Podcasts about leed green associate

Building Enclosure was joined by Audrey McGarrell, LEED Green Associate and Project Manager with Cool Roof Rating Council, to talk about the release of the 2025 edition of the ANSI/CRRC S100 standard.

In this episode of Better Buildings for Humans, host Joe Menchefski sits down with David Bruce Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, Founding Partners of FAME Architecture & Interior Design and co-hosts of The Second Studio Design & Architecture Show, a top-ten design podcast. With over 13 years of experience, David and Marina share their journey from working in New York on custom homes and high-rises to establishing their own firm. They dive into their design philosophy, emphasizing the deep connection between lifestyle and architecture, and how their unique client questionnaire helps bring out the essence of each individual in their projects. They also explore how their architectural work mirrors the fluidity of music composition and discuss their approach to creating spaces that reflect their clients' personalities, not just functional needs. Tune in for insights into the creative process and to learn how FAME is reimagining modern living spaces! More about David Bruce Lee and Marina Bourderonnet David Bruce Lee, Founding Partner of FAME Architecture & Interior Design and Host of The Second Studio Design & Architecture Show David is a Founding Partner of FAME Architecture & Interior Design, an office specializing in custom modern and contemporary residences. His 13 years of professional experience includes custom homes, luxury high-rises, towers, and other buildings across several countries. He is a Registered Architect in the States of California, Nevada, and New York and holds a Master of Urban Design from the City College of New York under the directorship of Michael Sorkin; a Bachelor of Architecture and a Minor in Sustainable Environments with Honors from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; and a diploma in music and architecture from Les Ecoles d'Art Américaines de Fontainebleau, France. David's work has been displayed in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City and The Museum of the City of New York. He taught architecture, interior design, and urban design at the collegiate level, has lectured at various professional and academic conferences, and co-hosts the Second Studio Architecture & Design Show, a top-ten design podcast. Marina Bourderonnet, Founding Partner of FAME Architecture & Interior Design and Host of The Second Studio Design & Architecture Show Marina is a Founding Partner of FAME Architecture & Interior Design, an office specializing in custom modern and contemporary residences. Her 13 years of professional experience includes custom beachfront homes, a mid-rise luxury condominium building, restaurants, cafes, and health facilities. She is a Registered Architect in the State of New York, a Designer, and a LEED Green Associate and holds a Bachelor of Architecture from l'Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Paris Val-de-Seine; is trained in sculpture, life drawing, and art history from l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts; and studied film photography and architecture at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Marina's work has been published in the Architect's Newspaper Interiors and the Brooklyn Gallery. She co-hosts the Second Studio Architecture & Design podcast, a top-ten design podcast. CONTACT: https://www.famearchitects.com/ https://www.instagram.com/fame_architects/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjLfSZ7t_nGco7GlcT6X41w https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-bruce-lee-18b0a329  https://www.linkedin.com/in/marina-bourderonnet-1a95813b/en Where To Find Us: https://bbfhpod.advancedglazings.com/ www.advancedglazings.com https://www.linkedin.com/company/better-buildings-for-humans-podcast www.linkedin.com/in/advanced-glazings-ltd-848b4625 https://twitter.com/bbfhpod https://twitter.com/Solera_Daylight https://www.instagram.com/bbfhpod/ https://www.instagram.com/advancedglazingsltd https://www.facebook.com/AdvancedGlazingsltd

Cause Marketing is where A/E/C firms partner with non-profits to develop campaigns that do good things for the community, help the non-profit and their cause, and advance the brand and goodwill of the company investing in it. PSM Show cohost Frank Lippert talks to Jodi Sommers of Jodi Sommers Marketing and Megan Falkenstein of Sponsors, Inc. to learn more about what goes into doing great cause marketing—the kind of campaigns where everyone benefits and everyone wins.   Jodi Sommers, CPSM, Jodi Sommers Marketing Jodi Sommers spent the past twenty-five years providing her expertise to a diverse array of AEC firms. With a bachelor's degree in marketing from the University of Florida, she has dedicated her career to the art of marketing ever since. Jodi is a Certified Professional Services Marketer and a LEED Green Associate. She served as the President of the Southwest Oregon Chapter of the American Marketing Association and led a sustainable business organization in Eugene, Oregon for three years. In 2023, Jodi launched her consulting firm, Jodi Sommers Marketing, where she offers a comprehensive range of marketing services tailored to AEC firms. Her firm specializes in cause marketing, which integrates support for nonprofits with marketing and employee engagement goals. From strategic planning and project pursuits to client feedback surveys and cause marketing, Jodi is committed to helping her clients achieve success.   Megan Falkenstein, Sponsors, Inc. Megan Falkenstein, a native of Eugene, Oregon, has over a decade of experience as a professional fundraiser and communications director. She is deeply dedicated to her work, which has focused on creating unique visual brands and compelling donor-focused storytelling for social justice nonprofits. She has spent the last 5-years as the Development Director for Sponsors, Inc. A nonprofit whose mission is to provide wrap-around supportive services and housing to formerly incarcerated individuals in Lane County. In her free time, she enjoys walking her rambunctious rescue pup along the beautiful river bike path, seeing as much live music as possible, throwing killer parties, and volunteering year-round as the Oregon Country Fair Volunteer Crew Coordinator.   Music by RomanSenykMusic on Pixabay. www.pixabay.com 

    Andrea Valentini, Architect, LEED AP BD+C,ID+C, WELL AP, ENV SP,Fitwel Amb.,USGBC Pro. Architectural Firm with broad experience gained in green building design,construction management and real estate development of high- end residential buildings   He graduated from the Venice Architecture Institute in March 1986 with a score of 110/110 with a degree on the work of Luigi Moretti architect.   He started to practice the profession of architect also continuing the family business in real estate. He focused its experience in the residential sector in both new construction and renovation projects combining all the phases from to preliminary design to the construction following all the whole project management. He gained extensive experience and nearly three decades of  professional activity with special attention to all the issues of building sustainability.   In 1998 he took a specialty Enea  course on energy savings while in 2009 he got Casaclima Junior Expert Diploma; in 2013 he got the professional accreditation from the Green Building Certification Institute, USA, as LEED ® Green Associate and in Spril 2014 he got, from GBCI, the accreditation as LEED® AP (Accredited Professional) BD + C (Building Design + Construction).    He pursues actively many  activities as a member of the Italy Green Building Council following both courses of education that events, actively involved in the foundation of the Chapter Marche of Italy GBC. Since January 2018 is secretary of the Chapter Marche of Italy GBC. - LEED,WELL,FITWEL project management and certification project administration - LEED design charrette and integrative design process - Training for environmental sustainable design - Development design ideas and presentations for new buildings or historic buildings - Preparation of architectural designs, presentation drawings, technical specifications - Estimate costs and schedules and other elements associated with construction projects. - Management of all facets of project management (budget, schedule, procurement, quality, risk) - Project costs management through the ongoing valuation of labor,material and equipment. - Coordinating,advising and directing project leaders,contractors, and construction workers.   A senior Italian architect with broad experience gained in green building design,construction management and real estate development over a 35+years career. Results oriented and skilled professional with an extensive record of consistently exceeding project goals, specialized in building design of high-end residential projects.Ability to manage,coach,and build cohesive teams and surpassing business objectives.   Show Highlights   Transition to green building with the support of the Green Building Council of Italy (GBC Italia). Historical knowledge in sustainable practices and the need for resilient buildings. GBC supported building rating system for ancient and historic buildings. The challenges of finding new team members and the importance of education. Ancient building verification and sustainable building practices. Emphases for resilience in buildings due to changing weather patterns. The future of the green building and the importance of passion in the field. To experience sustainability you need to study the story and architecture of ancient buildings.   “Be humble and to be available to listen, to learn in every stage of life. The key word to approach the green building movement, is foundations, not only in the way of thinking, a way of doing, but to go to foundation. You have to make a habit, to learn and to compare all the phases and to deepen every question, every issue. I prefer to have received my career with this way of thinking, a way of making the disposition to learn from people and from every kind of people, because everyone has something to teach us.”  -Andrea Valentini      Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2024 GBES

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks to the Co-Founder of The Folson Group, Tina Larsson.Tina Larsson, co-founder of The Folson Group, explored the complexities of HOA, co-op, and condo boards. Her insights proved invaluable to those managing or residing in these communities. Tina and her team specialize in consulting for volunteer-led boards in these sectors, mainly in New York City and nationwide. Volunteers face challenges in balancing board duties with personal and professional commitments.A significant challenge for these board members is maintaining and upgrading outdated infrastructure. Tina emphasized the importance of addressing emergency repairs and initiating major projects like facade, roof, and elevator replacements. She advocated for a proactive approach to management, which involves anticipating and resolving potential issues before they become emergencies, thus saving time and resources and reducing stress.The Folson Group's growth has been fueled by word of mouth, networking, and the influence of Tina's book. She invites anyone facing community-related issues to seek their support, highlighting their dedication to assisting boards in overcoming unique challenges.Key Points from the Episode:The Folson Group's consulting services for HOA, co-op, and condo boardsChallenges faced by board members, such as aging infrastructure and emergency repairsTransitioning from a reactive to a proactive approachDynamics within the boards and making tough decisionsThe role of The Folson Group as coaches and therapists for boardsTina Larsson's book, "Living the High Life," as a guidebook for community ownersPositive feedback and impact of the bookAttracting clients through word of mouth and networkingThe importance of proactive solutions for community-related challengesEncouragement to reach out to The Folson Group for assistanceAbout Tina Larsson:Tina Larsson is a multifaceted entrepreneur known for her expertise in real estate and commitment to sustainability. Originally hailing from Sweden, Tina has significantly impacted New York City, transitioning from a successful career on Wall Street to revolutionizing the real estate industry. Her journey began with a remarkable achievement: saving her own cooperative housing (coop) $340,000, which laid the groundwork for her consultancy services. Tina's consultancy focuses on aiding cooperative and condominium boards to enhance their property values through strategic advice and innovative solutions. She holds a LEED Green Associate designation and is a recognized author and speaker, with works such as "Living the High Life" under her belt.With her venture, The Folson Group, Tina has established herself as a key figure in encouraging sustainable and efficient management practices within the cooperative and condominium communities. By co-founding this consultancy firm, she has dedicated her expertise to guiding boards toward managing their buildings like businesses, emphasizing sustainability and affordability. The Folson Group's mission aligns with Tina's personal and professional ethos, offering tailored solutions that promote environmental responsibility while ensuring financial savings for their clients. Through her efforts, Tina has influenced the real estate sector and positioned herself as a leading "Green Queen" in the industry, advocating for a more sustainable and economically savvy approach to property management.About The Folson Group:The Folson Group is a pivotal ally for New York City cooperative (coop) and condominium owners aiming to maximize the potential of their...

Join Sarah, a LEED Green Associate with a passion for sustainable design, as she takes you on an exploration of the LEED certification and its transformative impact on interior design. In an era where environmental consciousness is paramount, the role of interior designers in crafting sustainable spaces has never been more critical. We'll delve into the significance of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), a globally recognized certification that stands out in the interior design and real estate industry.   From understanding the LEED certification process to uncovering the key areas of focus for LEED Green Certified Interior Designers, we'll unravel the intricacies of creating eco-friendly, aesthetically pleasing spaces. Discover the benefits of collaborating with LEED-certified designers, from cost savings to environmental impact, and explore how this credential elevates the credibility of interior designers committed to sustainability. Whether you're considering becoming a LEED-certified designer or hiring one for your next project, this episode offers valuable insights into the world of sustainable interior design, paving the way for a greener and more sustainable future.       Podcast Episode Show Notes:   Introduction: - Brief introduction and excitement about the LEED certification journey. - Contextualizing LEED in the current era of increasing environmental consciousness. - Importance of interior designers in creating sustainable spaces. - Overview of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.   Understanding LEED Green Certification: - Definition of LEED and its global recognition. - Framework for designing, constructing, and certifying environmentally sustainable buildings and interiors. - Goal of minimizing environmental impact, promoting energy efficiency, reducing waste, and improving indoor air quality.   LEED Certification Process: - Points system across categories like energy efficiency, water usage, air quality, and building materials. - Certification levels: Certified, Silver, Gold, Platinum. - Benefits of certification: lower operating costs, improved occupant health.   The Role of LEED Green Certified Interior Designers: - Beyond aesthetics: Prioritizing eco-friendly materials, energy-efficient systems, and sustainable strategies. - Promotion of sustainable practices and green design.   Key Areas of Focus for LEED Green Certified Interior Designers: 1. Materials Selection: - Use of environmentally friendly and non-toxic materials. - Emphasis on low VOC emissions, recycled content, and regional sourcing.   2. Energy Efficiency: - Use of energy-efficient lighting, appliances, and HVAC systems. - Consideration of natural lighting and passive heating/cooling strategies.   3. Water Conservation: - Integration of water-saving fixtures and technologies. - Examples: low-flow faucets, water-efficient toilets, rainwater harvesting.   4. Indoor Air Quality: - Choosing materials that do not release harmful substances. - Focus on creating healthier indoor environments.   5. Waste Reduction: - Minimization of construction waste. - Selection of durable, recyclable materials. - Promotion of responsible disposal practices.   Benefits of Working with LEED Green Certified Interior Designers: 1. Sustainable and Healthy Spaces: - Visual appeal combined with eco-friendly and health-promoting elements.   2. Cost Savings: - Long-term savings through energy-efficient and water-saving measures.   3. Environmental Impact: - Direct contribution to a healthier planet through green design principles. - Advocacy for renewable resources and minimized waste.   4. Recognition and Credibility: - LEED certification as a respected credential in the design industry. - Signifying a deep understanding of environmentally friendly and sustainable design practices.   Conclusion: - LEED green certified interior designers lead the sustainability movement in design. - Commitment to eco-friendly practices for beautiful, functional, and sustainable spaces. - Hiring a LEED-certified designer ensures alignment with the highest standards of environmental responsibility. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe to The Nomadic Spaces Podcast and leave a review. Your support keeps us bringing engaging content to you. You can find more about me and my contact info at sukkhainteriordesign.com or if you are on IG send me message over there @sukkhainteriordesign.

      Today we're going to talk about the LEED professional credential exams. In particular, I'm going to give you some tips on how to pass these 100 question multiple choice exams.   Get those letters after your name. Understand what's the latest with this green building movement. Understand how to work on LEED projects of all sorts, whether it's new construction, whether it's interiors, etc.. Maybe you want to green up existing buildings or work on entire neighborhoods. Or maybe you also work on homes and residential. There are LEED professional credentials for each.   I've been training professionals on how to pass the LEED exams for a long time, actually 15 years here in the LEED movement. Very proud of that fact.    I have passed all of the LEED exams over the years and I'm very fortunate to have been named as a LEED Fellow just three and a half years ago.    Today, I'm going to provide tips about the LEED Green Associate (GA) exam because that's where you need to start. So if you're listening to this, share this with colleagues. I'm going to really give you some of the “secret tips” on how to study and pass. What do you really need to know to pass this 100 question multiple-choice exam? I'll talk a little bit about the other LEED exams. Some of you listening may have already passed a LEED exam. Some of you might have passed the test before 2009, before the exams changed. Let's go over a little bit of that history, also. Enjoy!   Show Highlights   Valuable insights for professionals interested in obtaining LEED credentials, providing tips for preparing and passing the exams on your first try. LEED credentials and how to focus on passing LEED professional credential exams, especially the LEED Green Associate test. Understanding the importance of the LEED scorecards for your studies versus on a real project scenario.  Tips for Success, study techniques, study guides, significant changes over time, and practice tests from GBES.com  GBES.com's experience, resources, and 95% pass rate. Continuing Education every two years.  Global Map of LEED Professionals. Volunteering and involvement in trade organizations are valuable experiences.   Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2024 GBES

Sam Shiroff is the Senior Director of Global Sustainability for EnerSys. A multibillion-dollar business serving over 10,000 customers in 100 countries, EnerSys is an industrial technology leader offering stored energy solutions that meet the growing need for energy efficiency, reliability, and sustainability. The company's purpose is “Powering the Future, Everywhere for Everyone”. Sam combines 20+ years of international corporate ESG, sustainability, and community relations experience with a deep knowledge of carbon finance, energy efficiency, and the nonprofit world. Sam has held leadership roles in sustainability at nonprofit organizations and companies including Bosch, Deutsche Bank, and Signet Jewelers. He was a Fulbright Scholar to Germany, has an MBA, a Creating Shared Value (CSV) accreditation from Harvard Business School, is a LEED Green Associate, and is Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) accredited. In this episode, we discuss: ●      The role of batteries in transitioning to a renewable energy future ●      The enormous electronic vehicle market you never considered ●      An unexpected gold standard case study in the circular economy Key Takeaways: ●      Climate Tech – A Marriage of Growth and Sustainability. It's so cool to see companies—like EnerSys—whose business success is intrinsically linked to reducing carbon emissions. Their success is a barometer of our collective progress in battling climate change. The more we excel in this fight, the more they thrive. What if all companies had their individual thriving tied to our collective thriving? How would the world look differently? This is a model of growth that raises all boats with the tide. ●      The Ebb and Flow of Energy Consumption. I loved the description on how the power grid works—it's an exercise of balance, matching the energy poured in with what's drawn out. Consumer demand for energy is not consistent throughout the day, which is a challenge, but it's also cool to note that people are using the most energy during the day,  and when solar energy is available. It's neat that our own productive cycle mirrors nature's in this area. ●      The Many Gifts of Environmental Reporting. Sam's insights into environmental reporting sheds light on its multifaceted benefits within organizations. It's not just about compliance or public image; it's a tool that crystallizes sustainability strategies. It aligns teams on key metrics, sets benchmarks, and maps out ambitious goals. More importantly, it ensures a consistent focus on long-term progress and keeps the entire team engaged in the sustainability journey. When done right, environmental reporting acts as a compass guiding organizations towards a greener, more responsible future. References: ●      Connect with Sam on LinkedIn ●      EnerSys ●      International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) ●      Ridwell ●      Call2Recycle ●      Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ●      Climate Disclosure Project (CDP) ●      United Nations Global Compact  Connect & Share: If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading them!  If this episode resonated with you, I ask you to send it to a friend. Help bring even more visibility to these leaders that are using business as a force for good! Subscribe to the Purpose and Profit newsletter to make sure you don't miss future episodes. This podcast is for you, the listener. I'd love to hear what resonated with you, or if you have a suggestion on who would be a great guest for this show. Please send me a note at info@KathyVarol.com.

