Green Building Learning Collaborative

GBLC Advisory Board

An industry advisory board for the Green Building Learning Collaborative (GBLC) was conceived by the SBE Program Director, Bahar Armaghani in fall of 2014.

This industry advisory board is composed of members of various industries who are global leaders in sustainability. The purpose of this industry advisory board is to help our degree reflect current developments and industry skills requirements, offer students support in leadership and obtaining credentials, and occasionally sponsorship for undergraduate final-year projects.

Collaboration between academia and industry is of course a two-way process. For instance, serving on this board allows these industries to make themselves known to students early in their university careers as a potential employer and enables them to influence and encourage students with their studies and the career opportunities available to them. They are able to help shape course content from an industrial perspective to keep it relevant and interesting so our graduates are very employable at the end of their studies.

Every fall and spring semesters board members participate in our program events include guest lectures, presentations, career showcase, and leadership lecture series. These enable students to develop contacts with companies and to tap into potential partnership and employment opportunities.

Our links and partnerships with industry not only enhance our students’ learning experience, but also make a vital contribution to their successful development.

The board has formed two committees:

Internship committee
Fund raising committee

If you are interested in joining this board and contributing to the SBE Program, please contact Bahar Armaghani.

GBLC Purpose

GBLC By Laws

GBLC Faculty Facilitator

Bahar Armaghani

LEED Fellow
Director & Instructional Associate Professor | Sustainability and the Built Environment | University of Florida
Director | Green Building Learning Collaborative | University of Florida

Bahar Armaghani is the Director of the Sustainability and the Built Environment Program and Lecturer in the College of Design, Construction and Planning at University of Florida (UF). She is also the Director of UF Green Building Learning Collaborative. She established UF’s Green Building Program, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and served as director for thirteen years. Since 2003, she administered over 135 LEED BD+C, ID+C, Schools, Retail, and Homes Projects at UF and outside including 13 LEED Platinum certified buildings and first platinum project in the state of Florida.

Executive Board Members

(Listed in order of Chair, Vice Chair, & Secretary)

Amy Pastor

GBLC | Chair (Current)
PE, CxA, LEED AP
Vice President – Sustainability | EXP

Amy Pastor is the Vice President of Sustainability for EXP. She is a licensed mechanical engineer with over 16 years of industry experience in design, sustainable consulting, energy modeling and commissioning for new and existing buildings in the public and private sectors. Early in her career, Amy developed energy models, provided guidance on Green Building Certification and performed onsite commissioning, retro-commissioning, energy audits, meter validations and other energy services. Prior to her current role, Amy was the Director of Commissioning and Sustainability for EXP’s US Buildings group, leading a national team of experts to enable high performance buildings across EXP’s markets. As Vice President, Amy integrates sustainable practices into all of EXP’s key practice areas: Buildings, Earth & Environment, Energy, Industrial, and Infrastructure.

Amy takes an active role in sustainability within her community and with the US Green Building council, where she serves as the National Co-Chair for the Women in Green Mentorship to Sponsorship Committee and as the Board Chair for the Central Florida Market Leadership team.

Amy has a passion for sustainability that extends beyond buildings and infrastructure. She embraces the ever-changing role and definition of a sustainable leader; we are all charged with mitigating the effects of climate change in our personal and professional realms and can only achieve a better tomorrow through collaborative efforts to educate and quickly implement changes in our lives.

Lauren Wallace

GBLC | Vice Chair (Current) & Internship Committee Chair (Past)
LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP
Principal & Director of Certifications and Consulting | Epsten Group, Inc.

Lauren Wallace is a Principal and the Director of Certifications and Consulting at Epsten Group where she trains and manages a large group of leaders in sustainability, consulting on thousands of inspiring projects in over 50 different countries. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology, as well as two Certificates in City & Regional Planning and Marketing. Ms. Wallace is the founding Facilitator for the Atlanta Living Building Challenge Collaborative, a LEED Project Reviewer, and a WELL Accredited Professional. With a background in Architecture, Ms. Wallace has been an active member of the sustainable design community for more than ten years. Ms. Wallace was recently appointed as a USGBC Faculty member for her experience with the WELL and LEED rating systems. She speaks regularly to large audiences with varying backgrounds about implementing change in the building industry, focusing on technical information and application.

