Practice, as well as state and federal requirements such as the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. She also works with 3rd party software developers maintaining the Target Finder interface with Building Information Modeling tools.
In 2004, Ms. Butler created the "Designed to Earn ENERGY STAR" certification to provide recognition for projects and A/E firms that meet EPA criteria for energy efficiency. The more than 300 firms who joined the program submitted over 200 design projects which achieved ENERGY STAR and averaged 50 percent less fossil fuel energy than typical buildings. She's developed guidance to help owners and architects transition design projects to operating buildings that earn the ENERGY STAR qualified building label. The first five completed building projects that received the label are among the top 10 percent in the nation for energy efficiency.
Ms Butler participates on the AIA - COTE Technical Review Committee, AIA Educational Committee, ASHRAE Building Performance Metrics Steering Committee, US EPA Green Buildings Work Group, USGBC LEED Advisory Committee and New Buildings Institute research projects to refine energy performance as it relates to sustainable design, energy and costs savings and preventing CO2 and global warming. In 2006 she was invited to participate in a meeting on Energy Labeling for Buildings hosted by Natural Resources of Canada. She has written articles and been featured in Eco-Intel, EcoStructure, Building Operating Management, Archi-tech, and Metal Architecture and most recently contributed to ASHRAE - Energy Efficiency Guide for Existing Commercial Buildings.
Ms Butler has been a speaker at AIA national conventions, USGBC's GreenBuild conferences and many local and regional chapter events. Ms Butler started federal service with EPA in 1992 and managed the Implementation Team for its flagship energy efficiency program – Green Lights. In 1998 she was awarded the Hammer Award from the National Partnership for Reinventing Government sponsored by past Vice President Al Gore. Ms Butler's academic background includes a Master's of Architecture education from California Polytechnic University at Ponoma, and a B.A. in Psychology from University of Southern California.
Patrick Curry is both professionally and academically involved in the field of architecture. He currently holds the position of Project Director at the Office of Sustainable Design, an entity within New York City's Department of Design and Construction (DDC) which has, since its inception, placed a priority on identifying and implementing cost-effective ways to promote greater environmental responsibility in building design. He provides sustainable design guidance, during design and construction, on numerous city building projects and encourages the use of innovative design solutions and technologies through research and development initiatives. For his projects Mr Curry also oversees the Local Law 86 (green building standards) reporting to the Mayor's Office of Environmental Coordination, which is a crucial step for the city realizing its PLANyc goals. In his capacity as a Project Director Mr Curry has worked with a variety of New York City's public agencies; including libraries in Queens and Brooklyn, the Dept. of Homeless Services, the Dept. of Corrections, the Police Department, the Fire Department, and the Department of Cultural Affairs. Mr Curry also serves as a Visiting Instructor of Architecture at the Pratt Institute, where he teaches courses on climate and site oriented passive and active building systems. Prior to joining the DDC Mr Curry worked with award winning New York based architecture firms Cook + Fox Architects and Marpillero Pollak Architects, where he held lead roles on many diverse projects ranging from small and large scale residential and commercial projects to a waterfront industrial project. Mr Curry is a member of the American Institute of Architects and a LEED Accredited Professional.
Jill Lerner, with over twenty-eight years design and management experience, has been a leader in diversifying KPF's body of work into new building types, particularly academic and institutional projects. Jill, who joined KPF in 1994, is responsible for all aspects of the project and is the primary client contact during all phases - from initial programming and conceptual design through completion. Her focus has been on complex institutional buildings for both private and public agency clients.
Jill's projects include a mixed use facility at the City of New York's Baruch College in Manhattan; New York University's School of Law, New York City; a major expansion of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; a new campus for Amgen in Puerto Rico and an urban master plan for the United States Postal Service in Downtown Boston. Other recent work includes major projects for the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia; the University of Maryland Medical Systems in Baltimore; The College of Creative Studies, Detroit, Michigan; Alvah S. Chapman Graduate School of Business at the Florida International University in Miami and the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Following the World Trade Center disaster on September 11, 2001, Jill has co-chaired the New York New Visions Memorials Process team that is involved in research, outreach, temporary memorials, and advocacy issues.
Jill is a native of the New York area and is licensed in New York and Pennsylvania. She is an active member of the AIA and has served on the Board of Directors of the New York City chapter. She was a contributor and co-editor of Construction in Cities: Social, Environmental, Political, and Economic Concerns, published by CRC Press in 2001.
Laura Marlow, LEED AP
Program Director, Strategic Partnerships
Reed Construction Data
Laura Marlow is the Program Director for Strategic Partnerships at Reed Construction Data in Norcross, GA. She manages the relationship with AIA, both at a national and chapter level, as well as AGC of America, and other AEC industry partners.
Earlier in her career, Laura was management consultant, specializing in internet strategy and enterprise IT integration. During that time, she managed several successful corporate projects, including a massive AT&T/BellSouth/Cingular website integration effort, as well the launch of a joint-venture healthcare IT company.
Laura is known as a cross-functional leader, with expertise in telecommunications, healthcare, and construction industries. She aggressively pushes to address and support the needs of the architectural community.
Lauren is co-founder and Principal of YRG sustainability. She is a recognized leader in the sustainability industry with experience enabling corporations, building owners, project teams, and communities to implement and benefit from sustainability-focused solutions.
An architect by training, Lauren is skilled at developing and managing project-specific, practical, and appropriate strategies for sustainability, and leveraging the value in the marketplace. Her project experience spans most building types, and often includes making the case for green building, developing an effective approach for sustainable performance, providing education, and technically carrying projects through to recognized successful outcomes. This process draws upon Lauren's skills of inspiring teams, developing creative and effective paths and solutions, and bringing the right people and tools to the table at the right time.
Lauren is also a celebrated presenter, educator, and facilitator. She is known for being dynamic, engaging and effective at conveying key concepts and inspiring new perspectives. Lauren's presentations and trainings range from multiple-day green building and LEED-focused events, to executive debriefs on the costs and benefits of green, to opportunities related to personal sustainability.
Lauren works extensively with the USGBC LEED Green Building Rating System, and has supported the application and certification of LEED for hundreds of projects nationally and internationally. She has also worked on behalf of the USGBC to conduct project certification reviews and credit interpretation (CIR) responses for LEED projects, and to develop Reference Guide content and training curriculum.
Lauren served on the USGBC national Board of Directors from 2007-2009, and is an active member of the USGBC Governance Committee. She has participated as a member of the LEED Steering Committee, the USGBC 2008 Strategic Planning Committee, Chair of the national USGBC Professional Development Committee, national USGBC Retail Development Committee, and was a founding Board Member and Chair of the Education Committee for the Colorado USGBC chapter. Lauren is a LEED Accredited Professional.
