Portland, OR, Jan 23, 2025 – The Green Building Initiative (GBI) has announced the election of Alison Hoagland, principal at Mackenzie, as chair of its board of directors. New and returning officers, as well as three new directors, were also elected effective Dec, 2024.
“Sustainability has been a root passion throughout my career, and I’m honored to be named Chair of the Board of Directors of this preeminent and distinguished organization,” stated Alison Hoagland, principal at Mackenzie. “As a GBI board member since 2021, I am genuinely excited to create meaningful positive change through my new role, leveraging our collective technical expertise and business acumen.”
“Alison Hoagland is a distinguished architect and leader in the industry, and we are thrilled for her to step into this leadership role as the chair of GBI’s board of directors,” said Vicki Worden, GBI president & CEO. “Alison has been a tremendous asset to GBI’s board and community, executing on our mission as a practitioner, supporting market development, and providing valuable insight to decarbonization in the built environment.”
Hoagland becomes the first woman architect to serve as GBI Board chair and the organization’s second woman chair. As a passionate advocate for sustainable architecture, she has designed and delivered projects in a variety of markets as Mackenzie’s Architecture Department Head and developed Mackenzie’s Building Science Committee. She was named to the Mackenzie board of directors in 2024, the company’s first female architect board member. Hoagland holds the Green Globes Professional (GGP) and Green Globes Assessor (GGA) credentials and is trained in thermographic analysis.
Hoagland follows GBI’s prior chair, Tim Thiel, an active leader in circularity and building material decarbonization. Thiel oversaw efforts through GBI’s twentieth year where the organization reached 765 million SF of certified space. Thiel will serve as Immediate Past Chair for the 2025 calendar year.
GBI’s membership voted on Dec 5, 2024, to approve the 2025 officers and executive committee slate under one-year terms:
- Chair: Alison Hoagland (principal, Mackenzie)
- Immediate Past Chair: Tim Thiel (global circular economy manager, Covestro)
- Chair Elect: Sumayyah Theron (CEO & founder, Avant-garde Sustainable Solutions)
- Treasurer: Luis Perez-Soto (VP, treasurer, Lennar Financial Services)
- Secretary: Meagan Sykes (energy manager, Sobeys)
- At-large Director: Cons Gattuso (director of engineering, Piedmont Office Realty Trust)
- At-large Director: Simon Turner (founder, Building Cognition)
GBI has also announced the approval of three new voting members of the board of directors, effective December 2024, under three-year terms:
- Vincent Bataoel (senior partner, Above Green)
- Charline Cormier (director of sustainability, EastPoint)
- Julie Wojnowski (principal, ESG & Sustainability, Citadel EHS)
Additional returning directors are:
- Keely Felton (chief sustainability officer, Nova Group, GBC)
- Dain Hansen (EVP, government relations, International Association of Plumbing & Mechanical Officials)
- Randy Mortensen (EVP, global sales & marketing, Leviton)
- Brenda Steinhauer (quality manager, W.A. Richardson Builders)
- Laura Unrein (sustainable design consultant, Group14 Engineering)
About GBI
Established in 2004 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the Green Building Initiative (GBI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the built environment’s impact on climate and society. As an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Accredited Standards Developer, GBI offers the Green Globes and federal Guiding Principles Compliance building certification and assessment programs, which evaluate environmental sustainability, health and wellness, and resilience of commercial buildings. Serving sectors such as commercial real estate, healthcare, and education, GBI has certified over 3,800 projects, encompassing more than 765 million square feet of space. GBI’s team comprises around 21 employees and 126 volunteers.
Source: Green Building Initiative
