Staff of the Green Building Alliance

Holly Childs, MS, CEcD, LEED AP, Executive Director

Holly became executive director of the Green Building Alliance (GBA) in May, 2009. She is committed to leading the organization's talented and dynamic staff to create new opportunities and drive market demand for the integration of green building products and processes throughout Western Pennsylvania's built environment.

Just prior to coming to GBA, Holly served as the economic development director for the City of Cincinnati, Ohio, where she successfully implemented a groundbreaking LEED Community Reinvestment Area (LEED-CRA) property tax abatement incentive program. It resulted in new investments by developers in LEED-certified office and mixed-use projects throughout some of the city’s most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Also under her leadership, and despite recessionary economic conditions, major development projects resulted in more than 2,500 new jobs being announced between October 2008 and May 2009 – the largest job and investment growth the city had seen in more than 20 years.

She has thirteen years of progressively responsible experience in overall economic development organization management and has held several related positions throughout the country. Her background includes strategic (long-term) and work (annual) planning; program and funds development; budget/financial management; personnel; branding and marketing; communications and public relations; government/university economic development partnerships; fundraising and community events; and public meetings, outreach and education.

Holly received a B.A. in Economics with Honors from Wake Forest University; an M.S. in Environmental Economics from her home-state West Virginia University; and has completed substantial coursework toward her Ph.D. in Natural Resource Economics, both at Oregon State University and West Virginia University. She is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute, and, in 1999, became one of the country’s youngest professionally Certified Economic Developers. She is personally committed to sustainability and championing projects that create environmental, economic and social benefits for both companies and communities.

Valerie Beichner, LEED Green Associate, Products & Policy Manager

Valerie, one of Western Pennsylvania’s first LEED Green Associates, manages GBA’s Green Building Products Initiative (GBPI), which engages local manufacturers in the green building products market.  GBPI activities include providing direct services and related training programs to manufacturers, as well as relationship-building with economic development and state agencies. 

She also administers efforts related to green jobs growth and development within the region.  Additionally, Valerie manages GBA’s public policy program and related committees, which help the organization drive market demand for green building through state and local polices and legislation. 

Prior to joining GBA, Valerie worked as the energy program coordinator for the Northwest Commission, facilitating that program throughout the Pennsylvania Local Development District network.  Other past experience includes broadcast journalism, community development and marketing.  She holds a B.S. in Political Science from Clarion University.

Bev Collier, Executive Assistant & Communications Specialist

Bev provides administrative support to GBA’s executive director, as well as to the organization’s board of directors. She proofreads all GBA publications, including the annual Shades of Green directory, and creates the monthly E-Update electronic newsletter.

Additionally, Bev acts as the intake point for all speaker and media requests. She also assists with the preparation of funding proposals, reports and related research/tracking, and is responsible for human resources functions including payroll and benefits.

Previously, Bev was an intake coordinator for Southwest Services, Inc., a senior citizen social service agency. She currently captions greeting cards for a company in California and, for more than a decade, has been a freelance writer for the Pittsburgh Senior News, Beaver County Senior News and Butler County Senior News. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Pittsburgh, where she graduated magna cum laude with a dual major in business and psychology.

Jenna Cramer, LEED AP, Projects and Outreach Manager

In her role, Jenna manages GBA's resource center, which includes answering inquiries from the general public and professional constituencies; maintaining GBA's websites; managing GBA's electronic and print publications, including E-Update, Shades of Green and LEED Benchmarking Data; and maintaining the reference library collection and database of local green building case studies. She also assists with facilitation of the Pittsburgh Climate Initiative and provides technical support to Pittsburgh green building projects. 

Jenna holds B.A. degrees in environmental studies and public policy analysis from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  During her time there, she actively participated in renewable energy and sustainable development projects on campus. She also studied international risk assessment and energy policy in Cambridge, England, where she helped develop global warming models and sustainable policies to address climate change. Previously, Jenna worked at the Southern Environmental Law Center and University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

Michael Embresia, LEED AP, Education & Membership Manager

Michael is responsible for managing the successful planning, budgeting, promotion and profitable execution of all GBA education events.  Additionally, he identifies and recommends funding opportunities for the organization, seeks to aggressively grow and develop GBA's membership program, and acts as the liaison for the organization's branches in Northwest PA and the Laurel Highlands.

Sarah Moore, AICP, Research & Resource Specialist

In her role, Sarah is responsible for collecting, analyzing and sharing information related to GBA’s mission.  She answers inquiries, maintains resource materials, assists with GBA’s electronic and print publications, and conducts research for special projects. 

