Board of Directors

Lisa is Director of Commercial Programs for the Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA). She joined PEA full-time in 2023 after serving as program consultant to PEA for four years. She also consulted with Indigenized Energy Initiative, working with the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in Montana to develop a comprehensive solar program on the reservation. She led sustainable energy education and workforce development initiatives at Penn State at the Navy Yard from 2014-2018. Prior to that she was a consultant at two design and consulting firms, Re:Vision and Kitchen & Associates. Lisa serves on the Governance, Finance and Executive Committees of GBU. Lisa has her MBA from Yale University and B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of Vermont. Lisa is passionate about sustainability and the power of community to transform the world.

Ariella has always been interested in the intersection of policy, design, and technology, and the impact they collectively have on the natural and built environment and on people’s lives. Working in both the public and private sectors, she has had the opportunity to lead the development and implementation of far reaching solutions to a broad set of urban challenges across the disciples of urban planning, local government policy, infrastructure, and economic development. In 2017, Ariella started Lion Advisors for Community and Environment to apply my experience to help communities scale up their climate action efforts and see more substantial progress.

Ryan Spies currently serves as VP of Sustainability for Clayco where he oversees sustainability practices and training, as well as develop a holistic strategy to reduce Clayco’s overall footprint. Ryan previously served as Director of Sustainability, Energy & Stewardship for a global manufacturer where he was responsible for energy, water, waste and CO2 reductions in over 130 facilities. Ryan holds an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis and a BS in mechanical engineering from Lehigh University.

Phil is a founding director of Green Building United (formerly Delaware Valley Green Building Council) and a LEED AP. He is the former chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Environmental and Energy Section and received that Section’s award for lifetime achievement. He practices environmental and construction law at the law firm of Fox Rothschild, LLP in its center city office.

Susan is Vice President, Director, Sales Enablement for JLL in the Philadelphia Market. With nearly 20 years of experience in the real estate industry focusing on marketing, communications, research, and economic development, Susan excels at understanding clients’ needs and developing results-driven strategic and creative solutions. In her role, Susan provides strategic advisory and integrated solutions that translate the company’s business strategies into tangible revenue-enhancing opportunities and initiatives. Susan leads a team that delivers effective collateral materials, processes, tools, and technologies customized to support the needs of clients throughout their real estate journey. Prior to joining JLL, Susan was the Director of Marketing and Client Relations for the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), the City of Philadelphia's economic development agency. Susan is a Leadership Philadelphia Alumni and a 2017 recipient of the Philadelphia Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 award.

After serving in Peace Corps Honduras, Kristin began her career with an internationally focused energy management consulting firm. Kristin saw an opportunity to combine an interest in environmental advocacy with a chance to build upon her international experience through an awareness campaign, biking 14,000 miles from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. Upon her return, Kristin moved into large scale wind and solar development with Community Energy & Iberdrola Renewables and then took an opportunity to work for Mayor Nutter. As Energy Manager for the City of Philadelphia, Kristin was critical to meeting the Mayor's sustainability goals and the management of the City's utilities. Kristin moved back to the private sector as TD Bank's Energy and Sustainability Manager for 5 years before leaving to hike the Continental Divide Trail.

Ronald J. Becker, CRX, CSM, Fitwel Ambassador, Senior Vice President of Operations & Sustainability joined Brandywine Realty Trust in August of 2019. In his role Ron oversees all aspects of operations and property management for the firm providing tactical leadership and strategy to the building operators and management teams. In addition, Ron has taken over leadership of Brandywine’s continued commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance platform including best practice implementation in each of the segmented sectors. Mr. Becker was most recently the Vice President of National Operations & Sustainability for Federal Realty Investment Trust based in Rockville, MD where he oversaw all aspects of operations for the national portfolio including Federal’s ESG program and multiple solar photovoltaic system investments. Prior to that he was the assistant vice president of property management for Cedar Realty Trust as well as working for a number of niche and boutique companies such as Pennsylvania based WP Realty, Inc. Mr. Becker is a 27-year industry veteran whose career has ranged from the management and leasing of retail, office and flex-space throughout the US to the acquisition of commercial assets in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest for a Boise, ID based 1031 syndicator. Mr. Becker is a Certified Real Estate Executive (CRX), a Certified Shopping Center Manager (CSM) and became a Fitwel Ambassador in March of 2020. He has published articles for Management-Marketing-Leasing Today and has taught at ICSC University at the Wharton School of Business as well as at the John T. Riordan School of Professional Development in Arizona. Mr. Becker graduated from Adelphi University with a Bachelor of Business Administration.