Host Katie Cash sits down with Beth Ament - Associate Vice President, Senior Manager of Communications and Marketing at Epsten Group, a Salas O'Brien company. Together, they reflect on the evolution of business development and marketing within the AEC industry. They discuss the importance of knowing your intended audience and the effectiveness of diversifying marketing approaches, from direct interactions to digital platforms. Limited spots remain for our upcoming SmartWIN24! This must-attend event is where AEC Firm Principals, Owners, and Marketing Executives come together to explore brand positioning and differentiation strategies, facilitating meaningful conversations and knowledge sharing within the industry. Connect with Beth Ament:As the Associate Vice President, Senior Manager of Communications and Marketing at Epsten Group, a Salas O'Brien company, Beth Ament stands at the intersection of sustainability and storytelling. With a career spanning over 15 years, Beth has honed her expertise in sustainability consulting, transportation demand management, and community outreach, all while leading a dynamic team of creatives dedicated to broadcasting the Epsten Group narrative. Beth's approach to marketing is deeply rooted in her commitment to health and wellbeing, principles that resonate with the core values of Epsten Group. Her leadership extends beyond traditional marketing roles; she is an integral part of the company's Health and Wellness Committee, a TRUE Advisor, and a LEED Green Associate. Her dedication is also evident in her personal pursuits as a certified yoga instructor and a chairperson for the USGBC Georgia Market Leadership Advisory Board. The organic growth of Epsten Group and its recent acquisition by Salas O'Brien have been milestones marked by Beth's leadership in ensuring the brand's authenticity and customer experience remain intact. She champions a brand living strategy that not only communicates but embodies the company's mission in every facet of its operations. Beth's presence at SmartWIN24 is particularly impactful as she embodies the conference's ethos of 'Leap into the Future.' Her insights into brand stewardship post-acquisition and her innovative approach to internal brand alignment offer invaluable perspectives to AEC firms navigating similar paths of growth and change. In a world where brand authenticity is paramount, Beth Ament's story is a compelling narrative of how a brand can not only survive an acquisition but thrive through it, maintaining a genuine connection with its audience and empowering its team to be brand ambassadors in the truest sense. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethcament/ Epsten Group Website: https://epstengroup.com/ Salas O'Brien Website: https://salasobrien.com/ Connect with Katie: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kacash/ Resources:Register for SmartWIN24 Today: https://smartegies.com/smartwin/ 

This week Ivy Slater, host of Her Success Story, chats with her guest, Tina Larsson. The two talk about the business of increasing property values, and what the company does to be of great service to their clients, keeping themselves most relevant in the market. In this episode, we discuss: How she shifted from a background in finance over to condos and co-ops How The Folson Group started, and was able to save 340k for their building in the first three years What happened with her company during the pandemic, and the limitations they worked through What process they started with, and how it has adjusted along the way What has changed the game for The Folson Group and the property management space What they do to be of great service to their clients, keeping themselves most relevant in the market  Tina Larsson is the powerhouse behind The Folson Group, New York's premier co-op and condo consultant who helps NYC co-op and condo owners increase their property values. She is the author of Living the High Life, How smart co-op and condo owners protect themselves and their investment. Tina holds a LEED Green Associate designation and is on a mission to make NYC safer, more sustainable and more affordable one building at a time. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tinalarssonli/ Website: https://www.thefolsongroup.com/ Free chapter of Tina's book:https://www.thefolsongroup.com/book Instagram: @folsongrp Email: tina@thefolsongroup.comYoutube: @folsongrp

      Asa Posner, LEED Fellow, is a green building and sustainability consultant in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area currently working as the Vice President of Sales for Sustainable Investment Group (SIG), a full-service sustainability, wellness, and ESG consulting and engineering firm. He has extensive experience in green building design/construction and operations, energy and water conservation, and building occupant comfort.   Asa is a LEED Accredited Professional with specialties in BD+C and O+M, a member of the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) Minnesota Chapter, and serves the Market Leadership Advisory Board (MLAB).   He has worked as a green building consultant for 15 years and have helped certify over 220 LEED projects, encompassing over 60M sf LEED certified space.  He  regularly teaches exam prep classes for professionals looking to earn their LEED Green Associate or Accredited Professional with Specialty credentials.   Nick Kassanis, LEED Fellow, PE, is the Sustainable Investment Group's President and oversees daily operations, strategic planning, global growth and the firm's vision. He directs the Climate Investment Solutions, Engineering, ESG and Sustainability consulting departments, offering services such as LEED/WELL/Fitwel consulting, Decarbonization/LCA assessments, Commissioning/RCx, Green Financing, Net Zero Proformas and GRESB/GRI/CDP reporting.    As a LEED Fellow, LEED AP BD+C, licensed Professional Engineer and Certified Building Commissioning Professional, Nick has led and overseen over 350 LEED projects and 150 energy studies across 150M+ square feet in multiple industries. Specializing in the integrated design process, decarbonization and deep retro-commissioning investigations, he enhances energy efficiency and staff training across projects and portfolios alike.    As a globally recognized public speaker, he's mentored and educated 10,000+ professionals and students. Additionally, as Co-Founder and Advisor at Aetos, he is pioneering cutting edge imaging technology to transform training and building operations in the digital age.   Show Highlights   Charlie interviews Nick + Asa after their recent LEED Fellow awards.   Understanding how design and buildings can affect a natural environment and affect a natural ecosystem.  Client engagement and the misconceptions that are still out there when it comes to LEED and a sustainable building. Recognizing your job as sustainability consultants to find the best outcome for clients and projects specific challenges.  Asa shares findings from the LEED Advancement Committee on common misconceptions around LEED. Emerging technology and trends that everyone should be applying to their businesses.  Current innovations to help you leverage technology to advance the efficiency of how you do things.  The evolution of LEED to grow and create a renewed focus on health, wellness, and buildings being designed, built and operated to be better for the environment. The crossover and current pathways to combine environmental performance and human performance.  Fundamental values and roles that keep us alive and keep us caring for our families. “We really need to kind of go back to our roots. We really need to focus on our local communities. A lot of what we do is try to get buy-in for why it's so important to care for the environment, care about the climate crisis and all these. When you kind of have an introspective and look at the community around everyone, we have to focus on the commonalities. What do we have in common? And I think we all care about our families. We all care about the food that we eat, the air that we breathe, the water that we drink. I think when you look at those fundamental values you can then start caring about why the environment plays a big role in those key things that keep us alive and keep us caring for our families. So then we can focus on helping our local communities and get that buy-in from people that may have different opinions from ourselves.” Nick Kassanis   “We've been tackling a lot of these myths and misconceptions, sort of debunking a lot of these LEED myths over the last several years. A lot of people think LEED is design driven, or maybe it's too rigid or it's only a coastal thing. It only shows up in New York and San Francisco. LEED takes too much time. We've even debunked the one about how a lot of people think LEED is only about earning a point for bike racks. An old misconception that's been around a long time. I particularly like the misconception that LEED costs too much. There's a whole lot of emphasis on and studies over many years about the cost of green building and what premiums exist through LEED and through green building projects. And that misconception, that myth just doesn't hold any water anymore.” -Asa Posner     Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

Best of Investing 2023 AZ TRT S04 EP47 (210) 11-26-2023   What We Learned This Week:   Drew Niv on markets, Risk & Oil   Denver Nowicz of Wealth for Life on Taxes   Steve Zabilski of Piper Trust on Non Profits   Greg Talcott of Caliber Funds on Real Estate Investing & Opportunity Zones   Bryan McLaren of Zoned Properties on Specialized Cannabis Real Estate   Bob DeLean of Arizona Tech Investors & valuations   Rohan on Tech Stocks and careers       Seg. 1 – Clips From:   Assets, Interest Rates & Bubbles - Market Recap for 2022 w/ Drew Niv BRT S04 EP02 (164) 1-8-2023 What We Learned This Week Assets – Valuations have gone down, forces Investors to evaluate the worth of an Asset, Risk / Reward analysis, no more ‘free' money Interest Rates – Don't Fight The Fed, raising rates to lower value of assets Market Risk – can get Treasury Bills at 4 – 5%, risk-free, need good ROI to invest in stocks with 10 – 20% downside risk Oil Commodities – demand is up, supply is down, Gov't will keep the price of oil at $70 / barrel Bubbles / Crypto – does not have good utility, market has collapsed, Bitcoin & Ethereum will survive, has use, plus the Black Market   Guest: Drew Niv, Trader Tools & former Forex Trader LKIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drew-niv-123812160/ Drew Niv had a 20 year career in trading and FX (currency) markets. He founded one of the largest Forex trading companies on Wall Street, took it public (IPO), managed hundreds of staff, and oversaw $ billions in daily trading. Currently he runs a bank software company called Trader Tools, that specializes in FX markets. - https://www.tradertools.com/ Drew Niv is a Strategic, Technology Savvy, and Detail-Oriented Board Member and Global Business Executive with a history of award-winning performance as a visionary leader. Founded company that disrupted the FX industry, resulted in retail FX becoming a major factor of the global FX market. Developed breakthrough technology that enabled customers to transact spot FX at 70–90% less cost than the largest exchanges and ECNs. He has forged strategic partnerships with 1,000 institutional customers, including major hedge funds, all large banks, and other brand name financial institutions, both domestically and globally. Drew possess a unique understanding of market microstructure - the inner plumbing of trade matching, how technology intersects with business, and how to grow a business from a small startup through an IPO. Well versed in managing through a crisis and positioning a mature business to meet the unique challenges of a shrinking industry. Experienced in software product development; able to design and build trading software that people want to use; and experienced in managing a diverse, international workforce remotely.   Full Show: HERE   Related Show: HERE Market Cycles, Risk, & Ben Graham's Intelligent Investor - Finance Lessons from BRT BRT S04 EP29 (192) 7-23-2023   What We Learned This Week:     Mean Reversion & Market Cycles – Asset prices do not go up forever, but rather fluctuate Assets – Valuations have gone down, forces Investors to evaluate the worth of an Asset, Risk / Reward analysis, no more ‘free' money Interest Rates – Don't Fight The Fed, raising rates to lower value of assets Market Risk – can get Treasury Bills at 4 – 5%, risk-free, need good ROI to invest in stocks with 10 – 20% downside risk Wealthy own Assets, Business, Real Estate, Stocks are the best and most popular The Intelligent Investor Ben Graham's teaching, and seminal investing book - Ch. 8 on Mr. Market, & Ch. 20 on Margin of Safety     Seg. 2 – Clips From:   Wealth for Life – Own a Business, the Best Asset to Grow Wealth BRT S04 EP06 (168) 2-5-2023 Things We Learned This Week •          Wealthy use Different Strategies – how they approach investing, business, opportunities, tax strategy •          You're not going to get rich investing in stock, if you have a $50k / year salary, not saving & investing enough $ •          Wealthy own Assets, Business, Real Estate, Stocks •          Tax Strategy needed when you Earn $250K +, more income, more taxes •          Loans – using leverage is the key to Tax Free Income – put more $ money into investments •           Offense / Defense – segment Assets into categories, create income from Assets     Co-Host: Denver Nowicz, President - Wealth For Life   https://wealthforlife.net/brt/ https://twitter.com/denvernowicz  Denver is an advisor with nearly 20 years experience working with clients in investments and insurance, designing retirement plans with a combo of both. He takes us through different strategies for clients to get the best allocations for their money over the long term. It is the Combo Strategy of both Offense and Defense, the synergy of the mix, not ‘All or Nothing'.   Full Show: HERE   Running a Non-Profit Charity The Piper Trust w/ Steve Zabilski - BRT S04 EP27 (190) 7-9-2023 What We Learned This Week: Virginia G. Piper Trust - Virginia & husband Bob Galvin (founder Motorola) created in 2000 Charity Grants application process Investment to grow Trust Fund of $400m Phx Dream Ctr staff are largely made up of former victims giving back St Vincent helps the Homeless Population In Phx A for Arizona celebrates educators Guest: Stephen J. Zabilski, President & CEO https://pipertrust.org/about-us/officers-and-staff/ As President and CEO, Steve Zabilski leads Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust's mission to enrich health, well-being, and opportunity for the people of Maricopa County. Steve joins Piper Trust as its fourth CEO after providing more than 17 years of dedicated service as a Trustee and member of the organization's Investment and Audit Committees. For the past 25 years, Steve served as CEO of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul—Phoenix Diocesan Council. His decades of private sector experience, coupled with his talent to lead with compassion and humility, continue to make an indelible mark on this community. Steve's ability to bring people together and catalyze the strengths of thousands of Vincentians, volunteers, employees, and donors significantly advanced the mission and services of St. Vincent de Paul.     Full Show: HERE     Seg. 3 – Clips From:   Investing in Real Estate Opportunity Zones w/ Greg Talcott of Caliber Funds AZ TRT S04 EP42 (205) 10-22-2023   What We Learned This Week Caliber Co is an integrated real estate company from service to construction to investment funds The biggest idea in funds right now is Opportunity Zones - investing in below medium income areas Caliber deals can last 5+ years, with an IRR of 17% Caliber has great lenders to get good interest rates, they fund deals 50/50 - loan to equity Location - always looking for great properties w/ community to support biz + other real estate building   Guest: Greg Talcott, Managing Director of Sales LKIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorytalcott/   Article on Greg: HERE Experienced sales executive with a demonstrated history of working in the venture capital and private equity industry. Skilled in Securities, Asset Management, Investment Strategies, Equities, Real Estate, and Financial Advisory. Strong media and communications professional, expertise in digital marketing to niche networks such as ultra high net worth individuals. BS focused in Law & Political Science from Arizona State University.   https://caliberfunds.co/  https://www.caliberco.com/ Real Estate Investment Experts   Caliber is a leading vertically integrated asset management firm whose primary goal is to enhance the wealth of investors seeking to make investments in middle-market assets. We strive to build wealth for our investor clients by creating, managing, and servicing proprietary products, including middle-market investment funds, private syndications, and direct investments. Our funds include investment vehicles focused primarily on real estate, private equity, and debt facilities. We market our services through direct sales to private investors, wholesaling to investment advisers, direct sales to family offices and institutions, and through in-house client services. Caliber's middle-market specialty allows the Company to compete with agility and speed in an evolving arena of alternative investments.   Full Show: HERE       Specialty Cannabis & Prop Tech Real Estate Services w/ Bryan McLaren of Zoned Properties - BRT S04 EP22 (185) 6-4-2023     What We Learned This Week Zoned Properties specializes in Cannabis related Real Estate There is High consumer demand for cannabis, it exists already, do not need to create it Cannabis dispensaries are in the retail asset class of real estate. Also called - Direct to Consumer real estate. Many of the past myths & propaganda about Cannabis on crime and other societal issues were wrong. Property values never went down. Cannabis is a $50-$70 billion projected sales industry, w/ a $200 billion Economic Impact Zoned Properties Tech Division and SaaS software may be the biggest part of the company in the future    Guest: Bryan McLaren, Chairman & CEO of Zoned Properties https://zonedproperties.com/about-zoned-properties/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanmclaren/   Bryan McLaren is Chairman and CEO of publicly traded Zoned Properties (ZDPY). As a certified and licensed realtor, Green Roof Professional,  LEED Green Associate, and former City Sustainability Commissioner, Bryan has navigated state regulatory programs for cannabis commercial real estate in over ten markets for over 100 development projects.  Zoned Properties®, Inc. (OTCQB: ZDPY), a strategic real estate development firm whose primary mission is to provide real estate and sustainability services for the regulated cannabis industry, positioning the company for property acquisitions and revenue growth. They recently announced the market launch of its partnership with dispensary retail franchisor (The Open Dør). Zoned Properties invests in OpenDor with franchise model in cannabis using inspiration from McDonald's as an example & model.   Full Show: HERE     Seg. 4 – Clips From:   Arizona Tech Investors w/ Bob DeLean AZ TRT S04 EP46 (209) 11-19-2023   What We Learned This Week ATI - Arizona-based investors committed to supporting capital needs of early stage high growth technology driven companies within Arizona Applicants for Funding need to Answer many Q's What Problem does your Product Solve? Who is your Competition? How Big is the Market? Who are Your Advisors? What is the Business Plan? Sales Plan? Building a Company takes longer than you think, & costs more $ than you expect   Guest: Bob DeLean, Executive Director of Arizona Tech Investors LKIN: HERE https://arizonatechinvestors.com/about-us/leadership/ Bob DeLean has been an investor with ATI for more than 11 years and currently serves as the organization's Chairman. He spent eight years as a Senior Equity Analyst with Morgan Keegan & Co., Inc., a wealth management and capital market firm. It's now part of Raymond James Financial Inc. Since moving back to Arizona in 2004, Bob has made 28 angel investments in early-stage and startup companies, the majority being based in Arizona. Bob is an outdoors enthusiast who enjoys road trips and spending time in nature. Full Show: HERE     The Brains of the Tech Industry - Semiconductors w/ Rohan AZ TRT S04 EP40 (203) 10-8-2023   Things We Learned This Week Semiconductors (Microchips) are in so many of the common everyday devices people use: cell-phones, tablets, laptops, cars, TVs, fridge, etc Valuation of Pay in Tech Jobs - combo of salary, bonus, benefits, stock options & growth potential Carbon Neutral is the eco-goal of many tech co's & Gov't by 2050, will require R&D, new materials Tech Talk & the Future.... AI, Turing Test, Recommendation Model, Moore's Law, & more   Full Show: HERE       More Info on WFL and Tax Free Matching: HERE   Wealth For Life Topic:  HERE   Link to Taxes Show on 10/31/2021 w/ Denver: Here Link to Offense / Defense Show on 6/6/2021 w/ Denver: Here Link to Shows, Denver was a Guest: Here   Investing Topic: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/investing   Tech Topic: HERE   ‘Best Of' Topic: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/Best+of+BRT      Thanks for Listening. Please Subscribe to the BRT Podcast.     AZ Tech Roundtable 2.0 with Matt Battaglia The show where Entrepreneurs, Top Executives, Founders, and Investors come to share insights about the future of business.  AZ TRT 2.0 looks at the new trends in business, & how classic industries are evolving.  Common Topics Discussed: Startups, Founders, Funds & Venture Capital, Business, Entrepreneurship, Biotech, Blockchain / Crypto, Executive Comp, Investing, Stocks, Real Estate + Alternative Investments, and more…    AZ TRT Podcast Home Page: http://aztrtshow.com/ ‘Best Of' AZ TRT Podcast: Click Here Podcast on Google: Click Here Podcast on Spotify: Click Here                    More Info: https://www.economicknight.com/azpodcast/ KFNX Info: https://1100kfnx.com/weekend-featured-shows/     Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the Hosts, Guests and Speakers, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent (or affiliates, members, managers, employees or partners), or any Station, Podcast Platform, Website or Social Media that this show may air on. All information provided is for educational and entertainment purposes. Nothing said on this program should be considered advice or recommendations in: business, legal, real estate, crypto, tax accounting, investment, etc. Always seek the advice of a professional in all business ventures, including but not limited to: investments, tax, loans, legal, accounting, real estate, crypto, contracts, sales, marketing, other business arrangements, etc.  

