Greg O’Brien is a Senior Vice President of Transwestern’s “Value of Green” team. Based in Atlanta, O’Brien works with property owners, developers, institutional and private investors, and major tenants to help them “Maximize the Value of Green” by creating solutions to meet sustainability objectives while minimizing the economic impact. Understanding that business decisions must have a return-on-investment support, O’Brien’s multi-disciplinary experience allows him to identify real estate options that create value while achieving sustainability objectives. With more than 23 years of experience as a landlord agent, tenant broker, development principal, and investor, O’Brien has recently established himself as a leading authority on “green” buildings. O’Brien has embraced sustainability initiatives related to commercial real estate and led the creation of an evaluation tool known as The Value of Green. The Value of Green incorporates the costs and benefits of LEED related “green” alternatives to support enlightened real estate decision making. Implementing The Value of Green concepts on behalf of clients through Transwestern’s unique services platform enables O’Brien and his teammates to educate the marketplace.

Since beginning his career with Rubloff, Inc., O’Brien has completed hundreds of real estate transactions on behalf of institutional landlords and corporate clients such as AT&T, BellSouth, Digital Equipment, Equifax, Frito-Lay, and IBM among others. While with ADEVCO Corporation, O’Brien conceptualized the “e-business contact centers” program, successfully developing and leasing speculative call center facilities in labor advantaged, second-tier markets. In addition, O’Brien helped create the Intellicenter development program, which has resulted in more than 1 million square feet of LEED certified office product being delivered in numerous major suburban markets. Since establishing Sustainable Office, LLC in 2004, O’Brien and his partners have performed LEED audits and assessments for millions of square feet of office buildings.

Danny is an Industrial Engineer from Georgia Tech and has been working at EPA in the Atlanta Regional Office for 17 years.  For 15 of those years, Danny has been the Regional Program Manager for Energy Star and Climate Change.

Danny is part of the ‘energy team’ that qualified the Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center, the ninth largest Federal Building in the country, as an Energy Star building.  The building was requalified in May 2007 with a score of 94 and is pursuing LEED status.

His work with the Clean Air Initiative and energy efficiency has earned him several awards, including 2 “Hammer Awards’ from Vice President Gore.

Danny has been featured in several news programs, televisions spots, and publications over the years and can now be seen in the National Version of Kilowatt Ours, a Jeff Barrie Production.

Energy Star retrofits on his 1984 cedar ranch have resulted in a 32% energy reduction and about $450/year.  His home qualified as Energy Star in 2005.

Danny is also a professional guitarist and singer and leads a five-piece top-40 Christian band (Crossroads) at Kennesaw United Methodist Church.

Kenneth J. Ostrowski is a Director in McKinsey's Atlanta Office with over 23 years of consulting experience. Mr. Ostrowski is the leader of McKinsey’s North America Electric Power and Natural Gas (EPNG) Practice, and co-leads the Global EPNG Practice. Over the course of his career, he has served electric power, natural gas, and industrial clients in refining their strategic aspirations and direction, and aligning the organizational, regulatory, and operational elements necessary to execute.

Representative assignments include:

• Co-leader of McKinsey’s year-long, multi-client sponsored initiative to analyze US abatement options and cost for GHG emissions in which a comprehensive cost curve of US abatement options was developed along with detailed perspectives on the coming US GHG challenges and implications
• Led McKinsey’s participation in supporting a joint McKinsey/”Industry” assessment of “Energy 2015” with emphasis on the impacts of CO2 on future energy technologies and strategies, and previously, led a joint McKinsey/”Wallstreet” assessment of the strategic evolution of the power sector
• Supported the formulation of regulatory and legislative strategies to address retail access and related market issues for an integrated electric power/natural gas utility, and led a major customer satisfaction transformation program.
• Supported the design and execution of a corporate-wide utility transformation program including operations, procurement, and customer “end-to-end” processes which delivered substantial improvements in efficiency, reliability, and customer satisfaction while supporting the development of improved organizational capabilities and culture.
• Developed a comprehensive generation growth strategy and executed an overall lean operations improvement program designed to achieve “best plant” performance aspirations and institute a culture of continuous improvement.