Alfredo Espinosa

GBLC | Secretary (Current)
Vice President | Solar Preconstruction | Moss & Associates (Construction)

Alfredo believes that construction and infrastructure development form the physical foundation of our community, and outline the way we live and interact with each other. His goal is to be at the forefront our communities’ upward growth, and he strives to lead others in a positive direction.

Gallup Strengthsfinder Talents:
1. Positivity
2. Communication
3. Woo
4. Activator
5. Futuristic

Board Members

(Listed alphabetically by surname)

Wayne E. Allred

PE, LEED AP
Principal | Regional Director
TLC Engineering Solutions

Wayne grew up on Florida’s Space Coast watching history unfold as Saturn V rockets launched, inspiring him to become an engineer. As Director of TLC’s Orlando operating unit, Wayne applies his 30 years of experience in electrical engineering to deliver consistent service.

James Brauer

Senior Manager of Sustainability
Jordan & Skala Engineers

James believes that we can make the world better, one building at a time. Ever since high school, he has been passionate about the idea of saving energy and water and creating a better indoor environment for healthy living. Seeing this passion through to his career, James leads the sustainability teams at Jordan & Skala to do the same for his clients— guiding, verifying, and commissioning healthy, efficient, and responsible building solutions.

As the Senior Manager of Sustainability, James enables four groups— Green Building, Energy Services, Commercial Field Services, and Residential Field Services— to provide exceptional sustainability services that exceed our clients’ expectations. Guiding the team with a people-first attitude, he ensures that his team has the support, resources, technical knowledge, and expertise to continually evolve with the industry and deliver practical building solutions for a better tomorrow.

At Jordan & Skala Engineers, their goal is to continue to exceed their client’s expectations and deliver the quality that they are known and recognized for. From design through construction and operation, James and the Sustainability team have the technical knowledge to provide guidance and education for a wide variety of green certification needs.

At Jordan & Skala Engineers, their clients’ needs are the foundation of their services. They are committed to providing innovative and custom consulting engineering solutions for any project. Their vision is to be the recognized standard for engineering excellence, and providing this level of service is paramount.

James and his team shares a common thread — they are all passionate about the work that they do. They are rapidly growing and adapting to the demand for sustainability and are looking for new, like-minded professionals to join their team. To learn more about Jordan and Skala Engineers or their career opportunities, connect with James or visit https://www.jordanskala.com/.

Nathan Butler

FAIA, LEED AP
GBLC | Fundraising Committee Chair (Current)
Partner, Associate Principal, & Senior VP | HKS

Nathan is the Office Director for HKS Architects, Inc. in Orlando, Florida. A past president of AIA Florida and AIA Orlando, Nathan has led initiatives to position the AIA for long-term growth through leadership development, community awareness, and mentorship. He currently serves on both the AIA National and AIA Florida Strategic Councils. With a focus on building partnerships to address community issues, Nathan has served on the boards of numerous professional and community based organizations.

Robert G. Chronic

PE, CCP, LEED AP
Training Specialist | Eaton Corporation

Robert Chronic is a licensed Professional Engineer and a Certified Commissioning Provider (CCP) specializing in high-performance mechanical systems and building commissioning. He is currently working as a Training Specialist with Eaton Corporation focusing on building systems, project management, and safety protocols. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the University of Florida, and is a LEED® Accredited Professional. Mr. Chronic has 18 years of experience in the energy-efficient design and construction for all types of HVAC systems. Mr. Chronic has worked on 16 LEED® buildings as either the design engineer, the commissioning authority, or the owner representative. In his present role, Mr. Chronic is developing training curriculum in order to develop Eaton’s next generation of engineers and project managers.

John Chyz

PE, GGA, LEED AP, WELL AP
Sustainable & Wellness Strategy Specialist & Business Development Director | Affiliated Engineers, Inc. (AEI)

John Chyz is a Sustainable & Wellness Strategy Specialist and Business Development Director with Affiliated Engineers, Inc. (AEI). His directed focus on Energy, Water, Wellness, Resilience, and Optimized Operations of AEI’s diverse and specialized client base has helped lead the advancement and delivery of market development and transformation strategy aimed at increasing stakeholder value, protecting natural resources, and enhancing human health.