  Alvis Yuen is an ESG and Sustainability professional with expertise in ESG reporting, building decarbonization, energy systems, sustainability policy, investor relations, strategy, and project management. He has strong analytical and scientific background, recent sustainability portfolio oversight with the largest landlord in NYC, and currently leading Bain Capital's Real Estate ESG initiatives.    Alvis is a graduate of the City College of New York, earning his Master's degree for Sustainability in the Urban Environment. His interest in the interaction of the environment and business interest began during his undergraduate studies at NYU where Alvis pursued dual majors in biochemistry and economics. This background allows him to understand the more technical aspects of sustainability problems as well as their economic implications. His immersion in diverse academic disciplines enabled Alvis to balance the perspectives of many stakeholders when addressing the issues of sustainability.  At the G&A Institute, Alvis analyzed hundreds of corporate sustainability reports for submission into the global GRI database. His work has been incorporated into research on corporate governance and sustainability reporting trends of S&P 500 Index companies. Alvis has also contributed to Wikirate, a global open-source database for corporate sustainability performance.   Alvis' specific interests include: green buildings, renewable energy, transportation, and urban development. In recognition of his accomplishments, Alvis has been awarded the inaugural REBNY Sustainability Fellowship. He is also a LEED Green Associate.  Show Highlights Companies are focused on climate risk and opportunities to support the CDP framework. Bain Capital is a large, global, multiple asset investor. A general partner for investing with different funding sources Invested in real estate associated investments Whole Business Unit of Bain Capital Real Estate Pro tips for transparency to ensure you are reporting, collecting, and tailoring accurate data for your portfolios. Deciding what green best practices to use for your projects and not just chasing a certification.  Alvis shares some of the more aggressive mandates that may be coming to a city near you. Get your foot in the door with roles that are a little more narrow and specialized in the industry. Charlie and Alvis discuss the trillion dollar question in our industry.       Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

In this episode, I talk with Adham Naiem P.E., LEED Green Associate, PMP, Senior Project Manager at the National Institute of Building Sciences, about the crucial role of team dynamics in achieving successful project outcomes and fostering a sustainable future in the transportation engineering sector. ***The video version of this episode can be viewed here.*** […] The post TEPM 027: How Effective Communication Can Improve Team Dynamics and Project Success appeared first on Engineering Management Institute.

How do you find balance and success as a department of one? Vicki Menard, Maggie Thornton, and Jodi Sommers share the challenges and advantages of being a solo marketer with guest host, Kate Robinette. Variety is the spice of life.   Vicki Menard is the marketing director for Todd Construction. She has been using her storytelling skills in the construction industry for the past eight years, since transitioning from a long career as a daily newspaper editor and reporter. She is the proud mother of adult identical twin daughters and a descendant of Oregon Trail pioneers. https://www.linkedin.com/in/vickimenard/  www.toddconstruction.com    Maggie Thornton, CPSM, oversees marketing and business development for Westlake Consultants. Her core responsibilities include day-to-day marketing and proposal development, firm communications, business development planning and recruitment efforts, as well as helping to develop company initiatives, practices, and policies. She joined Westlake Consultants in 2010 and was named an Associate Principal in 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/maggie-thornton-cpsm-232bb213/  www.westlakeconsultants.com    Jodi Sommers, CPSM, LEED Green Associate, is a textbook example of a serial solo marketer. She was the first marketer hired at four separate AEC companies, where she ran her department of one. She has represented architects, contractors, sustainable design firms and a wide variety of engineers, energy analysts and commissioning providers. She recently started her own consulting firm – Jodi Sommers Marketing – where she provides marketing strategy and consulting for AEC firms with a special emphasis on cause marketing, which is the art of supporting nonprofits and achieving marketing and employee engagement goals simultaneously. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodi-sommers-cpsm-leed-green-associate-768b984/    Music by RomanSenykMusic on Pixabay. www.pixabay.com 

  Norbert Szircsak is Head of ESG Strategic Advisory Services for Colliers International based in Budapest, Hungary. Norbert started his career with Colliers International - Hungary in August 2007, joining the Valuation and Advisory services team.   Norbert has over 15 years' experience in the real estate and green building industry. He has been directly involved in more than 30 LEED certification projects, including Commercial Interiors,  Existing Buildings and New Construction projects. In the majority of these projects, he has been the overall project manager. Hungary's first certification in LEED version 4, which is also the first certified office building in the countryside, and the first LEED Platinum certification are on his & his team's list of accomplishments. Norbert has also contributed to more than 10 BREEAM In-Use certifications, similarly in project manager roles. Norbert graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering from Gábor Dénes College in 2009. He obtained his local appraiser qualification in 2009 and is also a member of the Hungarian Real Estate Association. Furthermore, in 2009, he obtained the LEED Green Associate and in 2013 the LEED Accredited Professional with specialty qualification from the U.S. Green Building Council. In 2019, he became a WELL Accredited Professional.   Show Highlights Get a better understanding of Hungary and the European regions. Usage of renewables  A peak into what rating systems are easier and harder to apply   Taxonomy   European Green Deal  Connecting engineering and technical backgrounds into a green building career. Challenges building within an advanced green building environment.  90% of Collier's work is green building certified with green building advisory for various types of buildings. Learn where green building is expandings in competitive markets. A total carbon plan to reduce your carbon footage with electrification and the renewable energy production on site. The grid infrastructure development needs.        Show Resource and Information Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on .  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the !   Copyright © 2023 GBES

This week on the KORE Women podcast, Dr. Summer Watson welcomes Tina Larsson, who is the powerhouse behind The Folson Group. Tina is New York's premier co-op and condo consultant who helps NYC coop and condo owners increase their property values. She is the author of “Living the High Life: how smart co-op and condo owners protect themselves and their investment.” Tina holds a LEED Green Associate designation and is on a mission to make NYC safer, more sustainable, and more affordable one building at a time. We have so much to talk about, Tina, so let's jump right into this conversation!   Thank you, Tina, for joining me on the KORE Women podcast today! You can follow Tina Larsson on LinkedIn, on Instagram and YouTube at: folsongrp and at: thefolsongroup.com and you can find her book on Amazon.   LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/tinalarssonli/ Website https://www.thefolsongroup.com/ Free chapter of Tina's book: https://www.thefolsongroup.com/book Insta: folsongrp Email: tina@thefolsongroup.com Youtube @folsongrp Thank you for taking the time to listen to the KORE Women podcast and being a part of the KORE Women experience. You can listen to The KORE Women podcast on your favorite podcast directory - Pandora, iHeartRadio, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, YouTube, Spotify, Stitcher, Podbean, JioSaavn, Amazon and at: www.KOREWomen.com/podcast. Please leave your comments and reviews about the podcast and check out KORE Women on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also learn more about the host, Dr. Summer Watson and KORE Women at: www.korewomen.com September 29 - October 1, 2023, Dr. Watson will be having a seminar in Santa Cruz, CA for emerging entrepreneurial women called, "Shift4Impact." To learn more, go to: https://www.korewomen.com/shift4impact

Did you know it doesn't take much to live an eco-friendly lifestyle? It all starts with consumer awareness. And who better to educate consumers than interior designers? After working for years in various design firms and realizing how much waste the interior design industry generates, Leah Connolly, my special guest in this episode, started her own firm advocating for sustainable interior design. Join us as we discuss how she started and her challenges when sourcing sustainably-focused brands. Leah also shares tips for finding non-toxic products for large surfaces that ensure a healthier living environment. If you are an environmentally conscious interior designer, or if you considering a niche in sustainable interior design, tune in as we explore the exciting possibilities in sustainable interior design. Featured Guest: As an extrovert, Leah Connolly loves talking with clients and learning what they value most. After graduating from UC Davis, she worked for a few Sacramento interior designers. She is an award-winning interior designer, LEED Green Associate, and a Certified Interior Designer. As the climate changes, she's looked closely at the design industry and the waste and chemicals it creates. Witnessing firsthand waste and harmful chemicals generated, she took a stand. Leah founded Studio Connolly in 2020 with a mission to lessen the environmental impact of design. Her priority is to partner with sustainably-focused brands to reduce waste at home and recycle as much as possible. Why you've got to check out today's episode: Explore innovative sustainable interior design practices to transform your client's space Discover the value of hands-on experience in business development Find out why sustainable design is the future of interior design Check out the show notes >>> The Future of Interior Design: Sustainable and Responsible Solutions With Leah Connolly Special Offer exclusive to Design Curious listeners only!!! Get FREE ACCESS to Ericka Saurit's The Brand Storytelling Masterclass - a step-by-step masterclass to get you to craft unforgettable brand narratives in just a few short hours. Get Free Access in 3 easy steps: Step 1: Listen to Episode 38: How Storytelling & Brand Marketing Will Level Up Your Interior Design Career With Ericka Saurit Step 2: Leave Design Curious podcast a Star Rating and Review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser (if you're not an Apple user) Step 3: Take a screenshot of your review and email it to podcast@rwarddesign.com OR post it to Instagram and tag me  @rwarddesign This offer is good for the month of June only... Connect With Me: Email: podcast@rwarddesign.com Instagram: @rwarddesign Website: rwarddesign.com Thanks for listening! I hope this helps you discover if interior design is the career for you. See you next week...

Specialty Cannabis & Prop Tech Real Estate Services w/ Bryan McLaren of Zoned Properties - BRT S04 EP22 (185) 6-4-2023     What We Learned This Week Zoned Properties specializes in Cannabis related Real Estate There is High consumer demand for cannabis, it exists already, do not need to create it Cannabis dispensaries are in the retail asset class of real estate. Also called - Direct to Consumer real estate. Many of the past myths & propaganda about Cannabis on crime and other societal issues were wrong. Property values never went down. Cannabis is a $50-$70 billion projected sales industry, w/ a $200 billion Economic Impact Zoned Properties Tech Division and SaaS software may be the biggest part of the company in the future        Guest: Bryan McLaren, Chairman & CEO of Zoned Properties https://zonedproperties.com/about-zoned-properties/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanmclaren/   Bryan McLaren is Chairman and CEO of publicly traded Zoned Properties (ZDPY). As a certified and licensed realtor, Green Roof Professional,  LEED Green Associate, and former City Sustainability Commissioner, Bryan has navigated state regulatory programs for cannabis commercial real estate in over ten markets for over 100 development projects.  Zoned Properties®, Inc. (OTCQB: ZDPY), a strategic real estate development firm whose primary mission is to provide real estate and sustainability services for the regulated cannabis industry, positioning the company for property acquisitions and revenue growth. They recently announced the market launch of its partnership with dispensary retail franchisor (The Open Dør). Zoned Properties invests in OpenDor with franchise model in cannabis using inspiration from McDonald's as an example & model.   PropTech (or Property Technology) is a term used to define the real estate startups that are offering new innovative technologies and ideas built to re-imagine the core processes and business models of the traditional property management and real estate vertical through digital transformation. Real Estate can become more efficient and scale faster for growth.   Lots of rules and regulations to regular real estate zoning, gets trickier with Sinn type industries – alcohol, cannabis, cigarettes, etc. cannabis business cannot just setup shop anywhere like a Starbucks. Rules dictate cannot put the business near a school, or a church. Legalization has also adjusted what hours the store is open while also stabilizing the overall industry – better tenant with growing business. Cannabis will be a $50 to $100 billion client in commercial real estate in the next few years.     Notes:   Zoned Properties has multiple divisions for real estate services, like rental, investment and techs. They have an investment side where they have purchased properties to rent out. For Cannabis clients they could be both a realtor and a landlord. They do not do commercial loans. They have protections if a renter defaults on their lease. This can include a landlord lien or a UCC on equipment, and 3rd-party proxy rights like bankruptcy receivership as an example.   Cannabis dispensaries are in the retail asset class of real estate. Also called - direct to consumer real estate.   Seg 1   Zoned Properties has been around for 10 years specializing in cannabis properties which is a highly regulated and specialized industry. Cannabis is legal in 38 states. Zoning is very specific on where cannabis can setup shop.   Zoned is a public company with investors. The investor pitch for cannabis is pretty straightforward, as there is high consumer demand for the product.   Real estate is a tangible asset class with a hard value. Zoned only purchases real estate in an industry, with increasing consumer demand.   Bryan has a background in sustainability, and environmental projects and also zoning. The goal of any real estate project is to see how it can help the community prosper.   Legacy in the Cannabis industry is for medicinal demand and cultural use. They do not have to create demand as it exists already. Numerous cannabis studies on the medical side helping people with pain and other elements.   Many of the past myths and propaganda about Cannabis talking about crime and other societal issues were wrong. Property values never went down. Cannabis is a $50-$70 billion project and gross sales over the next decade. Also a $200 billion economic industry impact, along the lines of the alcohol industry. Strong economic value overall.   Seg 2   You always want to determine the highest and best use of the real estate property. An example would be in a good climate area, you would want farmland. In a dense city area it could be apartments or office space. Cannabis dispensaries is in the direct to consumer real estate. You could convert a previous property that might've been a bank or a restaurant into a dispensary.   The commercial real estate industry has a market value of $16 trillion, with 1.5 trillion being industrial use. Cannabis properties that do cultivation or greenhouses are considered industrial.   Different classes of assets in real estate. Cultivation or distribution would be considered industrial while a dispensary is considered retail. Demand previously had outweighed supply and cannabis, but now there is more supply. Storage space needs to be improved.   Office space is on the commercial real estate side. Commercial retail real estate would involve the sale of a product ‘in person' to a consumer at a retail site, or direct to consumer. It's been a commoditization of the industry. Conversion of open real estate to better trends, will raise the value by getting the highest and best use.     Seg 3   Bryan‘s background is in community planning, office and zoning. Like City project to figure out where it's best to put a sports arena, highway access or where would restaurants or schools be located.   Where should a cannabis site go? Cannabis is an emerging industry that is highly regulated and considered specific use in the real estate sector.   Zoned helps clients with site identification, permits and building set up. Zoned Properties also has an investment division that invest and owns properties.   They have a technology division which they call Prop Tech for property technology, to increase efficiency of a property. They can do predictive studies of where the next zoning project will go.   38 states have legalized Cannabis with Kentucky in 2023 and Minnesota soon after. It's been a shift in society since Covid, as less people in the office. So you have to figure out how to convert that real estate.   An example from the past would be Blockbuster. They owned so many stores, who do you sell those buildings to when an industry craters?   Cannabis has premiums on rental rates. Green zone analysis - where can you put a Cannabis store.   Zoned calls it their product re-zone. AI technology at Zoned which can identify properties that could be used for cannabis locations, and have the best coding.   SUP or special use permit to change zoning. An area might need to be rezoned to see to zoning for cannabis.   The biggest value loss in trying to get a property is time. Because of regulations it takes longer in Cannabis to get permits, upwards of 6 to 9 months. That is a long holding period for investors and entrepreneurs.   Seg 4   Zoned Properties is public company for eight years now, corporation, stock ticker ZDPY. They are non-plant touching company, ancillary company to Cannabis. They do not own any Cannabis businesses or take profits from any Cannabis ventures. Zoned gets fees from providing real estate or advisory services or rental revenue.   Chief legal attorney is Dan Gauthier who handles contracts and regulations as well as national brokerage.   National cannabis event takes place in Las Vegas. There's a big barrier to entry in cannabis with all the regulations and investment needed.   Four divisions of Zoned Properties are: property tech, advisory, services like brokerage, and investment   Currently they have 5 state offices with expansion of 5 more. Investors want upside so they like the cannabis industry, and getting in early. Cannabis is in a consolidation phrase, lots of M&A the last 5 years.   Risk mitigation that Zoned provides is they have the tangible assets of the real estate. This gives downside protection to investors. Equipment and real estate are the best security and collateral for loans.   Biggest opportunity in Cannabis - follow the trends of consumers. The tech side could be the biggest opportunity for Zoned Properties. Working on a SaaS or DasS product. $200 billion of economic impact.       Real Estate Topic: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/Real+Estate-Construction-Land-Farming   Investing Topic: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/investing More - BRT Best of: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/Best+Of     Thanks for Listening. Please Subscribe to the BRT Podcast.      Business Roundtable with Matt Battaglia The show where Entrepreneurs, High Level Executives, Business Owners, and Investors come to share insight and ideas about the future of business. BRT 2.0 looks at the new trends in business, and how classic industries are evolving.  Common Topics Discussed: Business, Entrepreneurship, Investing, Stocks, Cannabis, Tech, Blockchain / Crypto, Real Estate, Legal, Sales, Charity, and more…  BRT Podcast Home Page: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/ ‘Best Of' BRT Podcast: Click Here BRT Podcast on Google: Click Here BRT Podcast on Spotify: Click Here                    More Info: https://www.economicknight.com/podcast-brt-home/ KFNX Info: https://1100kfnx.com/weekend-featured-shows/   Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the Hosts, Guests and Speakers, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent (or affiliates, members, managers, employees or partners), or any Station, Podcast Platform, Website or Social Media that this show may air on. All information provided is for educational and entertainment purposes. Nothing said on this program should be considered advice or recommendations in: business, legal, real estate, crypto, tax accounting, investment, etc. Always seek the advice of a professional in all business ventures, including but not limited to: investments, tax, loans, legal, accounting, real estate, crypto, contracts, sales, marketing, other business arrangements, etc.  