Before joining McKinsey & Company, Mr. Ostrowski was an intern at the Congressional Budget Office, and completed the two year Financial Management Program at General Electric Company. He received an M.B.A. in General Management with honors from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor's Degree in Finance, magna cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame.

Robert E. Reed, designer, planner, and former principal with Preston & Reed Sustainability Solutions, has joined Southface to support and promote the EarthCraft Communities program.  Robert is a third generation Atlanta native and downtown Atlanta resident.

Since graduating from Georgia Tech in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science from the College of Architecture, Robert has been at the forefront of community planning in the Southeast region. He co-led, with Shannon Kettering of Ecos, the community interaction and architectural guidelines process for the Chattahoochee Hill Country Land Use Plan.  This plan utilizes Transfer of Development Rights to create sustainable villages and protect 30,000 acres of rural land thirty minutes from Downtown Atlanta.  The Atlanta Regional Commission recognized the project as a Development of Excellence for its Pubic Participatory Process.  This project received a Merit Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects as well.  The planning team went on to design a Model Sustainable Village as an Atlanta Regional Commission Livable Centers Initiative project. 

Robert led the planning of Sutherland Place for John Willis Homes, and Lampkin Street Cottages for McConnell Homes, and was a team member for Eastlake Commons, projects which all received Development of Excellence awards from the Atlanta Regional Commission. Eastlake Commons also received the American Institute of Architects/ Housing and Urban Development Excellence Award, as well the World Habitat Award from the United Nations.

Robert is a four-time winner of the Atlanta Urban Design Commission Award for Contextural Infill for homes designed in the historic neighborhoods of Inman Park, Candler Park and Old Fourth Ward.  Robert’s designs have been included in some of Atlanta’s most progressive communities, including Glenwood Park, Tributary, Cuscowilla and Jonesboro’s new Historic District.

Other community work includes Urban Design Standards for the Turks and Caicos Islands, and, again teaming with Ecos, community plans for Cedar Grove, Cliftondale, and the team added Market+Main for a Livable Centers Initiative plan for Tucker, Georgia. 
Robert is past Chair of the Frazer Center, a non-profit center for adults and children with disabilities.  During his term as Chair, the center completed a $5 million capital campaign and renovation.  He is a board member of Peavine Watershed Alliance, and was an original steering committee member of Southface’s Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable.  As president of Lake Claire Neighbors Robert led a planning process recognized for excellence in sustainability by AIA Georgia and the City of Atlanta.

Robert enjoys the fruits of his labor as an avid outdoorsman. Depending on the season you can find him hunting, fishing, boating, camping, cycling, and hiking throughout Georgia and beyond.  He has been married to his wife Marci, also an Atlanta native, for 18 years.

Sydney G. Roberts is the Southface Home Services Program Manager on the Residential Green Building Services team. Sydney manages the team responsible for residential client services, Home Performance with ENERGY STAR, EarthCraft House Renovation, and the HERS Providership, as well as several federally funded projects. Dr. Roberts is the principle investigator and project manager for the Southern Energy Efficiency Center, Building America, and Home Performance with ENERGY STAR. Additionally, she teaches courses and provides one-on-one training in these and other fields. Sydney is a Home Energy Rater and a BPI Building Analyst. She also serves on the BPI Standards Technical Committee. Sydney earned her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University studying the application of engineering principles to medical and biological problems. She has since performed research, managed projects, taught courses, and supervised customer support in computer simulation and medical device industries. At Southface, Sydney has married her technical and managerial skills with her passion for sustainable living through the application of building science, energy performance modeling, and site inspection and testing.

Jeff Rountree
Director of Plant Operations, The Lovett School

With more than 30 years of experience in Plant Operations at The Lovett School, Jeff Rountree leads a team of48 staffmembers which operate and maintain a private K-12 school campus of 100 acres with over 617,000 square feet ofbuildings. Jeff also participates actively in the processes of planning, construction,
capital renewal and replacement of facilities. Current projects to start summer of 2008 are construction of a new Middle School building along with the relocation and improvement of the baseball and softball stadiums.