Inspired by a passion for sustainable thought leadership, John began his career as a Research Engineer at the Natural Energy Laboratory where he designed and conducted experiments aimed at understanding how to grow beneficial bio-fuel products from gasses that would otherwise contribute to global warming. He later transitioned to focus on the engineering, procurement, and construction of renewable energy systems for commercial and residential projects. Throughout his career, John has remained dedicated to the strategic planning of actionable solutions that reside at the intersection of health, innovation, and sustainability.

Holding a Bachelor of Science Mechanical Engineering degree from Yale University, he has taught the Learning to LEED, Commissioning for High Performance Green Buildings, and Green Building Fundamentals for the Green Globes Professional curricula for the University of Florida. John was also a contributing author to Sustainable Construction: Green Building Design & Delivery (Third Edition).

Jeffrey Conley

GBLC | Secretary (Past)
Founder & Managing Principal | SEQUIL Systems Inc.

Jef is the Founder and Managing Principal of SEQUIL Systems Inc., a sustainability, resilience and wellness consultancy for the built environment. Jef manages the business aspects and growth path of the firm, while providing principal-level management on projects. As Managing Principal, Jef guides each Studio inside SEQUIL Systems to inspire and lead project teams towards exceptional outcomes. As a Certified Commissioning Professional, he is the senior commissioning authority for building systems from design through construction, testing and occupancy. Prior to starting SEQUIL Systems in 2002, Jef was a design engineer for large consulting firms in New York City, with project experience world-wide. Jef holds a Bachelor of Architectural Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University.

Marc Craddock

CEM, LEED GA
Building Technologies Division | Siemens Industry, Inc.

Marc leads the Higher Education Team for Siemens Industry’s Building Performance & Sustainability Business Line in the Southeast. Marc’s primary focus is developing energy and sustainability solutions within the Higher Education vertical market. He works with a team of business development, engineering, project management, and performance assurance professionals to deliver efficiency and sustainability projects to Colleges and Universities. Marc is a 1991 graduate with honors of Flagler College and currently sits on their Alumni Board of Directors. He has held the designation of Certified Energy Manager from the Association of Energy Engineers since 2004 and is a LEED Green Associate through the U.S Green Building Council.

Daniel Denis

LEED AP (BD+C), LEED Green Rater, FGBC Certifying Agent, NGBS Verifier, RESNET HERS Rater, & ENERGY STAR Verifier
President | RunBrook

Joining RunBrook in 2021, Daniel J. Denis uses his 20-plus years of uniquely diverse design and construction experience to help clients reach their sustainability goals effectively and efficiently. With an education in construction management and professional stops on the design consultant, contracting, and third party inspection sides of the building design & construction process, Daniel’s complimentary educational and professional experiences allow him to most effectively collaborate and communicate with all members of the design and construction team.

Daniel began working on green building projects as early as 2012 while working as an energy modeler for one of Miami’s leading mechanical engineering firms. He soon found a passion for sustainability in the built environment and earned the LEED Accredited Professional (AP) designation. By 2013 he was the firm’s Green Building Project Manager – leading a team of designers through the LEED submission process while also honing his own skills as an energy modeler on a wide range of projects.

In 2015, Daniel joined a firm focused solely on green building consulting. Serving there as Energy Engineer & Consultant, Daniel was an integral part in certifying a wide array of projects across various green building rating systems including Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED), Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC), National Green Building Standard (NGBS), and ENERGY STAR.

