The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced its keynote speakers for the USGBC Live conference to be held in person from June 9-10 in Washington, D.C.
The keynote speakers will join the one-and-a half day event where the future of smart buildings, smart cities and smart communities will take center stage.
The USGBC Live keynote speakers are as follows:
- Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm, U.S. Department of Energy
- Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Nina M. Albert, Commissioner of the Public Buildings Service (PBS) at the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)
- Jerome Foster II, Climate Justice Activist
Kim Heavner, VP, Conference & Events, USGBC, commented:
“USGBC Live is designed to help prepare and inspire building industry practitioners and change-makers to accelerate the transition to green buildings, cities and communities. We welcome our keynote speakers, who are poised to deliver inspiring messages to our green building community as we look forward towards the future of LEED and how we continue to integrate and respond to real world issues including resilience, equity, the climate crisis, electrification, and much more.”
Background information on the headline speakers, per a USGBC press release, is thus:
- "Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm, U.S. Department of Energy is leading DOE in helping America achieve President Biden’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 by advancing cutting-edge clean energy technologies, creating millions of good-paying union clean energy jobs, and building an equitable clean energy future."
- "Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, believes that we have a responsibility to confront housing insecurity and help ensure access to good homes, to eliminate all forms of housing discrimination, and to build our nation’s housing infrastructure in a way that expands equitable access to housing for all people."
- "Nina M. Albert serves as the Commissioner of the Public Buildings Service (PBS) at the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). As PBS Commissioner, she manages the nationwide asset management, design, construction, leasing, building management and disposal of approximately 371 million square feet of government-owned and leased space across the United States and six territories."
- "Jerome Foster is an American climate justice activist, voting rights advocate and political advisor. He is a member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council in the Biden administration and has been a leading voice for Black and indigenous visibility in climate activism. Foster is one of the major organizers of Fridays for Future Washington. He has previously served as a congressional intern for U.S. Representative John Lewis and served on the District of Columbia State Board of Education advisory council. Currently, Foster is the executive director of #OneMillionOfUs, an international youth advocacy and voting rights organization."
Conference details
As the centerpiece of the conference, the annual USGBC Leadership Awards ceremony will honor six organizations and individuals whose vision, leadership and commitment have been fundamental to the evolution of the green building industry.
Significantly as well, USGBC Live offers over six continuing education (CE) hours for LEED credential holders. Further, event registration includes access to the conference digital platform which offers more than 20 additional CE hours of USGBC Live content.
The D.C. event will also include a special LEED insights track for LEED-specific education.
In addition to educational sessions and keynote speakers, networking opportunities are available for attendees during the event's breakfast, lunch and evening receptions.
For attendees who can’t make the USGBC Live conference in person, USGBC is also offering a digital-only option. USGBC Live digital is available starting June 7 and includes a mix of live, pre-recorded and on demand sessions.
