Building Capacity

New Trim Tab: Exploring the Place of Leadership and the Leadership of Place

This week, the most delicious treat arrived in my in-box. Trim Tab (Volume 18)'s Summer Edition features one of my favorite examples of transformative thinking and doing: the Bertschi School's Science Wing, the fourth project in the world and the first in Washington State to achieve full certification under the Living Building Challenge, and the first ever to receive certification under Version 2.0 of the system. 

O'Brien & Company has enjoyed its association with the forward-thinking Bertschi School for several years, starting with the non-profit's decision to design and build its gym and community building to earn LEED Gold certification, and then its decision to become one of the pioneer participants in the Washington Green Schools certification program, and then its decision to work with the Restorative Collective to design the School's Science Wing to meet all 20 of the Living Building Imperatives. As part of the Restorative Collective, O'Brien & Company offered its services pro bono with other design professionals to build an informed foundation for designing buildings "to [meet] the 2030 Challenge and [create] net-zero buildings."

Also, drum roll....this issue of Trim Tab features my first published explanation of the EMERGE Leadership Model, the foundation for the EMERGE Leadership Project (ELP). ELP is my primary focus these days and consists of training, mentoring, writing and speaking on the topic of leadership from the vantage point of more than 30 years of experience in the sustainable building movement, as well as a particular focus on "emergent" leadership. We urgently need more effective leaders, and more of them. For more details, you can read my article: "EMERGE: Effective Leadership for Sustainable Solutions that Stick."

Associated with the article is a case study in which EMERGE principles were applied. This is a planning project for a very special place, the Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands. The project, which was led by Berger Partnership and included O'Brien & Company's participation was stimulus for articulating how EMERGE Leadership principles could be applied in a collaborative community planning project. You can read the Case Study.

Trim Tab offers other nourishment: a great conversation with one of the most humble (and for that I really appreciate him) movement leaders out there, Paul Hawken, a feature on child-centered design, and a wonderful report on and call to further local leadership by Mona LeMoine in the feature "Rooted in the Region."

A great summer or anytime read.

Kathleen O'Brien, Editor of the Building Capacity Blog is a Cascadia Fellow, a lifetime designation provided by the Cascadia Green Building Council, a program of the International Living Future Institute. ILFI is the publisher of Trim Tab. Kathleen is also founder of the non-profit EMERGE Leadership Project. The primary vehicle for conveying the EMERGE Leadership Model is through the two-day workshop EMERGE: Leadership Skills for Green Building Advocates. See the upcoming Fall/Winter workshop schedule. 

There isn't anything better coming along.

I recently wondered aloud with Bronwyn Barry why members of our tribe (and by that I mean anyone actively working in the green building, sustainable development field on the West Coast), wait 'til the last minute to register for the Emerge: Leadership Skills for Green Building Advocates. In taking this route, it costs more money, risks not getting a place, and generally adds unnecessary tension to the process for you and for me.

Bronwyn, planner and convener for many successful Passive House California events cleared it up for me. "It's not just Emerge," she countered "but pretty much any event. What I've found is that people put it in their calendar, but hold out on actually registering, just in case something 'better' comes along."

Well, I'm here to say there isn't anything better coming along. "What Chutzpah!" I can hear you saying!

Maybe so, But I am certain that Emerge is genuinely different from anything else out there. It's a leadership workshop, and yes, there's lot of leadership offerings to be found. In fact, if you Google the term(s) leadership workshop, you'll get dozens of interesting entries. It's a workshop that incorporates sustainable concepts, as well, and yes, there are plenty of laudable offerings to be found in that realm as well.

And I've been told that the philosophy of Emerge -- an integrated systems-based  approach to leadership that combines the best leadership practices with an emphasis on servant leadership, change science and technology, and the collective intelligence and impact of community -- would be helpful for anyone endeavoring to lead social change in any realm.