Kim Shinn is a registered professional mechanical engineer in fourteen states and a Principal with TLC Engineering for Architecture (www.tlc-engineers.com). 

Kim is founding Chairman of the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and is currently the Southeast Regional Delegate to the national USGBC Board of Directors, serving in that capacity through 2009. Kim also serves on the Greenbuild (USGBC’s national conference) Steering Committee.

He has been a LEED™ 2.0 Accredited Professional since May 2001, and has been actively involved in the design or commissioning of over eighty LEED registered and certified projects. Kim has helped create the Green Guide for Health Care (GGHC) and is on the LEED committees to draft application guides for laboratories, healthcare and campus combined heat/cooling/ power systems.

A native of the Atlanta area, Henry Slack is the southeastern regional Indoor Air Coordinator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a job he started in 1992.  He has spoken to thousands of people about ways to improve indoor air.  He earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, and an M.S. from Ga. Tech, School of Mechanical Engineering.  He also leads the EPA Region 4 green building work group.

Linda S. Velazquez, ASLA Associate, LEED AP, is founder and publisher/editor of Greenroofs.com (1999), “the international greenroof industry's resource and online information portal.” Exclusives include Forums, contributing editor columns, and guest features. Greenroofs.com publishes the Greenroof Directory; the global Greenroof Projects Database; and our new: GreenroofsTV, the 2008 Greenroofs of the World Calendar, and the Sky Gardens Blog ~ where lofty blue meets cool green.

Linda holds a Bachelor's of Landscape Architecture from the University of Georgia (2000).  Linda is also principal of Sky Gardens Design and a LEED Accredited Professional who designs, consults, and presents on greenroofs.  Linda co-writes and co-presents the Top Ten Hot Trends in Greenroof Design series.

Bill is vice president of engineering and construction technology, Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, Inc. (FLASH).  He teaches Blueprint for Safety Classes for contractors, designers and building professionals, provides consulting services on wind damage mitigation issues for the My Safe Florida Home Project, and taught all the inspectors how to inspect for mitigation retrofits and credits.  Also, Bill consults on wind mitigation techniques and inspections with insurance companies, FLASH, the Institute for Business and Home Safety, large developers, and the University of Florida.  He teaches classes for FLASH and IBHS on Code Plus programs and Florida and South Carolina Safe home programs and is an instructor for both inspectors and contractors in both states.  Bill Has taught Florida Building Code classes throughout the US for contractors, building officials, engineers and architects. He also helped develop and teaches the Advanced Wind Loading Course. In cooperation with the University of Florida, Bill taught classes on Hurricane Preparedness for Hotels/Motels and Condominium managers. 

Bill has a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Northeastern University and specializes in Florida Building Code Training, Building Inspections, and Wind Damage Mitigation assessments. Bill is a: Florida State Certified Building Contractor (CBC 056072) with over 50 years of construction experience.  He is a State Certified Residential Construction Mitigation Inspector, State Certified Hurricane Evacuation Shelter Inspector and Certified Wind Damage Mitigation Inspector and Trainer.

He has worked for Applied Research Associates, Inc., as director of building evaluations and managed ARA’s portion of the Department of Community Affairs “Florida Building Code Demonstration Project” to collect cost comparison data and evaluate projected reduction in damage/losses in hurricanes due to the requirements of the 2001 Florida Building Code. Managed project and trained inspectors for Statewide Certification Program for insurance companies.

Bill was clerk of the works for Collier County Public Schools, for $16 Million High School Renovation and Addition Project and he was Vice President of the Commercial Construction Division for the Ciotti Companies and managed construction of office buildings from site design through tenant fit-up, move in and Property Management. At E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Company, Inc. he was manager of facilities management and planning and provided facilities planning for 4,500,000 sq ft of DuPont's owned and leased office space. As project manager for development of a new office park for DuPont, Bill coordinated with the general contractor and tenants the construction of four, 60,000 sq ft office buildings from concept state through tenant fit-up and move in.