Sustainable CRE Series

Widely considered one of the founders of the sustainable business movement. Named inaugural member of the Sustainability Hall of Fame (along with Amory Lovins, Karl-Henrik Robert, Bob Willard and the late Ray Anderson) by the International Society of Sustainability Professionals, and "one of the 10 most influential sustainability voices in America" by The Guardian. Systems ecologist and business strategist with over 40 years experience in business & policy innovation. As founder & CEO of Natural Logic Inc, helped companies in a wide range of industries design, implement and measure profitable sustainability strategies. Combines broad business experience in management consulting, business strategy, systems ecology, economic development, management cybernetics, and public policy. "Natures' ecosystems have nearly 4 billion years of experience in the development of efficient, adaptive, resilient, and sustainable systems. Why should companies reinvent the wheel, when the R&D has already been done?" (Gil Friend, 1991) Advisor: Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. Faculty, Meridian University. Lectures widely on business strategy and sustainability issues and writes The New Bottom Line, offering strategic perspectives on business and environment. Author, The Truth About Green Business (FT Press); coauthor, Biofuels Development and Soil Productivity (1982). Contributed chapters to Worldchanging: A User’s Guide to the 21st Century, Sustainable Enterprise Report, Sustainable Enterprise Fieldbook, Sustainable Food Systems, Stepping Stones. Specialties: Strategy, innovation, leadership, systems design, management cybernetics, industrial ecology, sustainable development, measuring what matters, training, coaching, speaking.

Mark Meredith is Product Manager with Aquacell Commercial Water Recycling Solutions. He has studied at both the University of Washington and Georgetown College. Prior to taking on Aquacell at PHOENIX Process Equipment Co., Mark Meredith served in multiple appointed policy roles from the federal level down to state and local government. Mark has also worked as a consultant to the private sector on finance and growth strategies. As Product Manager for Aquacell, Mark is pulling from his 10 plus years of experience in policy and consulting to lead Aquacell in the US.

Through hard work and diligence, my objective is to learn every day, improve every day, help build lasting business relationships, add value and help others be successful in their businesses and careers. Work in commercial real estate in a position that offers the challenge to develop, acquire, operate, maintain, repair, modernize and improve the sustainable areas of the built environment. Provide long range value through thoughtful planning, implementation and execution of the day’s work. Employers deserve this level of commitment from their investment in its employee's, and it is what makes companies fundamentally succeed. Your work should be your resume and it should speak to the success of the business as well. Specialties: I have extensive experience in facility operations, maintenance, repair and construction as well as operating & capital improvement projects, bidding and execution of construction projects. I have performed multiple due diligence exercises for acquisition and disposition. I have an eye on sustainability and the USGBC LEED goals and objectives, processes and projects. I also have experience in labor negotiations and contracts.

Matt is leading the charge in energy management and high performing buildings software as VP of Yardi Energy at Yardi Systems. He was previously Vice President of North American Sales at Tesla Motors where he led the 450-member sales team to record sales and gains in market share. Before Tesla he was VP of Operations and Product Management at Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ: SUN) where he led the operations as Sunrun grew from 30 employees and 2,000 residential solar customers to 1,200 employees and 55,000 customers. Matt also led the software team that created and designed the industry’s leading solar sales toolkit (“BrightPath”), customer website, and solar fleet management tools. Prior to Sunrun, Matt was Director of Product Management at fuel cell manufacture Bloom Energy and worked in product management at Genentech. Matt graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. from Duke University, and has an MBA from Stanford. He is on the Board of Ecology Project International, the Advisory Board for the Duke University Center for Energy, Development and the Global Environment (EDGE) and sits on IREM’s sustainability advisory board and the utilities committee at NAA.

Sarah Sieloff is the Executive Director of the Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR or "see clear"), the oldest and only non-profit in the United States solely dedicated to the reuse and revitalization of underutilized or contaminated land. Serving as a national platform for excellence in land reuse, CCLR organizes workshops, webinars, and provides one-on-one technical assistance on land recycling issues in low-capacity and low-income communities across the country, from California to Puerto Rico. Under Sarah's leadership, CCLR has grown substantially since 2015. Prior to joining CCLR, Sarah served as the Memphis Team Lead for the White House Council on Strong Cities, Strong Communities, working with 25 federal agencies to bring resources and technical assistance to the City of Memphis. Sarah has a background in international development and is a Truman Scholar. She earned her Master in Public Affairs from Princeton University and her BA from Eckerd College.

