USGBC Board Candidate for Site Designer

Transcription

1 NAME TITLE EMPLOYER URL CITY/STATE USGBC CHAPTER CANDIDATE BIOGRAPHY Mark Robertson President - Landscape Architect MESA Landscape Architects, Inc. Little Rock, AR Arkansas Chapter I have demonstrated throughout my life a commitment to working towards improving the lives and environments of the world. My resume reflects this commitment through organizational membership but more importantly in deliverable results associated with active participation in my community, profession and various organizations. Careful review of my credentials, clearly demonstrates an attitude and belief in making a difference. I have been blessed to be a part of an exciting professional practice that has taken me around the world. As a result of my experiences I now have the opportunity to engage in sustainability discussions on an international stage and among rural and underdeveloped regions. I am committed to achieving project excellence and consistently have demonstrated a high level of performance. This experience when reviewed as a whole emphasizes my interest in working with small communities seeking improvement through thoughtful design and planning. I have used the benefits of owning my business to be able to give freely of my time to help others and believe as a result of my life s opportunities it is an obligation I gladly accept to serve when I can. Most important is understanding my commitment to my family and acknowledging the support they have given that has allowed me to be engaged and work diligently on solving issues and work towards building a better tomorrow. This life s work has often come at the expense of being away from home and I am appreciative of their support. GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CANDIDATE Why do you wish to serve on the USGBC Board of Directors? At the time of this application, I have been serving on the board for 7 months out of a 12-month term. I am just beginning to understand how the organization is evolving and operates. I want to continue serving on the board to participate and contribute to the ongoing evolution of the organization and believe I have made contributions in my limited time on the Board. In addition to being a site designer, I believe I represent numerous perspectives that will bring value and diverse experiences to the discussion and decision making of the organization. I believe my skills in broad visioning and holistic approach to problem solving as well as my experience in demonstrated leadership and consensus building is important and can be a positive contribution to the continued growth and success of USGBC. I believe a Board comprised of representation from diverse and collective professional, organizational and life experiences best serves the USGBC. I also believe it is important that the composition of the Board not be solely from large corporations and institutions but there also be representation from small business and community leaders. I have demonstrated on numerous occasions my commitment to service and want to help lead the USGBC in it s future endeavors. I want the world my daughter and future generations live in to not be burdened with the lack of sensitivity and poor choices of the past but for them and all generations to be able to live in a society that respects and acknowledges nature, the value of individuals and community and the relationship to the built environment. I believe my participation on the Board of USGBC will contribute to the betterment of the world in which we live and make a difference in the lives of those today and in the future. I encourage each person to look closely at the entirety of this application and if so inclined allow me the privilege of serving USGBC for a full term on the Board. Summarize your professional qualifications, knowledge, and experience of most relevance to USGBC's activities. Describe your senior management and executive-level experience. I have been a licensed landscape architect since 1989 and have over 30 cumulative years of related work experience in the building and development industry. I have been associated with USGBC since 2002 as we began to formulate the organization of an AR Chapter and have experience at all levels of the USGBC Organization from local chapter member and leader; regional council member to currently serving on the Board of Directors. I have considerable leadership

2 experience and have worked on numerous commissions, task forces, committees and other organizations to help create policy related to sustainability and conservation focused issues at the local, state and national levels. Additionally, I have international experience related to conservation work and have had leadership roles in these as well. I have successfully managed a design and planning practice and serve as President of the firm and have been an executive or senior management type role for over 20 years within this industry. Specify and describe your participation and leadership experience in any civic, environmental, and other organizations, as well as any of your affiliations, memberships, and accreditations, that may be pertinent to your leadership at USGBC. My leadership experience has been diverse and extends over several decades. I have consistently held leadership roles in nearly every organization in which I have participated dating back to my time as a student at the University of Arkansas. I have referenced these various roles in other parts of this application. My experience in leadership roles includes numerous civic, environmental, professional as well as several other types of