Category: Past Volunteers

2009 Summer Intern

Jens Verhaegh, a New Jersey native, was inspired by the GreenHomeNYC monthly forums and similar events to stay motivated in his pursuit of a green career after his graduation from Ithaca College, were he first opened his mind to the concepts of sustainable development. Since first coming to a GreenHomeNYC event he has worked for…

Shawna Michaud has been interested in the built environment ever since drawing street maps for her matchbox cars. She’s an illustrator and designer, intent on marrying her love for design, research, and writing by becoming an urban planner. She has her BFA from MassArt in Boston. She discovered GreenHomeNYC while scouting out urban planning programs,…

Daniel Harris is a researcher and consultant who holds an MS and BS in engineering of control systems from the University of Washington in Seattle. He earned his energy experience at H Power Corp. as a PEM fuel cell researcher and has expanded his area of interests to buildings and large energy projects. He is…

Lauren Gropper became interested in all things green as a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Canada. A steadfast GreenHomeNYC enthusiast and former staff volunteer, Lauren now splits her time between Los Angeles, New York, and Toronto, working as an independent green building and LEED consultant. Lauren works with real estate developers, builders, architects, engineers,…

Cory Trembath has been concerned about the environment for as long as she can remember. The rampant suburban sprawl she witnessed in her hometown as a child led her to study architecture, and later historic preservation, as a way to lessen the impact of the built environment on the natural world. She earned her degree…

Silvia Steude came to New York in 2002 to pursue a career in architecture. Having grown up in an environment in Germany where living sustainably was a way of life, she soon realized that it was essential for her to be working with people who felt there was more to architecture than pure aesthetics, an…

Sam Pardo joined GreenHomeNYC in February of 2008 during a brief sabbatical from “gainful employment”. He took right away to the House Calls program and has spent a year boot-strapping it and being 50% of the first presentation team. Sam is an enthusiastic supporter of the peer-to-peer learning model of GreenHomeNYC, and his happy to…

Abby Kelly thinks that sustainability is a vital part of making the world both beautiful and functional. Her involvement in GreenHomeNYC reflects her belief that designers are especially responsible for using our natural resources intelligently.

Green Building Monthly Forum Coordinator Joe Franza has been involved with GreenHomeNYC since January 2003 and joined its staff three months later. His interest in green building traces back to his undergraduate years at Columbia University where he researched sustainable architectural design and energy-efficient construction methods. Joe holds a Master of Architecture with a concentration…