Roy Griffith is Director of Corporate Development at Clark Pacific where he focuses on strategic planning, market and product development, enterprise technology solutions, and sales organizational support. Before Corporate Development, Roy led Clark Pacific’s Virtual Design and Technology practice, where he developed and implemented Industrialized Construction technologies and practices that are leading to increased efficiencies in the construction industry. Prior to joining Clark Pacific, Mr. Griffith was Director of Corporate Development at Gehry Technologies, where he led the Parametric Design and Risk Mitigation Practices that provided construction professionals with financial Building Information Models. Mr. Griffith was a project designer using CATIA at Gehry Partners after studying with Frank Gehry. While under Gehry’s guidance, Mr. Griffith worked as Architectural Designer and 3D Coordinator for complex building projects such as the Grand Avenue Project, The Brooklyn Arena, and the Louis Vuitton Museum in Paris. Mr. Griffith worked as an investment banker prior to entering the construction industry. He received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University and his M. Arch from Yale University.

Aaron Smith leads Strategy, Business Development and Sustainability efforts for Silicon Valley start-up View Inc. recently completing product transparency efforts including their Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), Health Product Declaration (HPD) and Declare label and currently working on Living Product Certification of View Dynamic Glass that will included the lifecycle reduction of environmental impacts as well as improving health and wellness in the built environment. Aaron has worked extensively with LEED, Living Building Challenge and WELL rating systems, while completing scores of EPDs, HPDs and Declare labels. He is the immediate past Treasurer for the Board of the Health Product Declaration Collaborative (HPDC); co-founded the CT Collaborative – Living Building Challenge; is a member of the International Living Future Institute – East Coast Congress and serves on the Board of the CT Sustainable Business Council (CTSBC). Aaron is a 2016 graduate of the Yale School of Management with an MBA in Sustainability.

In her role at LinkedIn, Peggy leads initiatives and mobilizes teams to create growth and operational efficiency at the intersection of business and environmental responsibility. Prior to her current position, she developed and managed programs at Apple, the US Department of State, and several other firms and NGOs. Credentials include GRI G4 CSR reporting and Water Footprint. She has led environmental and social initiatives that led to quantifiable impacts with cross-cultural teams across academia, technology, banking and government in the US, Germany, France, Netherlands, Mexico, Brazil, India, Japan and Thailand. Peggy serves on the Advisory Council for Acterra's Business Environmental Award, and as a mentor for Stanford GSB's Center for Social Innovation and for MBAStrategies.

Skilled in successful set-up, start-up and ongoing management of 501 (c) 3 organizations. Significant knowledge and experience in State of CA and Federal Codes and Standards, including development of equipment and whole-building performance rating programs, supporting analytics and C&S advocacy efforts. Strong end-use knowledge in commercial food service, commercial lighting (including daylighting applications), and commercial HVAC (including thermal energy storage systems). Strong background in building envelope technologies including cool roofing. Strong background in building performance analytics and performance monitoring systems. Strong background in utility energy center administration focused on training, analytic tool development, and educational initiatives. Specialties: Codes and Standards, rating systems, commercial lighting and daylighting, food service equipement, HVAC systems, cool roofs, wastewater treatment systems, utility incentive program design, design of utility program service offerings, management of program implementation.

Sara Neff is a Partner and General Manager of Sustainability for Microsoft's Cloud Operations + Innovation team. Prior to joining Microsoft, she was Head of Sustainability, Lendlease Americas, where she provided leadership and management oversight in developing, implementing and driving Lendlease's corporate sustainability framework in the Americas region. Prior to that role, she served as Senior Vice President, Sustainability at Kilroy Realty Corporation. Under her leadership, Kilroy was recognized as a leader among publicly traded real estate companies on sustainability in the Americas by GRESB for seven of the last eight years as well as being recognized by NAREIT, and achieved carbon neutral operations at the end of 2020. She is a LEED Fellow and holds a BS from Stanford and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Vladi led Lucid’s early product and engineering teams and has driven the evolution of the company from its inception in 2004. A recipient of awards from U.S. EPA and Cleantech Open, Vladi has dozens of widely-cited publications in the field and has delivered many distinguished presentations, including at TEDx. Vladi helped pioneer groundbreaking research in commercial building monitoring systems and real-time feedback technology. Vladi holds a BA with high honors in Environmental Studies and Computer Science from Oberlin College.

