Board

Build It Green's Board of Directors is elected by the Organization's membership.

Current members include:

Donald S. Simon, Esq.

Partner, Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean

Mr. Simon is a partner with the Oakland, California full-service law firm of Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean, which was the nation's first law firm to be certified as a green business. He co-founded the firm's Sustainable Business and Natural Products Practice Group and serves numerous companies building the green economy. Mr. Simon earned his law degree and B.A. from the Ohio State University, where he focused on environmental law and served as President of the Environmental Law Association. During law school, he worked with Environmental Defense to create the first international model for addressing cross-border air pollution.

Mr. Simon has been an active leader in the environmental sustainability movement, in addition to serving as President of Build It Green. He co-founded the U.S. Green Building Council's Northern California Chapter. He was a director and principal organizer of the largest international conference of mayors ever assembled from throughout the world to address urban environmental sustainability issues in celebration of UN World Environment Day in June 2005 (www.wed2005.org).

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Chris Bartle

President, Green Key Real Estate

Chris Bartle's mission is to help make San Francisco the most sustainable city in the world. Chris started Green Key Real Estate as a way of achieving this goal. Chris is a licensed real estate broker in the State of California as well as a certified EcoBroker and Green Building Professional. In addition, Green Key Real Estate is a certified Green Business in the city of San Francisco and a member of Co-Op America's Green Business Network. Chris has 20 years of broad business experience. His entrepreneurial career began with starting The Evergreen Group, a sustainable business brokerage that he has been running since 2001 and continues to operate today. He was also a residential agent with Zephyr Real Estate for 2 years.

Chris also had a long career in the corporate world where he held progressively responsible managerial and executive-level positions with Internet and Management Consulting firms, and worked in a variety of industries including aerospace, semiconductor, telecom and software where he led cross-functional teams in engineering, manufacturing, product development and marketing. He holds an MBA in General Management from the University of San Francisco and a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University . His combined passion for sustainability, business strategy and green real estate along with his previous experience on 2 non-profit boards of directors make him an excellent candidate for Build It Green's Board of Directors.

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Shawn Berry

Worker/Owner, Woodshanti Cooperative

Graduated SUNY Geneseo 1996 in BA Applied Physics, Art Studio. He founded Woodshanti Cooperative 1997, a custom cabinet shop intended to be a model of sustainable business leadership. He also Co-Founded the Urban Alliance for Sustainability in 2003, which is an innovative organization who's mission is to inspire and integrate the sustainability movement in the Bay Area. Shawn took Permaculture Design training in 2003 and more recently became a Build It Green Certified Green Building Professional in 2007.

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David Blanke

Consultant

Prior to joining the Build It Green Board of Directors, David Blanke was the New Construction Manager for Energy Efficiency Programs for Southern California Gas Company and San Diego Gas & Electric where he was responsible for the design, development, and implementation of residential and non-residential energy efficiency programs. Since 1989 Mr. Blanke has been involved with both field implementation as well as program design at the utilities. His energy efficiency programs have supported the ENERGY STAR® label for residential new construction as well as addressing affordable housing. Mr. Blanke’s programs have been recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for leadership in energy efficiency. Most recently he had expanded the program’s design to address not only energy efficiency but the much broader concept of environmental design that would address sustainable design, green building and the impact construction has on the environment, resources, and energy.

Prior to joining Southern California Gas Company, Mr. Blanke was the Managing Editor for the Environmental Periodicals Bibliography, the principle publication of the Environmental Studies Institute in Santa Barbara. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects, American Society of Civil Engineers and the California Building Industry Association. In 2002, he was president of the CBIA Sales and Marketing Council of Southern California. Mr. Blanke holds degrees in Music History from the University of the Pacific and Civil Engineering from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

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Matt Golden

President, Sustainable Spaces

Matt is committed to living sustainably in both his personal and business life. Prior to founding Sustainable Spaces, Matt worked as an Energy Consultant helping homeowners and businesses develop solar power systems. He soon realized that he was offering only a point solution and could not really address most homeowner's desire to make their homes and lives more sustainable.

Matt developed the concept for Sustainable Spaces to meet this market demand by providing a single full-service resource and a brand homeowners can trust to help them improve the comfort, health, and efficiency of their home.

Matt speaks extensively on building science and integrated green design to groups such as the AIA (American Institute of Architects), West Coast Green, Build it Green and others. Matt has authored a number of articles or Home Energy Magazine, and has been featured in the USA Today, SF Chronicle, KQED Radio, and the Ellen Degeneres Show.

Matt has extensive experience working in fast paced start-up environments. Matt previously founded and operated Travelkey Inc., a venture backed leisure travel technology company.

Matt holds a bachelors degree in foreign relations from Georgetown University, and has traveled much of the world and America by bike, bus, train, plane, and foot.

