Angela Brooks, FAIA, ENV SP, LEED bd+c
Principal, Brooks Scarpa Huber Architects

Angie was the first woman ever to be awarded the AIA California Maybeck Award for exemplary achievement in architectural design and ‘a different kind of legacy’. She is a powerful advocate for the rich, multivalent impact of good design. Angie sees architecture as an instrument for the triple bottom line and the delivery vehicle for space that encourages communities to flourish. She has pursued advancing ideas beyond buildings that promote larger societal wellbeing through policy organizations and she has worked selflessly for her profession through the local, state and national organizations. She is a recognized leader in the field of environmental and social-equity design and is responsible for her firm’s development in the area of housing and policy, leading initiatives and overall firm management. Practicing architecture for 35 years, she has garnered mainstream recognition in print and media, such as Newsweek Magazine and her USA Network 2010 Character Approved Award; she advocates for good design, good policy, density and livable communities and she lectures extensively on these topics.

Angela received the National AIA Young Architects Award in 2009 and her firm has received more than thirty National AIA Awards, six Top Ten Green (COTE) Awards, the State of California and National AIA Architecture Firm of the Year Award in 2010, the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award in Architecture in 2014, the HIVE 50 Innovator Award in 2017 and 2020 and the 2022 National AIA Gold Medal, the AIA’s highest honor, for their “pioneering brand of architecture that profoundly enriches the human experience.” Angela was 2018 Chair of the National AIA’s Committee on the Environment (COTE). In 2020, Angie received recognition as a Citizen Architect by AIA National, was awarded the 2020 AIALA Presidential Citizen Architect Award. Angie and her partner Larry received the 2022 AIA Gold Medal, for their significant influence on the theory and practice of architecture and Angie currently sits on the Strategic Council of the AIA.

Dean Maltz, AIA – Managing Partner, Shigeru Ban Architects

Dean Maltz is the Managing Partner of Shigeru Ban Architects, an award-winning architectural firm led by Shigeru Ban, his longtime friend and business partner of more than 40 years. Dean is responsible for executing Shigeru’s creative vision for sustainable projects throughout North America. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture from The Cooper Union School of Architecture and a Master of Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Dean is a vocal proponent of mass timber construction as a sustainable alternative to concrete and steel. He is a frequent lecturer and public speaker, advocating for low-carbon design practices. Maltz is an industry leader in sustainable design and construction and is a licensed architect in seven U.S. states.
Maltz has led multiple award-winning projects, including the 2025 AIA New York Awards for the Cast Iron House, the 2017 AIA National Honor Award–winning Aspen Art Museum (completed in 2014), and the 2012 AIA New York Architectural/Technological Innovation Award for the Metal Shutter House.

He currently oversees the design and construction of a 17-story hotel and shopping center in Hangzhou, China; a 19-story hybrid mass timber residential condominium in Vancouver; a 14-story residential condominium in Miami; and a single-story pre-K wood structure in Maui. His most recent humanitarian project is in Los Angeles for the CORE Center for Community, responding to the devastating forest fires of January 2025.
Dean is the recipient of the AIA Henry Adams Certificate of Merit, (1984), the American Society of Furniture Designers 2005 Pinnacle Award, and the 2025 Peter Cooper Public Service Award (2024)

Kyle Fiano, AIA, CPHT, LFA – Builder & Architect

With a background as both a builder and architect, Kyle brings a comprehensive perspective to the design and construction process. His work reflects a deep sensitivity to the regional environment and an applied understanding of building science, the local climate, and local trades. He is committed to thoughtful material choices and careful resource management, ensuring projects are both responsive and responsible. Kyle’s experience spans all stages of architecture — from concept design through construction documents to hands-on building — allowing him to bridge vision and craft with a truly integrated approach.

Avideh Haghighi, AIA, LFA
Founder, ZEROHOUZ Design + Development

Avideh Haghighi is the founder of ZEROHOUZ, a design + development company focused on decarbonizing the existing housing stock through high-performance, all-electric retrofits. An award-winning green architect with 15 years of experience, she has led the design and delivery of cutting-edge net-zero buildings, including the May Lee State Office Complex for the California Department of General Services, the largest all-electric Net Zero Carbon facility in the nation. Avideh now applies lessons from large-scale zero-energy commercial projects to transform ordinary homes into extraordinary spaces that are beautiful, non-toxic and deeply sustainable.

