The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) named Kathleen Smith to the inaugural class of LEED Fellows. Established to honor and recognize distinguished LEED Accredited Professionals (LEED APs) who have made a significant contribution to the field of green building and sustainability at a regional, national or international level, the LEED Fellow program is GBCI’s most prestigious professional designation.
Kathleen Smith, LEED Fellow, sustainability service line leader at Davis Langdon, an AECOM company, has over 20 years of professional experience working as a project architect/manager and sustainability consultant specializing in LEED and green building. She is a skilled manager, facilitator, educator, and consultant with expertise in sustainable design and construction in the commercial, residential, healthcare and institutional sectors.
Kathleen has worked on dozens of projects as a designer and consultant, advocating for and helping implement a holistic approach to sustainability, a deep commitment to higher performance, and an integrated design process. Many of these projects have achieved high levels of energy efficiency, sustainability performance, and LEED certification, as well as winning multiple awards and recognition as model projects. Kathleen has worked with numerous healthcare and educational institutions to develop policies, procedures, plans, and training to help establish, implement, measure, and document sustainability goals and environmental performance. At the government level, she has played a leadership role on many projects to develop policies, codes, and other procedures for cities and counties that have far reaching impacts in advancing green building and sustainability beyond a single building.
Kathleen, a respected educator, has been a USGBC faculty member since 2003, and a Living Building Challenge Ambassador since 2011. She has extensive experience as a researcher and writer on green building. She is the co-author of two books: Rebuilding Community in America: Housing for Ecological Living, Personal Empowerment, and the New Extended Family and The Northwest Green Home Primer. Over her career, Kathleen has been an active volunteer in many organizations and non-profits promoting green building, sustainability, and the use of LEED; including USGBC, GBCI, Cascadia Region Green Building Council (past steering committee member), Northern California Chapter of USGBC, Urban Ecology (past board member), Architects/Designers/ Planners for Social Responsibility (past board member), and EcoCity Builders.
Said Kathleen, "I am honored to be named LEED Fellow and to be part of such a distinguished group. I welcome this opportunity to serve as an ambassador for GBCI to help advance the vision, knowledge, tools, and policy needed in our pursuit to create green buildings for all."
“We are thrilled to bestow the LEED Fellow designation upon these highly accomplished individuals,” said Peter Templeton, president, GBCI. “The Fellows are some of the leading innovators and vanguards of the green building movement, and their bodies of work strongly underscore their commitment to LEED and a sustainable built environment.”
Kathleen was recognized with the rest of the 2011 LEED Fellow class at the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Toronto from October 4-7, 2011.
For more information on the LEED Fellow program, please visit www.gbci.org/fellow.
