Green Building United Staff

Executive Director

Alex Dews

LEED AP

Alex has spent the past ten years working on green building and urban sustainability in Philadelphia. Alex worked in real estate development prior to leading program implementation and progress reporting for Greenworks Philadelphia, the city's comprehensive sustainability plan. Alex is a LEED AP and received a BA in English from the University of Vermont and an MS in Sustainable Design from Philadelphia University where he is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Architecture.

Education and Engagement Director

Leah Wirgau

LEED Green Associate

Leah works with volunteers and stakeholders to identify gaps and opportunities in green building industry knowledge, developing educational offerings around sustainability standards and best practices. She is Green Building United's point for individual members, and heads newsletter and website messaging. Leah is also an Adjunct Professor in the Sustainable Design Department at Thomas Jefferson University, and the Sociology Department at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. She holds a Master of City and Regional Planning degree and Master of Environment and Natural Resources degree from The Ohio State University, where she focused on urban sustainability and national park climate change policy. A major proponent of health and wellness, Leah became a Registered Yoga Teacher (200hr) in 2019 with the Yoga Alliance.

Contact Leah with questions regarding education, events, membership, and communications.

Development Director

Patricia (Pat) Ma

Through her work with local and national non-profit organizations focused on direct service, innovation and policy, Patricia (Pat) Ma has cultivated expertise in big-picture thinking, designing programs for impact, and finding the philanthropic resources to move initiatives from idea to reality. She has designed and evaluated youth and workforce development initiatives; implemented programs for Philadelphia schools; and secured major funding for community-based arts, education and health efforts. Pat received her B.A. in economics and Chinese from Wellesley College and her Master’s in Public Policy from the Kennedy School Government at Harvard University.

Contact Pat with questions regarding Sustaining Partnerships, event sponsorships, and donating to Green Building United.

Policy and Programs Director

Katie Bartolotta

Katie brings broad policy, campaign, and coalition building experience to her work as policy and program director at Green Building United. In this role, Katie leads the organization’s local and state policy and advocacy efforts. In addition, she coordinates strategic initiatives including the Philadelphia 2030 District and Energy Codes Implementation. Katie holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Rochester.

Contact Katie with questions related to policy and advocacy.

Program and Communications Manager

LeAnne Harvey

LEED Green Associate

As the Program and Communications Manager with Green Building United, LeAnne leads and implements the Delaware Pathways to Green Schools and Building Energy Benchmarking programs. She also manages communications on behalf of the organization, working closely with staff on events, initiatives, and strategic planning. Before joining Green Building United, LeAnne worked for the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Sustainability, the Human Impacts Institute, and SCALE - a sustainability consultancy. She has a strong research background with a Master of Science in Climate Science and Policy from the Bard Center for Environmental Policy.

LeAnne is passionate about building sustainable and resilient communities; as such, she practices environmental and social justice activism, personal behavior change, and civic engagement. She grows and distributes food in her community garden, serves on the program committee with Historic Fair Hill. LeAnne is a proud ELP Senior Fellow, Climate Reality Leader, and DEEP Aerobics instructor.

Contact LeAnne with questions related to communications and initiatives.

Philadelphia 2030 District Intern

Isabelle Coupet

Isabelle supports Green Building United’s Policy and Program Director to coordinate and grow the Philadelphia 2030 District. She is an architectural engineering student at Drexel University. Isabelle is interested in studying sustainable building practices and designs for the purpose of assisting in the development of sustainability goals.