Bahareh van Boekhold has 15 years of experience in energy efficiency, clean energy policy, and program development and implementation, working at the intersection of energy, climate mitigation, resilience, and sustainability initiatives. Bahareh led the development of multiple statewide energy efficiency programs and policy frameworks, including the State of Delaware EM&V framework and protocols. Bahareh has managed portfolios of energy efficiency programs for public utilities and supported utility clients with program planning, pilot design, studies, and analysis. Her energy efficiency program and policy expertise are complemented by a working knowledge of multiple building assessment tools and high-performance building certifications. Bahareh is a Senior Consulting Manager with Illume Advising, a cutting-edge social and data-science research-driven energy industry consulting group. She lives with her husband and their two children in Newark, Delaware.

Amy Cornelius is a partner at GreenBeams, LLC a full-service sustainability consulting and Project Management company, focused on helping residential, small business, and institutional clients, adopt sustainable lifestyles, landscapes, and business practices while saving money and improving quality of life. Amy received her BA from Trinity College and her MBA from Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. She also holds a Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Design from the Boston Architectural College. Prior to founding GreenBeams, Amy was responsible for general management at Hugh Lofting Timber Framing, Inc. Her earlier professional career was focused on commercial construction and real estate management where she worked as a General Manager for LA SALLE PARTNERS (now JLL) and was involved in various projects including: the restoration of Union Station in Washington, D.C., management of The News Building in NYC and in the construction and development of Merck’s World Headquarters in White House Station, NJ. Prior to JLL, she was a Forecasting and Market Manager for CSX Transportation. Amy managed the construction of the first home in Chester County, PA to achieve a LEED certification and has consulted on a number of other custom home projects that have LEED certification and net zero energy goals. Amy is committed to giving back to the community. She has served on the Green Building United Board and is actively involved in the Advocacy Committee and in the LBC and PH Communities there. She is an active member of the Sustainable Business Network. She was a stakeholder in developing the PA Solar Future plan and is an active participant on the City of Philadelphia’s Solid Waste Recycling Advisory Committee (SWRAC) and Net Zero Waste Subcommittee.  Amy enjoys riding her bicycle all over Philadelphia to commute, shop and just ride around, she is an avid gardener and mini-farmer, and she is fanatic about reducing utility costs in her own home. Disclosure: Amy has an active  consulting contract with Green Building United supporting non-profits and other entities through the William Penn Foundation.

For over 40 years, Manny has committed his career to making the world brighter though the lights we switch on and off every day. Starting in New York City, Manny’s experience has taken him from classrooms to showrooms and offices throughout the East Coast, conducting seminars on all aspects of lighting and controls for interior designers, architects, electrical engineers, lighting designers, contractors, utilities and end-users. Today, he works with Lutron Electronics Co. Inc. as the OEM Team’s Senior Member and joins the GBU board with a wealth of knowledge on how to increase the efficiency of our built environment through advances and changes in lighting, daylighting, and control technologies.

Stephen earned a BSME degree from Temple University and a Master of Science Degree in Sustainable Engineering from Villanova University. He is a Professional Engineer in 21 States, a member of various professional societies, a founder of the Greater Philadelphia Passive House Association, and board member and secretary of the Northeast Chapter of the Building Commissioning Association. He serves on the American Arbitration Association's "Construction Arbitration Panel" and the "Mechanical Industrial Advisory Committee" at the College of Engineering at Temple University, and is an Adjunct Professor at Philadelphia University College of Architecture and the Built Environment.