Izumi Tanaka, Green Realtor, LEED Associate, LFA, Certified Electric Coach
Associate, San Francisco

Izumi Tanaka is a GREEN realtor® and a Change Agent with Real Broker. As a GREEN realtor, LEED Green Associate, LFA, Certified Electric Coach, she serves the Southern California area.
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Izumi is committed to educating city and suburban dwellers in living mindfully to honor our natural resources. Her vision is to wed mindful living with the built environment, and ultimately create thriving communities that promote health and resiliency for all of us as well as our planet. As an influencer in the real estate industry, she promotes the benefits of green home living. As a green home advisor, through her podcast Home Green Homes, she helps homedwellers improve their home’s efficiency and comfort whether they stay or sell. As a GREEN realtor®, she helps buyers find homes with green potential and regenerative features. As a real estate investor, she transforms homes into healthy living environments.

Dalton Ho – Senior Regenerative Design Advisor, Senior Associate, Perkins&Will

Dalton brings over 10 years’ experience managing projects pursuing advanced resilient, regenerative, and decarbonized design strategies. He leads the co-firm’s high-performance design team, implementing early-stage building assessment to accelerate performance. He also co-leads Perkins&Will’s embodied carbon working group, sharing firmwide expertise in whole-life carbon reduction within the built environment. He is subject-matter expert on a breadth of issues ranging from decarbonization and climate change initiatives, to material health and occupant wellness. Dalton leads complex stakeholder teams and identifies holistic, practical, and actionable goals and targets across a variety of work including master plan sustainable design policy guidelines, district-scale energy, water and waste studies, and several net-zero energy and water projects.

Madeline Gradillas, RA, LEED AP BD+C
Associate, Atelier Ten, San Francisco

Madeline is an Associate of the San Francisco office and the A10 US Environmental Design Practice Leader. As a registered architect, she has a unique understanding of the integration of architecture and sustainability. With expertise in daylight and thermal comfort analysis, she focuses on creating comfortable spaces that improve occupant experience, increase performance and meet the design vision. Madeline has worked on many of Atelier Ten’s projects that prioritize comfort. She provided daylight analysis to optimize the custom shading for 633 Folsom in San Francisco, the daylight design for NVIDIA Voyager in Santa Clara and iterative daylight, glare and thermal comfort studies for the Uber Mission Bay Headquarters. Madeline received her BArch from the University of Arizona, then worked for several years at Rick Joy Architects (now Studio Rick Joy) before coordinating design studios and building technology courses at the University of Arizona. She also has a Master of Science in Architectural Studies (SMArchS) in Building Technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Maggie Messerschimidt – Resilience Associate, Arup

Maggie Messerschmidt is a Resilience Associate at Arup, where she supports the public and private sectors in preparing for and responding to climate change. Maggie has led influential work on heat action and climate adaptation planning in the US and internationally. Her approach to climate resilience involves using strategic planning, systems thinking, and evidence-backed decision making to advance viable solutions that create value to communities. Maggie recently supported the City of Los Angeles with their Heat Action Framework, and the City of New Orleans with their Heat Action Plan. She also works with C40 Cities and shipping industry stakeholders on the transition to clean marine fuels. And she works with water and transportation sectors on prioritizing adaptation measures to mitigate climate impacts. Maggie holds an M.S.E.S. (Environmental Science) and an M.P.A. (Public Affairs) from Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Hafsa Burt, FAIA, LEED Fellow
Principal, hb+a Architects

Hafsa Burt is a leading architect and policy advocate whose work has been at the forefront of high‑performance, resource‑efficient projects. Working collaboratively with peers across disciplines, she has advanced embodied carbon reduction, indoor air quality, and zero energy building design through both built projects and policy efforts.
Her leadership on embodied carbon has helped bring life cycle assessment, carbon benchmarking, and low‑carbon procurement into everyday practice, closing the gap between research, regulation, and real projects. Hafsa’s work is grounded in a rigorous approach to indoor environmental quality, pairing advanced ventilation strategies with low‑emission materials and continuous air quality monitoring to safeguard occupant health.

Her portfolio includes a 1.1‑million‑square‑foot mixed‑use project for Microsoft and the fast‑track Secure Connector project at San Francisco International Airport, along with a wide range of commercial, civic, and transit projects across California. Her efforts have consistently reflected a practice committed to technical excellence, climate action, and human‑centered design.