This week's episode features a conversation with Baltimore architect, Melanie Ray, of Hord Coplan Macht. We cover her journey into the profession, the impact NOMA has had on her career and various tips for students pursuing architecture.Links:Bmore NOMATangible Remnants on InstagramTangible Remnants WebsiteLinkedTr.ee for resourcesGabl Media NetworkSarah Gilberg's MusicBio: Melanie RayMelanie is a licensed architect and Associate in the Affordable Housing studio at Hord Coplan Macht in Baltimore, MD. Since graduating from Penn State's architecture program in 2015, she has worked on various market-rate and affordable mixed-use housing projects, as well as community development projects in Baltimore city and beyond. She is the 424th living black woman licensed in the US to practice architecture and seeks to be an active mentor to promote the goal of doubling the number of licensed black architects by 2030. She currently serves as the President of Bmore NOMA, the Baltimore Chapter of NOMA, the Northeast University Liaison for NOMA National, and on the Board of Directors for AIA Baltimore. In addition to her work at HCM, Melanie is a regular volunteer for pro bono design projects through such organizations as Habitat for Humanity and The Neighborhood Design Center, the latter of which she received the Volunteer of the Year Award in June 2020 and also currently serves on the board of directors. Melanie is a certified Fitwel Ambassador and LEED Green Associate. **Some of the links above maybe Amazon affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you.**

BRT – Relentlessly Local - Best of Real Estate - BRT S04 EP21 (184) 5-28-2023     What We Learned This Week One Thing with Jay Papasan – Know Your Priorities Relentlessly Local w/ Oleg Bortman of The Brokery Karma – The Art of Architecture Design w/ Jason Boyer of Boyer Vertical What's Your Real Estate Investor Identity? Fix n Flip? Landlord? w/ Mike DelPrete of AZREIA Multifamily Real Estate Investment w/ John Kobierowski of ABI Specialty Cannabis & Prop Tech Real Estate Services w/ Bryan McLaren of Zoned Properties Clips from recent BRT shows discussing the topic of Real Estate.      Clip From: The One Thing w/ Jay Papasan of Keller Williams Realty - BRT S03 EP22 (122) 5-29-2022 Guest: Jay Papsan, VP of Keller Williams Realty https://the1thing.com/ https://www.jaypapasan.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaypapasan/ https://twitter.com/jaypapasan https://kw.com/   Jay Papasan is a bestselling author and serves as vice president and executive editor at Keller Williams Realty Inc, the world's largest real estate company. He is also co-owner and co-founder of several successful businesses, including Keller INK, Keller Capital, and, alongside his wife Wendy, Papasan Properties Group in Austin, Texas. When Jay first moved to Austin, he joined Keller Williams Realty Inc, and soon began working directly with the founder, Gary Keller. In 2003, he co-authored The Millionaire Real Estate Agent alongside Gary Keller and Dave Jenks. The resounding success of the book, which focused on the systems, models and tactics used by the nation's top real estate sales agents, became a national bestseller in 2004 and went on to sell more than a million copies. In 2015, they follow up with a another national bestseller, The Millionaire Real Estate Investor. Having landed on a formula for providing insight and practical strategies for success, the authors produced a series of books that found their way on to numerous bestselling lists, including those found on The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and The New York Times. The books he's co-authored have collectively sold over 3.5 million copies. His most recent work with Gary Keller on The ONE Thing has sold over a million copies worldwide and garnered more than 500 appearances on national bestseller lists, including #1 on The Wall Street Journal's hardcover business list. Jay resides in Austin, TX, with his wife, Wendy, their children, Gus and Veronica and their dog Taco. The message of The One Thing has resonated around the world. Professionals everywhere are searching for meaning in their work, clarity around their priorities and everyday productivity without stress and complexity.   Full Show: HERE       Clip From: Relentlessly Local Real Estate w/ Oleg Bortman of The Brokery   BRT S04 EP08 (170) 2-19-2023   Guest: Oleg Bortman of The Brokery https://thebrokery.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/oleg-bortman-215099a/  Instagram @olegbortman   Oleg Bortman is co-founder of The Brokery residential real estate brokerage. Born in Ukraine, Oleg moved to the United States in 1979 as his family sought the American Dream. Oleg studied biology at York College and upon graduation began working in Pharmaceutical sales, and was a Regional Sales Director for a fortune 100 Pharmaceutical Company for several years. However, deep down, Oleg knew his true passion was and is real estate. He bought his first investment property in 1999 and quickly became captivated with the entire real estate market. He expanded his portfolio from New Jersey to Nevada and then on to Arizona, quickly seeing his return on investments. When Oleg moved out West, he realized he didn't just want to be an investor, he wanted to give other people the same opportunity he has had. He loves working not only with buyers, but sellers and investors as well. Oleg has been in real estate for over ten years as it continues to be his dream career.   Full Show: Here       Clip from: Karma – The Art of Architecture Design w/ Jason Boyer of Boyer Vertical   BRT S04 EP12 (174) 3-19-2023   Guest: Jason Boyer of  Boyer Vertical   https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasondboyer/  https://boyervertical.com/ Twitter: BOYER_JDB A Masters of Architecture graduate from Arizona State University, Jason was recognized among the top 3 graduates in his class and has since maintained a connection to the ASU school of architecture as an Adjunct Faculty. At age 35 Jason was named Principal and Director of Architecture of the Phoenix office of OWP/P, a notable accomplishment in a profession where the average principal age is 52. In 2009 OWP/P merged with Cannon Design where Jason served as a Principal and Design Leader for Cannon Design's Phoenix based Western Mountain Region office. In 2012 Jason formed Jason Boyer Architects adding real estate development to his entrepreneurial skillset with the successful completion of artHAUS, a nationally recognized transit-oriented infill project. Full Show: Here       Clip from: What's Your Real Estate Investor Identity? Fix n Flip? Landlord? w/ AZREIA - BRT S03 EP40 (139) 8-21-2022 Guest: Michael DelPrete, Executive Director, AZREIA https://azreia.org/ The mission of AZREIA is to provide its members the education, market information, support, and networking opportunities that will further the member's ability to successfully invest in Real Estate   Full Show: Here       Clip From: Multifamily Real Estate Investment w/ John Kobierowski of ABI BRT S03 EP61 (160) 12-11-2022   Guest: John Kobierowski President and CEO ABI Multifamily  https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnkobierowski   https://abimultifamily.com/ ABI Multifamily is a brokerage and advisory services firm that focuses exclusively on apartment investment transactions. The experienced advisors at ABI Multifamily have completed billions of dollars in sales and thousands of individual multifamily transactions. ABI Multifamily incorporates a global approach with regional real estate expertise to successfully complete any multifamily transaction, regardless of size and complexity.   https://neighborhood.ventures/ Neighborhood Ventures is a real estate crowdfunding company that offers ALL the opportunity to be shareholders in our retail & apartment projects. Full Show: Here         Clip from: Specialty Cannabis & Prop Tech Real Estate Services w/ Bryan McLaren of Zoned Properties   - BRT S04 EP22 (185) 6-4-2023   Guest: Bryan McLaren, Chairman & CEO of Zoned Properties https://zonedproperties.com/about-zoned-properties/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanmclaren/   Bryan McLaren is Chairman and CEO of publicly traded Zoned Properties (ZDPY). As a certified and licensed realtor, Green Roof Professional,  LEED Green Associate, and former City Sustainability Commissioner, Bryan has navigated state regulatory programs for cannabis commercial real estate in over ten markets for over 100 development projects.  Zoned Properties®, Inc. (OTCQB: ZDPY), a strategic real estate development firm whose primary mission is to provide real estate and sustainability services for the regulated cannabis industry, positioning the company for property acquisitions and revenue growth. They recently announced the market launch of its partnership with dispensary retail franchisor (The Open Dør). Zoned Properties invests in OpenDor with franchise model in cannabis using inspiration from McDonald's as an example & model.   PropTech (or Property Technology) is a term used to define the real estate startups that are offering new innovative technologies and ideas built to re-imagine the core processes and business models of the traditional property management and real estate vertical through digital transformation. Real Estate can become more efficient and scale faster for growth.   Lots of rules and regulations to regular real estate zoning, gets trickier with Sinn type industries – alcohol, cannabis, cigarettes, etc. cannabis business cannot just setup shop anywhere like a Starbucks. Rules dictate cannot put the business near a school, or a church. Legalization has also adjusted what hours the store is open while also stabilizing the overall industry – better tenant with growing business. Cannabis will be a $50 to $100 billion client in commercial real estate in the next few years.   Full Show: Here       Real Estate Topic: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/Real+Estate-Construction-Land-Farming   Investing Topic: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/investing More - BRT Best of: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/Best+Of     Thanks for Listening. Please Subscribe to the BRT Podcast.      Business Roundtable with Matt Battaglia The show where Entrepreneurs, High Level Executives, Business Owners, and Investors come to share insight and ideas about the future of business. BRT 2.0 looks at the new trends in business, and how classic industries are evolving.  Common Topics Discussed: Business, Entrepreneurship, Investing, Stocks, Cannabis, Tech, Blockchain / Crypto, Real Estate, Legal, Sales, Charity, and more…  BRT Podcast Home Page: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/ ‘Best Of' BRT Podcast: Click Here BRT Podcast on Google: Click Here BRT Podcast on Spotify: Click Here                    More Info: https://www.economicknight.com/podcast-brt-home/ KFNX Info: https://1100kfnx.com/weekend-featured-shows/   Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the Hosts, Guests and Speakers, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent (or affiliates, members, managers, employees or partners), or any Station, Podcast Platform, Website or Social Media that this show may air on. All information provided is for educational and entertainment purposes. Nothing said on this program should be considered advice or recommendations in: business, legal, real estate, crypto, tax accounting, investment, etc. Always seek the advice of a professional in all business ventures, including but not limited to: investments, tax, loans, legal, accounting, real estate, crypto, contracts, sales, marketing, other business arrangements, etc.