However, Emerge has a specific mission, is designed with that mission in mind, and designed FOR those who align with that mission. And for that reason, it does a really good job. If you want to hear that from attendees, check out the testimonials (written and video) at www.emergeleadership.net. Emerge alumni share success stories relating to personal, organizational, and communitywide leadership. Anonymous evaluations compiled at the conclusion of the workshops are through the roof with positive ratings and comments. No lie.

Emerge is designed for you if: First, you are somehow involved in the shaping of our built environment and desire a built environment that is sustainable; Second, you know that leadership is involved in creating that world in the truest, biggest sense; and Third, you are personally committed to providing that leadership.

For that reason, you will find the Emerge curriculum incorporates examples, exercises, and stories pertinent to the overall mission: to create a built environment where sustainability is the norm, not an abstraction. Rather than professional motivational speakers, you'll find a faculty that is inspiring because we share your goals -- we just happen to be further down the road with some important lessons to share. The faculty scheduled for Winter 2012-2013 are award-winning dynamos, heartfelt speakers, and authors with a combined experience of nearly a century in the sustainable building arena.

Besides the obvious benefit of such a focused learning environment, there is the additional advantage of building a community that shares the emergent philosophy AND is committed to a sustainable building. When you leave you'll have become part of a network with strategic professional alignments and personal commitments. And you can stay connected through alumni "clinics" and fun gatherings.

Regardless of when you register, you'll get the benefit of all this, and more: CEUs for your LEED CMP, and/or ILFI Living Future Accreditation, a follow up mentoring session to complement the personal leadership development plan you created at the workshop, and permanent access to alumni resources on the Emerge Leadership Project website.

Additional discounts encourage membership in local green building non-profits and reward those who've taken the Sustainable Building Advisor Program and passed the national CSBA exam, and these exist for both the Early Bird and Standard optons.

So you don't HAVE to register by the Early Bird registration deadline...but it would be fabulous if you did. (Here's how.) Save some bucks, ensure your seat, and make me very happy.

Kathleen O'Brien is Editor of the Building Capacity Blog and contributes monthly to the DJC Green Building Blog. She has been in the sustainable building field for nearly three decades and currently provides special projects consulting for O'Brien & Company, the firm she founded over twenty years ago, and leadership training and mentoring through her legacy project: The Emerge Leadership Project (ELP). She was instrumental in the development of the Sustainable Building Advisor Program and the SBA Institute (SBAi).

Emerge Leadership Project Launches Vital Training for Green Building Advocates in Northern California

The Emerge Leadership Project took to the road this past summer, introducing the concept of emergent leadership to green building advocates in Northern California. Introductory sessions in Yountville, Santa Rosa, and San Rafael and Pleasanton (where Kathleen is "feeling it" at Dahlin Group's LEED Silver Headquarters, see photo) provided an overview of emergent leadership.  The intros were an opportunity to provide a taste of the learning tools used in the Project's more intensive two-day workshop, which will be offered for the first time in California at NatureBridge Conference Center (Marin Headlands), January 12-13, 2013.

Emergent leadership combines three elements -- servant leadership, change science, and community context -- to forge a path uniquely appropriate for achieving the vision of Emerge's founder, Kathleen O'Brien. "To reach the stage where sustainable building is the norm and not an abstraction, we need a transformation that really only integrated solutions will provide. Emergent leadership is designed to encourage integrated solutions. It's that simple," she says.

Ann Edminster, long term green building advocate and author of Energy Free: Homes for a Small Planet, agrees. Ann partnered with Kathleen on the Bay area educational road show this summer and will be part of the faculty for the two-day workshop. "Those of us who have been immersed in green building for many years have arrived at the collective realization that our highest-performing (i.e., lowest-impact/most restorative) building projects inevitably come about through extreme collaboration, a.k.a., integrated project delivery. This is not our normal industry process, and its successful implementation is an acquired skill – one of emergent or servant leadership. It also is a skill that can be taught (by effective emergent leaders). We need a lot more people learning, applying, and teaching this skill!"

