LOS ANGELES (January 26, 2026) The U.S. Green Building Council California (USGBC-CA) has selected its Board of Directors for 2025 – 2026, exhibiting the depth and geographic breadth of the statewide organization. The 30-person Board of Directors represents the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) community and includes changemakers from across the public and private sectors including banking and finance, construction, ESG, higher education, real estate, utilities, agencies, entertainment and non-profit.
Leading the Board is Christine Marez, Senior Vice President, Sustainability & ESG and Aviation, Transportation and Infrastructure, Cumming Group as Chair; and Jessie Buckmaster, Director of Sustainability, Hathaway Dinwiddie, is serving as Vice Chair.
New Board members include: Emily Alvarez, StopWaste; Gail Brager, UC Berkeley; Uris Giron, CSU Fresno; Celia Hoag, DPR Construction; Karin Perissinotto, CalPortland; Heather Rosenberg, Arup; and Audrey Vivant-Tang, NBCUniversal. (Complete information below.)
Additionally, Ben Stapleton is named Chief Executive Officer of USGBC-CA, having served as Executive Director since early 2019. With his new title, the organization has also elevated: Fernanda Zuin to Chief Operating Officer, Melanie Peck to Chief Programs Officer, Carrie Hester to Chief Development Officer and Colin Mangham to Chief eXperience Officer.
“The scope, scale, and impact of our work across California continues to grow and this will be a year where, despite the headwinds, we will dig even deeper, strengthening our regions and expanding our programming across the state,” states Stapleton. “We are grateful for the leadership of our Board, for the diversity of their perspectives to help guide our critical work to show that green buildings are more affordable, drive economic and workforce development, and are a critical part of a more resilient future for all.”
The 2025 – 2026 Board of Directors:
Christine Marez, Senior Vice President, Sustainability & ESG and Aviation, Transportation and Infrastructure, Cumming Group *
Jessie Buckmaster, Director of Sustainability, Hathaway Dinwiddie *
Monique Johnson, Senior Vice President, Director of Client and Community Partnerships; CRA Officer, Beneficial State Bank *
Elizabeth Carmichael, Founder | Chief Design & Development Officer, THE LAB SD, INC *
Gary Lai, Landscape Architect, Principal, Quixotic Nature-based Solutions * (Chair Emeritus) *
Emily Alvarez, Program Manager, StopWaste
Ravi Bajaj, Sustainability & ESG Manager, Transwestern
Gail Brager, Professor of Architecture, Director of the Center for the Built Environment (CBE), UC Berkeley
Rick Duarte, Construction and Engineering Sustainability Program, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Emily English, Sustainability Director, BNBuilders
Farrah Farzaneh, Executive Director, Facilities, Planning, Sustainability & Construction, San Bernardino Community College District
Mark Fuller, CEO Howard Building Corporation
Uris Giron, Assistant Professor of Interior Design, CSU Fresno
Avideh Haghighi, Founder, ZEROHOUZ
Jeff Herrera, Director of Impact and Asset Manager, Rising Realty Partners
Celia Hoag, Southwest Region Sustainability Leader, DPR Construction
Rhiannon Jacobsen, Managing Director, U.S. Market Transformation & Development, USGBC
Erik Johnson, Managing Partner, Grenite Sustainable Solutions
Nick Kassanis, President, Sustainable Investment Group
Robyn Mancell, CEO, Green Energy Solutions Holdings LLC
John Moore, Director of Development, Housing Authority of San Bernardino County
Marcela Oliva, Professor of Architecture and Environmental Design, LACCD / LATTC
Karin Perissinotto, Sustainability Manager, CalPortland
Paul Poirer, Principal Architect and Owner, Poirier + Associates Architects
Jacob Raykhelson, Senior Manager, Environmental Sustainability, The Walt Disney Company
Heather Rosenberg, Associate Principal, Arup
Jay Shipley, National Director of Public Sector Services, Roux
Audrey Vivant-Tang, Vice President, Sustainability, NBCUniversal
Megan White, Principal & Senior Sustainability Program Manager, Firecrown Advisors
Oren Wool, Principal, 108 Technologies
Candice Wong, Principal, Ten Over Studio
(* denotes Executive Committee)
The Board and new USGBC-CA structure will support the organization’s Strategic Plan (2025-28), seeing an opportunity for transformation across a state that is facing urgent environmental and social changes. With Board and Regional Leadership now spread out across the state, USGBC-CA’s programs, initiatives, and events are focused around the plan’s Strategic Pillars:
- Climate Action & Resilience
- Workforce Development & Education
- Community Building & Engagement
- Policy & Advocacy
- Operational Strategy
“I am proud of the work we have accomplished at USGBC-CA in these last two years of unifying California around a shared vision for a healthier, more sustainable future,” states Marez. “Together, we are demonstrating what’s possible when leadership, collaboration, and purpose come together to drive meaningful transformation across our communities.”
The recently termed-out or departing Board members include a group of highly engaged green building advocates who left a lasting legacy of commitment to innovation, equity and action. They are: Katherine Diamond, HDR Inc.; Ariel Fan, GreenWealth Energy Solutions; Kathleen Hetrick, BuroHappold Engineers; Sara Hickman, Leading Edge; Melissa Gutierrez-Sullivan, CIM Group; and Ryan Tinus, April Housing (formerly with LivCor).
The next signature USGBC-CA event is the 25th Annual California Green Building Conference, which will be held on May 28th, on the campus of UC Berkeley. The event is the largest and longest-running gathering of leading advocates across California’s public and private sectors, and has arguably become the West Coast’s premier green building experience.