Prior to joining GBA, she was a planning consultant with Environmental Planning and Design, LLC, working primarily with local communities and neighborhoods. Projects on which she was involved include an environmentally sensitive comprehensive plan for the Municipality of Murrysville and a natural infrastructure project for seven counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania.   She has also consulted with nonprofit groups and private developers, and worked as an environmental scientist for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

Sarah has a bachelor’s in chemistry from Carleton College and a master’s in urban and regional planning from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). 

Dana O'Connor, AICP, LEED AP, Resource Specialist

As resource assistant, Dana is responsible for preparing, maintaining and disseminating green building and LEED resource information.  She responds to inquiries from the general public and professionals, and assists in the maintenance of information related to local green building projects.

Dana holds a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and a LEED Accredited Professional.

She has worked for the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh as a project development specialist, managing several of the agency’s real estate development projects, including the Pittsburgh Technology Center and Washington’s Landing. Dana has also worked for the New York City Mayor’s Office of Business Development and as a planning consultant for Mullin and Lonergan Associates.

Melissa Ott, Graphic Design & Web Communications Specialist

In addition to helping maintain GBA’s websites, Melissa develops innovative ways to present the organization through print and digital media. She also assists with the layout of GBA's electronic newsletters and the production of all organizational marketing pieces.

As a graduate from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh holding a Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in graphic design, Melissa is familiar with current design trends and eager to mix her love of thoughtful design with her passion for sustainable and responsible architecture.

Her achievemments include making the President's List and Dean's List at school, and winning Best of Show in The Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators Scholarship Competition. Melissa was also selected to participate in the honors Design Studio, winter 2009. She held an internship at Magee-Womens Research Foundation and has worked locally as a freelancer.

Karen Puff, Membership & Events Specialist

Karen provides administrative support to GBA’s education and membership programs. She coordinates all event logistics, prepares event budgets, financial reports and evaluations. She is also the liaison for all member needs and maintains related database information.

Prior to joining GBA, Karen served as an industry show coordinator at Schroeder Industries, where she assisted the marketing team leader with promotion projects and was the writer and team leader for the quarterly employee newsletter. Previous experience includes 10 years with the Society of Automotive Engineers. She holds an associate degree from the Community College of Allegheny County.

Aurora Sharrard, PhD, LEED AP, Director of Innovation

Aurora manages all of GBA’s research projects, most notably for the Green Building Product Initiative, where she manages the Product Innovation Grants and focuses on green labels, certifications, and life cycle assessment.  She also manages DASH: Database for Analyzing Sustainable and High Performance Buildings, which is a national effort to create a building metric database for real estate, operational, and occupant-related building metrics.  Aurora facilitates the Pittsburgh Climate Initiative, for which she convenes the Higher Education Climate Consortium.  She also provides technical support to Pittsburgh green building projects.

Aurora holds master's and Ph.D. degrees in civil and environmental engineering with an emphasis in green design from Carnegie Mellon University. She also holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Tulane University. Prior to entering graduate school, she worked in various areas of the design and construction industry, including as a geotechnical engineer in Greater New Orleans. Aurora is a member of Connect Greenfield’s Steering Committee, volunteers for UPMC's Living-at-Home Program, and is one of the youngest members of the Frick Park Lawn Bowling Club.

Rob Zahorchak, Green Building Products & Policy Specialist

In his role, Rob supports the Green Building Products Initiative (GBPI) by developing training programs, conducting research related to green building product manufacturing, and acting as a liaison for members of the GBPI Network. He is also responsible for grant report tracking, the identification of new GBPI prospects, and relevant networking and program communications.

On the policy front, Rob identifies and reviews legislation that could possibly impact the built environment, assists in the formulation of GBA's annual legislative agenda, meets with government officials as needed, and supports all related committees.

He comes to GBA most recently from GSP Consulting, where he worked as an intern in the Economic Architecture Practice Area performing research activities, including work on GBA's very own Green Building Products & Services Market Analysis.  Rob has also had local government experience with the Municipality of Murrysville. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Public Administration from Pitt's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA), with a concentration in public and nonprofit management.

Miriam Parson, Climate Intern

Through the Student Conservation Association (SCA), Miriam is primarily working to quantify the greenhouse gas emissions reductions already accomplished in Pittsburgh since 2003 as the cty moves forward with the Pittsburgh Climate Initiative.  She is part of a team of interns placed by SCA with local gencies to implement the Pittsburgh Climate Action Plan.

Miriam is a recent graduate of Gettysburg College, with degrees in environmental studies and political science.  She has experience in organizing, sustainability programming, service-learning, environmental policy and behavioral research, and sustainable development in Central America.  She hopes to permanently live in Pittsburgh, working closely on projects like the Climate Initiative.