Philip M. Donovan

AIA LEED AP BD+C, NCARB, LFA
Partner | Director | Regen CoLab | Little

Philip Donovan is a partner and national director of regeneration as a member of the Regen Colab with Little Diversified Architectural Consulting. Philip’s experience over the past 20 years has been deeply rooted in the design of high-performance, zero-resource, regenerative built environments that are focused on the health and well-being of the building occupants, bio-regions and social communities they are deeply interconnected too. He has served as a project architect on five net-zero energy schools including Discovery Elementary School, the first LEED Zero school in the US, NeoCity Academy in Kissimmee, Florida’s first zero energy school and the project lead for the 4Roots Regenerative Agriculture campus in Orlando, FL which is a Living Building Challenge petal project. Philip has been a project leader on two AIA COTE Top Ten award winning projects, Discovery Elementary School and Alice West Fleet Elementary school. Philip is a member of the Florida State AIA advisory council on Resilient Design, the Green Energy Taskforce for Miami-Dade County Public schools and a member of the Orange County Sustainability and Resiliency Committee. Philip has served as a technical peer reviewer for the Advanced Energy Design Guide for K-12 Schools: Achieving Zero Energy as well as a book reviewer for the USGBC’s Center for Green Schools. Philip has served on the Mount Dora Historic planning commission and currently serves on the advisory board for the College of Community Innovation & Education at the University of Central Florida.

Michael Hess

PE, LEED Fellow
Director | Future-Ready | City of Orlando

Mike Hess, LEED AP BD&C, LEED Fellow, PE, is a licensed mechanical engineer and the Director of the Future-Ready (smart city) initiative for the City of Orlando. Previously he was a Vice President with Panasonic, leading their Smart & Sustainable Buildings team. Mike has personally worked on more than 100 LEED Certified projects and has achieved the prestigious appointment of LEED Fellow.

Mike has expertise in sustainability and LEED consulting, energy modeling, commissioning, water re-use and renewable energy systems, and has also developed city codes and incentives and corporate standards for several organizations associated with going green.

Daniele Horton

AIA, LEED Fellow, CEM, CalBRE
Founder & CEO
Verdani Partners

Daniele brings over 23 years of experience in corporate sustainability, real estate and project management to the management of Verdani Partners. She is a licensed architect, a LEED Fellow and a Certified Energy Manager and she currently leads the Verdani team in ESG efforts for 15 national and international real estate portfolios with over 4,600 properties managed across 1 Billion SF of diversified real estate portfolios, representing over $400 Billion AUM.

Most of Verdani’s clients rank among the top ten on GRESB, which speaks to the success of Verdani’s sustainability and ESG programs. In the 2019 GRESB Assessment, Verdani clients earned top ranks – 1st, 2nd and 3rd in their peer groups, and 1st globally, and 1st, 2nd and 3rd in their peer groups in the Resilience Module. As the head of sustainability for Thomas Properties Group for almost a decade, Daniele led the LEED certification of TPG’s nationwide portfolio of office buildings in house and was ranked as the highest environmental performer on GRESB in the Americas in the Office category (2011, 2012 & 2013).

Daniele is a Harvard graduate with a master’s degree in Sustainable Development and holds degrees in architecture, urban planning and construction management. She is an adjunct Professor at the University of San Diego where she has taught Sustainable Real Estate at their MSRE program since 2013. For almost a decade, she has actively participated on national sustainability committees such as the GRESB Benchmark Committee, ULI Greenprint Performance Committee and she has served on USGBC’s Advisory Council, USGBC-LA, SDGBC Boards and the BOMA Sustainability Committee. For her leadership in the industry and with over 70 speaking engagements on her roster since 2008, she was named one of the “Top 10 Most Powerful Women in Sustainability” in 2014. She also recently started a non-profit organization called the Verdani Institute for the Built Environment (VIBE) to advance global sustainability adoption in the built environment.

Barry Jacobson

PhD, PE
President | Solar Impact, Inc.

Barry Jacobson has a bachelors and masters in agricultural engineering from UF and a PhD in biological and agricultural engineering from NC State. He co-founded Solar Impact with his wife, Elaine, 12 years ago. They converted Solar Impact to 100% employee ownership earlier this year. Barry was recognized as the national professional engineer of the year by ASABE. Solar Impact has received numerous recognitions including “Top 25 Solar Contractors in the Country” and “Top 3 Greenest Solar Contractors in the Country”.

Frank Javaheri

Director of Construction | University of Florida | Planning, Design, & Construction

Frank Javaheri is graduate of University of Florida with degrees in aerospace and mechanical engineering. He was a business owner in manufacturing and retail for several years and has been with UF for over 32 years in Energy/Utilities, Systems Engineering, Operations Engineering and since 1999 at the Planning Design and Construction Division as a Sr. Project Manager where he managed the design and construction of over 1.2MM GSF on various UF sites in Florida primarily on research, academic, clinical and housing type buildings and since 2018 as the Director of Construction, overseeing all major and minor projects on campus. Mr. Javaheri is a LEED Accredited Professional.