Michael Keinath is a Principal with Ramboll Environ and leads the San Francisco Air Sciences and Climate Change Group. He has over 15 years’ experience in environmental science and engineering, with specialist expertise in air quality and climate change, human health risk assessment and product stewardship. He has advised clients from various industries, including ports and rail, quarries and mines, foundries and recyclers, chemical manufacturers and consumer products suppliers, in addition to property developers and local planning agencies. Michael has led the air quality and greenhouse gas analyses for entitlement of a number of San Francisco’s landmark waterfront projects, including Candlestick Point-Hunters Point Shipyard Phase II, 34th America’s Cup and James R. Herman Cruise Terminal, Forest City’s Pier 70 and the Golden State Warriors’ Chase Center. For the Warriors, Michael also led the effort to gain Leadership Project (AB900) designation from Governor Brown through a detailed climate change analysis showing no net additional greenhouse emissions. Michael is currently co-chair of Ramboll’s Liveable City initiative in the US, which aims to bring Ramboll’s proven track record of designing healthy, safe urban areas in which people can thrive, communities can grow, and the environment can flourish. The initiative draws on Ramboll’s complete and integrated service that combines urban development strategy, city planning, and world class technical expertise within transport, water and energy infrastructure, buildings, and urban landscaping. Since 1945, Ramboll has enabled sustainable development in the Nordic capital cities of Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki, which like San Francisco, are examples of waterfront cities that are dedicated to minimizing environmental impact and improving the lives of people while maintaining economic growth and social equality.

Partner with senior leadership teams to implement workplace programming globally that provides effective and efficient spaces while promoting a common brand and unified corporate culture. Provide real estate services that deliver speed of execution, scale, flexibility, and strong asset management, landlord relations, lease administration, real estate planning and consulting, acquisition and disposition of real estate, etc. Lead, develop and mentor staff responsible for providing ongoing facilities services and construction project management. Foster relationships with chosen strategic real estate partners to assist the organization with managing real estate assets, develop and negotiate partnerships with third party contractors and vendors to provide onsite service level agreements and key performance indicators. Participate in and influence the standardization of world-wide policies and procedures for the allocation of space, business continuity planning, health and safety programs. Provide key support for facility related activities for M&A due diligence teams and post-merger integrations. Capital project management, supervision, and coordination of contractors to manage scope, budget, schedule, and adherence to regulatory and code compliance as required by site, local, state, federal jurisdictions. Oversee the development and management of operational expense budgets for site services by working with site management on forecasting and cost reduction strategies. Provide thought leadership and direction for environmental management/sustainability initiatives. Review real estate contracts for compliance with government specifications and suitability for occupancy.

Rich Chien is a Senior Program Specialist with the San Francisco Department of the Environment (SF Environment) and currently manages all aspects of the city's PACE financing program (GreenFinanceSF), other clean energy financing initiatives, and is the program lead for BayREN’s commercial program efforts. Mr. Chien also actively supports a variety of district-scale sustainability programs, including the South of Market Ecodistrict, the Sustainable Chinatown project, and the San Francisco 2030 District. He was instrumental in creating the city’s commercial buildings benchmarking and audit ordinance, and helps to monitor and update implementation of the green building code for new construction. Prior to joining SF Environment, Rich worked as a city planner, and practiced architecture, construction project management, and sustainability consulting at a number of Bay Area firms.

Aliza Skolnik focuses on strategic leadership, sustainable solutions and healthy environments. As Vice President and Director of the ESD San Francisco Office, she is responsible for managing the business development, recruitment and operations for the West Coast. She is a registered Professional Engineer as well as a LEED and WELL Accredited Professional, Green Globes Professional and Fitwel Ambassador. Aliza is also an active leader in the real estate industry through her involvement in the local USGBC and CoreNet chapters. She specializes in improving the well-being of the people who occupy the communities, buildings and workplaces we design.

Meade N. Boutwell is a 32-year veteran of the commercial real estate industry, specializing in office leasing with extensive experience in tenant and property representation. He has sold, leased or subleased over 10 million square feet of commercial space in the San Francisco Bay Area. Meade has developed strong relationships with both tenants and owners in the San Francisco office marketplace. In the area of office tenant representation, he has worked with clients such as Supercell, Merrill Lynch, General Re, Citigroup and Comcast. He has also worked with many prominent property owners, including Prudential Real Estate Investors, CBRE Global Investors, The Swig Company, Principal Real Estate Investors, Morgan Stanley, TIAA-CREF and MetLife. Meade is one of the first LEED O&M accredited sales professionals in San Francisco.