Pablo La Roche, Ph.D., Intl. Assoc. AIA, LEED AP BD+C – Principal & Global Sustainable Design Director, ARCADIS & Professor of Architecture, Cal Poly Pomona

Pablo La Roche is a Principal & Global Sustainable Design Director at ARCADIS and a Professor of Architecture at Cal Poly Pomona where he was also interim Director of the Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies. He holds a Ph.D. from UCLA and has authored or co-authored over 150 technical papers, book chapters, and books, including the third edition of Carbon Neutral Architectural Design (2024). Pablo has more than 30 years of professional experience implementing sustainable, low-carbon strategies in projects of all sizes. He has been a keynote speaker in conferences, a podcast speaker, a member of competition juries, technical reviewer and session chair in conferences for AIA, PLEA, ARCC, USGBC, ASES. In 2013 he was Co-Curator of the exhibit “Technology and Environment: The Postwar House in Southern California” part of the Getty series Pacific Standard Time and in 2016 he chaired the Passive Low Energy Architecture PLEA conference in Los Angeles. He was president of the Society of Building Science Educators (SBSE) and chair of the solar buildings division of ASES. He is a registered architect in Venezuela and an International Associate AIA and BD+C accredited professional. His work has been recognized multiple awards, including the Volunteer IMPACT Award from the USGBC, the EDUCATE Prize in Rome in 2012, the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) Grand Prize in 2008, finalist in the 2016 Biennale Land Art Generator Initiative design competition for Santa Monica, “25 Bioclimatic Buildings for Tenerife” in Spain, and with CRTKL was part of the team that received and AIALA NextLA 2021 citation award for terminal II at Guadalajara airport. His carbon-neutral design studio was selected for Architecture’s 2030 Curriculum Project, and his students have also received awards in architecture competitions, including the COTE Top Ten for Students awards program, AIAS/COTE 2012 Research Scholar, the Pasadena and Foothill Chapter of the AIA, Emerging Green Building Competition, Los Angeles Architectural Awards, AIA Inland Chapter 2009 Awards, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Leading Edge, and Drylands Exhibit with the A+D museum.

Abigail Coover – Architectural Designer, Educator, & Director of Overlay Office

Abigail Coover is an architectural designer, educator, and director of Overlay Office, a practice integrating design, development, and project management to advance community-led, climate-responsive work at the neighborhood scale. Her projects emphasize adaptive reuse, material experimentation, and participatory processes that support environmental resilience, social connection, and inclusive public space. She is also a co-founder of Common Form, a female-led development team focused on crafting sustainable cities through equitable, design-driven urban transformation. Abigail is a founding member of WIP Collaborative, an award-winning feminist design cooperative, and a founding board member of Design Advocates, where she advances design research and advocacy in service of the public good. She holds a Master of Architecture from Yale University and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Virginia, and has taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Yale School of Architecture, and Pratt Institute, where she is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor.

Monte Hilleman
Vice President of Environmental Resiliency, Compliance & Investment, SIG

Monte Hilleman leads the Climate Investment Solutions department at SIG, specializing in market-based strategies to finance decarbonization. He helps owners analyze sustainable finance opportunities, creates Implementation Roadmaps and provides related Advisory Services. His expertise includes incentives through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Investment Tax Credit, PACE and green bank financing, and braiding these and other tools into conventional commerical real estate/owner financing.
Previously, Monte spent nearly two decades at the Saint Paul Port Authority, managing a 21-business center portfolio with 550+ companies and 25,000+ employees and spearheading their sustainable development mission. He led large-scale redevelopment projects, including ‘The Heights’—a Platinum certified LEED for Communities, 112-acre, 2M sq. ft. Net Zero Energy community. His projects spanned 200+ acres, attracting $125M in public investment and $1.5B in private capital.
An industry-recognized leader, Monte has been named Brownfield Renewal Magazine’s Person of the Year and a Business Journal Forty Under 40 honoree. He holds a MN Commercial Real Estate Broker license and is a frequent industry speaker.

Ravel Ravel – Genentech

Ravel joined Genentech’s Facilities & Engineering (F&E) team in 2024 as a Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for Design & Construction (D&C) commercial portfolio projects, most recently supporting the B38 Security Building. He previously spent six years with JLL on the South San Francisco Genentech account as a Lead Project Reliability Engineer. In that role, he oversaw nearly 40 projects, managed a team of engineers to ensure data accuracy during project turnovers, and led the Switchgear Maintenance and Facility Condition Assessment (FCA) programs. Ravel’s background also includes five years as a Reliability and Field Service Engineer in the semiconductor industry. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from San Jose State University.