organizations. I believe most of these have been listed elsewhere in the application. In addition to the numerous accomplishments listed elsewhere, I completed a 2 year Leadership Program, LeadAR, administered by the University of Arkansas through Arkansas Cooperative Extension. As part of this program I completed over 64 days of training related to leadership skills and actions, completed a community service project (design and development of an Urban Forestry Nursery for the City of Little Rock), participated in both a national and international study program and worked on numerous topics related to community improvement in Arkansas. This is a highly competitive program and I was one of 34 selected to participate from across the State from I can unequivocally state it was a life transforming experience and instilled in me a renewed passion coupled with the tools and skills to serve and participate in my various communities as a citizen, professional and activist. While active prior to the LeadAR program, I benefitted from this experience and my attention to service was greatly enhanced and elevated. Furthermore, through these various leadership experiences, I have demonstrated the ability to facilitate discussions from broad perspectives on sometime contentious issues and build consensus around common goals and interests to help move ideas forward. The past 8 years have been exceedingly focused on consensus building to achieve tangible results on numerous fronts. What resources could you bring to help further participation in USGBC by diverse sectors? I am unsure of the intent of this question and openly acknowledge I have severe limitations in being able to provide financial resources to USGBC. However I have contacts in numerous organizations that I am willing to bring into the discussion and see how these various organizations might be able to support one another in their respective missions. I believe strongly in partnerships and collaboration and looking beyond the obvious. As an example, I am discussing with a friend who works for an international trust how USGBC and this organization might collaborate and if this trust might have any interest in support. I frequently engage in discussions related to my activities and the USGBC in particular and always explore opportunities for either membership or other collaborative opportunities. As a result of my work on social justice and rural development issues within the State of Arkansas, I have slowly developed a network of individuals and organizations from diverse populations across the State. My involvement with the AR Public Policy Panel is another means of developing partnerships with diverse communities and areas often underserved. I am proud to acknowledge a relationship I have been developing with Philander Smith College (an HBCU) through USGBC activities has resulted in the President of Philander Smith College telling me in a meeting to discuss the newly launched Diversity Mentoring Initiative, that his institution has committed to a LEED Silver minimum certification on all future buildings including a new dormitory about to be completed. I am not claiming to be solely responsible for this, but have played a role in developing this relationship. I also continue to work with non-profits and neighborhood community organizers from Little Rock to address revitalization and opportunity for struggling neighborhoods suffering from blight, crime, unemployment and general neglect. Relationships take time and nurturing and I have been working on this for several years. I think these are all resources and experiences I can utilize while serving on the Board and which can ultimately benefit USGBC in numerous ways in addition to the obvious and always appreciated cash contribution. RELEVANT EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS FOR SITE DESIGNER How can you help further the USGBC strategic goals of Sustainable Cities and Communities, Climate and Natural Resources, and Green Building Marketplace? I have been actively engaged in furthering these goals at the local, state, regional and national level. I have been part of advocacy efforts on all of these topics and work specifically on transformation of community at the local level by organizing and collaborating on community redevelopment efforts, organizing a urban agriculture program based on the successful model of Growing Power in Milwaukee to provide locally produced foods, training, investment in human capital

3 and communities and transforming Little Rock into a more sustainable community. I am an active participant on several boards, commissions, task forces and committees and always seek an opportunity to bring the vision and mission of USGBC into the discussion of all three of these topics. I think review of other questions in this application help demonstrate this further. I believe these are all strongly related and it is somewhat difficult to try and separate these different areas from one another. It is my intent, regardless of the election outcome, to continue working toward advancing these goals at all levels and to utilize the growing network of personal contacts including organizations, businesses and individuals to continually engage in discussion and move to action the vitally important goals of USGBC. What are your local, national, and global experiences and skills in each of the following USGBC core competencies (as described in the USGBC Strategic Plan): Leadership & Transformation, Outreach, and Collaboration? I believe I bring a broad range of local, national and global experiences to the Board in all three core competency areas as