Frank and His wife Brigitte, a Registered Nurse, have two sons, Joshua is the lead artist at a major gaming firm currently stationed in Gainesville and Stephan is a practicing DMD currently with the United States Air Force and currently stationed in Germany. Frank & Brigitte have two grandchildren, Eli and Noah.

Susan R. KlausSmith

RA, RID, AIA, NCARB, WELL AP
Senior Architect & Planner | L+WP Education & Research | Gresham Smith

Susan is a registered architect with over 25 years of professional experience, 20 of those serving public and private clients including K-12 and higher education institutions. She is a Senior Architect in the L+WP Education & Research domain at Gresham Smith in Tampa, FL, collaborating with colleagues in architecture and other disciplines programming, planning, designing, engineering, and delivering sustainable and resilient projects to public and private Colleges and Universities across Florida and the globe, including the University of Florida and the College of Design, Construction, and Planning.

Susan believes that architecture thoughtfully designed and implemented can be an instrument of positive change in the world, building it better for all. She also believes that as designers of the built environment, we are stewards of our planet’s resources including our existing built environment. She currently serves as Chair of the City of Tampa’s Architectural Review Commission, which ensures that development within three of the City’s local historic districts as well as multiple properties groupings and local landmarks adhere to established Design Guidelines and The Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. Susan has designed and delivered new, renovation and remodeling projects under LEED and WELL certification and looks to a near future reality of designing and delivering more projects that meet the International Living Future Institute’s (ILFI) Zero Energy (ZE) certification.

Susan is an alumna of the University of Florida, receiving both a Bachelor of Design in Architecture and a Master of Architecture. While at UF, she attended the Preservation Institute: Caribbean (PI:C) and completed her graduate research work while in residence at the Vicenza Institute of Architecture (VIA). Susan is passionate about discourse and research that attempt to negotiate the ever-changing notion of architectural practice (internally and externally), the architect’s role in shaping and reshaping communities, and how best to negotiate education. She has taught Design, Theory, Research Methods and Master’s Thesis Studios at the University of Florida, the University of South Florida’s School of Architecture and Community Design, and St. Petersburg College’s Architecture Program, and has served as a member of Master Thesis Committees and as a juror for both undergraduate and graduate level design studios. These opportunities to engage pedagogy have greatly influenced her interest in the eﬀect of the built environment on student engagement and learning success.

Besides professional affiliations with National, State and Local American Institute of Architects (AIA) Chapters, Susan is a Member-at-Large of the Society of College and University Planners (SCUP), serving as Chair of the 2020 Virtual Southern Regional Conference in Tampa, held in October 2020, Co-Chair of the 2021 Southern Regional Conference in Knoxville, TN, held in October 2021, and as Chair of the upcoming 2022 Southern Regional Conference to be held in Tampa in October 2022.

Steven Moore

GBLC | Vice Chair (Past)
Account Executive | Siemens Industry, Inc.

Mr. Moore has been with Siemens for the past 27 years. He has an associate’s degree New England Institute in HVAC and a bachelor’s degree from Rhode Island College in Industrial Engineering and Industrial Marketing. He is currently an Account Executive for Siemens Industry, Inc and specialize in Building Automation, Security and Fire Alarm, Energy Services and Performance Contracting.

Paul Shahriari

GBLC | Internship Committee (Current)
CEO & Founder | Ecomedes

Paul Shahriari is an authority on green building and the application of technology in the real estate, design, engineering and construction industries. He has been a consultant on sustainability since 2000, and has founded three sustainability-focused technology companies.