Marco Alves, PE, LEED AP – Principal, PAE Engineers

Marco has 26 years of experience in mechanical systems design and project management. A skillful engineer and excellent communicator, he continually seeks to improve project team coordination and collaboration. A LEED Accredited Professional, Marco has been involved in the design of numerous energy-efficient and LEED-certified projects. His sustainable design experience includes horizontal and vertical geothermal heat-exchange fields, dedicated heat-recovery chillers, enthalpy recovery devices, dedicated outside-air systems, and solar thermal arrays for pools and space heating. He has provided expertise for a wide range of project types, including commercial office, laboratory, hospital, educational, and government facilities.

Ksenia Garrett – Architect & Designer

Ksenia Garrett has over seventeen years of experience designing Architecture for the public realm. She believes thoughtful design should be evident at every scale from massing to detail and that the relation of materials to each other and to their context plays a critical role in our perception of space. As a licensed architect, Ksenia brings knowledge of building codes and how they can be embodied, project design, presentation and quality control, staffing, contracts, specifications, coordination and construction administration. Ksenia strives to create timeless designs that perform for the public.

Siobhán Burke, AIA, LEED AP
Executive Director, 99 Neighborhoods Network
Principal, Lyric Design & Planning

Siobhán Burke, is the Executive Director of the 99 Neighborhoods Network, a non-profit that envisions a streamlined process for building resilient placemaking initiatives. Whether adapting to climate impacts, wildfires, or tourism strains from global events, 99NN connects communities through networks of healthy waterways, streetscapes, parks, and plazas that are by and for everyone. One of Siobhán’s favorite public spaces is Stoneview Nature Center in the Baldwin Hills.

Aaron Vaden-Youmans, AIA, LFA, ENV SP – North American Sustainability Lead, Grimshaw Architects

Aaron Vaden-Youmans, AIA, LFA, ENV SP is the North American Sustainability Lead at Grimshaw Architects, where he advances climate action and regenerative design grounded in science and equity. Guided by the ethic of a Safe and Just Passage—the conviction that securing stability within planetary boundaries and building systemic social-ecological-technical resilience across all scales are inseparable from fulfilling justice across all peoples and generations—he brings this framework to bear on both global practice and local action.

An architect and optimist, Aaron believes we can build the world we need and want by forming tighter, more durable coalitions and finding new synergies to expand our bench of allies. He brings 20+ years of experience shaping bold, high-impact projects globally, including the Terra Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, Miami’s Frost Museum of Science, and ASU’s Walton Center for Planetary Health.

Closer to home, Aaron has put these principles into practice in his Del Rey neighborhood of Los Angeles, working through the Del Rey Neighborhood Council Green Committee to co-create proactive resilience strategies with residents—work he hopes can serve as a model for citywide action. Together with fellow architect Siobhán Burke, he has called on the design profession to move from reactive to proactive resilience, partnering with community members, Neighborhood Councils, and the City’s Climate Emergency Mobilization Office to ensure that the most vulnerable neighborhoods are prepared before the next heat wave, fire, or flood.

He also serves on the National Steering Committee of US Architects Declare Climate, Justice, and Biodiversity Emergency.

Michael H. Anderson, AIA, NOMA – Architect, Author, & Urban Design Strategist – Principal, Anderson Barker

Michael H. Anderson, AIA, NOMA, is an architect, author, and urban development strategist with more than 45 years of experience advancing inclusive, community-centered housing and infrastructure solutions. A former board member of the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles and author of Urban Magic – Vibrant Black and Brown Communities Are Possible, his work focuses on aligning design, economic development, and climate resilience to strengthen historically underinvested communities.

Michael leads the Accelerated Housing and Transit Development (AHTD) Initiative, a $150 billion investment strategy to revitalize neighborhoods within a one-mile radius of 24 Metro light rail stations across Los Angeles County by enabling homeowners to convert single-family homes into income-generating courtyard fourplexes and ADUs—reducing vehicle miles traveled while promoting energy-efficient infill development.
Following the 2025 Eaton Fire, he launched the Altadena Rapid Housing Solution (ARHS) to help displaced families return to their properties through interim housing and to rebuild fire-resistant homes with climate-adaptive design. His firm’s work has received the Los Angeles Business Council Chairman’s Award, the Architizer A+ Jury Award, the AIA/LA Next LA Award, the AIA-LA Robert Kennard Award for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and the International Architecture Award.