described above. Additionally, I believe it is difficult to separate these experiences into distinctly different silos but instead I have found them to be strongly integrated and requiring attention and experience in all three to enact positive change. Nearly every activity in which I engage includes all three of the competencies. From a local Chapter perspective, I was one of a small group of individuals who collectively gathered to establish the Arkansas Chapter of USGBC in I am a past Chair of the Arkansas Chapter and have remained an active participant on the Advocacy and Diversity Committees as well as the Advisory Board for the Chapter. I represented Arkansas on the Southeast Regional Council from it s beginning in 2006 until I was elected to the Board position from SERC at the end of I have organized and chaired several programs, including the three-day Diversity, Sustainability and Opportunity A Green Collar Initiative in 2009 on behalf of the AR Chapter. I am currently working on the development of several Student USGBC Chapters in Central AR with the goal of the four Chapters functioning as a single chapter comprised of students from 4 different institutions. This project will create a collaborative environment where students from Philander Smith College, Arkansas Baptist College (2 small Historic Black Colleges and Universities), the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the vibrant and rapidly expanding Pulaski Technical College can work together and develop programs and projects to engage a broad range of student and professional disciplines. I believe when fully developed this will provide a model of collaboration for other communities where multiple institutions of higher education are located. As mentioned elsewhere in the application, I have organized and am chairing the Community Empowerment through Local Foods initiative. I am working with several non-profits to lead this effort once the strategic planning has been completed. It is the intent of the project to utilize local food production as the means to educate and empower underserved neighborhoods and work with individuals needing hope for a brighter future. I believe it is the people of neighborhoods that make a community and the built environment needs to be responsive to those who reside in these communities. It is this belief in community that brought me into the USGBC to begin with as I see a strong correlation and relationship between the buildings, people and environment and think USGBC is perfectly poised to more fully integrate these ideas in a holistic approach to community development. Additionally, I am a founding member of the Little Rock Sustainability Commission and currently serve as a member and immediate past Vice-Chair and am an active participant on the Built Environment and Land Use Committee and am a Founding Board Member of the recently organized Sustainable Business Network of Central Arkansas. I have demonstrated leadership at the State level by serving on the AR Legislative Task Force on Sustainable Buildings since I drafted the legislation that created the Task Force and we have been successful in creating legislation related to establishing aggressive energy and water conservation requirements for State buildings both new and existing. As a Task Force member I am currently leading the effort to create a statewide Energy Improvement District for Arkansas which will include several funding mechanisms to bring to scale clean renewable energy development and energy conservation programs for residential, small industrial and commercial properties. I have also been serving in an advisory role to AR Workforce Development and Community and Technical Colleges related to the creation of Green Job Training and Social Equity. I currently serve and participate in the Arkansas Public Policy Panel and Arkansas First Citizen s Congress advocating for sustainable communities and social equity. I have found this organization a great opportunity to collaborate with many grassroots organizations across the State working on numerous issues related to environment, education, civil rights, and health and community development and to engage them in conversations about sustainable buildings, schools and communities. The membership of these groups is diverse and represents a large number of underserved rural communities across Arkansas and especially the Delta region. As a Steering Committee member I am in a position to help bring a number of diverse issues and backgrounds to focus on solutions and serve regions of the State that are not always fully represented. Participation in APPP and AFCC allows

4 me to be in a position to influence public policy and engage in discussions that bring these diverse interests together and better understand how they relate to one another. I have been fortunate in being selected to participate in national advocacy efforts related to creating a strong national energy plan focused on clean renewable energy and climate policy. I was one of 15 persons asked to participate in a 3-day advocacy meeting in DC sponsored by National Audubon. As a result of this I have strengthened my relationship with several Senators and Representatives and have become recognized as a resource for information related to sustainable buildings, energy policy, climate change, green jobs and community opportunities. This year I traveled to Haikou, China as a consultant to a large developer to discuss sustainable strategies for future projects. I am also discussing these practices and beliefs to several companies involved in international development and rebuilding efforts