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Jeff Jacobs

President, Building Advisory, LLC

I have been involved in the design and construction of energy efficient homes since 1980. In 1981 the first building that I completed won the PG & E Passive Solar Award for design and energy efficiency. For 17 years I ran my own homebuilding business building over 300 homes and developing more than 15 neighborhoods. I have been in the production builder world for over 8 years. In my current role as VP of Community Development, I can build on the hands on experience that I gained while self employed. I have a greater appreciation for the challenges and opportunities that face a large homebuilder and have developed a sense of how to advocate, encourage and implement a change to the current paradigm. There are many stakeholders in a corporate environment. I have learned how to build coalitions within the organization that make going "Green" the obvious path.

I have been involved with the creation and revision of the New Home Construction Green Point Guidelines. In 2001 I built the first Zero Energy Home in Northern California and in 2006 I rolled out the first Zero Energy Home (85+ Green Points) in Alameda County. I have been involved in BIG since 2001.

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Galo LeBron

CEO, Energy Inspectors

Galo LeBron, is CEO of Energy Inspectors, one of the largest Residential Energy Consulting and HERS Services companies in the United States, with operations serving production home builders in the western states of Nevada, Arizona, California and Utah. A HERS provider in 18 states, Energy Inspectors consults with builders and Utilities in all of these states regarding residential energy codes, Energy Star Certifications, state energy certifications (such as Title 24), Utility company incentives and rebate programs, residential (single and multi-family) plan reviews and residential diagnostic and HERS services.

Having certified over 40,000 Energy Star homes in the past 4 years, Energy Inspectors was honored by the Environmental Protections Agency as its 2007 Energy Star Partner of the Year for New Homes.

A graduate of Harvard University, with a Masters Degree in Business Administration, Galo seeks to employ his organizational skills and contacts with builders, the business community at large, government, the academic community and utilities throughout the region to promote green building, and the goals and objectives of Build It Green.

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Michael McCutcheon

President, McCutcheon Construction, Inc.

Michael McCutcheon, CGBP, is the owner of McCutcheon Construction, Inc. in Berkeley, California, an award-winning, nationally recognized firm with about 40 employees. Since he started "working with his tools" and then built his business from the ground up, Michael is able to speak on many of the typical stages of building a successful company. Michael speaks and writes frequently on industry topics and is active in local industry groups including NARI, the Splinter Group, and the Green Building Professionals Guild.

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Larry Percivalle

Division V.P., EarthSource Forest Products

If a sustainable forest product exists, Larry Percivalle knows how to find it. One of the industry's earliest supporters of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Larry has poured his heart and soul into establishing Plywood And Lumber Sales Inc., as a leader in environmental issues, building the EarthSource Forest Products division and spreading the gospel of green. Under Larry's leadership, EarthSource has become arguably the largest wholesale distributor of FSC certified hardwoods in the country. A nationally recognized expert in the field of sustainable forest products, Larry is the go-to guy for architects seeking sustainable wood product solutions for projects. Larry is a graduate from San Francisco State University with a degree in Marketing. He lives in the East Bay with his wife and two children.

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Chandra Krout, AICP, LEED AP, GPR

Environmental Programs Administrator, Community Development Department, City of Irvine

Chandra K. Krout is the Environmental Programs Administrator in the Community Development Department at the City of Irvine. She has substantial expertise in green building, climate change analysis, public policy planning, and CEQA implementation. At the City of Irvine, Ms. Krout manages the City’s green building programs, climate change initiatives, energy master planning, and sustainable design projects, with particular emphasis on the sustainable development of the former El Toro Marine Base, now known as The Great Park.

She has worked in both the public and private sectors, and was most recently employed at CTG Energetics, as a Green Building and Planning Specialist, specializing in green building, community sustainability analysis, and executing green building portfolios with LEED ratings. Prior to CTG Energetics, her previous employment included the Current and Advanced Planning Divisions for the City of Newport Beach Planning Department, and as a Planner and Project Manager for several Orange County based consulting firms. Through these experiences, Ms. Krout has become intimately familiar with the CEQA and preparing mitigations measures for purposes of addressing climate change. 

Ms. Krout is a former member of the Board of Directors for the Building Industry Association of Orange County and is currently co-chair of the Quality Construction and Sustainable Building Committee for the BIA-OC. She is also a member of the California Redevelopment Association’s Sustainability Committee, the US Green Building Council Orange County Chapter’s LEED-H Committee and the Urban Land Institute Orange County Chapter’s Sustainability Committee. Ms. Krout is also a former Planning and Transportation Commissioner for the City of Mission Viejo. While serving as a Commissioner, she authored the City’s Voluntary Green Building and Energy Efficiency Programs. She has been a session presenter at the 2008 and 2006 American Planning Association CA State Conference; the HOMEX 2007 Conference; and numerous green building seminars for the Building Industry Association and Association of Environmental Professionals. She is also a guest lecturer for the graduate program for the Department of Planning, Policy, and  Design at UC Irvine and instructs a green building course for the Urban Planning Certificate Program at Cal State Fullerton.

Ms. Krout hold’s a Master Degree in City and Regional Planning from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo; a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from UC Santa Cruz; is a certified planner with the American Planning Association; a LEED Accredited Professional, a GreenPoint Rater, and holds professional certificates in “Understanding CEQA” from the Association of Environmental Professionals and “Designing and Implementing Effective Zoning Ordinances” (UCLA).

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