Amee Bhatt, AICP, LEED AP – Director of Urban Design, John Kaliski Architects

Amee Bhatt is the Director of Urban Design at JKA. Her experience includes multi-family and mixed-use objective design standards, community character and design elements, complete streets and specific plans, and feasibility studies. Amee places a special emphasis on the quality of the public realm and strives to create active, engaging, and sustainable places.

Russell Fortmeyer – Sustainable Design Leader, Arup (North America)

Russell Fortmeyer is the sustainable design leader for Arup in North America. He has a BS in architectural engineering from Kansas State University and an MA in Architecture from the University of California, Los Angeles. His career encompasses sustainable practices at all scales, including large-scale urban master plans, climate action plans for cities, and sustainable design and building physics analysis, in addition to leading multi-disciplinary engineering teams on complex projects. Russell is also an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California’s School of Architecture, where he teaches courses on resilient design and thermal environments. He previously taught environmental systems at the Southern California Institute of Architecture for over 10 years, where his courses focused on urban microclimates, circular economy approaches to design, and zero carbon architecture. In 2014, he published a book on façade design, Kinetic Architecture, that explored emerging models of active and robotic façade systems to reduce energy demand in buildings. He also currently serves as a contributing editor for Architectural Record. Russell has been a longtime collaborator with the architect Doris Sung, who is leading the Facades for Public Health: Smog-Eating Panels research team that was awarded the AIA College of Fellows Latrobe Prize for 2025. With Sung, he was also part of a 2016 Bellagio Fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation to advance their study of air quality in urban public spaces. In 2023, Russell was made a LEED Fellow from the US Green Building Council.

Russell’s work in design varies from installations to large-scale buildings. In 2019, he was the curator of the US Pavilion, RECKONstruct, at the Milan Triennale, which focused on materials lifecycle assessments and the emerging circular economy. As a longtime sustainability consultant for the State Department, he developed the net zero energy design for the new US Embassy in Beirut, which is a LEED ND-certified compound targeting a LEED Platinum rating for the main embassy building with a comprehensive carbon reduction plan accounting for operational energy, water, mobility, and materials. His other built work includes the Seattle Public Library, Loma Linda University Medical Center, and the LEED-Platinum-certified Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center. Russell also directed the technical team for the Green New Deal for the City of Los Angeles released in 2019, which mapped a pathway to zero emissions by 2050.

Jennifer Koster – CEO, WorkWell Holdings, Entrepreneur, & Builder

Jennifer Koster is a seasoned entrepreneur and builder with over 20 years of experience leading integrated construction and real estate ventures across the U.S. and internationally. As Founder and CEO of WerkWell Holdings, she oversees a vertically integrated platform focused on delivering high-performance, sustainable buildings and communities. Her portfolio spans healthcare, hospitality, mixed-use, and infrastructure, and includes more than $500M in executed projects. Jennifer is known for aligning capital, teams, and technology to deliver measurable outcomes with precision. With expertise in system-based development, ESG frameworks, and next-generation construction methods, Jennifer leads cross-functional teams through every phase of design and delivery. She excels at managing complexity, de-risking capital deployment, and scaling climate-aligned infrastructure. Her ability to operationalize innovation and align stakeholder objectives makes her a trusted partner to institutional investors and public-private entities alike.

Brian Wickersham, FAIA, NCARB, LEED AP – Founding Partner, Design Director, AUX Architecture

Brian Wickersham, FAIA, is the founding partner of AUX Architecture. With more than 20 years of experience, he creates meaningful spaces that promote creativity and community. Bringing both rigor and spontaneity to his designs, he cultivates research and collaboration in his Los Angeles studio to produce bespoke architecture that best serves client needs. He likens this robust process to jazz: improvisational and collective. AUX Architecture’s diverse body of work includes award-winning residential and multifamily homes, retail environments, art galleries, and education and cultural arts centers. A native of the Pacific Northwest, Brian strives to mitigate architecture’s impact on the environment. He integrates care and sustainability into all aspects of the studio.