Local educational partners for Emerge Leadership training in California include the Sustainable Building Advisor Bay Area Program  and local chapters of the Green Building Council, including the Northern California and Redwood Empire Chapters. Venue partners for the introductory sessions included Dahlin Group, Dominican University's Sustainable Enterprise MBA Program, the North Coast Builders Exchange Green Building Program and LEED Platinum certified Bardessono Hotel, Restaurant, and Spa*.

Lorraine Alexander, U.S. Green Building Council Redwood Empire Chair and Pacific Regional Council Vice-Chair (and Interior Designer), explains the significance of her organization's educational partnership with Emerge: "It seems the topic of leadership gets very little attention in the realm of sustainability and green building. Many people may shy away from the term 'leader,' as they may not feel worthy of such a lofty title. Leadership is not bigger than us, it is not beyond us. Stepping into those shoes can be an exceptional experience, and if you are effective in your role, personally satisfying. Leadership is something we all need to hear and learn about, as we work towards sustainability in our lives and professions."

In addition to Ann, faculty for the Bay Area Emerge workshop will include David Eisenberg, the Executive Director of the non-profit DCAT, the Development Center for Appropriate Technology based in Tucson, AZ. "David is an outstanding example of emergent leadership," says O'Brien, "as he's managed to help bring about a true transformation in the thinking among code officials and code development bodies that's led to green building codes and related policy. And his humility about this achievement is absolutely inspiring."

The workshop is designed for a special type of person -- someone who is already committed to a sustainable future and to leading the change. Bob Massaro, owner of Healthy Building Technologies Group (HTBG),   Andres Edwards, author of Thriving Beyond Sustainability and The Sustainability Revolution and Bronwyn Barry, Director of OneSky Homes all attended  introductory sessions and are planning on attending the workshop in January.  Notes Bronwyn, "I've already effectively used two great leadership concepts that I learned at the Introductory Workshop.  I can't wait to attend the full two-day program to learn more." (Watch a video invitation.)

The workshop offers 13 CE hours through the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) allied with the US Green Building Council and has been approved for credit towards earning Living Future Accreditation. Earlybird and educational partner discounts are available. To maintain an intimate learning environment, registration is limited so, given the interest expressed by participants in the introductory sessions, early signups are suggested. Learn more about the Bay area workshop.

O'Brien & Company is a major sponsor of the Emerge Leadership Project. * O'Brien & Company provided LEED technical consulting for the Bardessono Project.

Transformation: The Theme of TEDx Tacoma

Most of us working in the green building field understand that to truly achieve our goal of achieving a sustainable built environment - one in which future generations thrive -- a major transformation in practice and thinking must occur. Therefore it was quite satisfying recently to participate in TEDx Tacoma where the theme was "transformation." TED Speakers included scholars, visual artists, musicians, activists, and educators working in fields as various as neurological research, psychology, self-discovery, cloud technology, product design, local food activism, and green building.

If nothing else, the day was transformative for those participating. For some of us, this was the first time before an audience; and for most of us, the first time being in those circumstances with cameras running and a larger-than-life timer blinking down the seconds you have left to complete your talk. Where you might expect the 'green' room to be filled with nervous, inward-looking pacers, it was actually quite the opposite. We were anxious to be sure, and as our talk approached we focused on our notes, but the focus of our conversations was generally curiosity about each other and support for "stepping up" for societal transformation in some way.

Quite appropriately, the venue for the TEDx Event was the "hot shop" for the Tacoma Museum of Glass, with the glass blowing furnace the backdrop for our stage. If you've been working in the trenches of green building, I'm sure you can relate to being on the "hot seat" when defending innovations! And if you've been successful, you've managed to create some confidence in those you wish to put those innovative ideas into practice. I found it intriguing that the TEDx experience was as much about building confidence for the speakers as the audience. It makes sense, doesn't it? How convincing can you be if your concern is not so much about the content as your delivery? Or, if you pay so little attention to your delivery that your audience doesn't get the content? It's a delicate balance, for sure. Taking care with both is a form of respect for those you wish to communicate with.