Bill has thirty-five years of development, design, construction, and project experience. He has created fifteen million square feet of buildings in the United States and overseas. During his 15 years at Liberty Property Trust, he managed the development of offices, medical facilities, industrial, and recreational facilities. Prior to joining Liberty, Mr. Fisher was Vice President of Real Estate for the University City Science Center, and managed projects for Lehrer McGovern Bovis in Washington, DC and London, England.

Patrick is passionate about sustainability and housing affordability for low-income individuals. He wrote his Master of Sustainable Design Thesis on the topic of providing affordable sustainable housing for homeownership by renovating existing blighted rowhouses in Philadelphia. In 2008, Patrick graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from CCNY and has worked as an architectural designer on the renovation of private homes in NYC while employed in different architecture firms. From 2012, he spent three years in Malawi, South East Africa, working and volunteering, both in the field of design and research, striving to understand the best sustainable and affordable methods which can be applied to help alleviate poverty through housing. In 2017, he joined Community Ventures. He assists with project planning & design, construction management and finding new ways to develop sustainable single-family housing without subsidies. He is also the organization’s lead manager for the awarded Rebuild renovation projects.

Uma Pattarkine is the Global ESG Lead & Investment Strategy Senior Analyst leading the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy to incorporate ESG into investment decision-making and management of global listed and direct real estate investments across Center Square's $15b assets under management. Our research demonstrates embedding ESG considerations into our investment process provides opportunities to create value, reduce risk, and generate superior investment returns. Not only does Uma lead the sustainability efforts across the firm, she does so across the industry - in this effort she's the Sustainability Co-Chair for NAREIM and serves on the Sustainability Advisory Board for the Smeal College of Business at Penn State University.

Sangeetha is a Project Architect and Certified Passive House Consultant at WRT, LLC. Her work includes high performance buildings including buildings designed to meet Passive House standards. She is currently working on a multi-phase, multi-family, mixed use project where the first four phases have been awarded tax credits and will achieve Passive House certification. The project will provide 260 new low-income rental units. Also, as a LEED AP, WELL AP and a Living Future Accredited professional, she is passionate about sustainable built environments. She has been a presenter at the New Gravity Housing conference and a guest on the Passive House Accelerator’s Happy Hour and Podcast. This year she has been a presenter with a diverse group of women architects at Green Building United’s Sustainability Symposium, Building Energy NYC 2021 conference and will be presenting at PHIUS Con 2021. Sangeetha volunteers with Green Building United’s Philadelphia Collaborative of the Living Building Community in a group advocating for sustainable education in high schools. She is also an active volunteer for the Haverford School District and her local community..

Mitchell has over 30 years of domestic and international consulting and problem solving experience in the areas of risk management, project management, design, and forensic construction claims analysis. His career has included the analysis and design of complex systems across a wide range of industries and buildings types with a special focus on high-tech and critical facilities. He is a frequent speaker on project execution, risk management, and sustainability topics and is 10+ year member of ASHRAE’s Distinguished Lecturer program. He is active on several technical committees and a contributing author to the ASHRAE Green Guide for Sustainable Buildings.

Lindsey is committed to promoting sustainable urban development and creating holistic and impactful solutions in the energy sector. She has developed strategic energy master plans and comprehensive energy assessments for municipal, commercial, and institutional buildings. From the technical elements of engineering related to energy and sustainability, to student and staff programming, she can provide services from energy audits and modeling to curricular presentations in the classroom. Since 2015, she has worked as a mechanical engineer for Practical Energy Solutions. She also serves on the Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy Board of the Philadelphia Chapter. Lindsey has her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Union College, and her M.S. in Sustainable Engineering from Villanova University.