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Webinar: Advancing LEED for Cities and Communities in California

July 30, 2020 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Advancing LEED for Cities and Communities in California  

Via Zoom
https://zoom.us/j/92381724351


On July 30 join the USGBC LA Chapter as we explore the LEED for Cities and Communities rating systems and how California cities and communities are aligned with the program’s emphasis on climate, resilience, health and social equity. We’ll connect directly with the program staff and stakeholders from the LEED Cities and Communities Working Group based here in southern California. We’ll also hear from a recent city and a community working towards certification on the new LEED v4.1 for Cities and Communities program. There will be ample time for questions and a discussion with our speakers. So, bring along your pressing challenges and top questions — we hope you can join us!

Agenda

  • Welcome and Introductions
  • Program overview, discuss current projects in the region, distinguish between product types and approach
  • Provide examples of prerequisites and credits that address regional priorities (e.g. climate, resilience, equity, health, pandemic issues)
  • Hear from two projects; how is their work on resilience and equity are reflected in the certification process?
  • Guided Discussion and Q&A
  • Conclusion

About Presenters

Hilari Varnadore

Vice President for Cities

Washington, District of Columbia

Hilari brings more than two decades of experience in public administration and nonprofit leadership to her role as VP, LEED for Cities.  Previously Hilari led STAR Communities as its executive/founding director. In that capacity, she deployed the first framework and certification program for local sustainability in the US, the STAR Community Rating System. She has served as a chief sustainability officer and principal planner in local government and has led two nonprofit organizations as CEO.

Hilari is invested in helping cities, towns and counties use data to drive decision-making, investments and community improvements that are more equitable and resilient. Her approach to sustainability is holistic and rooted in the triple bottom line. Her areas of expertise include strategic planning, facilitation, program development and administration, policy development, governance, stakeholder engagement, fundraising, marketing and communications.

She holds a Master’s of Arts degree from Northern Arizona University in Geography with an emphasis in Community Planning and a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Unity College of Maine in Environmental Policy. Hilari serves on Metropolitan Washington COG’s Climate, Energy & Environment Policy Committee, the board of the Emerald Cities Collaborative, and the EcoDistrict Advisory Council. She is a 13-generation Marylander and a Girl Scout troop leader.

Listen to Hilari’s recent overview video of the LEED for Cities and

Communities program: https://youtu.be/0arx2tsTUfg

Vatsal Bhatt

Vice President – Communities

Setauket, New York

Dr. Vatsal Bhatt consults with the U.S. Green Building Council as the Vice President for Communities, where he helped conceptualize and make operational the LEED for Cities and LEED for Communities rating systems. He co-leads the Application Frameworks working group on the National Institute for Standards and Technology led efforts for developing “IoT Enabled Smart Cities Frameworks” and serves on the US technical advisory group for the ISO’s technical committee 268 for sustainable cities. He recently peer reviewed the Future of Housing Roadmap for XPRIZE. He is also serving on the Board of Advisors for the Wellbeing City Award mobilized by the New Cities Foundation.

As a senior energy policy analyst at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, Dr. Bhatt has worked on various national and international assignments for energy systems analysis and low-carbon development for the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation, universities, foundations, and international governments. He has developed energy-water-climate change systems modeling for long-term national, regional and urban analysis.

Dr. Bhatt has led the USDOE’s U.S.-India-China Cities Partnership for Energy and Environment for 2007-2014 and provided technical assistance to the governments of India and China and state and local governments on low-carbon urban growth strategies and EcoCity planning and implementation. He serves as a senior advisor to US Department of State managed US-China EcoPartnerships Secretariat.

In August 2013, the Woodrow Wilson Center for Distinguished Scholars invited Dr. Bhatt to participate on a five-member panel to facilitate developing China’s Energy-Water Roadmap.

Dr. Bhatt is a senior advisor to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority for New York State’s 100% Renewables Study and EPRI project on NYS Electric System Climate Resiliency.

Dr. Bhatt is a lead author of the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s first-ever assessment of the “Effects of Climate Change on Energy Production and Use in the United States”, Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.5.


 Zoom Meeting Details:

Meeting ID: 923 8172 4351
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+16699006833,,92381724351# US (San Jose)

Meeting ID: 923 8172 4351