Connecting with the Environment: Building Green

Michelle Addington
Associate Professor
Yale School of Architecture

Prior to teaching at Yale, Ms. Addington taught at Harvard University for ten years and before that at Temple University and Philadelphia University. Her background includes work at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, where she developed structural data for composite materials and designed components for unmanned spacecraft. Ms. Addington then spent a decade as a process design and power plant engineer as well as a manufacturing supervisor at DuPont, and after studying architecture, she was an architectural associate at a firm based in Philadelphia. She researches discrete systems and technology transfer, and she serves as an adviser on energy and sustainability for many organizations, including the Department of Energy and the AIA. Her chapters and articles on energy, environmental systems, lighting, and materials have appeared in many books and journals and she recently co-authored Smart Materials and Technologies for the Architecture and Design Professions.

Donald Gibson
Senior Design Manager, JPI

Donald Gibson is the Senior Design Manager for JPI East, a division of Dallas-based JPI, one of the nation’s largest fully integrated commercial real estate firms specializing in the acquisition, development, construction, and management of multifamily residential communities. Mr. Gibson is leading JPI’s green building initiatives that include the development of 23 Eye Street, a 419 unit mixed use residential building in Washington, D.C. and Dulles Station, a 457 unit mixed use residential building near Reston, VA. Both buildings are on track to achieve LEED Silver certification. Prior to joining JPI, Mr. Gibson spent seven years at Turner Construction Company as a project manager overseeing the construction of large commercial and institutional buildings. Mr. Gibson received his Masters of Architecture from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and his B.S. Magna Cum Laude, in Architecture from Ohio State University.

Walter Rakowich
President and COO, ProLogis

Walt Rakowich is President, Chief Operating Officer, and a member of the Board of ProLogis. Mr. Rakowich also serves on the Executive Committee, responsible for setting the strategic direction of the company and monitoring its implementation and progress. Prior to becoming President and COO in January 2005, Mr. Rakowich served as Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of ProLogis, positions he held since December 1998. As CFO, Mr. Rakowich was responsible for worldwide corporate finance, including treasury, cash management, financial planning, financial reporting, accounting, information technology and investor relations. Prior to becoming CFO, Mr. Rakowich held the position of Senior Vice President/Director of the company’s Mid-Atlantic region where he was responsible for expanding the reach of ProLogis to the leading logistics markets in the Midwest and Atlantic states. Prior to joining ProLogis, Mr. Rakowich spent nine years as a Partner with real estate provider Trammell Crow Company where he was a member of the Management Board responsible for commercial and industrial development, leasing and management throughout Southern California. Prior to joining Trammell Crow, Mr. Rakowich was with Price Waterhouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for four years as a senior audit and tax consultant. Mr. Rakowich received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and his B.S., with distinction, in Accounting from Pennsylvania State University.

Lou Marquet
Executive VP, Leyland Alliance

Louis Marquet is Executive Vice President of LeylandAlliance LLC, a
Tuxedo, New York-based company focused exclusively on the creation of mixed-use, highly sustainable neighborhoods founded upon the
principles of New Urbanism – places that embrace tradition while
setting new standards for construction innovations and environmental
responsibility. Mr. Marquet's 40 years of experience includes a vast
array of construction and renovation up and down the East coast. He
and his partners have worked together for more than 28 years,
specializing in the development of innovative residential and
commercial projects encompassing new construction, renovation and
adaptive reuse. They have been involved in creating residential
communities and mixed-use New Urbanism for the last 18 years. Mr.
Marquet has frequently been invited to speak on designing and building
highly sustainable and diverse housing without increasing costs. He
is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati and board member of the
Congress for the New Urbanism, New York Chapter, as well as multiple
local not for profit service organization boards. Mr. Marquet is also
a member of the National Association of Home Builders, National Town
Builders Association, Urban Land Institute, and Green Building
Council.