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Staff and Board
Staff
STAFF
Patty Rose, Executive Director
Patty is an experienced leader in the field of design for public service. As the Executive Director of Greenspace she creates and leads partnerships that integrate efforts from the development community and advocacy organizations to create more vibrant communities through the creation of affordable green housing and green neighborhoods. Her leadership efforts contributed to creating and passing the DC Green Building Act in 2006 and she is now focused on its successful implementation as a mayoral appointee to the DC Green Building Advisory Council.
She has previously been Assistant Director for an experimental College of Design, Art and Architecture in Santa Monica, CA. Patty also served as Special Assistant to the Executive Director and the Deputy Secretary of the Board of Commissioners for the regional transportation and development agency in St. Louis, MO during construction of the city's light rail system. She holds a degree in architecture from the University of California at Berkeley.
O'Shannon Burns, Operations Coordinator
O'Shannon developed her passion for green while living in India, where she saw environmental degradation affect the health of the human and natural worlds. While earning her degree in Geography, she focused on climate dynamics, impacts and solutions. She worked with the Centre County Community Energy Project to develop a greenhouse gas mitigation plan for the Borough of State College, performed watershed and climate fieldwork while in Brazil and Iceland, and assessed solutions to overcome split incentives in local rental housing for her thesis. After completing her degree, O'Shannon moved to DC for a prestigious internship with National Geographic's Research, Conservation and Exploration department, where she worked with both staff and research scientists to support National Geographic's non-profit mission of "inspiring people to care about the planet." This taste of the non-profit world led her to Greenspace, where she currently supports programs and operations with her knowledge of climate science and her passion for economically-sound, community-based green solutions.
BOARD
Jonathan R. Weinstein, Chair
As Chief Operating Officer and Vice President for Planning at The Jair Lynch Companies (JLC), Mr. Weinstein leads the firm's urban planning practice and helps direct its efforts to revitalize underserved neighborhoods through projects that provide places and opportunities for residents to live, work, play and learn within the community. He has worked closely with potential GreenHOME partner organizations via JLC's HOPE VI master planning for the DC Housing Authority, capital program management for the DC Department of Parks and Recreation, facilities planning for several public charter schools and development of mixed-income housing, both as a developer and as an owner's representative. Mr. Weinstein is a graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service (BSFS, 1990) and of the University of California at Berkeley's Haas School of Business (MBA, 1998). He currently serves on Manna, Inc.'s leadership committee, on the board of the MidCity Business Association, and speaks regularly at Nonprofit Finance Fund seminars on facilities planning and development for nonprofits.
Cliff Majersik, Secretary
Cliff Majersik is Executive Director of the Institute for Market Transformation, a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to catalyzing market forces to promote energy efficiency. Cliff researches and consults on the intersection of finance, property value, real estate and green buildings; he created and teaches seminars on the subject to appraisers and real estate agents. Cliff helps former Soviet Union countries adopt and implement energy efficient building codes and helps Chinese government agencies develop demand side management programs to promote energy efficiency. Cliff also heads the working group of the Cool Capital Challenge, a broad-based public-private partnership to take immediate actions to significantly reduce the national capital region's CO2 emissions.
Before joining IMT, he served as eBusiness Director for Conservation International's Center for Environmental Leadership in Business. Previously, Cliff worked as a management consultant at the Corporate Executive Board specializing in sales-channel management and E-commerce; he advised dozens of firms including Carrier, BNSF, Cisco, Corning, Coke, TECO, Texas Instruments, and Marriott. In 1994, Cliff founded a web-based collaboration software company, eventually growing the firm to over 20 employees. He is a graduate of Williams College.
Jalal Greene, Treasurer
Jalal "Jay" Greene is currently the Vice President and Director, Mid-Atlantic Region for The Community Builders, Inc. TCB is the largest nonprofit urban housing developer in the United States, with strong experience and capacities in planning, development, financing, construction management, property management and support services. As VP and Director, he directs and manages the development activities for the Mid-Atlantic Region, which includes development projects in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Prior to joining TCB, Mr. Greene was the Director of the DC Department of Housing and Community Development. He created the Site Acquisition Financing Initiative (SAFI) a below market site acquisition lending program for not-for-profit developers, leveraging $15 million Housing Production Trust Fund monies with private capital to create a $30 million pool of funding for low and moderate income housing. He revamped the Home Purchase Assistance Program and increased the Department's spending for the production of low and moderate-income housing by 70%. Mr. Greene holds a Masters in Business Administration from Pace University and a Masters in City and Regional Planning from Pratt Institute.