globally. Since 1998 I have worked closely with the Foundation for the Conservation of the Chiquitano Forest and the Friends of Nature organizations working on creating and envisioning sustainable development solutions that engage local communities in economic development opportunities while protecting vast tracts of pristine and fragile environments in Bolivia. These activities represent the triple bottom line, as they are a solution based on creating economic opportunity, social equity and protecting natural areas. My experience in Bolivia pre-dates my membership in USGBC but exemplifies what I have known to be true and the responsible approach for many years. From I served on the Bolivian Conservation Fund Board of Directors focusing on partnerships to strengthen conservation efforts in Eastern Bolivia. I believe strongly in advocating for transformation of our industry and have demonstrated this commitment for many years in my practice, professional and personal activities as well as community involvement. I use my opportunities when in front of policy makers, individuals or the public in general to find the ways to discuss the importance of these topics and the need to address them in a meaningful way. I believe the descriptions included above clearly convey my ability to work with organizations of diverse backgrounds and perspectives and to build consensus on change and transforming communities. Nearly every example listed has meant true collaboration was required to solve problems and move forward with a common goal. Describe your role as a civil engineer, landscape architect or designer, site planner, urban designer, town or urban planner, or horticulturist who has supervisory responsibility and decision-making control over the integration of sustainability requirements into the design, construction, and maintenance of sites. As the owner of MESA Landscape Architects, Inc., I have the responsibility to ensure every project we participate on as a company incorporates sustainable practices and seeks to minimize impacts as a result of project development. My education and experience as a landscape architect, horticulturist and plant ecologist provides me the basis of understanding the principles and technology as well as the field experience to successfully integrate these concepts into our practice. Additionally, we look for every opportunity to restore the natural functions of a site if possible and to improve existing and often degraded conditions on what are typically already previously developed sites. Nearly every project we become involved in includes one or more of the following components: conservation messaging, interpretation, education, restoration or sustainability. The best projects include multiples or all of these concepts. This belief in striving to transform our practices related to how we develop as a society and culture goes back to my early teenage years in the mid 1960 s. At an early age I became interested in alternative building ideas, renewable energy, environmental concerns, sustainable living and social equity and related ideas and it has been at the core of my belief system for over 40 years. It has been a lifelong journey of education and exploration and I am confident it will continue for the remainder of my life. I use every project as an opportunity to engage clients or other design team members in options related to the built environment and have never limited my role to solely solve site issues but am active in the discussion of most aspects of a project. I regularly facilitate conversations related to projects to discuss energy and water performance as well as material choices and environmental considerations. I frequently engage in discussions related to building design and performance and how this can be more fully integrated with site issues to achieve appropriate solutions to development challenges. Most of what we provide in terms of sustainable practices is and has been just the standard approach to project development. I have the opportunity to influence the final decisions on most site issues through grading solutions, irrigation, plant selection, site clearing and preservation and maintenance choices. I do not consider a project to be a sustainable project necessarily, but rather strive to bring responsible design solutions to every project to minimize impacts on future generations and to try and restore remnants of a severely compromised natural system. Do you have at least three years of experience working in a principal role on LEED certified projects and/or in site restoration, remediation, and regenerative design? Please describe, including relevant dates Yes, I have had the responsibility for leading the site design and/or consulting efforts on the following projects. Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality State Headquarters, LEED-NC Gold (2008) Argenta CDC LEED-Homes Gold (an affordable homes pilot project with consulting provided by AR Chapter members) (2007)

