Sustainable Development : Not Easy Being Green - or Is It?

Moderator/Speaker

Leanne Tobias
Founder and Principal,
Malachite LLC

Leanne Tobias is founder and principal of Malachite LLC, an advisory company that specializes in the selection, development, financing, leasing and management of green real estate investments. She is exploring the creation of a green real estate fund. Ms. Tobias is an internationally recognized speaker and author on sustainable real estate who has spoken on green real estate investment and development for the United Nations, Princeton University, the U.S. Green Building Council, the Urban Land Institute and others. Her green real estate projects have been featured in a Home Box Office television documentary. In addition to her work with private clients, Ms. Tobias is on the boards of the Green Building Finance Consortium and the International Design Center for the Environment and has been a member of Washington D.C.’s Green Building Task Force.

Ms. Tobias was previously Managing Director of the Multi-Employer Property Trust, a $3.2 billion commercial real estate equity fund, headed the real estate operations of the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust, and directed programs for capital markets and institutional lenders at the Mortgage Bankers Association. She holds an MBA from Wharton Business School and an MPA degree from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University.

Bruce Becker
President,
Becker+Becker Associates

Bruce Redman Becker, AIA, AICP is president of Becker + Becker, an integrated development, planning and architecture firm.  The firm was founded in 1950 and is based in Fairfield, Connecticut.  Becker + Becker seeks projects that have a social value:  providing housing, education and day care facilities and restoring historic buildings to new uses. 

Bruce is a graduate of Amherst College and received MBA and Master of Architecture degrees from Yale.   Prior to joining Becker + Becker as its President in 1988, Bruce managed over $800 million of mixed-use development for the Prudential Property Company’s development operations in Northern California.

Bruce founded two non-profit housing organizations to create innovative affordable housing projects: Common Ground Community, developer of the Times Square Hotel Supportive Housing; and Under One Roof, developer of The Marvin Intergeneration Child Care and Congregate Housing in Norwalk, Connecticut.

B+B planned the redevelopment of the historic Morrisania Hospital complex in the Bronx, creating 132 units of affordable housing, together with job training, health care and child care facilities.  B+B’s historic tax credit development projects include the 500-unit  Octagon project on Roosevelt Island in Manhattan; the 70-unit Wauregan Hotel redevelopment in Norwich, Connecticut; the Crescent Building Supportive Housing in Bridgeport, Connecticut; Atlantic Park Apartments in Stamford, CT; and the 652-unit Times Square Hotel. 

The Octagon project is designed to achieve a Silver LEED rating and is the largest “green” apartment development in New York State as well as the largest participant in the State’s Green Building Tax Credit Program.  The Octagon was recognized with a “Green Apple” award by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and the Federal EPA, for "leadership in applying sustainable design principles to residential development."

Dean Chavooshian
VP of Architecture and Construction,
AIG Global Real Estate Investment Group

Mr. Chavooshian is responsible for the architectural standards of development projects undertaken and/or managed by AIG Global Real Estate. With a focus on marketability, efficiency, and quality, Mr. Chavooshian establishes the architectural direction for projects and manages the activities of the design team. Mr. Chavooshian joined AIG Global Real Estate in 1992 and has more than 30 years of real estate experience.

Before joining AIG Global Real Estate Mr. Chavooshian was Vice President of Development at Olympia & York, the largest developer of commercial office buildings in the United States at that time. Prior to joining Olympia & York, Mr. Chavooshian was an Associate Partner at Kohn Pedersen Fox, one of the most successful architectural firms in the world. Mr. Chavooshian was also an Architect within the office of Philip Johnson, where he worked on many important commissions in the United States.

Mr. Chavooshian received a bachelor's degree in Theology from American University and a Masters Degree in Architecture from Virginia Tech. Mr. Chavooshian is a registered architect and LEED certified professional.

Jerry Pucillo
SVP and Project Executive,
New Boston Fund, Inc.

Mr. Pucillo has over 27 years of real estate development, and program and project management experience in all aspects of real estate and business development. He has primarily been involved in residential development and strategic planning regarding sustainability initiatives and rehabilitation of historic structures.

Prior to his position at the New Boston Fund, Jerry has acted as a consultant to the New Boston Development group providing project executive leadership and sustainability advice and counsel. Jerry also served as President of Centergreen LLC, a sustainable development and strategic consulting firm.

As a private consultant he has provided strategic consulting for private and institutional clients seeking to maximize their real estate assets. He consulted with Genzyme Corporation where he provided leadership to the design and construction team developing their Corporate Headquarters using the USGBC LEEDS criteria for sustainable design and construction. He also acted as the development consultant on a sustainable residential development for the Congregation of the Sister of St. Joseph in Brighton MA.

His experience as Senior Vice President of the RISE group included working with both public and private sector clients. In this position, he provided strategic facilities planning consultation to General Motors, The Edison School Project and the Town of Saugus MA.

As a Vice President of the Program Management group for the Bovis Lend Lease Construction Company, he was responsible for opening a regional office and establishing this firm's presence in the Boston marketplace.

As Director of Housing Development for the Archdiocese of Boston for 15 years, he managed all aspects of the project development process from financing through occupancy. His responsibilities covered multiple projects under various stages of development and construction at any one time. He has particular expertise in the development of mixed income housing as well as expertise in the development of federally funded housing for elderly and handicapped persons.