Activities
Bill Lazar Elected to Coalition Board
Green Builder® Coalition Members elected Bill Lazar for a 3-year term to the organization’s Board of Directors. This will be Lazar’s second term on the Board, having previously served from October 2015 through September 2018.
Lazar serves as the Executive Director of St. Johns Housing Partnership. For 32 years, he has worked with affordable housing programs in NE Florida. The Partnership provides a variety of housing services from home repairs and new construction (rental and homeownership) to credit counseling and foreclosure prevention. Bill is also a licensed residential contractor and a former green rater for the Florida Green Building Coalition. He has been a board member with the St. Johns Builders Council for over 20 years and is a strong advocate for high school and apprenticeship programs. He is a founding member of the Florida Weatherization Network, and was recently appointed to the Affordable Housing Advisory Council for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta.
“I’m looking forward to serving on the Green Builder® Coalition board again”, exclaimed Lazar. “Green building efforts have a strong future in the building industry, especially with affordable housing efforts.”
Lazar steps into the Board position previously occupied by Craig Conner, whose 3-year term expired this year. Lazar will join Kim Shanahan and Steve Onstad, who have 1 year and 2 years remaining on their terms, respectively. Drew Brandt remains in the Ex-Officio role.
“Bill’s background in affordable housing and existing buildings gives our Board a different and welcome perspective,” said Executive Director Mike Collignon.
Lazar’s Board term will expire in October 2023.
Housing 2.0 Program to be Managed by Green Builder® Coalition
Green Builder® Media is launching a new initiative in 2021 with building science expert and industry influencer Sam Rashkin, and they’ve tabbed Green Builder® Coalition Executive Director Mike Collignon to manage the program.
Titled “Housing 2.0”, the program combines expertise and content from Rashkin’s soon-to-be-released book of the same name with Green Builder® Media’s 17 years of media, communications, and leadership in sustainability. The initiative is a wide-ranging engagement and education program dedicated to facilitating disruption within the housing sector. Participants will find it’s much more than a book or written curriculum. The program will incorporate a 5-part workshop series that will cover Housing 2.0 fundamentals, ongoing educational courses, networking groups, extensive custom content creation and editorial coverage, and market intelligence from COGNITION Smart Data.
The overall goal of Housing 2.0 is to empower building professionals to design and construct higher performance, healthier, more sustainable homes at a fraction of the cost. “When Green Builder® Media explained the Housing 2.0 concept and asked about my interest in program management, it was the overall goal that sealed the deal,” stated Collignon. “When Ron Jones and I were strategizing about the formation of the Green Builder® Coalition, we never wanted the organization to focus on just one facet of sustainability. That vision has been at the core of our 10+ year existence, and I see this new effort as a continuation of that vision.”
To learn more about the Housing 2.0 program and to register, please click here.
ANCR Water Benchmark Developed with Green Builder® Coalition Assistance
In early December, the Alliance for National and Community Resilience (ANCR) released the third of its Community Resilience Benchmarks—the water benchmark, which addresses resilience of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater systems. The water benchmark was developed by a committee of 16 subject matter experts, with representatives from a wide range of stakeholders, including industry trade groups, non-profits, utilities, product manufacturers and environmental agencies at the municipal, state and federal levels.
The Green Builder® Coalition, represented by Executive Director Mike Collignon, was invited to participate in the development process. “My experience as the Chair of the WERS Development Group brought a unique perspective to the committee, and allowed me to contribute to multiple sections of the benchmark,” shared Collignon.
“Water is such an essential aspect of communities. We’re grateful for the contributions made by committee members to help capture the policies and practices that support resilience in this sector,” said Evan Reis, Executive Director of the U.S. Resiliency Council and Chair of the ANCR Board of Directors.
The water benchmark is available for free download here. Using this interest form, communities can apply to pilot the benchmark and provide feedback to ANCR to support updates.
This has been a challenging year for a lot of people around the world. It’s easy (and understandable) to feel overwhelmed by it all, especially during the holidays. If it seems like it might be just a little too much, help is available. Call (800) 273-8255 and you can talk to a counselor at any time of the day or night. It’s free and confidential.
Speaking of help, if you can spare a few dollars, we’re encouraging people to donate to their local food bank. Food banks across the U.S. are facing unusually high demand, and that demand is set to go up later this month.
Finally, I just wanted to reiterate a few commonly-voiced words as we wrap up an unforgettable year:
Wash your hands
Wear a mask
Avoid crowded, indoor environments
Why? Because we’d like to see you at some point in 2021 or 2022. Until then, have a great holiday season and a happy new year!
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