Our guest in this episode is Shea Cunningham. I met Shea on LinkedIn way back in July 2022. We recorded our time together in early February 2023 and both commiserated about the cold Southern California weather. She is an extremely busy, productive, and visionary woman. Currently, among other jobs, she is the director of Sustainability at ASGN. She will tell us all about ASGN and other organizations with which she works and has worked. Shea studied and majored in International Relations and minored in Latin American Studies at San Francisco State University. Through an internship, she received the opportunity to work in Thailand for two years working on a number of international-related issues. As she says, that wasn't a part of her plan for herself, but “it was a wonderful opportunity”. After Thailand, she went to UCLA's School of Public Policy where she obtained her master's degree in urban planning with an emphasis on Sustainability. Shea will tell us a lot about the subject of “Sustainability” and why it is so important. She uses her life story to discuss how she got so involved in addressing sustainability issues and will show you why it can be an important subject for all of us to ponder and address. About the Guest: Shea Cunningham (she/her) is the Director of Sustainability of ASGN Incorporated. She is a sustainability planning and ESG strategy expert with over twenty years of consulting experience across multiple industry sectors, from the community to international levels. Ms. Cunningham established several sustainability-focused organizations including the Balanced Approach, Focus on the Global South (Bangkok, Thailand), the Culver City Sustainable Business Certification Program, and the US Department of Education Green Ribbon Award-wining sustainability program for the Culver City Unified School District. Ms. Cunningham was also an analyst for the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (Paris, France), and a consultant for Sony Pictures, Athens Services and the Malibu Foundation, amongst numerous other businesses, municipalities, and academic institutions. She is the lead author of “Our Climate Crisis: A Guide for SoCal Communities in the Wildland Urban Interface,” and co-author of many other articles, reports and books. In 2021, Shea was awarded the Women in Business Leadership Visionary Award from the Culver City Chamber of Commerce. She holds an MA in Urban and Regional Planning from the UCLA School of Public Policy and is a LEED Green Associate. Shea's recommended links on climate change: The Nature Conservancy's Chief Scientist (and evangelical Christian) Katharine Hayhoe's Ted Talk Katharine Hayhoe's article How to Talk About Climate Change across the Political Divide in the New Yorker A Washington Post article on the US Army's Climate Strategy Methodist Church's Resolution on a Response to Climate Change 1% for the Planet's 10 Viable solutions to climate change Article from NASA on Scientific Consensus on Climate Change http://www.newclimatevoices.org/ About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app. Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes Michael Hingson  00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i  capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson  01:20 Well, hi, and yes, we are here once again for another episode of unstoppable mindset. Shea Cunningham is a sustainability expert with over 20 years of experience, and we're going to talk about that she works for a company now. For the company she works for is ASGN. She's the director of sustainability and we're going to have to talk about that and see what all that means. But first, che thanks for being here. And welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Shea Cunningham  01:52 Thank you so much, Michael. I'm really happy to be here with you.   Michael Hingson  01:56 Well, we're we're excited now, where are you located?   Shea Cunningham  02:00 I am in Culver City, which is basically, yeah, it's LA County, West LA adjacent to Santa Monica. That sort of area.   Michael Hingson  02:10 So from up here in Victorville. I could just kind of Chuck a rock down the past and maybe it would find you and pound on your window.   Shea Cunningham  02:18 Yeah, we're not too far apart. That's right.   Michael Hingson  02:20 And we have reasonably decent weather.   Shea Cunningham  02:24 Yeah, today is gorgeous. I actually just took a bike ride i just i That's one of my passions is bike riding road road biking. So it was a lovely, lovely day this morning.   Michael Hingson  02:36 Much better place to do within going and trying to do it in Oh, Buffalo, New York.   Shea Cunningham  02:42 That is true. Yes. I have some friends in Chicago right now. There. Yeah, it's like four degrees. So yeah, I'm very grateful.   Michael Hingson  02:50 Yeah, not quite this pleasant is here. It was 31 degrees this morning when I got up in Victorville. And like yesterday, I think it was or Wednesday, it was down to 22. So but we're a little bit up in the mountains, we're in the high desert. So we get a little bit more of the cold weather, but not nearly as much as the precipitation. As you all saw down there. The the water doesn't tend to drop in Victorville very much. We're in a valley. So clouds have to go up over mountains and other things. So by the time it gets here, it loses a lot of its moisture.   Shea Cunningham  03:24 So you didn't get to experience the atmospheric rivers that we were having around my area, then.   Michael Hingson  03:30 Not so much. I think we maybe got three quarters of an inch of rain, but that was about all.   Shea Cunningham  03:35 Yes, that's good. Because yeah, there was quite destructive not in my community, but around around the larger region.   Michael Hingson  03:44 So yeah, well, I I know, right now, they're saying we have in the Sierras, what about 250% of the normal snowfall for this time here? And it's just going to be a question of how soon it melts. And hopefully it won't too quickly.   Shea Cunningham  03:59 Correct. Yeah. And yeah, it's been hasn't rained this much and produce this much snowpack for over a decade. So it's it's definitely welcomed. But I know, we're also not capturing as much as we need to. And then because our infrastructure is still inadequate. So I'm hoping I'm optimistically hopeful, then that there will be our cautiously optimistic that that there's going to be progress in that regard.   Michael Hingson  04:27 Oh, I hope so. Well, I want to get to a lot of the things that you do and so on, but I'd like to start by you telling us kind of your your roots where you came from going to school and all that and what you what you studied and learned and anything else like that that you want to tell us about the earlier che   Shea Cunningham  04:45 Okay, sure. Well, I I got well, actually, before I went to graduate school, I was at San Francisco State University where I studied international relations and I minored in Latin American Studies, and I had the great fortune too, to actually be my my internship and end my undergrad program basically turned into a real job, I was the research assistant to the executive director. And I got the opportunity opportunity to actually live and work in Bangkok, Thailand for a couple of years, which is not obviously not Latin America was not really on my, my, the planned path that I had. But it was a fantastic experience, I helped to build a sort of a think tank at Chulalongkorn University focused on looking at the impacts of Trade and Development on communities, economies, and the environment. So I basically started working in the sustainability world, before the buzzword sustainability kind of came into the picture. And I was working at the Institute for Food and development policy in San Francisco as well. And then I went to graduate school, at UCLA in the School of Public Policy and got my master's degree in urban and regional planning with a focus on sustainability. And, and I have always been sort of a nature lover at heart, like as a young girl, I was already like, I would be upsetting to see trash on the ground. And, you know, I just I very much have always loved to camp and hike and be in the ocean, that sort of thing. So I'm sort of naturally, you know, became a sustainability. Professional   Michael Hingson  06:36 Chulalongkorn University, is that an outgrowth of the king? And I?   Shea Cunningham  06:41 Well, it is actually the oldest university in, in Bangkok, the very first university ever built right in the center of the city. And it is it is basically named after the king. Yes.   Michael Hingson  06:56 Cool. Well, that I've heard of it before never had a chance to ask the question. But it, it is certainly something that comes to mind. So that's pretty cool. But you spend time there. Well, you you in undergraduate work, you did Latin American Studies and so on. Growing up what got you interested in that, that you decided to go to college and study that?   Shea Cunningham  07:19 That's a good question. Well, I definitely had always, we I had gone with my parents a few times to Mexico for holidays, and, you know, sort of summer vacations. And, and I really was always very curious about learning Spanish, because I wanted to be able to understand what people were saying. And I also had friends who were actually farmworker families in grade school. And so I was just always fascinated with learning Spanish, because that was the second language that I heard in my, in my young life. So and I also just started to really pay attention to the disparities in wealth between my family and the other families, that farmworker families as well as obviously, in Mexico, in some of the places that we stay, we know we'd stay in a resort, and then we'd go into town and was very obvious that there was a lot of poverty. And that was upsetting to me. So that's something that I wanted to sort of learn more about, and see how I could be somehow, you know, improve the situation to, you know, in my own way. So that's kind of where I came into this is because as I mentioned, sustainability is not just about the environment, it's also about the social aspects, social well being as well as, as the economics.   Michael Hingson  08:43 And I would assume that at least to a degree, your parents encouraged the concept and the the idea of those kinds of studies.   Shea Cunningham  08:51 You know, I was kind of like a free range kid, quite frankly. My dad, I live in my parents, sadly divorced at a young age and my I ended up living with my dad and my brother, and you know, so he was kind of like, Mr. Mom. And, and so, you know, he was kind of hands off and my mom as well. So I just sort of just kind of created my own path. And they've always been supportive. Both of them have always been supportive with everything I've chosen to do.   Michael Hingson  09:23 It is so good to have parents who are supportive, no matter what the circumstances like that. It's great that they were what did they do for work?   Shea Cunningham  09:32 Well, I am actually the first person in my family to get a master's degree. And so my mom, she is she actually is an amazing interior designer. She doesn't she's never really done it for money. But she's like, jaw dropping capabilities in that, in that regard. She also got a real estate license and she was As a realtor for quite some time, and my father, he did go and got he got his a degree and then ended up, you know, back in the day when it was not that unusual for people in their early 20s To get married and have babies. That's what they did back in the day. And so he did not enough finished college. And but he did. I'm very proud of him. He started in the mailroom at IBM, and worked his way up to regional manager over the years.   Michael Hingson  10:28 Wow. And that's a pretty good feat. It company like IBM to do that.   Shea Cunningham  10:34 I think so, too. He did. Yeah. He's a smart guy.   Michael Hingson  10:38 He's still doing that. Nope. He retired. He retired.   Shea Cunningham  10:41 Yeah, he was kind of forced into retirement. Actually, he was given the, the sort of the Golden Handshake. When they're, I think when you know, when 2008 When things were falling apart, the wheels were coming off the economy.   Michael Hingson  10:56 Yeah. happens all too often. So did he? Did he find something else to do? Or is he just enjoying retired life after now? What 15 years almost?   Shea Cunningham  11:07 Yeah, he's he's enjoying retirement. And he did a little bit of, of, sort of what was it was like, delivery of legal documents, in a kind of in his car driving around town. He kind of had fun doing that for a couple of years. And then he realized he didn't really need to do that. So he's just just enjoying his life.   Michael Hingson  11:28 Well, that's cool. Well, so you went off to do things in Bangkok, and so on, got a degree and started to deal with public policy? And then what did you do? So what did you do out of college when she got your master's degree?   Shea Cunningham  11:43 Yes, I actually I first Well, first, I did a little exploring in South America. I did you. Thank you. I did I actually lived in, in my, in my undergraduate I didn't mention this. And when I was in my undergraduate program, in my senior year, I did live in Mexico for for like, not not quite a full year in Wahaca, which was amazing. So if you ever get a chance to go to a haka, Mexico, I think it's one of the most special places on earth. So, after graduate school, I did take a little bit of time to do some exploring, and South America, which was an amazing, amazing trip. Being in the Andes, for instance, was just incredible. And just the different cultures, the different cities, I'm especially enamored with Buenos Aires in Argentina. But I, so I kind of brushed up on my Spanish and whatnot. And then I, I was very fortunate, I had the chair of my thesis committee started teaching at last or bone and in Paris, and wait, see, see ASBO I think actually, it's which is an another, like a science based university in Paris. And, and so I got the opportunity to be introduced to the OECD, which is the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris is sort of a I liken it to a mini think tank or not, it's really not that many sort of a smaller version of the United Nations. But it's, it's really a think tank between between the Western world countries. So it's like a, it's like, membership. You know, there's member countries basically, so, and it's headquartered in Paris. And I was offered a position there. So I ended up working there for about a year and living in Paris, which is a magnificent opportunity, as well. And I was focused on looking at social innovations across the, across the European region, specifically looking at sort of community community based projects that focused on improvement of both, again in sustainability, looking at the environment impacts on the environment of certain sorts of projects, and impacts on the community. And just also spotlighting just innovations, innovative community projects.   Michael Hingson  14:10 When you were you said in your senior year, you spent most of the year and Wahaca. How did how did that work from a studying standpoint? Was that just part of the university assignment? And did you sort of work remotely? Or how did that work?   Shea Cunningham  14:22 It was really wonderful. It was through the School of International Training. So it was a it was an abroad program that that we didn't have coursework. And we did have field work as well. And so my, so we did have classes, we had a lot of guest lectures, everything from culture to politics to history. And then I had I did a we had to do like a focus project. And so I selected looking at the sea turtles of Wahaca Nick problem, it's actually called Laguna state chicawa, which is where two different types of sea turtles come to lay their eggs. And the and as you probably know, the sea turtles got on the endangered species list. And so that had to stop. And so this was a project run by marine biologists. And so I basically live with them for about six weeks and experienced their project. And I helped it was it was magical I, I was able to help you know, bring the little little, the well the, the eggs that were being laid, and then we would transfer them into a safe area. And then in the evenings, we would liberate them into the sea and watch them watch a little babies crawled down to the sea was incredible. And at night, we would watch the, the moms coming up, the female turtles coming up onto the shore, and then making their nest and laying their eggs. And the reason why that project was happening was because the community there was reliant upon the sea turtle sea turtles for you know, making lotions and, and using their shells to create combs and all sorts of things like that. So then, there was also a project focused on helping to create a new economy, you know, new economic options for the community,   Michael Hingson  16:22 to not so much doing the turtles.   Shea Cunningham  16:25 Exactly. So it became a more sustainable, you know, operation for the community. And obviously, for the turtles.   Michael Hingson  16:33 How big were the adult turtles? Or are they How big are the adult turtles?   Shea Cunningham  16:38 I don't remember exactly in terms of measurement, but I would say, I mean, they're huge. The the green turtles are they get to be like, at least four feet long. Okay. Yeah, yeah, they're pretty big.   Michael Hingson  16:53 So they're big, like some of the Galapagos turtles and so on. Well, not   Shea Cunningham  16:56 as large as those because those the Galapagos are the largest turtle, I believe on Earth, but, but there, there are some moral big ones that kind of take your breath away.   Michael Hingson  17:05 I'm more used to desert tortoises and we don't see them nearly as much now I grew up in Palmdale, we had a pet tortoises growing up. And then later, after I was married, my mother in law went out of her house in Mission Viejo one day, and there was a tortoise just walking up the driveway. And clearly it had been someone's pet. But no one could ever claim it or find it. So we ended up deciding that we would take him and putting him in our yard. And later we got another another tortoise. So it was kind of fun. So we had a male and a female, very sweet bar, like desert tortoises were fun, and we could pet them. And we would give them rose petals and lead us and things like that. And they would also just stick their necks out if you're going to scratch under their necks. They would love it. Oh, yeah. So we made good friends. And actually, it got to the point where they decided that one day they wanted to come into the house. And our screen door or screen door was closed but not locked. And they just popped it open and came in to the consternation of our cat at the time, but everyone got along.   Shea Cunningham  18:19 That's really cute. I love it. I love any kind of turtle.   Michael Hingson  18:25 Yeah, I like turtles and tortoises. I saw one Galapagos turtle, but I was pretty young, only seven or eight at the San Diego Zoo. Oh, wow. But yeah, I like turtles and tortoises in there. They're kind of fun. Well, you so you eventually went off and went to graduate school. And then what did you do after graduate school?   Shea Cunningham  18:46 Well, then, I mean, after working at the the the OECD, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris, I ended up coming back to Los Angeles area. And I started to do some consulting actually for the Thai Community Development Center. And another the Community Development Center, which my goodness, I'm forgetting the name of it, but there are I basically started to consult as a sustainability planner for some different organizations. And I also was invited back to UCLA. I was a graduate student researcher at the North American Integration and development center. So I continue to take on some research projects there. I also worked as, as the research director for the Service Employees International Union, focused on the the public sector and actually worked with one of the projects that was especially rewarding and interesting was with people with developmental disabilities. So it was working with people there called people first I'm not sure if you're familiar with that organization, little David I think they're based in Sacramento. So that was that was an interesting project and you know, working also with the with the, with the helpers that you know that the in home care workers and then I, you know, so I bopped around a bit i i also had a full day and I still I still practice it yoga, I started teaching yoga I was I had two children. So my first one, I was really into yoga, and I ended up ended up being asked, well, I just found this really interesting and cost efficient program. And I ended up becoming a teacher through it. And I really just wanted to do that, because I was interested in learning more about the roots of yoga, and you know, just not not just the actual poses and postures. And, and, and then I started teaching and I as a young as a mom with young kids, that was that was a nice sort of side path. And then it took, and then after, after my kids got a little bit older, and I started going to, to elementary school and in my first kid and in elementary school in kindergarten, that's when I noticed that there was not any even recycling happening at the school. And so I kind of kicked it into high gear and said, Okay, we need to, we need to change things here at the school district. And I connected with some like minded parents, and some like minded teachers and the principal. And we, we sort of piloted a waste reduction and recycling program at the elementary school. And then from there, we raised some money through CalRecycle. And then we, I was asked to be a part of a new sort of committee for sustainability for the school district. And then I ended up leading that, and I really went all in with it. So we we raised a couple of large grants and created composting recycling bins across the entire 10 School 10 site school district. And then we worked with we started with that, but then we we really got into building our sort of co curricular awareness program and worked with the with the the janitorial staff and brought in green cleaning supplies so that they're moving. So it's basically healthier for them as well as the teachers and then students, we brought in solar to offset the you know, the fossil fuel burning, and to reduce the carbon emissions and to provide Sun shading for the parking lots and and playground areas. And we also worked on water reduction or water conservation. We we worked in brought in some new landscaping. So it was like for about five or six years, I was really I was very focused on that while doing other sort of consulting projects on the side. I also worked for help Sony Studios, which is also in Culver City, become a become a zero waste studio, because it's really neat. They they, they being the studio, they have friendly competitions with other studios across the region. And so they're they're really into becoming more green and more sustainable. And so I was brought in to help them create a zero waste studio at the headquarters, which was fun. And I mean, I could go on I have a few other projects that I actually because of the work I was doing at the schools, I gave a speech at a green schools Conference, which is an annual conference that happens in Pasadena. And from there I was invited to work. There's a proposition 39 That was created kind of a loophole that there was found for funding, energy efficiency and renewables in public schools. That money is sunsetted. This is bad for about six years, there was a really good amount of money for different schools for LED lighting retrofits and solar panels. And so I basically helped with that program. And and then I and then my sort of biggest, longest term project that I have that's continuing. And I think I haven't mentioned yet that I developed my own business called balanced approach. And it is a certified woman owned business. It's a sustainability doing sort of a micro sustainability planning firm. And I collaborated with a colleague of mine who who is the co director of sustainable works. And we pitched a Culver City sustainable business certification program to the city council took a couple of years to get it going. But now we're in the sixth year of the program. And we have certified over 70 businesses now as sustainable and kind of on the same model of what we did for the or what I did for the school district with my my other colleagues, which is, you know, from working on green cleaning, you know, taking out toxics working on energy efficiency, working on bringing it bringing in renewables, water conservation, and awareness building. And also transportation. That's another aspect because that's a big transportation is a large factor in terms of carbon emissions.   Michael Hingson  25:58 When How long ago was it that you discovered that the school needed to deal with recycling and so on your kid your child was in kindergarten, how long ago was at   Shea Cunningham  26:08 dating myself? Now? My, my son is 18. Now, okay, yeah, that was like 13 years ago.   Michael Hingson  26:17 It is sort of surprising. And that's This is why I was asking the question that that late in the game, well, maybe not. But it's sort of surprising that they hadn't gotten very conscious about doing recycling and so on. So 13 years ago, would have made it about 2010, you would have thought that they would have done more to address the issue, but then you're getting you're dealing with the innocence the government.   Shea Cunningham  26:45 Yes, I would like that's why I was like, Okay, with this is not okay, we need to teach our kids how to be environmental stewards. And it's not it as we know, recycling is not you know, what's, well, there's like the you've heard of the three R's, right? Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Right? And it really isn't that priority, like first we got to focus on reducing our waste and reducing our our plastics and our disposables, and then it's reusing whatever we can, and then, you know, recycle what we can't, you know, reduce and reuse. But yes, too, as to your question, or, yeah, I, I agree with you, it was really surprising that they didn't have that in place, you would think that that would be something that that is everywhere, universally, but it still isn't, I mean, it just still isn't. So we still have a long road to the hall that Culver City Unified now. Thankfully, there, it's become part of the culture. And we actually received a state level and federal level Green Ribbon Award for the work that we did in Culver City. So I'm pretty proud of that.   Michael Hingson  27:50 And you talked about solar and creating shade for parking lots, and so on. So you put the solar panels above the parking lots and so on. So that created shade, but it also generated power through the solar energy process.   Shea Cunningham  28:04 Exactly. Yeah. And then we also in one of the elementary schools, we have also shading the playground. And as you know, we have how, you know, we're having more heat waves, and it's gonna continue, unfortunately, until we, you know, really slow the ship down on terms of our fossil fuel burning. But, yeah, so that's really been helpful, because we've had a lot of hot days out on the playground, so it's nice to have that additional shade.   Michael Hingson  28:28 Oh, is all of that surviving in the winter with the heavy winds and all?   Shea Cunningham  28:33 Ah, so far, so good. It's pretty solid. Thankfully, yes.   Michael Hingson  28:38 Which is cool. And I suppose you could say, in a sense that maybe helps a little bit in sheltering from some of the winds because they're up there, but they're, they're sort of flat. So I'm not sure that it shelters all that much, but it must help a little, yeah, helps   Shea Cunningham  28:51 a little, and it helps reduce also the bills, the costs. Energy,   Michael Hingson  28:58 where does the where does the solar power go to the school? Or how does that work?   Shea Cunningham  29:03 It goes back to the grid, you know, so it goes to the grid, but then, you know, what happens is the because it is a, at least as of when I was, you know, really in the weeds on the program, it was over 50% of the energy needs were met by by the solar panels. So yeah, but yeah, so that's yeah, because it is on the grid, it's not an off grid system, but that is you know, that's something that resilience, climate resilience is is really would be the next step is to have like a battery backup system. So when the when the blackouts happen as we know, they do happen, especially in heat waves and whatnot, then the school will be able to stay and keep the lights on basically. So I was gonna   Michael Hingson  29:55 actually ask you about batteries. I know that the technology hasn't probably progressed as nearly as much as we would like, but has battery backup technology advanced to the point where it makes economic sense to to get batteries. So for example, in our home here, my home, we have solar, we sell back to the grid, and we don't have battery backups. And when we bought solar and set it up six years ago, when the house was built, the person who did it said, batteries are still not worth it. They don't get warranted long enough. And they're very expensive for what you actually get. What do you think?   Shea Cunningham  30:34 Well, I mean, I'm not a full on expert and up on up on that. But I would say this, in general, it's the technology just keeps improving rapidly, the costs keep coming down. And when I was I actually also worked for a couple of years in the city of Malibu and, and battery backups, were going in very rapidly across the, you know, the residents. And I know that's a little bit more affluent. community, but but there are more and more certainly, sort of government agencies and buildings that are that recognize the importance of the battery backup for for sort of public safety. So you might want to weigh it out. I mean, I would just keep I would keep looking out. And also, the other thing I meant to say, is they also have a lot of rebates and what not, because they're, you know, there is government programs that are encouraging people to do this. So I would just say Keep it keep an eye out.   Michael Hingson  31:38 What do you think about the new rules in California, the Public Utility Commission just adopted some new rules that I guess are gonna make a significant change in how much people get back from solar and so on. Are you familiar with those?   Shea Cunningham  31:51 You know, I'm not super up to date on it. But I know that there's stuff going on. And and I think some of it is not in a good direction. Yeah. So yeah. So I think that, yeah, there's that is something to stay abreast of. But I think in the end, you know, it's got to get move in the right direction, because we I can just, I mean, in terms of emission reduction targets, yes, tonsa municipalities have made them, certainly the state has made them a lot of cities have made them, you know, going net zero by 20 2040, I believe is Los Angeles, by 2050, for the state of California. And also, if I'm not mistaking, I think that's also the case for the federal government has made that commitment as well. And then corporations are publicly traded corporations are actually going to be mandated to do so beginning January 1 2024. Because the SEC, the Security and Exchange Commission is going to be there any day. Now, q1, when this this first quarter here in this this year, 2023. They're supposed to be publishing their new regulations, which will be effective January 1 2024. And that's going to that's going to include greenhouse gas inventories, they need to be third party certified, there needs to be target emission reduction targets made and there needs to be progress made upon those targets on an annual basis through reporting. So things are definitely moving in that direction.   Michael Hingson  33:35 Well, we said at the beginning that you were a sustainability expert. And so I'd love to get into some of that what it really is sustainability.   Shea Cunningham  33:45 Sustainability, the the UN, I believe the United Nations calls, defines it as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs a future generations. So that's it in a nutshell. But it's also seen there. There's also a term called the three P's, which is people planet and profit. So it's definitely not just about the environment. It is also equally about the impacts on the community, you know, community well being social well being, as well as the finances of it, like is it? Is it financially sustainable? There's another sort of visual of the three legged stool. So you need each pillar because they won't stand up if it if, if if you have a pillar that's missing. So it's the environment, it's the social aspect, and it's the, like I said, the economy or the financial aspect of it.   Michael Hingson  34:46 So, the the idea, though, is that we do need to look not only for now, but we do need to look for the future. And it just seems to me that when I hear a lot of the debates, and I hear are a lot of the discussions coming out of Washington and other places. There's a cadre of people who just tend to not seem to be thinking much about the future at all. How do we change that? How do we get people to really look more toward the fact that we are all responsible, and we have to take an active effort and all this   Shea Cunningham  35:22 very good point, you really hit it on the head, but it is, it is perplexing to me that there are so many people that are not not really taking the responsibility and not really accepting the fact that that we all need to work together to sort of do our part, because the signs are all out there. I mean, we are we are living in the reality of climate change at a much more rapid pace than the scientists predicted. By but at the end of the day, it Yeah, it's not political. And I think that it's become politicized, sadly. And I think we got to, I think it to really answer your question, I think everybody, everybody wants to live in a clean world, everybody wants, doesn't want to see, you know, a garbage and pollution. Nobody likes that stuff. I think everybody is, is shares that, that desire. And I think that, you know, we, I think that's part of the message that we need to get across is like, you know, we're not, this is not a blame game, we just, you know, we just need to work together on this. And it's not about I mean, the earth is going to be fine. I mean, quite frankly, if humans humans go, the earth is going to repair itself, because we know Mother Nature is amazing. So it's really more about like saving ourselves, quite frankly, and saving our, you know, our, our grandchildren, our children, our grandchildren. So and it's, again, it's not something I want to emphasize, it's not something that's in the future, we're already living in this situation, as you know, the extreme weather events, like very massive storms, elongated storms, larger fires than ever long, long term droughts. We're in a 20 year drought. Now, even though we already have this. Tons of precipitation happening now, that's probably not going to continue. That's, so we have, you know, it's kind of like Global Weirding. I'm not sure if you heard of that term, but I think I really feel like that encapsulates it, there's just crazy weather patterns going on. It's very destructive. And, and that's why businesses are really waking up. In fact, the US military has woken up to this, you know, a couple decades ago, they've been building climate resilient systems because of that. So and then corporations, larger corporations are really, they're out in front of the SEC regulations already, because they're seeing that their supply chains are starting to go wonky, because when you have flooding happening, when you have fires happening, you know, it destabilizes the supply chain, it, you know, obviously cuts into productivity cuts into the cost the revenues. And, and it makes things much more in, you know, it's it's, it's not a shirt, you know, and I'm saying it's, it's, it makes it much more challenging, basically. So they're waking up. And they're, it's, and I think they really, especially with the United Nations, and the Global Compact, which is the sort of corporate member corporate kind of club for engaging in the United Nations and their sustainable development goals and whatnot. They're working together with corporations to, to achieve, you know, to work on progressing and to work on getting more renewables out there. So we have the options to start really bringing down the carbon.   Michael Hingson  38:53 Yeah. And you said that this isn't really a political issue, or shouldn't at least be a political issue. And that makes perfect sense. But unfortunately, it's become so much of a political issue, let's say, at least in this country, you've got people who say, Well, this isn't really set, there's no such thing as climate change, because it's really just nature. And it's the way it's always been, it's the way it's always going to be, how do we get people to recognize that there really is a difference?   Shea Cunningham  39:23 Well, I think it's really there's so much evidence, you know, so I think it's, it's really boils down to education. I think we need to have more kind of roundtable discussions. I think we need to, you know, meet people where they are and and sort of focus in on what what's impacting them personally, and what might be impacting their family personally, but also the coming back to it's really the sciences there. The evidence is there, I think and I'd be happy I don't know if we if this is a possibility, but I'd be happy to, to to I'm give you some links that you can share on your in your program, please do. Okay, so I'll do that. But I think at the end of the day, it's really the education piece.   Michael Hingson  40:12 And people need to be open to be educated, before it gets too late, because this is it's not a new concept that there are things happening. I mean, you can go back to the Silent Spring with Rachel Carson years ago. That's right. So we're not dealing with anything magical here. And the more some people protest, and the more things happen, it's pretty clear that there really is an issue that we have to deal with.   Shea Cunningham  40:41 Absolutely. And so So for you,   Michael Hingson  40:43 you, you did a lot of work and public policy and so on, but what really then drew you to get so incredibly involved in sustainability and so on, was it what happened in kindergarten? Or is it just that you always notice those things are what?   Shea Cunningham  41:01 Yeah, you know, it's, I think it's just in my DNA, Michael, I just, it just really was a no brainer for me that this is what I wanted to do with my, you know, professionally with my life. So I very much, you know, I feel very fortunate actually, to be in this to be in this field. Because it's, it's, for me, it's just deeply meaningful. And I sort of live and breathe it, like I try to be as sustainable as I can in my own life. And, you know, so I make sure that I am, you know, I tried to reduce my own carbon footprint. So I'm, I'm also walking the talk, but it just was a natural fit for me. And, again, as I mentioned, like, I've, I'm a big nature lover, I've always felt better when I'm outside and, you know, taking a walk in the forest, or, or, you know, watching the sunset on the beach. And I mentioned, I loved them or ride my bike, and, you know, go through in being different, explore different routes, you know, and, and I just feel very compelled to do my part to help preserve and conserve and repair and restore our, our environment.   Michael Hingson  42:18 Well, it's, it really is, I think, relevant and important to step out and look at things that are different from what we're used to. I love, for example, going to, when we were in Northern California, places like near woods, and forests, and so on, I love forest, just because the sounds are so different, or in the environment is so different. It was so much fun to be able to be in there and experience a different environment like that. And I've kind of always thought to myself, I can live here. But it's so important that we understand different places then we're specifically used to and as a public speaker, who has been traveling for now, the last 21 and a half years, I've always been so interested and excited to explore new places and just experience different environments, caves and other things like that as well.   Shea Cunningham  43:19 Yeah, I'm with Yeah, I definitely feel the same way. And it's just, it's, you know, it's, it's a way for us to repair ourselves when we when we're out in nature.   Michael Hingson  43:31 You haven't lived until you've been in the middle of New York City just after a blizzard, and you're walking down Madison Avenue, when there are no cars around, and it's so quiet. And nothing is going on. Because there's just way too much snow it was it was so much fun to get to do that once.   Shea Cunningham  43:49 Right on. It's awesome. And there's also nature, you know, I think it's so important to bring nature to the cities to, you know, in terms of like, you know, there's urban forests, for instance. I mean, when we have a lot of trees in the city, it just makes everybody feel better.   Michael Hingson  44:10 Yeah, absolutely. It's, it really is important to, to, if you can't bring people to it, then bring it to people, at least as much as you can.   Shea Cunningham  44:21 Absolutely.   Michael Hingson  44:22 So you talked earlier about what you did when your son was in kindergarten and really noticing the whole issue about recycling and so on. Overall, I guess two thoughts. One, how is it effective and why is it effective to explore and bring sustainability into elementary schools?   Shea Cunningham  44:49 Very good question. I think it is imperative to do that. To bring it to young really young kids, because they are like sponges, you know, so they're are, they're able to pick up these new habits and make them just habits that they don't have to think about in terms of, you know, being good at and reducing their waste, for instance, not bringing, you know, reuse are like water, plastic water bottles, for instance, in plastic bags. And like, in saying, No, I'm going to bring reusable as I have a reusable water bottle, and you know, that's better for the environment, it's better for me. And, and, and being careful about recycling and that sort of thing. It when, when you teach the young kids they are like, like I mentioned, they're little sponges, and so it just becomes habit for them. And then it's not something that they really have to learn and, and whatnot. So that's really, you know, when you get to like, high school, as we all know, something happens to the teenage brain. And, and they are, you know, sometimes it's, they're a little defiant, and, you know, they don't necessarily want to do with what the adults are saying and whatnot, so. So it's harder, it's harder. And as we all know, it's also it's always hard, hard to change, especially for adults. You know, not everybody, it's usually change is hard. I mean, you've heard that term before. But that's one only one thing you can ever, ever really be sure of in life is change, because everything changes. And so we might as well go with the flow, and learn how to be skillful at riding the waves of change. Right. So that Yeah, I mean, I just think that the younger, the better. And if we all did that, if it was universal, you know, within a within a half a generation we'd be we'd be, you know, doing great.   Michael Hingson  46:45 What's ironic, of course, is that, however it happens, we're taught to fear change. Yep. You know, we all say yeah, change is all around us. Change happens. But when it really comes down to it, we're afraid of it.   Shea Cunningham  46:59 Yes, chain. Well, that yeah, they talked about change being hard. And yeah, we kind of go into that reptilian brain of like, oh, yeah, no fear. We gotta watch out for this. And I think it's, I think that makes it the biggest challenge, you know, and it's, and I do think that he is a politician and Al Gore. And if you remember his Inconvenient Truth, Inconvenient Truth. Yeah. I think that's a brilliant phrase, because that's really what it is. Yeah, it's not it's not, you know, we we have built especially in in this country, as you mentioned, it's it's more political in this country than anywhere else in terms of climate action, and, you know, and the awareness of climate change or lack of awareness, but it is it is something that you know, we what am I trying to say, Where am I going with my thoughts? I'm having a moment   Michael Hingson  47:53 well, we continue to fear change, it's yes. And it's it it shouldn't be an inconvenient truth the change happens but you have it on the hand. He's right. I was a while before I actually saw it. I was actually flying to Japan after my first book thunder dog was published and that's where when I actually watched the movie, it was on the on the airplane, but it was so enjoy I watched it twice. But I I really appreciated what he had to say and he is absolutely right. Yeah. And it's it shouldn't be An Inconvenient Truth but we make it something that's inconvenient we just don't like to deal with all of that   Shea Cunningham  48:36 good point and that's what I the the word convenient is what I was get trying to get back to that we have created this culture and in America I think it really started in the 1950s of convenience creating a culture of convenience Yeah, so you know like Oh, TV dinners and fast food and disposable water bottles and you know does everything is to go coffee to go with with a disposable you know, cup and lid and we've we we are we are literally swimming and like we're you know way over our heads and waste now we have a serious waste problem, which of course is also carbon emission problem as well. And we have so much waste in this country and it's and it's all because of like oh you know creating this sort of like it's a mirage really of like, oh we're better off because we have all this stuff that we can collect and we can you know just enjoy once and throw away and you know and so that's the kind of stuff that it is hard but we got to change that that we can't keep living like that. Are there   Michael Hingson  49:42 any water bottles so they throw away water bottles that actually are recycle and Will are biodegradable and so on? Have we done any of that?   Shea Cunningham  49:51 There are there are bio plastics, but that's actually a whole nother problem. Because our infrastructure, our recycling info structures inadequate, and to handle those bio plastics, they have to be basically heated up to a really high degree. And very, very few municipalities have that capacity at this point in time. But, you know, there is something about like being up, you know, in terms of the source is better, because it's not fossil fuel driven, or, you know, it's not made by fossil fuels are made from fossil fuels. But, but, you know, standard plastic bottles can be recycled, but at the end of the day, you know, only about I mean, it's really, it's really kind of like, oh, like, only about like, 10% of total recycling stream really gets recycled. And it's because they're, you know, so I know, there is some hope in California, there is a bill that finally got passed. It's been like up for passage for many, many, many years. But all I forget exactly the year, I think it's not till 2025, maybe 2030, which is too far into the future, from my perspective, but that all packaging has to be actually recycled or composted by that date in in, in California. And you know, when California when something as big as the California economy makes a change like that, then it will, it will have reverberate reverberations across other states as well. So I'm somewhat hopeful that we're moving in a in a good but very slow direction, in the right direction. But, you know, besides just like the disposable, sort of packaging and whatnot, it's, it's just, you know, like a fast fashion, I'm sure you've heard of that term of like, you know, Textiles and Apparel, that sort of thing, and, you know, purchasing of stuff, we don't really need, that. That's the kind of stuff that I think we just need to be more reflective and mindful in our in our society.   Michael Hingson  51:57 Yeah, we, we need to recognize that we need to be the solution and not the problem are not part of the problem. And we're just not collectively doing nearly as much of that as we should. And another example of some of that we hear about a lot is greenhouse gases, where where do they come from? And where do greenhouse gases fit into the whole equation of what we're talking about? Right.   Shea Cunningham  52:23 Good question. So greenhouse gases, I have been mentioning emissions, and I was referring to greenhouse gas emissions. So that is basically what is what happens when fossil fuels are burned. So fossil fuels are, you know, mined or are extracted from the earth. very, they're very, very polluting. And they, they're basically through the through the energy industry. That's one of the major sources of fossil fuel burning and greenhouse gas emissions in our country, and actually, mostly around the entire world. Industry. And transportation is another another source of the greenhouse gas emissions, it's up to depends on you know, it's kind of any, there's different ways to slice and dice the pie of in terms of where the emissions come from. But I've read many, many different sources that say about 40% of our emissions come from fossil fuel burning of in cars, and trucks. So that's one of the reasons why it's so important to move away from fossil fuel burning cars and move into electric cars. I know that there is gap greenhouse gases that are emitted in the making of the cars, but in terms of in terms of driving the electric vehicle vehicles, especially if you are charging, you know, in a house or a home that is that is has solar energy, right? Yes, then you really are making a big impact and big positive impact.   Michael Hingson  54:06 Yeah, and that, that makes a big difference. And I know we're going to get there. I do hope it happens sooner than later. I I'm absolutely, totally supportive of the whole concept of electric vehicles. Although I do think that we need to be responsible. And there have been laws passed about this. But too many electric vehicles still Don't make a noise. So those of us who don't see those cars coming are put in danger. And it's now been 13 or 12 years. And since the law was passed the pedestrian enhancement Safety Act that said the cars need to make noise, and they're still playing with standards and trying to deal with it and the reality is that the best ironically, from at least my perspective, maybe scientifically, someone will come up with something different but I happen to hurt it. At the best way for me to deal with a vehicle and making noise is the sound of an internal combustion engine. And they ought to be able to emulate that sound in cars because I can tell the difference between a bus and a car and a truck. And I can tell more about whether the car is speeding up or slowing down because of all the different nuances of an internal combustion engine sound. So one tone isn't going to do it. But they haven't done that yet, really. And at some point, once again, it's going to have to be addressed because even NITSA has said that when cars are quiet, for the total population, there's 1.5 times as likely hood of an accident happening and the pedestrian doesn't just blind people anymore. Right? You know, that that's what got the law passed in the first place?   Shea Cunningham  55:59 How interesting. Thank you for telling me that, because that's something I never thought about that's really opens my mind to that?   Michael Hingson  56:05 Well, it is it is something that needs to be dealt with. And but I love the concept of electric vehicles. And you know, I have I've actually driven a Tesla down i 15. And the driver was the the normal owner and driver was in the car and said you want to drive it? I said, Sure. So I drove about 15 miles and appreciate what it can do. And I realized that we've really are on the cusp of the whole concept of autonomous vehicles. What we have now is not anything like what we're going to have in 20 years, and the viability and the the foolproof nature of what they can do is going to come. But we have to start somewhere.   Shea Cunningham  56:49 Absolutely. Yeah, that's, that's gonna be fair. I mean, I'm a little nervous about it. But you know, again, change is hard.   Michael Hingson  56:57 Well, I think there's reason to be nervous. Because we can't move too quickly or otherwise, we're going to push the cars beyond the limits of what they can do today. But we're seeing constant improvements in the whole concept of autonomous vehicles. And the time is going to come when they really will be as safe and as foolproof as we would like them to be. Or as we read about in science fiction books, that's coming.   Shea Cunningham  57:25 Pretty wild.   Michael Hingson  57:26 I know, isn't it? Well, how about carbon, a measurable carbon emissions and so on measuring them. And dealing with all the reporting and studying of such such things? That's obviously important. And I would assume that one of the values of that is it really helps us get to a better understanding of whether we are we're not having an effect on the environment in a positive way.   Shea Cunningham  57:53 Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So that's the greenhouse gas inventory that we you can do, you know, on a personal residential level? And of course, you know, municipalities do it. And businesses do it. And a lot of businesses are not doing it yet. But as I mentioned, many corporations are doing it and are demanding that their suppliers do it. And and the Security Exchange Commission will be mandating it. So that is, you know, in a nutshell, it's basically, you know, for for business, it's looking at the different sources of greenhouse gases, which I'm not sure if I mentioned, it's really the major cause to global warming, which is like, which I think is it's more aptly called Global Weirding. Because there's, there's extreme cold, that's snaps that happen, as well as extreme heat. And as you know, glaciers are melting ice, and sea levels are rising the whole business. But But so, in terms of the greenhouse gas inventory, and we look at the different sources, which of course, buildings are a major source, you know, using the energy in the buildings, and then we calculate, you know, what, what is that in greenhouse gases, in terms of energy, and we look at the transportation, we look at business travel, we look at, you know, so airplanes, as we know, our jet fuel is very polluting, thankfully, we're seeing the aviation industry start to starting to move toward making commitments at least to have electric planes, at least starting to phase them in by 2030. Because 2030, by the way, is sort of the year that the United Nations has focused on and to like, we need to have really measurable reductions and like half of our emissions need to be reduced by 2030 globally. And then, in terms of going back to like the business travel, you know, there's more hotels as well that are just starting to make commitments as well to be net zero hotels by a certain date. So, you know, and it's really the the proof is gonna be in the pudding like, we need to see the progress. We can't just say, Okay, we're gonna do that and then share best practices and 2030 No, every year, we need to win, you know, we need to redo the inventory, we need to put programs into place to incentivize people to, to take alternative transportation to work, including public transportation, carpooling, you know, if you're going to buy a new car, go, Evie. You know, if you can ride your bike to work, if you're not that far away, choose to do that do active transportation, that sort of thing. So we need to get those sorts of things in place and incentivize people tend to make it fun, because Because change is hard, you gotta kind of gotta be smart about it, and be creative about it, and make it something that is going to be engaging, and is going to, you know, people are going to open their minds to it. So and So basically, we take all the different sources of the data, where the greenhouse gases are coming from, and then we crunch the numbers. And then we like we, you know, we have our, our carbon emissions, sort of portfolio, so to speak. And then we know where, okay, this is where we are this year, this is where we need to get next year. So we have to do short term, medium term and longer term planning for year after year for, you know, reducing the carbon and in terms of the corporations as well, there's, at least in terms of like office based work, I think it's very important that we maintain, and it's looking like it's feasible to maintain sort of hybrid work schedules and flexible work schedules. So we are not, you know, needlessly driving back and forth to the office every single day,   Michael Hingson  1:01:43 I think we're starting to grow to realize that there's value in so many ways to allow people at least to have a hybrid schedule and do some work at home, helps family helps mindset, it helps everyone to sometimes be able to do a little bit more on your own schedule, rather than, Oh, there's just one process to do it. Right. And so you are the director of sustainability for ASTN   Shea Cunningham  1:02:12 ASGN incorporated in and what is ASGN. ASGN is a is a company that is it's a publicly traded firm in the Fortune 600. And there and they are an IT consulting and staffing firm. And as Jan's main clients are really the top sort of 25 of the Fortune 500 Club. And so Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon, IBM, and others are the main clients. And so that's where the and especially Microsoft have to give a shout out to Microsoft, they're the ones who are really the most sort of at the at the forefront of of making target reductions, and also requiring suppliers to follow their lead.   Michael Hingson  1:03:01 All well, it's going to be exciting to see how things evolve over time. I really appreciate what you're doing. And I hope the people who are out here listening will learn from it. And definitely please send me links and maybe links to things you have written and so on. And we will ensure that those are in the show notes so that people will have access to all of   Shea Cunningham  1:03:25 that. We'll do we'll do thank you so much, Michael. Well, this   Michael Hingson  1:03:28 has been really fun. Well, I definitely want to thank you Shea for being here. How can people reach out to you or get in contact?   Shea Cunningham  1:03:36 Well, you can either go on LinkedIn and look me up Shea Cunningham, S H E A Cunningham. And also, as I mentioned, I still have my certified woman owned business balanced approach. And my email is just Shea S H E A  at balanced approach.net.   Michael Hingson  1:03:53 There you go. Direct contact all the way. Well, absolutely. This has been fun. I hope you've enjoyed listening to us today in this conversation. I'd love to hear your comments, feel free to email me at Michaelhi at accessibe A C C E S S I B E.com. And while you're thinking about access to be go to the website and do a free audit of your own website and see how accessible it is, which is another whole story. But you can also go to Michael hingson.com/podcast hingson is h i n g s o n and we hope that you'll give us a rating wherever you're hearing the podcast and that you go back and listen to some of the other podcasts. We really appreciate it. But a five star rating and your comments are absolutely invaluable and we hope that you'll give us any thoughts that you have. Shea for you and anyone listening. If you have any thoughts of other people we should have on his guests on unstoppable mindset. Please let us know please email me. Let us know about guests. Give us introductions. We'll bring them on.   Shea Cunningham  1:04:57 Well do.   Michael Hingson  1:04:58 I appreciate that? Well again, Shea, thanks very much for being here with us and doing this today.   Shea Cunningham  1:05:04 Thank you so much, Michael. Take care. You too.   Michael Hingson  1:05:12 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com. accessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