5 Powers of AR Corporate Office, LEED-NC Registered (2008) Ritter Communication Corporate Headquarters, LEED-NC, Registered (2010) Target Silver; 1900 Cantrell Building, a soon to be LEED Registered with Silver target (2010) Toledo Zoo Aquarium, proposed LEED-NC Registered, target Silver (2010) Private affordable residence, proposed LEED-Homes, target Gold Work on sustainable or restorative sites has stretched over a 25-year practice as a landscape architect. Most recent are: Several shoreline and stream bank restoration projects for Arkansas State Parks ( ) Botanical Garden of the Ozarks (2007) Arkansas Natural Heritage projects Pritzker Family Children s Zoo at Lincoln Park Zoo (2006) included numerous practices related to sustainable design features including living roof and walls, storm water solutions, native landscapes, etc.; A 25-year history of applying appropriate strategies related to native landscapes, restoration, storm water management, living roofs (designed 7 to date), etc. Additionally I have been a speaker at local, state and regional conferences, symposiums or similar events related to sustainable practices, green infrastructure, native plants, social equity, green jobs and similar topics. To which local, regional, or national professional organizations associated with the design, construction, and maintenance of sites do you belong? I am currently a Member of the following: US Green Building Council American Society of Landscape Architects Council of Landscape Architecture Registration Boards American Institute of Architects Association of Zoos and Aquariums American Public Gardens Association Arkansas Nurseryman s Association Arkansas Native Plant Society Association of Zoological Horticulture Previous membership in: Society for Ecological Restoration American Planning Association Florida Native Plant Society GENERAL CRITERIA FOR USGBC BOARD How have you demonstrated a material role in championing sustainability or green building within your organization? I wrote the legislation that created the AR Legislative Task Force on Sustainable Buildings in 2003 and continue to be active in developing state policy related to sustainable building practices. I co-chaired the Task Force from and have championed several legislative initiatives that have been passed into law over the past 7 years. This has meant an incremental improvement in how State buildings are being designed, constructed and operated. I am currently leading the efforts related to the creation of a statewide Energy Improvement District to provide multiple options for financing of clean renewable energy and energy conservation improvements. I have also: Served on the City of Little Rock Sustainability Task Force City of Little Rock Sustainability Commission 2008-present and Vice Chair in Founding Member and Board of Directors Sustainable Business Network of Central AR 2009-present Chaired the USGBC AR "Diversity, Sustainability and Opportunity - A Green Collar Initiative" Symposium 2009 Been Elected to Steering Committee of the AR Public Policy Panel and AR First Citizens Congress to advocate on sustainable issues Been recognized by AR Business Journal as "Eco-Hero" in their 2009 Green Guide

6 Organizing Chair of the "Community Empowerment through Local Foods" 2009-present Featured speaker on sustainable issues for numerous conferences and meetings Served on the Advisory Board University of Arkansas School of Architecture , Chair and championed discussion regarding sustainability in the curriculum. All of these activities have brought attention to the Arkansas Chapter and helped establish the Chapter as a resource and leader in sustainable building and community development. Have you served on a USGBC National committee or working group within the past three years? If yes, please describe your role, participation, leadership experience, and dates of service on all of the USGBC National committees and working groups on which you have served. Yes. I was elected to the Board of Directors by the Southeast Regional Council to serve during I am a member of the Diversity Mentoring Initiative Working Group where I helped develop the newly launched Diversity Mentoring Initiative to partner college students with Board members and chapter leaders for a 12 month mentoring program, I represented the Arkansas Chapter on the Southeast Regional Council I was an original regional council member and served until elected to the board. While in SERC I served on the Diversity Committee and the Chapter Best Practices Committee. Both of these committees provided information to national staff for use and distribution to other regions and chapters. Have you served on a USGBC Chapter board or committee within the past three years? If yes, please describe your role, participation, leadership experience, and dates of service on all of the USGBC Chapter boards and committees on which you have served. Yes. Founding Member of AR Chapter 2003 Chair 2005 Chapter Board Advisory Board 2006-present Advocacy Committee 2003-present Diversity Committee 2008-present Southeast Regional Council Delegate Participated in organization of several Sustainable Arkansas Conferences. Have you served for at least two years within the past five years as an officer or a board member 501(c)(3) non- profit organization? If yes, please describe. Yes. USGBC Board 2010 USGBC-AR Board Member Sustainable Business Network of Central AR Board of Directors 2009-present Bolivian Conservation Fund, Board of Directors Have you served for at least two years within the past five years as a committee member of a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that had at least 5,000 members or was in operation for more than ten years or had a total annual budget of at least $1 million? If yes, please describe. Yes. USGBC Board 2010; SERC Have you been employed for at least two years within the past five years as an executive for a non-profit or forgovernment agency with a total annual budget of at least $5 million? If yes, profit corporation, institution, or please describe. No. In which USGBC membership category is your organization registered? Professional Firms To which USGBC chapters, interest groups, or organizing groups do you belong, and for how long? Arkansas Chapter; 2003 to Present