Alison MacCracken – Fire Rebuild Liaison, Crest Real Estate

Alison MacCracken serves as Fire Rebuild Liaison at Crest Real Estate, where she works at the intersection of homeowners, architects, builders, and government agencies to accelerate the rebuilding of fire-impacted communities in Los Angeles. Crest specializes in navigating complex entitlement and permitting processes, helping projects move efficiently and strategically from concept through construction.
A longtime real estate professional and community advocate, Alison guides property owners and development teams through the complex path of wildfire recovery by assembling the right experts, aligning design and permitting strategies, and helping families rebuild stronger, more resilient homes.
Based in Pacific Palisades, Alison is deeply engaged in community and professional groups dedicated to the recovery, helping connect fire survivors with the resources, teams, and strategic guidance needed to navigate one of the most challenging disaster recoveries.

J. Lopez – Retired Assistant Chief, Los Angeles County Fire Department

J. Lopez, retired Assistant Chief of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, now leads the California Wildfire Mitigation Program Authority. With over 39 years of wildfire protection, prevention, mitigation, and forest management experience, he champions wildfire resilience through home hardening, mitigation solutions, and vegetation management.
J holds advisory roles with the California Board of Forestry & Fire Protection, State Fire Marshal’s Office, Cal Poly Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Institute Advisory Council, and U.S. Green Building Council, among others.
A recipient of the SAF Presidential Outstanding Field Forester Award and the USGBC Resiliency Award, he has extensive emergency response and disaster management expertise.

Jeff Denholm – Founder & CEO of Strong Water Technologies & Home Dome

Jeff Denholm, is the Founder & CEO of Strong Water Technologies and Home Dome. He is an innovator, retired merchant marine, commercial diver and recently a USFS Engine Contractor. Jeff founded Strong Water out of an urgent need for innovation in the firefighting industry and to provide firefighters with better tools. Jeff’s experience battling catastrophic wildfires as a Region-6 USFS wildland Engine Contractor revealed to him critical failures of outdated toxic firefighting chemicals and the tactics that are tied to them. Witnessing the immense loss firsthand fueled his conviction: “We need to do better.”

Soham Patel – Sustainability Analyst, Practice

Soham Patel is a Sustainability Analyst at Practice, a design studio dedicated to co-creating environments that effect social change through design. Educated in architecture but now engaged in the climate crisis, their work imagines more resilient futures though nature-based solutions. Their work integrates these practices into K-12 schools, Affordable Housing, and Civic buildings.They serve as the Policy Co-Lead for the Carbon Leadership Forum Los Angeles Chapter and advocate for a circular design ecosystem as a board member of the non-profit ANEW and organizer for Circular SoCal.

Heidi Creighton, FAIA – Senior Design Manager, City of Santa Monica

As a Senior Design Manager at City of Santa Monica, Heidi Creighton is responsible for the planning, design, construction and management of capital improvements for architectural and park projects for city-owned facilities. The City’s goals to achieve water self-sufficiency, zero waste, and carbon neutrality require that sustainability be at the forefront of project management and serves as a catalyst for public sector leadership in building practices. In her role at Santa Monica, Heidi is also spearheading circular economy initiatives in the built environment, including the creation of Circular SoCal in coordination with AIA|LA, CLF-LA and USGBC CA. 

Maya White-Turre, AIA – Senior Associate & Project Manager, Gruen Associates

Maya White-Turre, AIA is a Senior Associate and Project Manager with Gruen Associates. With over 20 years of experience, Maya was the Senior Project Architect and Sustainability lead on the LAX/Metro Transit Center, which won design awards in architecture, sustainability, engineering and landscape architecture. Maya is Chair of the AIA|CA Embodied Carbon Working Group. She worked with the City of Santa Monica to organize its first conference on Circularity and to form Circular SoCAL in 2025. She previously worked with OMA and Morphosis. Maya received her BA from Harvard College and Master of Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Rachelle Habchi –  Low Carbon Products Lead at the Carbon Leadership Forum

Rachelle Habchi is a Low Carbon Products Lead at the Carbon Leadership Forum. With 7 years of experience as a structural engineer and previous director of sustainability at Glotman Simpson, she’s had the opportunity to work on a variety of structures, including K-12, higher education, multi-family residential, mixed-use development, and high-rise construction. She is the Chair of the SEAOSC Sustainability Design Committee, Co-Lead for CLF-LA and a member of the AIA California embodied carbon working group. She’s worked with jurisdictions and policymakers to help write local embodied carbon reach codes. Throughout her experience, participation in the SE 2050 program, and the passage of landmark embodied carbon policy, designing low-carbon structures and implementing more sustainable materials became an important and inevitable design consideration.