Welcome to Elevating Brick and Mortar. A podcast about how operations and facilities drive brand performance.On today's episode, we talk with Kirk Beaudoin. Kirk is a passionate and personable Facilities Management professional with over 20 years of industry experience across multiple global brands such as J. Crew and Nike and the former president of Connex FM, the Multi-Site Facilities Management Network. In this episode, Kirk discusses the importance of following the golden rule within the industry, why it's important to offer the best service for the best price, and why those working in facilities are heroes without capes. Guest Bio:Kirk is a passionate and personable Facilities Management professional with over 20 years of industry experience across multiple global brands such as J. Crew and Nike and the former president of Connex FM, the Multi-Site Facilities Management Network.  Living by the 'never stop learning' mantra, Kirk earned the LEED Green Associate, FMA, RFMP, and CTS designations and certificates in Facilities, Property, Project, & Emergency Management.—Guest Quote“So many people operate differently out there. My view, and it's as long as the company supports this view, is you give, whether it's from me or from the partners that I partner with, you give the highest quality service, the most reliable service that you're looking for. At the most affordable rate, right? Not the reverse. You don't go out looking for what's the most affordable rate and then accept what's the highest quality and reliability I can get for that rate. I do it on the flip side, so I know that we're spending a little bit more than the cheapest possible, but that's because I can't dip below a certain level of quality and reliability.”  - Kirk Beaudoin  Time Stamps**(01:44) - Kirk's journey into facilities **(05:24) - Commitment to the North Star **(11:35) - Changing the mindset around facilities **(17:50) - Avoiding the pitfalls of facilities management **(28:34) - Tackling labor shortages **(36:34) - Kirk's passion for mentoring **(48:36) - Sid's final thoughts  Sponsor:ServiceChannel brings you peace of mind through peak facilities performance.Rest easy knowing your locations are:Offering the best possible guest experienceLiving up to brand standardsOperating with minimal downtimeServiceChannel partners with more than 500 leading brands globally to provide visibility across operations, the flexibility to grow and adapt to consumer expectations, and accelerated performance from their asset fleet and service providers. Request a custom demo here. —Links Connect with Kirk Beaudoin on LinkedInConnect with Sid Shetty on LinkedinCheck out the ServiceChannel Website

In this week's episode, my special guest is Seungyeon Hong, Civil Engineering and Modelling and Data Specialist at s2e Technologies Inc: He is an expert in the field of sustainability and net-zero energy. He holds a bachelor's and master's degree in Civil Engineering from Carleton University, is a LEED Green Associate and was the Graduate Research And Teaching Assistant on the Northern Nomad Net-Zero Tiny House Project in Ottawa. During our conversation with Seungyeon: We dived into his passion for net-zero homes, his involvement with the Eve Park Project and his role as a research and design associate for London's West5 net-zero energy community. We also looked at what it means to live in a sustainable community and how that impacts our well-being. Show Notes: lpdstudio.ca/netzero

Ascent Tower in Milwaukee, WI was completed in 2022 and is currently the tallest mass timber structure in the world. It is 25 stories (284ft) tall and comprised of cross laminated timber floor systems and glulam columns and beams throughout with cast in place concrete at the lower levels. In many areas, the timber structural elements are exposed, creating the architecture of the space as well.Alejandro Fernandez is a Senior Associate with Thornton Tomasetti in Chicago, IL and is a structural engineer and architect and one of the lead structural engineers for Ascent Tower. Alejandro grew up in Madrid, Spain.By reaching new heights, Ascent Tower required complete coordination between the design team, jurisdiction and contractor. New Code parameters were created from this process including rewriting for maximum wood construction heights and new three-hour fire rated assemblies for timber columns. Ascent Tower recently received an award from Woodworks for Wood Design Innovation. If you enjoy this show and want more content like this, visit gablmedia.comMentioned in this episode:Gabl Membership