Jeff Barber
Jeff Barber is a managing director and architectural design director of Gensler's Washington, DC office. His focus on corporate headquarters projects and their campuses in the United States and in Europe has helped make him the firm wide co-leader of the Buildings and Campuses Practice Area. He is a LEED-accredited architect who has been a leader of the firm's committee on Sustainable Design for many years.
Bracken Hendricks
Bracken Hendricks is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress. He was founding Executive Director of the Apollo Alliance, a broad coalition within the labor, environmental, business, urban, and faith communities in support of good jobs and energy independence. Previously, he served in the Clinton Administration as a special assistant to the Office of Vice President Gore and with the Department of Commerce working on sustainable economic development, climate change, livable communities, and trade and environment issues. At the AFL-CIO, he worked as an economic analyst with the Working for America Institute and as a consultant to the Office of the President. He has served a member of the Cornell University Eco-Industrial Round Table, the Solar Circle, and Governor Ed Rendell's Energy Advisory Task Force. He is a Senior Strategist with the Breakthrough Institute, and has worked on many progressive political campaigns. Hendricks has a Master's Degree in Public Policy and Urban Planning from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Drew Langsam
Drew Langsam is the Business Development Manager for Turner Construction's Special Projects and Interiors Division. Turner is the nation's as well as Washington, DC's largest general contractor of commercial office buildings. Turner has constructed over 210 green projects worth over $13 billion. Drew is LEED accredited and is currently working on the renovation of Wheeler Terrace Apartments. This project, when completed, is expected to achieve a LEED Silver Certification and will be the first affordable housing project in the District to achieve LEED Certification.
Drew has worked with Turner for over ten years and has held several positions including Project Manager on several LEED Certified projects, Superintendent at the Washington Navy Yard, Project Engineer at the new DC Convention Center, and has also worked as a Cost Engineer. Alongside of his business development duties Drew also serves as Turner's Mid-Atlantic Green Champion. Drew was also part of the taskforce selected by the District of Columbia to help craft the DC Green Building Act. He has been a resident of the District for seven years and is also a member of the USGBC's National Capital Region chapter.
Drew graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering with a concentration in Environmental and Construction Management Engineering (1997).
Jeffrey Lesk
As Managing Partner at Nixon Peabody, Jeffrey Lesk concentrates his practice in matters relating to real estate syndication and securities, real estate acquisition, development, and finance, and government-assisted housing and community development. His practice has included structuring and implementing all aspects of public and private investment programs utilizing the low income housing tax credit and other federal, state, and local incentives. He has most recently concentrated on applying sustainable development techniques to affordable housing and community development transactions; he co-developed and co-chaired (with Enterprise Community Partners) the first national conference on this topic, which is now an annual symposium.
Mr. Lesk has lectured and written on various housing, community development and green development topics. He has served as the Community Economic Development Editor of the ABA Journal of Affordable Housing & Community Development Law and is on the advisory board of the Housing and Development Reporter. Mr. Lesk also served on the advisory board of the National Building Museum for their exhibit, "Affordable Housing - Designing an American Asset," which is now on a national tour, and is on the advisory board for their upcoming exhibit on Green Communities.
Previously, Mr. Lesk was a member of the firm of Lane and Edson, P.C., and, later, of counsel to Kelley Drye & Warren. He has served as an attorney at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, working with the Office of General Counsel and the Urban Development Action Grant Program.
