Society of Women Engineers

Come join us on a free guided tour of the Chicago Center for Green Technology. The center was awarded the highest LEED rating, Platinum; no other rehabilitated building in the US achieved LEED Platinum rating before Chicago Green Tech.

Following the tour our panelists will answer questions about how to become a LEED Accredited Professional and the green movement in general.    

Schedule:
10:30 am - 11:30 am:  Tour of the Chicago Center for Green Technology Building and Grounds
11:30 am:  Networking Lunch and Panel Discussion

Panelists for this event include:

Mr. Joshua Saunders, Operating Manager, UL Environment, Inc.

Joshua is the Operations Manager for UL Environment Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Underwriters Laboratories Inc.  As part of his role, Joshua is the program owner overseeing all environmental verification and certification services.  Previously, Joshua held several positions within the certification industry, including roles in new business development and engineering. Joshua is involved with many environmental sustainability initiatives and standards development in a wide range of industries.  Joshua holds a bachelor's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a master of business administration degree.

UL Environment, Inc.
UL Environment (ULE) supports the growth and development of sustainable products and services in the global marketplace through standards development and independent third-party assessment and certification. ULE is a wholly owned subsidiary of Underwriters Laboratories, a global leader in conformity assessment that has been testing products and writing standards for more than a century. ULE currently offers Environmental Claims Validation (ECV), a service testing and verifying manufacturers’ self-declared environmental claims, Sustainable Products Certification (SPC), a service testing and certifying products to accepted industry standards for environmental sustainability and Energy Efficiency Certification (EEC), a service testing and verifying product compliance with mandatory and voluntary energy efficiency regulations and programs. ULE is developing additional environmental standards, as well as training and advisory services to support organizations in the sustainable products and services industry.  For more information about UL Environment, visit www.ulenvironment.com

Ms. Helen J. Kessler, FAIA, LEED A.P., HJKessler Associates

Ms. Kessler is President of HJKessler Associates, a sustainable design, LEED, energy efficiency and commissioning consulting services founded in 2003.  She has over 30 years experience in sustainable design and has had a leading role on over four dozen LEED projects including several LEED Platinum Projects.  HJKessler Associates' projects include K-12 schools, office buildings, college and university facilities, life safety facilities, museums, commercial interiors and many other building types. 

Ms. Kessler is a Board member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Chicago Chapter, directs its education programs and was a voting member of the national LEED for Commercial Interiors Core Committee.  She is past co-chair of the AIA Chicago Committee on the Environment, chaired the Energy Code Committee, which created Chicago's first energy code, and was a voting member on the ASHRAE committee that created Guideline 0 – The Building Commissioning Process.

Prior to starting her own firm, Helen was Executive Vice President at Sieben Energy Associates, where she created and managed its consulting practices focused on energy efficiency and green design consulting.  She was a Project Director for Hyatt Hotels (where she managed renovations at 14 hotels) and for Richard I. Rubin & Company, a real estate development firm, where she managed the development of the Hotel Atop the Bellevue, which was part of an 800,000 sf mixed used development.  For many years, she designed solar homes and did research in solar energy.

Ms. Kessler is a frequent speaker and author on sustainability topics and regularly teaches various courses, included "Sustainability in Construction" at Northwestern University, "Green Building – The Nuts and Bolts for Contractors", a program which she co-created for the USGBC Chicago Chapter and Wilbur Wright College, as well as lighting economics for IESNA Chicago.  She has written hundreds of articles on green building, energy efficiency and solar energy and has given hundreds of presentations of these subjects. 

Ms. Kessler holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Arizona, and a Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.  Ms. Kessler is registered Illinois Architect, Arizona Architect, and a LEED Accredited Professional. 

HJKessler Associates, Inc.

HJKessler Associates, Inc. is a sustainable design and energy efficiency consulting professional services firm.  We bring value to our clients’ projects by recommending cost-effective solutions to minimize the use of resources while creating highly productive and efficient environments. We are a licensed architecture firm whose clients include owners, architects, developers, contractors and other design professionals.  For more information about HJKessler Associates, Inc. visit www.hjkesslerassociates.com

Mr. Sam Miller, LEED A.P., Vice President, Strategy and Marketing, JFNew
Sam Miller has been the director of strategy and marketing since joining JFNew in 2007. He is responsible for leading JFNew's strategy, innovation, and sustainability initiatives.  This strategic role includes leading the JFNew innovation process and team to identify unmet and emerging needs in the marketplace. Sam leads JFNew's research and development efforts and has been spearheading JFNew’s environmental economics initiative.  In addition, Sam founded JFNew's corporate sustainability program to drive sustainability assessments, reduce impacts, and develop annual sustainability reports.

Sam holds a Master of Science Degree in Product Development from Northwestern University, and MBA from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Illinois.  He serves as adjunct faculty at the University of Notre Dame and Indiana University-South Bend teaching courses in strategy, innovation and sustainability.  He is an advisory board member for the Center for a Sustainable Future at IU- South Bend.

JFNew

JFNew was founded in 1989 and is a full-service ecological solutions firm based in Indiana, employing more than 100 people at 8 locations throughout the Great Lakes states.

With a 100-acre native plant nursery and regional teams of scientists and engineers in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin, JFNew serves public and private clients by providing sustainable ecological solutions.  Services offered include ecological assessments, ecological restoration/mitigation design and implementation, cultural resource assessments and natural resources monitoring for projects involving wetlands, lakes, streams, endangered species, stormwater and invasive species management.

The company was recognized as a finalist in the 2008 Top Small Workplaces by The Wall Street Journal and named one of the 2008 Indiana Companies to Watch by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, through its Small Business Development Centers, Purdue University and the Edward Lowe Foundation. For more information about JFNew, visit www.JFNew.com.

Thank you to UL Environment for generously sponsoring this event!