Alexa Stone

LEED AP, SFP
GBLC | Vice Chair (Past) & Internship Committee Chair (Past)
President | ecoPreserve – Building Sustainability

Alexa Stone has worked in sustainability since 2001, beginning at Home Depot Supply’s Corporate Headquarters. By 2008, Alexa earned LEED Professional Accreditation from the U.S. Green Building Council. In 2010, she completed Orlando’s first LEED EBOM certified commercial building which was selected as the LEED Building of the Year. Alexa has served on the U.S. Green Building Council board and formerly chaired the Green Committee for the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA). She is a founding member of Green Destination Orlando and the Central Florida Energy Efficiency Alliance. Alexa launched ecoPreserve to advocate and lead progress in sustainability. Over the past 7 years, ecoPreserve has grown to more than 14 professionals, providing services to the Orange County Convention Center, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, Orlando Health, Florida Hospital, the PGA and leading companies across Central Florida.

Kristy M. Walson

GBLC | Chair (Past)
PE, LEED Fellow, BEMP
Practice Lead | Branch Patter

Kristen M. Walson is a mechanical engineer by trade who currently focuses on meeting the commitments of The Climate Pledge (https://www.theclimatepledge.com) as a Senior Sustainability Engineer with Amazon Fresh Stores. Her previous work focused on sustainable design as a Sustainability Consultant at TLC Engineering for Architecture. Kristy has experience in green building consulting, LEED Administration, and energy modeling on numerous projects. Beyond her daily work, she has served as the Director of Education for the Central Florida Chapter of the USGBC, as well as Chapter Secretary. A graduate of Virginia Tech and the University of Michigan, Kristy has extensive experience in Visual DOE, Equest, and IES VE-Pro energy modeling software and uses these tools to accurately model the life cycle costs of building systems and energy use.

Eric Walters

Chief Sustainability Officer | Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU)

Eric Walters is the Chief Sustainability Officer for Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) in Gainesville, Florida. Eric has been in the energy business since 2004 and remains committed to bringing safe, reliable and sustainable utilities to GRU’s more than 90,000 customers. During his tenure at GRU, Eric’s responsibilities have ranged from capital project management and performance engineering to combined heat and power plant management.

Eric is currently responsible to manage sustainable, strategic planning for electric, water, wastewater, and natural gas utilities, electrical grid systems operations and dispatch, Electric Regulatory Compliance (NERC), and Environmental Regulatory Compliance.

Eric received his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida and currently serves on the board for the Eastern Fuel Buyers Conference and The Energy Authority’s Settlement and Operating Committee.

Outside of work, Eric enjoys sports, travel and spending time with his wife, Debra, and their four children.

David Wasserman

AICP
GBLC | Geodesign Specialization Advisor (Current)
Data Science Practice Leader | Alta Planning & Design

David works at the intersection of urban informatics, 3D visualization, geospatial analytics, and visual storytelling. He brings years of experience and passion to applying scientific computing, spatial analysis, and scenario-focused storytelling toward the development of effective transportation planning solutions tailored to enable accessible and resilient communities. He has experience working on multimodal transportation plans, bicycle master plans, systemic safety studies, python tool & web applications, advanced data visualizations, cost benefit analyses, direct ridership models, and station area plans. His current focus areas are enabling data-informed scenario planning, identifying how to align community goals to metrics to track progress towards them, incorporating civic data science into projects with web-delivery and computer vision derived datasets, and generating accessibility metrics that can identify the possible benefits of projects and who they go to.

Matt Williams

GBLC (2014-2019 & 2024-Present)
Director | Office of Sustainability
University of Florida

Matthew I. Williams is the Director of UF’s Office of Sustainability and Energy Integration. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Florida, and has been a certified Energy Auditor. Prior to joining the office at UF, Matt worked in campus sustainability for seven years as Auburn University’s (Alabama) first full time sustainability coordinator.

Emeritus Board Members

Marissa Colli
GBLC (2014-2019)
Account Executive
Patcraft

Darin Cook
GBLC (2019-2022)
Founder & CEO
Infinite Energy

Steve Corson
GBLC (2016-2019)
Energy Services Leader
Trane

Randall C. Dragon
GBLC (2016-2019)
Energy Services Leader
The Dragon Group, LLC

Christopher Olden
GBLC (2016-2019)
Architectural Account Executive
The Sherwin-Williams Company

Edwin Perkins
GBLC (2021-2023)
President | Solar
Moss & Associates (Construction)

Robert Utsey
GBLC (2014-2019, Past Chair)
Principal
ZHA Incorporated