Greg Melanson
Greg Melanson became Deputy Executive Director of Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ) in June 2009. He joined FONZ after 25 years at Bank of America and predecessor banks, serving in a variety of managerial positions in divisions focused on tax credits, low-income housing, community-based lending, commercial real estate, grantmaking, and other areas. Melanson has extensive leadership, management, and strategic planning experience, and expertise in managing teams of employees, assessing fundraising proposals, and serving as an organizational representative and spokesperson. He has also been actively involved in community issues, fundraising and serving on committees and boards of directors for nonprofit organizations that work on affordable housing, homelessness, Hispanic civil rights, and other issues. In addition, he has served on the FONZ board of directors. As FONZ's Deputy Executive Director, Melanson oversees and coordinates the organization's day-to-day operations, focusing on visitor and membership services; fundraising, education, and communication activities; and organizational development and performance. Melanson manages a staff of more than 300 full-time and seasonal employees who implement the Zoo's membership, volunteer, and education programs, host special events, raise funds for Zoo projects, and provide grants for Zoo staff and guest services for more than 2.5 million Zoo visitors annually. FONZ is a 501©(3) nonprofit corporation that generated more than $20 million in revenues in 2008. Melanson earned a bachelor of arts in business administration from Loyola College in Baltimore, and a master's of business administration from George Washington University.
Andrew Ness
Andrew Ness is a Partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Howrey LLP, a 700 attorney national law firm. His law practice is focused on the legal issues arising in the engineering and construction industries, and he has played a key role in numerous large infrastructure projects in Europe, Asia, South America, and the United States. Mr. Ness has been lead counsel on a wide variety of major construction and infrastructure project disputes. He is widely recognized for his expertise in resolving highly complex disputes on major projects, whether by way mediation or other alternative dispute resolution techniques, or by arbitration or litigation. He has handled many major cases in a wide variety or federal and state courts, and in both U.S. and international arbitrations. He is also active in drafting and negotiating contracts for a wide range of projects, including projects emphasizing use of Green design and construction practices. Andy has also long been active in the environmental remediation field, representing engineering firms and others engaged in a wide variety of cleanup and restoration projects, including Superfund sites, petrochemical industry contamination, and radioactive waste handling and disposal sites. Mr. Ness is chair of the Publications Committee (and a former member of the Governing Committee) of the ABA Forum on the Construction Industry, and is also a Fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers. Andy speaks frequently on construction law topics and has authored numerous articles, papers, and book chapters on related issues.
Joe Sternlieb
Joe Sternlieb is Vice President for Acquisitions at EastBanc, a developer of high quality mixed use projects in the District of Columbia. Joe's focus at EastBanc is the acquisition of transit- and service-friendly urban properties. Prior to joining EastBanc Joe served for 10 years as the deputy director of the Downtown DC Business Improvement District where he oversaw economic development, transportation, physical improvements and homeless programs, and led initiatives such as the DC Circulator, DC Wayfinding Sign System, and Downtown Homeless Services Center. As the Staff Director of the D.C. Council's Committee on Economic Development in the mid 1990's Joe managed a range of legislative initiatives including creation of the Washington Convention Center Authority, the Verizon Center, Industrial Revenue Bond Forward Commitments, and Business Improvement Districts. Joe co-founded DC Vote, currently serves on the board of DCBIA, and has served on 10 other DC boards and commissions dealing with issues ranging from planning and economic development to special education. Joe is a graduate of Connecticut College and has a masters degree in city planning from M.I.T.
Sally Wilson
Sally Wilson has more than 20 years of experience in the design of commercial interiors and base building renovations. In addition to Brokerage, Ms. Wilson expanded the scope of her company responsibilities even further in 2007, taking on the newly-created role of CBRE's Global Director of Environmental Strategy. In this position, Ms. Wilson manages the strategy, implementation and communications related to CBRE's global environmental initiatives. She also serves as the company's primary spokesperson, is the liaison with CBRE's environmental partners, and leads the development of the firm's Environmental Sustainability practice group. Ms. Wilson is CBRE's representative to the U.S. Green Building Council and was the first licensed broker designated as LEED AP (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional). She served three years on the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Core and Shell steering committee. She has participated in the Carnegie Mellon Consortiums BID program, a research program that analyzes the benefits of green building systems and their effects on return on investment cost, productivity, absenteeism and turnover.