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As part of UC Berkeley’s Community Partner Organization Program, Build It Green is pleased to welcome these five first and second-year undergraduate students as part of their pre-career exploration this fall. Each brings a unique perspective and infectious enthusiasm to diving into learning more about the evolution of sustainability and the opportunities ahead.
We envision a healthy housing ecosystem that fosters well-being in individuals, communities and bioregions.
1 (510) 590-3360
Mon – Fri, 9am-5pm
info@builditgreen.org
Communications & Research Associate
Kaylee is a passionate storyteller, and she hopes to channel that enthusiasm into sharing BIG’s work and the stories of the people and organizations working to improve California’s housing ecosystem. She has two degrees from Stanford University—a bachelor’s in Atmosphere/Energy and a master’s in Environmental Communication—and has gained experience with nonprofit communications, journalism, and research through her past internships. While she loves all of California for its cultural richness and commitment to staying at the forefront of environmental issues, she is strongly biased toward Southern California, where she has lived her whole life.
Administrative Assistant
Christal, who earned a bachelor’s in Sustainable Environmental Design and a minor in City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley, has always had a passion for the environment and environmental justice. She gained experience in this field through her degrees and work with GRID Alternatives, and is particularly excited about Build It Green’s commitment to combating the housing and climate crises—especially in a way that utilizes smart, sustainable building approaches and prioritizes underserved communities. She is a lifelong Bay Area resident, and loves California for its diversity, landscapes, and liveliness.
Director of Initiatives
As a fifth generation California, Hannah is both proud to call this state her home and sees so much more potential to improve it for everyone who also calls this beautiful place home. She has spent her career working to translate big ideas into action, via teaching, design, and consulting, and from small organizations to large companies. Build It Green uniquely offers an opportunity to be the home for important, but challenging, conversations on how to address the intersection of so many thorny issues, but at an approachable scale: the places we live and care so much about.
Manager, Special Projects
Chloe feels most at home when she’s near the ocean and in her free time has been enjoying exploring her new hometown of Long Beach. She loves the diversity of cultures, architecture, and climate zones that California has to offer and cares deeply about rising to the challenges of our time to protect and evolve how we live for a brighter future for all. She been committed social entrepreneurship, sustainability, and empowering people through professional development throughout her career. She has traveled all over California to meet and train contractors on energy efficiency programs, supported operations for a woman-led solar entrepreneur network in Nepal, and delivered national pop-up professional workshops for trades professionals to pursue green jobs. She graduated with an MBA from William and Mary with a focus on entrepreneurship and data analytics.
Program Associate
Bay Area native Kirsten brings experience in green certification program management, energy efficiency consulting, and environmental justice to the BIG team. She has a BA in Economics from the University of Michigan and a Masters of Public Policy from UC Berkeley, and throughout graduate school, she focused on studying the impacts of financing programs on low- and moderate-income homeowners. This work has fueled her passion for building healthier housing ecosystems, and she is thrilled to work with BIG to push for this change and ensure that programs do not place an undue burden on under-resourced communities.
Program Associate
Lara, who recently wrapped up her Design for Sustainability MFA thesis on teaching regenerative design concepts, is excited to bring her creative mentoring background and knowledge of regenerative ideals to BIG’s work. She has experience with community garden building, waste reduction initiatives, and mobility advocacy, and in light of the growing severity of natural disasters and the housing crisis, she looks forward to working with the rest of the team on initiatives that can empower people to build their own futures. Lara has lived in the Bay Area her entire life, and appreciates California for the community she has become a part of and the sense of belonging the state brings her.
Operations Manager
A lifelong native of California, Kurt has a strong fondness for California’s abundant outdoor activities and its distinguished weather makes it hard for him to imagine living anywhere else. Kurt holds a bachelor’s in Earth Systems Science and a hybrid-masters degree in Environmental Science and Management. Before joining Build It Green, he contributed to the development of Climate Action Plans for the cities of Gilroy, El Cerrito and Piedmont to help meet State GHG emission-reduction goals. He is extremely excited to expand on his work with Build It Green as it evolves from going beyond sustainable aspects of a building to further emphasizing societal health and well-being.
Executive Director
Two of Jeremy’s most beloved things are great cities and awe-inspiring natural landscapes, and, living in the Bay Area over the past 20+ years, he has had no shortage of these. A day can literally start with a hike in redwoods, followed by lunch at a sidewalk café serving local specialties, and end with an afternoon at a world class museum. What could be better than that?
Jeremy was born and raised in the suburbs of Salt Lake City, Utah by a father who owned a company that built HVAC ductwork, and a mother who was a proud environmentalist. His upbringing and lifelong interest in the intersection between the built and natural environments—and their relationships to social equity, community vitality, and, to say it simply, happiness—led him to spend 10 years as CEO of Greenbelt Alliance, the Bay Area’s leading land conservation and land use advocacy NGO.
Build It Green was a natural step for Jeremy. As it becomes an organization that doesn’t accept that there have to be trade offs between housing affordability, climate protection and other environmental issues, and social equity and justice, he looks forward to bridging and serving all of the different constituencies in the housing ecosystem to fundamentally change what this state will be like for decades to come and, in doing so, can make California a model for the nation.
In his free time, Jeremy can usually be found on a soccer field or listening to loud music ranging through all genres of rock (punk, Celtic, classic, grunge).