  Jacob Lehrer is currently an Architecture Student at Wentworth Institute of Technology. He has been fascinated by engineering and design his entire life and has put a focus on sustainability throughout. His first job in college was in a sustainability consultant role.    He  passed the LEED Green Associate exam in June 2019 at 17, the LEED AP BD+C in June 2021 at 19, the LEED AP O+M in July 2022 at 20, and the LEED AP ND in April 2023 at 21. These credentials and experiences help inform his designs and thoughts about how buildings should be constructed.   His hope is that we, as a species, can move forward in a more positive and sustainable direction. He is excited to help realize that vision by seeking how technological innovations and forward-thinking can push architecture and sustainability into the future.   Show Highlights Great tips from a rising star in the industry on trends and how to navigate and personalize your career.  Successful strategies for the test taking process for LEED and other systems exams.  Benefits of Wentworth Institute of Technology  Master emerging technologies Internship and co-op programs Invaluable industry experience embedded in the curriculum Wentworth Sustainability Society LEED green associate prep course Looking at the sustainability tools from every angle to build something new. Main gripe with many of the rating systems and how to synergize categories or credits. Get a lens into how to design for different types of inhabitants and different types of loads. Exploring some of the techniques, architecture, and how to design your buildings for passive systems around the world. Using  software and tools as an extension of your own arm to express your ideas more succinctly and with your own designs. “The main goal for me in the future of my career is I want to use these sustainable technologies and stable rating systems in parallel with things like computation and research. These innovative technologies do exist but haven't really been involved in architecture that long. Finding out ways to kind of combine those two worlds in a way that makes buildings more economical, more viable, more useful for people who use them because the way we use our buildings has changed a lot with the pandemic too.” -Jacob Lehrer   Get the episode transcript here!!   Show Resource and Information Linkedin Wentworth Institute of Technology Ground News  Built Rum Punch Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES Charlie on LinkedIn Green Building Educational Services GBES on Twitter Connect on LinkedIn Like on Facebook Google+ GBES Pinterest Pins GBES on Instagram   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to www.gbes.com/join to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on iTunes.  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the Green Building Matters Podcast!   Copyright © 2023 GBES

In this episode, we are joined by past recipients of the Desiree V Copper Memorial Scholarship, Whitni R Irving AIA, NOMA, LEED Green Associate, NCARB; Colby C. Mitchell, Assoc. AIA, NOMA and Natasha Graves, RA, who share their experiences of receiving financial support for their architectural registration exam (ARE). Two DVC Committee Members, Katherine Williams, AIA, NOMA and Nickolas Hill, Assoc. AIA, NOMA, who give us an insider's view of the scholarship and its impact. They talk about the scholarship's goal to pave the way for aspiring architects, the selection process, and how the scholarship has evolved over the years. The Desiree V. Cooper (DVC) Memorial Scholarship offering assistance to those taking the architect registration exam. It seeks to honor the life and legacy of Desiree V. Cooper by championing the things she was passionate about in her professional career and personal endeavors: providing continual service to her communities and encouraging minorities and women in the advancement of their careers in architecture. To that end, the Foundation awards Scholarships for the architectural registration exam in the following categories: The Black Women in Architecture Award, The Harrisburg Memorial Award, The DC Memorial Award, and the NOMA award. Whitni R Irving AIA, NOMA, LEED Green Associate, NCARB is a Job Captain at IA Interior Architects. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a Master of Architecture from Clemson University. With expertise in K-12 education, civic institutions, urban parks, and mixed-use developments, Whitni has worked on numerous projects that have positively impacted communities. Her projects include Seaport Circle and the Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport, among others. Colby C. Mitchell, Assoc. AIA, NOMA is a native of Marianna, Arkansas. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (2011) and Master of Architecture (2013) degree, both from the University of Memphis. He is a Project Manager at Self + TuckerArchitects and Adjunct Professor at the University of Memphis. He is also an entrepreneur graphic designer with his own business, Detail 7; proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., serves on the board of Directors for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) – Memphis Chapter and the National Organization of Minority Architects – Memphis Chapter. Natasha Graves, RA, is an Assistant Preconstruction Manager at John Moriarty & Associates. She received her Bachelor of Architecture degree from Howard University, where she gained a solid foundation in design, project management, and construction. Natasha's passion for architecture and construction is evident in everything she does. She is committed to delivering exceptional results and ensuring that every project is a success. Find out about Natasha's licensure journey through Archstories.

  Libby Dunne is a member of SIG's Sustainability Team and is based in San Francisco, CA. Her primary focus is within the health and wellness space, as she is primarily responsible for managing WELL and Fitwel projects, in addition to managing portfolios pursuing the WELL Health Safety Rating. She also helps to manage a variety of LEED projects, with a focus on BD+C and ID+C. Within each project she ensures that necessary information is obtained and verifies compliance through documenting and evaluating key data. Libby also teaches LEED Green Associate exam prep live courses with GBES.   Originally from San Francisco, Libby graduated from Emory University with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Environmental Science. Throughout college, Libby has worked on various research projects. Most notably, she worked on published work regarding the effects of antibiotics on bumblebee cognitive functioning. Additionally, Libby maintains a variety of credentials, including WELL AP, LEED AP BD+C, Fitwel Ambassador, and ActiveScore AP.   Libby likes to spend her free time hiking, swimming, and being with family and friends. As a certified scuba diver, Libby also has a passion for marine biology and for preserving our natural environment for generations to come.   Show Highlights   A combination of degrees in different fields compliment each other perfectly in green building work.  Interning is key to expanding your knowledge and for earning credentials that inspire your work. Meld the client communication side with the documentation side of projects to support your clients achieving their goals. ActiveScore AP Credential is a new and interesting credential program for the US. Make positive wellness impacts at the corporate level by reviewing the mind and community sections on a WELL Scorecard with HR teams. Eevie is an app that gives your team a tangible way to support individual sustainability. WELL provides a roadmap of new programs, each with a different focus, that are all focused on health and wellbeing in the built environment. Help your clients get their feet wet in wellness by recommending one of the three WELL ratings as a first step towards pursuing a full WELL Certification.  The flexibility of a Fitwel certification meets people where their understanding is as a manageable option for existing buildings.   “In this industry, something that's really important is just to listen, learn and absorb as much as you can. It's ever changing, there's new regulations that are coming out, so there's a lot of moving parts. Be open and willing to learn as you go throughout your career. But for someone that's kind of starting new to the industry, I think it's important to recognize that you bring a fresh perspective and a way of doing things to the table. You don't have to conform to the typical way of doing things as they've always been done. I feel like sometimes it really takes someone with that fresh perspective to kind of come in and rock the boat in a good way to make positive change.” -Libby Dunne    Get your episode transcript here!!   Show Resource and Information LinkedIn eevie: Employee Climate Engagement platform The Defining Decade  Articles Written by Libby: The Release of WELL v2 Top 12 Green Building Rating Systems COVID-19 and Buildings: How Building Certifications can Help Prevent Disease Spread in the Future Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES Charlie on LinkedIn Green Building Educational Services GBES on Twitter Connect on LinkedIn Like on Facebook Google+ GBES Pinterest Pins GBES on Instagram   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to www.gbes.com/join to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on iTunes.  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the Green Building Matters Podcast!   Copyright © 2023 GBES  

Russell gives an overview of sustainability and LEED (Leadership in Energy Environmental Design) rating system including: 1. What is sustainability? 2. Why get a building sustainability rated or certified? 3. What is LEED and why it is used? 4. What is a LEED Green Associate and LEED AP? 5. What are the LEED rating certifications 6. The LEED rating types. 7. Overview of the 8 LEED point system areas: -Location and Transportation -Sustainable Sites -Water Efficiency -Energy & Environment -Materials and Resources -Indoor Environmental Quality -Innovation Then the key areas above will be discussed in more detail in the next few podcast episodes.

Replay: Voices from the Future of the ProfessionFuture leaders of the profession share diverse perspectives on race, equity, and architecture.Guests:Leslie Epps, NOMA Student Representative, AIAS & NOMAS Leader at The City College of New YorkSarah Curry, AIAS, Assoc. AIA, NOMABeresford Pratt, AIA, NOMAMelanie Ray, AIA, NOMA, LEED Green Associate, NCARB, Fitwel Amb.Kendall A. Nicholson, Ed.D, Assoc. AIA, NOMA, LEED GALeslie Epps, NOMA Student Representative, AIAS & NOMAS Leader at The City College of New YorkLeslie Epps is an accomplished rising fifth year architecture student at the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture. She has been passionate about architecture for half of her life and is eager to learn more and enact change moving forward in her career. Awarded NOMA Student Member of the Year 2019, Leslie Epps founded the CCNY NOMAS Chapter in 2018 and served as President until early 2020. Epps also received the title of NOMA Student Representative and serves on the NOMA Board of Directors for the role. In the future she aspires to combine architecture with urban planning in an effort to address social issues and ultimately better society. Sarah Curry, AIAS, Assoc. AIA, NOMASarah Curry just finished an exhilarating year of living and working in Washington, DC as the 2019-2020 President of the American Institute of Architecture Students. No matter what her next chapter of life holds, she intends to explore and practice her passions for evidence-based and equitable design while pursuing licensure. None of that work would feel fulfilling though, if she is unable to continue advocating for the underserved and supporting design students and others who are interested in designing responsibly for those who need it the most. Originally from outside of Atlanta, Sarah earned her B.Arch in 2018 from Auburn University and completed her Thesis Design-Build Project at Rural Studio the following year. Her very flexible life plans include going to graduate school, teaching, and eventually enjoying nontraditional practice in the vast field of architecture.Beresford Pratt, AIA, NOMABeresford Pratt is a licensed architect and Associate at Ayers Saint Gross in Baltimore, MD where he has worked on a multitude of education/institutional projects. He is passionate about active learning environments and pipeline initiatives, and he enjoys this cross pollination with his professional work. He is currently serving his second year in the AIA as the Mid Atlantic Young Architects Regional Director in the Young Architects Forum (YAF), and he is currently an editor for the YAF's publication Connection. Beresford is also a co-founder of Baltimore's local chapter of The National Organization of Minority Architects (Bmore NOMA). Beresford sits on the board and is the Communications Chair/Director. Outside of the industry, if he is not playing soccer, he enjoys volunteering his time with the United Way Central Maryland, and he currently sits on the Emerging Leaders United Council.Melanie Ray, AIA, NOMA, LEED Green Associate, NCARB, Fitwel Amb.Melanie Ray is a licensed architect and Associate in the Housing/Mixed-Use studio at Hord Coplan Macht in Baltimore, MD. Since graduating from Penn State's architecture program in 2015, she has worked on various mixed-use and affordable housing projects, as well as community development projects in Baltimore city and beyond. She is the 424th living black woman licensed in the US to practice architecture and seeks to be an active mentor to promote the goal of doubling the number of licensed black architects by 2030. She currently serves as the Vice President of the Baltimore Chapter of NOMA, Bmore NOMA, and the Northeast University Liaison for NOMA National. In addition to her work at HCM, Melanie is a regular volunteer for pro bono design projects through such organizations as The...

In today's episode, I speak with Tina Larsson, the powerhouse behind The Folson Group, a LEED Green Associate, and author of Living the High Life a book about how smart co-op and condo owners protect themselves and their investment, which is available on Amazon. In this conversation, we talk about what they do, her mission, coop and condo owners' usual problems and questions, how owners increase their property values, and many more. You can reach Tina via LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tinalarssonli/ Tina's website is https://www.thefolsongroup.com/ Finally, if you'd be interested in being on the show, why not contact me – my direct dial is 845-474-2924 and my email is gbcoyle@thecoylegroup.com

"Middle Ground with JLE L.L.C." Podcast 'Where We Treat You Like Family" welcomes Author, Co-Founder/Owner of The Folson Group Tina Larsson CEO, LEED Associate as she shares her journey and the Business Consultancy of Co-Op And Condo owners associations.

Check it out on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/33Z4VsE Check it out on Apple: https://apple.co/3AHc2DT Tina Larsson is the powerhouse behind The Folson Group, a coop and condo cost consultant who helps NYC coop and condo owners increase their property values. Tina holds a LEED Green Associate designation and is on a mission to make NYC safer, more sustainable and more affordable one building at a time. Dreams: Do a Ted Talk in 2023 helping every condo owner in NYC live safer, greener, more sustainable, more affordable Publishing her book in the fall Be Nationwide and retire in 10 years. Be on 100 Podcasts before she hosts one. How you can Help: Oprah to market the book GaryVee Warren Buffet Listening for anybody who lives in a Condo in an apartment building and see if they complain about anything. Favorite Book, Movie, or Podcast: Getting Things Done - The Art of Stress Free Productivity Book Contact them at: https://www.thefolsongroup.com

Check it out on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/33Z4VsE Check it out on Apple: https://apple.co/3AHc2DT Tina Larsson is the powerhouse behind The Folson Group, a coop and condo cost consultant who helps NYC coop and condo owners increase their property values. Tina holds a LEED Green Associate designation and is on a mission to make NYC safer, more sustainable and more affordable one building at a time. Dreams: Do a Ted Talk in 2023 helping every condo owner in NYC live safer, greener, more sustainable, more affordable Publishing her book in the fall Be Nationwide and retire in 10 years. Be on 100 Podcasts before she hosts one. How you can Help: Oprah to market the book GaryVee Warren Buffet Listening for anybody who lives in a Condo in an apartment building and see if they complain about anything. Favorite Book, Movie, or Podcast: Getting Things Done - The Art of Stress Free Productivity Book Contact them at: https://www.thefolsongroup.com

Eugene Colberg is an architect with twenty-five years' experience producing award-winning architecture and interiors both in the United States and internationally. He has designed imaginative and environmentally sensitive residential projects, directed projects at recognized New York institutions, and helped master plan higher education campuses nationwide. His retail projects have successfully dovetailed architectural design and brand identity and expression. He has a BArch from Cornell University, is a Registered Architect in the State of New York, a LEED Green Associate, and is NCARB certified. Colberg Architecture is a Certified Minority Owned Business with the City and State of New York and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Title: Green Entrepreneurship Is The Future  EntrePods Special Guest: Tina Larsson Episode 318   Tina Larsson is the co-founder and owner of The Folson Group, the premier coop and condo cost consultant who helps NYC coop and condo owners and apartment building owners increase their property values. The company is a business consultant and a disruptor in the residential real estate world. Tina holds a LEED Green Associate designation and is on a mission to make NYC greener, more sustainable and more affordable one building at a time.    Tina Larsson https://www.thefolsongroup.com/free-tools   Love what you're hearing? Check out the full episode:  https://www.entrepods.com/listen 

TITLE: GBES - A Look at BREEAM    Breana Wheeler became BRE's Director of Operations in the US in June 2016, launching BREEAM USA in the US market. BREEAM is the world's first green building rating system and today is the most widely used program worldwide with over 2.2 million registered buildings and over 560,000 certifications. Breana organizes and oversees the daily operations of the business in the United States, including the development and maintenance of the BREEAM USA technical standards. Prior to joining BRE, Breana worked for ten years as an internal advisor on environmental and sustainability risk management for large, multinational corporations and was based in London, England.   Breana is a Member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA), a Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) and a LEED® Green Associate. She was a Fellow with the Royal Geographical Society from 2010 to 2014. She has a double BA in Geography and Political Science from San Francisco State University and an MA in Environment, Politics and Globalization from Kings College London. Expertise: BREEAM, LEED O+M, environmental risk assessment and management, carbon reporting and management, sustainability communications, training, auditing, assessment, sustainable travel planning and strategy, development of sustainability strategies, Environmental Management Systems (14001), sustainable procurement.   Gregory Patton is a member of the Sustainability Consulting Team at Sustainable Investment Group (SIG) as a Senior Sustainability & Energy Consultant. In this role, he oversees multiple projects related to Sustainable and Healthy Buildings. In addition to managing LEED, WELL, and Fitwel projects for clients, he also provides support to SIG's Engineering Team for ENERGY STAR, Commissioning, and technical expertise centered around existing buildings.   Gregory joined SIG in January of 2022 and brings two decades of operational experience to the team. Throughout his career he has successfully operated and managed numerous large commercial buildings as well as sustainability programs for clients. Gregory's deep understanding of building systems and his passion to create a Sustainable and Healthy Future has enabled him to excel in the sustainability space. Gregory holds professional accreditations for LEED O+M, LEED BD+C, LEED ID+C, LEED HOMES, LEED Green Rater, WELL, and is a Fitwel Ambassador and BREEAM In-Use Assessor.  Originally from Florida (GO GATORS), Gregory has adapted to Colorado life and can be found outside enjoying the 300+ days of sunshine and blue skies that Colorado has to offer. He enjoys hiking, kayaking, live sporting events, and traveling with his wife and son   Show Highlights Learn 3 things sustainability needs to deliver value and go beyond green for better outcomes.  BREEAM's science based solutions, certification and footprint. Programs for life cycle stages for all types of buildings to make significant improvements and not just gain certifications.  The 9 categories to BREEAM's holistic approach to handle the integrity of managing the asset in confirming data. Science driven tools and resources to identify gaps and add value to builds  Understanding the specific BREEAM Professional roles and licenses, educational requirements, and assessment process. Unpacking BREEAM Cost and price points  Carbon and energy efficiency vs Energy Star Regional components Comparisons with LEED, WELL, and Living Building Transparency and clients choice Breeana Wheeler's Show Resource and Information Breana Wheeler   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES Charlie on LinkedIn Green Building Educational Services GBES on Twitter Connect on LinkedIn Like on Facebook Google+ GBES Pinterest Pins GBES on Instagram   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to www.gbes.com/join to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on iTunes.  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the Green Building Matters Podcast!   Copyright © 2022 GBES

Tina Larsson is the co-founder and owner of The Folson Group, the premier coop and condo cost consultant and a disruptor in the residential real estate world. Tina holds a LEED Green Associate designation and is on a mission to make NYC greener one building at a time. What You Will Learn: Who is Tina Larsson? How does he enter Real estate investing? What is a COOP? How do they help their clients? Tina shares their very first deal. What is a property manager? How to make a building energy-efficient? What are the services they are offering? What is the best time to invest? Tina talked about income expenses. What is the actual process engaging to them? What are her thoughts on the New York market at the current time? Tina shares how she can be contacted. Additional Resources from Tina Larsson: Website: https://www.thefolsongroup.com/ Email: tina@thefolsongroup.com Phone: 1-917-648-8151 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tinalarssonli/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FolsonGrp Twitter: https://twitter.com/FolsonGrp Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/folsongrp/ Attention Investors and Agents Are looking to grow your business? Need to connect with aggressive like-minded people like yourself? We have all the right tools and the knowledge to properly put those tools to use. Visit: http://globalinvestoragent.com/ to see what we can offer and to schedule your FREE consultation!

Tina Larsson is the co-founder and owner of The Folson Group, the premier coop and condo cost consultant who helps NYC coop and condo owners and apartment building owners increase their property values. The company is a business consultant and a disruptor in the residential real estate world. Tina holds a LEED Green Associate designation and is on a mission to make NYC greener, more sustainable and more affordable one building at a time. We discuss: How not to introduce yourself as a financial advisor [02:20] It takes ten years to make an overnight success [06:10] How to prove there's a high demand when no one sees it [08:26] The sweet spot for a new business idea [13:25] Unexpected ways that you can get fired [15:02] Not a social media platform but a networking event [22:00] Learn more about Tina at https://www.thefolsongroup.com/ (https://www.thefolsongroup.com/)

Tina Larsson is the co-founder and owner of The Folson Group, the premier coop and condo business consultant who helps NYC coop and condo owners and apartment building owners increase their property values. The company is a business consultant and a disruptor in the residential real estate industry. Tina holds a LEED Green Associate designation and is on a mission to make NYC greener, more sustainable and more affordable, one building at a time. Follow Tina: Website: https://www.thefolsongroup.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tinalarssonli/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/FolsonGrp Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FolsonGrp/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/folsongrp/ Follow Mike: https://linktr.ee/mikedicioccio Launch Your Podcast with Social Chameleon: https://www.socialchameleon.us Interview Recorded via Riverside.fm SUBSCRIBE, SHARE & LEAVE A REVIEW!

