Green Building United Staff

Executive Director

Rich Freeh

he/his/him

Rich is Green Building United’s Executive Director. In this capacity he supports GBU’s staff, Board of Directors, and membership in achieving GBU’s vision to transform the communities it serves through green building education and advocacy. Prior to joining GBU, Rich served as the Network Team Director at the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, a membership organization of city and county sustainability professionals in the U.S. and Canada, and as Senior Program Manager with the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Sustainability. He holds a Master’s in City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania. Rich lives in the Olde Richmond neighborhood of Philadelphia with his fiancée Hannah and their three cats.

Education & Engagement Manager

Marjorie Alexander

she/her/hers

Marjorie (she/her & they/them) is responsible for supporting Green Building United’s programmatic work. Shortly before joining Green Building United, Marjorie moved from Los Angeles where she contributed much of her time to Sierra Club, other environmental non-profits, and various affordable housing advocacy groups. She is excited to be part of GBU in the movement for sustainable building and climate resilience here in Philadelphia. Marjorie holds a masters of science in environmental studies from Green Mountain College and brings additional experience in event planning and management, construction, and GIS.

Marjorie is also the host of A Sustainable Mind podcast where she interviews the change-makers behind some of today’s most impactful environmental campaigns, organizations, and startups.

Contact Marjorie with questions related to education, events, and volunteer opportunities.

Program Manager

Winn Costantini

he/him & they/them

Winn (he/him & they/them) supports GBU’s capacity building and program work to advance equitable, affordable, and climate resilient communities through managing the Housing Equity Repair and Electrification for Climate Justice (HERE4CJ) Coalition in Philadelphia and the Pathways to Green Schools Program in Delaware.

Before coming to GBU, they earned a Master in City Planning degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where their work focused on the role of workforce development in climate, economic, and racial justice movements, as well as using geospatial analysis to improve water affordability and accessibility in U.S. cities. Prior to his time at MIT, he worked at Ceres, a Boston-based sustainability non-profit, engaging with institutional investors working on environmental, social, and governance issues through the Ceres Investor Network. He was also an outreach and education fellow at the Center for EcoTechnology, where he worked with households and small businesses to address energy efficiency and waste management challenges.

Contact Winn with questions related to HERE4CJ and Pathways to Green Schools.

Assistant Project Manager

Isabelle Coupet

she/her/hers

Isabelle supports Green Building United’s Building Energy Performance Program and helps to grow and support the Philadelphia 2030 District. She holds a bachelor's in architectural engineering from Drexel University. Isabelle is interested in sustainable building practices and designs for the purpose of developing and implementing sustainability goals.

Program and Policy Director

LeAnne Harvey

she/her/hers

LEED Green Associate

LeAnne (she/her) oversees the development, implementation, and evaluation of Green Building United's programming and policy work, working closely with staff, board, and volunteers 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 and serves on the program committee with Historic Fair Hill. LeAnne is an ELP Senior Fellow and Climate Reality Leader.

Contact LeAnne with questions related to programs and policy.

Program Manager

Sophia Winston

she/her/hers

LEED Green Associate

Sophia Winston (she/her) is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh (’16) and has a Master’s of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania (’21) where she concentrated in Land Use & Environmental Planning and focused on the intersection of data and planning for climate resilience. In 2018 she was selected as a Fulbright Grantee to Brazil and became interested in sustainable development and land use planning during her time spent there. As Program Manager, Sophia manages the organization’s building energy benchmarking programs and is developing a capacity-building program for local organizations to incorporate climate resilience and sustainability practices into design, construction, and operations. She also assists with the implementation of the Philadelphia 2030 District and Building Energy Performance Program.

Muscoe Martin Fellow

Tian Tian

she/her

Tian is a master's student in the Environmental Architectural Design Program at the University of Pennsylvania. She obtained her bachelor's degree in architecture from Tongji University. She is mainly interested in passive design strategies and data analysis.

Born in Yichang, a small Chinese city, Tian grew up with an interest in wildlife. During her undergraduate, she participated in a research design studio, where she applied animal warm-keeping strategies to architectural design. Physics served as the bridge connecting architecture and ecology. Due to this studio, she was strongly appealed by the practical, data-based design method dedicated to improving the global environment, and came to EBD to continue her pursuit.

Tian focuses on the balance of human needs and natural resources. She tries to make use of local climatic conditions and materials to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions while protecting surrounding habitats. She is equipped with knowledge of sustainable strategies, building benchmarking, and other analytical simulation skills. Considering the climate and environmental issues are urgent to be addressed, she is now learning how to apply what she has acquired about green building to projects, dealing with climate change and energy shortage.