Tina Larsson and her company, The Folson Group, are starting a thriving business solving modern problems for business and home owners in New York City. As so many areas are moving to more and more automation Tina has found that going back to a direct, personal approach not only improves the quality of service but can save thousands of dollars. Taking the time to build business and make connections with people on a one-to-one basis still works. It's a bold, and important lesson for all of us in business to remember. Here's her official bio: Tina Larsson is the co-founder and owner of The Folson Group, the premier coop and condo cost consultant who helps NYC apartment owners increase their property values. The company is a disruptor in the residential real estate world. Tina holds a LEED Green Associate designation and is on a mission to make NYC greener one building at a time. If you feel like Tina and The Folson Group may be just what you're looking for, here's how to get in touch! Website: https://www.thefolsongroup.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tinalarssonli/ Instagram: @folsongrp Twitter: @folsongrp Hey! I Want Your Job is sponsored by the resume and career experts at O&H Consulting. Find out more about O&H's services at: https://www.oandhconsulting.com/. This week's episode is hosted by Michele Olivier. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/heyiwantyourjob/support

Trained as an architect, Jordana is passionate about socially-driven multidisciplinary projects that advance climate resilience and social justice. Currently, she is the Manager for Climate Resilience & Equity at Resilient Cities Network (R-Cities). At R-Cities, she focuses on supporting cities in developing actions and implementation projects with climate resilience and equity lens. Prior to her work at R-Cities, she worked at Building Energy Exchange (BE-Ex), developing BE-Ex's industry resources in response to climate change. Before BE-Ex, she worked as a sustainability consultant and community development officer providing high-performance technical assistance and development aid for Hurricane Sandy's multifamily recovery and resiliency efforts. She graduated from Pratt Institute with a Bachelors in Architecture, and is a LEED Green Associate. She holds certifications from the Environmental Leadership Program and the Global Leadership Human Impacts Institute. Lastly, in 2019 she launched and co-founded Women of Color Collective in Sustainability (WOC/CS) - the only global digital collective and community that is 100% dedicated to advancing women of color working across the sustainability industry. Since then the community has brought together over 5,000 women of color through virtual and in-person events, social media channels, a digital community, and online publication. Referenced episode Episode 2.03 On Intentionality & Intersections in Energy with Melanie Santiago-MosierQuotables“What does resilience actually mean?” – Amy Simpkins“The way I would define resiliency would be threefold: the ability to survive, the ability to adapt, and the ability to grow/thrive, no matter what kind of shocks and stresses.” – Jordana Vasquez“The best thing you can do as an ally is listen. Don't make assumptions.” – Jordana Vasquez“Our reliance on fossil fuels for power and transportation needs to change.” – Jordana VasquezJordana mentioned a quote by JFK: “Fix the roof while the sun is shining.”“As communities, as cities, as a country, we are in a really unique position as a society to demand how we want to live in cities, how we want to power our cities, and how we want to prepare the next generation.” – Jordana VasquezIf you enjoyed the conversation, please share the episode with other innovators. Leave us a positive review and subscribe to Power Flow on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Check out our awesome merch! And hey, we're new, so you can even apply to be a sponsor or a guest.You can follow Power Flow Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Tik Tok. Thank you for listening. See you at the whiteboard!

If your teen likes Legos, sketching, or Minecraft, they might consider a career in architecture. In this episode, friends and hosts of the “Open Plan” podcast, Emily Khalid Zand and Maria Pastorelli, are speaking about their paths which crossed while they were pursuing their Master's of Architecture from Georgia Tech. They'll share about the high school experiences that helped them find alignment with their chosen careers, the differences between the “4+2” and 5-year programs, and the required parts of obtaining a professional license in architecture. You'll also hear how some of their friends are faring in careers when they didn't become licensed by the National Architecture Accrediting Board.Emily and Maria explain how the curriculum differs depending on the campus and confirm how important it is to research the programs available at different schools. You might be surprised by the level of drawing skills as well as math and science aptitudes required if your child is considering a career in industry.HighlightsHow studying differs by collegeThe path to becoming a licensed architectOther careers those with architecture degrees can pursueRequired art, math, and science aptitudes for successMeet Our GuestsEmily Khalid Zand is an project manager and architectural designer at WSP USA in Philadelphia, PA. Emily currently specializes in transportation architecture and planning, notably working on Maryland Transit Authority and Chicago METRA rail projects. Emily is passionate about human-centered design that engages the community in the design process and champions their priorities. Prior to working at WSP, Emily has worked for 5+ years in architecture industries ranging from multifamily developments to healthcare. Outside of work, Emily is the cohost of the Open Plan Podcast. The goal of the podcast is to bring transparency to the field of architecture and inspire the next generation of designers and architects. Emily holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Temple University and a Master of Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is an Associate member of the American Institute of Architects and a LEED Green Associate.Maria Pastorelli is a Design & Marketing Associate at Studio SOGO and co-host of the Open Plan Podcast. She received both her B.S. in Architecture and Master of Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Originally from Brazil, she moved to Atlanta in 2014 to pursue her studies, becoming consistently involved in school leadership positions as a member of the Advisory Board and a Teaching Assistant.Aside from her coursework, Maria was the Marketing Director of student-led organization Equity in Architecture, while also completing internships at Perkins and Will. Her early experience has been in healthcare and community-driven initiatives. She graduated with her Masters in 2020 and has been working on various multi-family, educational, andIn September, I'm hosting my complimentary parent masterclass, four common mistakes to avoid when choosing a college major. This is the final time this year it will be offered. Join me to identify the four mistakes strategies to avoid them and the proven path to picking a major on time without limiting options. Go to flourishcoaching co.com to learn more, or grab your spot. I'll see you soon. Join me in my complimentary September masterclass 4 common mistakes to avoid when choosing college major. I'll help your team get on the path to making informed choices that open doors as well as saving your family both time & money. For anyone who attends live, I have a special template that will empower your team when communicating with colleges. Visit flourishcoachingco.com to grab a spot before the opportunity is gone.

In today's episode of Ritter On Real Estate, we interview Tina Larsson. Tina Larsson is an entrepreneur, a business analyst, a networker, and a self-described "Green Queen". Originally from Sweden, Tina lives in NYC and went from the hospitality industry to Wall Street to Real Estate, now supporting coop & condo boards reducing their expenses. Tina has an MBA from Pace University and holds a LEED Green Associate designation. Tina Larsson co-founded her coop & condo consulting business, The Folson Group, to inspire coop & condo boards to run their building like a business. The firm helps boards make their buildings more sustainable and affordable. Key Points From The Episode:Tina has experience working as an analyst on Wall Street.Tina shares a story of how her property management consulting saved investors hundreds of thousands of dollars.The many pros of being an environmentally friendly real estate.How being environmentally responsible attracts new tenants.Some things multifamily investors can do to be more environmentally free.Technology that can best be used to improve the efficiency of a multi-family complex.How government plays a role with energy incentives for new investors.The significant money savings when improving environmental output.Books Mentioned:The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone

How does an organization move from operating reactively in chaos and under stress to running proactively like a business should and be calmer in the process? That's exactly what we talk about in this session with my guest, Tina Larsson from The Folson Group. There are many ways that a business or organization can start gaining calm and lose the stress - whether it's being more organized, having the right tools or knowing how to meet more efficiently, businesses and organizations that take the time to focus on making positive change may see tremendous opportunities and growth come their way. Check out Tina's list of free tools that she has made available for you at https://www.thefolsongroup.com/free-tools About Tina: Tina Larsson is the co-founder and owner of The Folson Group, the premier coop and condo cost consultant who helps New York City coop and condo owners as well as apartment building owners increase their property values. Tina is a business consultant and a disruptor in the residential real estate world. She holds a LEED Green Associate designation and is currently on a mission to make NYC greener, more sustainable and more affordable one building at a time. Connect with Tina on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and online at https://www.thefolsongroup.com/

Majesty began his career by managing the expansion of a real estate company based in Atlanta. Upon his exit, he founded Evo Group Holdings. The property development firm would go on to generate $1.5M in revenue in the first 12 months. Evo Group now has upwards of $10.5M in AUM and counting. As Manager of Evo Opportunity Fund, he focuses on building sustainable housing developments in underserved metro areas. He gives back to the community as the Founder and Chairman of PUSH Ministry, a 501c3 that has recently received grants from Greystone Power Company and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. These resources are utilized to give away thousands of pounds of food to local residents, repair homes, and provide affordable housing for underserved populations in South Atlanta. The millennial CEO earned the LEED Green Associate credential placing him among an elite group of leading professionals in the green building industry. As a credentialed professional, Majesty possesses knowledge of green building practices and how to support others working on LEED projects. Majesty and his accomplishments have been highlighted by Yahoo Finance!, Marketwatch, Fintech.TV, Urbanize Magazine, Fox 5, Georgia Social Impact Collaborative, NPR, and more. His mission for Evo Group Holdings is to enhance the lives of the global workforce through the innovative development of green, socially conscious communities while inspiring homeownership, job creation, and generational wealth. Guest Links Website: Pushministry.org Instagram: @Majesty_elize Twitter: @Majesty_elize Facebook: @Majesty_elize SJS Website: Thesuccessjourneyshow.com Facebook: @successjourneyshow Instagram: @successjourneyshow Twitter: @success_show

Tina Larsson joins us as the co-founder and owner of The Folson Group, the premier coop and condo cost consultant who helps NYC coop and condo owners and apartment building owners increase their property values. Her company is a business consultant and a disruptor in the residential real estate world. Tina holds a LEED Green Associate designation and is on a mission to make NYC greener, more sustainable and more affordable one building at a time.YouTube: https://youtu.be/QE9VQFIXKB0Website: www.redknightproperties.com/media   iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/discovering-multifamily/id1506820688   #financialfreedom #passiveinvesting #activeinvesting #investsmart #investwisely #buildingwealth #multifamily #podcast #Red Knight Properties #Anthony Scandariato #Brian Leonard #investing in real estate #investing in multifamily #investing in syndication

Maria Agazio is a sustainability and renewable energy professional who serves the rocky mountain region. She is the Co-founder of Equitable Solar Solutions(TM), a nonprofit program that reallocates discarded solar panels that still have a useful life by installing them in low income communities in an effort to close the gap in access to solar. She was awarded the Forbes 30 under 30 class of 2022 for her efforts. She is passionate about preserving and restoring diverse, resilient communities that fit the needs of both the landscape and its inhabitants. She has a B.A in Environmental Sustainability a B.A in Business Administration and a minor in art from Western Colorado University. She is a LEED Green Associate, EcoDistrictsAP, and Post landfill Action Network certified Zero Waste Lead, and is pursuing a TrueAdvisor Zero waste certification. Maria has worked with the global leader in waste diversion, Terracycle, on their zero waste box team and industrial design team. She has also worked with the second largest manufacturing company in America, Goodman, as a Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Lead for their multifamily and student housing division. Along side her role at ESS(TM) she currently works for a sustainability consulting and energy engineering firm called Iconergy. In that role she helps commercial and multifamily developers, architects and owners reduce their energy consumption through on-site renewable installations, energy modeling, commissioning, design review, and many other services centered around creating healthy, sustainable low polluting buildings. In her free time, she enjoys crafting pottery and cruising in her bio-fueled 1969 Chevelle.Quotables“It's crucial that we are very delicate with our resources right now and that we are ensuring we are using every piece of the raw material that we pull out for good.” – Maria Agazio“I just hope that we as a collective put a focus on the beginning processes of innovations where we are gathering raw materials and also the end process of innovations because its so crucial we are taking a holistic view of these wonderful innovations… because in twenty years, where is it going to go?” – Maria Agazio“That's the cultural shift that has to happen towards sustainability: We have to start thinking about where things go when we're done with them – whether that's the banana peel you just put in the garbage or a solar panel.” – Amy Simpkins“A new solution can be built every day, so take the opportunity to really push those boundaries and challenge what traditional renewable energy looks like.” – Maria Agazio You can connect with Maria on LinkedIn.If you enjoyed the conversation, please share the episode with other innovators. Leave us a positive review and subscribe to Power Flow on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can follow Power Flow Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Tik Tok. Thank you for listening. See you at the whiteboard!

In this episode of The Sky's The Limit: Beyond The Deal Dee Brown interviews Elsa Brown, President & CEO of Copland Contracting headquarter in DeSoto, TX. Copland Contracting is a 100% woman owned and minority owned construction company. Dee and Elsa discuss her journey to becoming an executive in the construction industry. They also dive into pay equality, diversity, and inclusion specifically among women in construction. About Dee Brown: Dee Brown has a 28 year record of real estate sales, development, management, and success overseeing all phases of multi-million dollar construction, infrastructure, water/sewer, and environmental projects for government and private-sector clients. His experience includes managing personnel of up to 200 people in highway/bridge improvements, asbestos abatement, real estate sales and development, solar installations, and a variety of other projects. Dee is backed by strong credentials and a proven history of on-time, on-budget, and high-quality project completions. Dee Brown holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Memphis; an MBA from Bethel University; an affiliate broker; a LEED Green Associate; a Graduate Realtor Institute; PACP, MACP, and LACP certified; and member of Memphis Area Association of Realtors Multi Million Dollar Sales Club. Dee is a life member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and the Founder and CEO of the Brown Foundation Community Development Corporation.   Dee has been the recipient of many local, state and national honors. In 1999, Mr. Brown was named the Entrepreneur of the year for the state of Tennessee by the U.S. Small Business Administration. In 2015, his construction firm, Concrete Constructors, Inc., was named the 7th fastest growing inner city company in the country by ICIC and Fortune Magazine. In 2019, The P3 Group Inc. was named as a Mississippi business success story by the Mississippi Development Authority, and Mr. Brown was selected as a member of the Forbes Real Estate Council (2020); and was selected as a member of Forbes Business Council (2020). Dee Brown was awarded the Congressional Black Caucus Presidential Corporate Philanthropy Award by the National Bar Association (2021), and was appointed the National Advisor on Public-Private Partnerships and Urban Redevelopment for the President of the National Bar Association (2021-2022).  He was a featured guest on numerous international podcasts including Real Estate for Breakfast (2019); ForbesBooks Radio podcast the Joe Pardavila show (2021); and The Real Estate Syndication Show with Whitney Sewell (2021). He has also been an expert speaker on the subject of P3's for a variety of organizations including Prairie View A&M University's Business of the University Conference (2018); the Delta Grassroots Caucus (2019); Clark Hill Law Firm‘s Real Estate Division (2019); and Arkansas Black Mayors Association (2020); to name a few. Mr. Brown holds the honor of being the first minority Department of Defense contractor to hold a federal contract with the US Navy Nuclear Power Command at Goose Creek, SC (2013). On this project, he trained his crane operators and riggers to operate a 500,000 pound Manitowoc crane on a floating derrick (a barge). Upon successfully training employees at a shipyard in Goose Creek, tugboats were used to transport the barge and crane into the nuclear facility where they assisted US Navy riggers in changing 60,000 pound sea anchors on nuclear submarines. Upon the completion of this project, the US Navy gave a performance rating of 'very good'. He has completed hundreds of projects just as complicated and rewarding for more than 2 dozen federal, state, and municipal agencies in 8 states over the past decade. Mr. Brown is also the first developer to deliver a capital project under a public private partnership in the state of Arkansas. Under Mr. Brown's leadership The P3 Group has grown into the largest minority real estate development company that...

What are the long-term effects of the pandemic on the real estate market? In the short term we've seen residential go boom and commercial go bust. Bur how will Covid-19 change the way developers build and scale their business? This week, The Sky's The Limit: Beyond The Deal host, Dee Brown is interviewed by his producer Joe Pardivila. Dee is the President & CEO of The P3 Group, the nation's largest minority owned real estate developer that focuses exclusively on public-private partnerships. Dee has nearly 30 years of experience in real estate sales, development, and management. On this episode, Dee discusses why he loves what his organization does, why the pandemic has changed the way buildings are made, and what the future of The P3 Group looks like. About Dee Brown: Dee Brown has a 28 year record of real estate sales, development, management, and success overseeing all phases of multi-million dollar construction, infrastructure, water/sewer, and environmental projects for government and private-sector clients. His experience includes managing personnel of up to 200 people in highway/bridge improvements, asbestos abatement, real estate sales and development, solar installations, and a variety of other projects. Dee is backed by strong credentials and a proven history of on-time, on-budget, and high-quality project completions. Dee Brown holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Memphis; an MBA from Bethel University; an affiliate broker; a LEED Green Associate; a Graduate Realtor Institute; PACP, MACP, and LACP certified; and member of Memphis Area Association of Realtors Multi Million Dollar Sales Club. Dee is a life member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and the Founder and CEO of the Brown Foundation Community Development Corporation.   Dee has been the recipient of many local, state and national honors. In 1999, Mr. Brown was named the Entrepreneur of the year for the state of Tennessee by the U.S. Small Business Administration. In 2015, his construction firm, Concrete Constructors, Inc., was named the 7th fastest growing inner city company in the country by ICIC and Fortune Magazine. In 2019, The P3 Group Inc. was named as a Mississippi business success story by the Mississippi Development Authority, and Mr. Brown was selected as a member of the Forbes Real Estate Council (2020); and was selected as a member of Forbes Business Council (2020). Dee Brown was awarded the Congressional Black Caucus Presidential Corporate Philanthropy Award by the National Bar Association (2021), and was appointed the National Advisor on Public-Private Partnerships and Urban Redevelopment for the President of the National Bar Association (2021-2022).  He was a featured guest on numerous international podcasts including Real Estate for Breakfast (2019); ForbesBooks Radio podcast the Joe Pardavila show (2021); and The Real Estate Syndication Show with Whitney Sewell (2021). He has also been an expert speaker on the subject of P3's for a variety of organizations including Prairie View A&M University's Business of the University Conference (2018); the Delta Grassroots Caucus (2019); Clark Hill Law Firm‘s Real Estate Division (2019); and Arkansas Black Mayors Association (2020); to name a few. Mr. Brown holds the honor of being the first minority Department of Defense contractor to hold a federal contract with the US Navy Nuclear Power Command at Goose Creek, SC (2013). On this project, he trained his crane operators and riggers to operate a 500,000 pound Manitowoc crane on a floating derrick (a barge). Upon successfully training employees at a shipyard in Goose Creek, tugboats were used to transport the barge and crane into the nuclear facility where they assisted US Navy riggers in changing 60,000 pound sea anchors on nuclear submarines. Upon the completion of this project, the US Navy gave a performance rating of 'very good'. He has completed hundreds of projects just as complicated and rewarding for...