Kathleen O'Brien founded the award-winning green building firm O'Brien & Company in 1991, and continues to provide special consulting services for the company. She has dedicated her "retirement" to the Emerge Leadership Project, which provides leadership training and mentorship for industry, business, and community members convinced sustainable building is the right thing to do, and called to leadership to make that happen. Her TEDx Tacoma Talk was entitled "Emergence: A Leadership Style that Works for All."

Emerge: What's the Difference?

With the closing registration date only a week away for the upcoming Emerge workshop scheduled at Islandwood, I thought I'd respond to some of the more popular questions I'm getting from individuals thinking of participating.

What makes the Emerge workshop different from conventional leadership training?

Emerge: Leadership for a more sustainable society is specifically designed for individuals who are already convinced sustainable building is the right thing to do, and is committed to taking a leadership role in their communities and organizations to advancing sustainable building as part of their practice and personal lives. The agreed-upon destination for everyone participating in the workshop is a sustainably built environment. We start from that premise, wasting no energy on arguing with naysayers.

Since a society where a sustainably built environment is not the norm, we are talking about a leadership that fosters a dramatic shift in thinking and practice -- a radical, permanent change. It's not about being successful, it's about being effective.

A key ingredient of emergent leadership is a desire to serve the greater good intelligently and compassionately, and to instill that desire in others. What this workshop is not, is a lesson in how to beat out your competition in the sustainable building field. In fact, because it draws from a single area of focus, the Emerge workshop naturally appeals to individuals and organizations that have business relationships with each other (including competitive ones). This only makes the Emerge experience richer for everyone involved.

While the basic principles of emergent leadership stay constant, what it looks like when implemented will be as unique as those implementing it. Think snowflake, an example of emergence in nature. It is only natural that the Emerge workshop experience incorporate this organic sensibility. Teams will work together, applying their collective intelligence to scenarios addressing challenges identified by individual participants in pre-workshop surveys. While the problems may be predictable, the solutions teams have come with are not!

What makes Emerge leadership training different from other educational events in the sustainable building field?

Emergent leadership is premised on the idea that there is no one right answer, but many next right answers. Thus, Emerge training does not focus on a particular green building standard, building policy, or technology. Instead participants learn about the science of change, the significance of collaborative community as a context for sustained, permanent change, and real life examples of effective emergent leadership in the green building field.

There has been a tendency in sustainable building education to rely on celebrities or larger than life heroic figures to inspire those of us in the trenches. Keynote speakers go home. Epic heroes  fall off their pedestals. We need ordinary heroes. The kernel for emergent leadership is servant leadership, a concept formulated in the 70s by Robert Greenleaf, and which I adopted for O'Brien & Company's underlying management philosophy nearly a dozen years ago. The servant leader puts people first, collaboratively and compassionately works with others to better a given situation, using foresight, systems thinking, and skilled communication. All of these skills can be learned and applied if one is dedicated enough. Each Emerge workshop participant leaves with a personal development plan that identifies the unique leadership challenges they hope to address, and have the option of free follow-up mentoring sessions.

Transformational work, although inspiring to think about, can be draining day-to-day. The Emerge workshop is designed to be restorative, with a good mix of dialogue, presentation, and quiet reflection, integrating the outdoors and physical exercise, and healthy food. Since Emerge workshops are held in green buildings, participants get to enjoy the kind of environment they are devoted to bringing to the world.

How does Emerge address the urgency of our situation?

We no longer have time for quick fixes that do not work. What we need  is more long term, intergenerational thinking and sharing that allows for the truth to be told, now. True integrative design requires an honest appraisal of the options -- those we are thinking of, and those we've applied. The research on completed green building projects show, building performance of certified projects are all over the map, as are the costs of building them. That means that it is not the checklist that determines those things, but the people using them! A green building checklist is a tool, and as good as the team using it. Emphasis on TEAM. That is, on Teamwork.

As a panelist at the Living Future Conference a few years ago, I was asked how we could speed up adoption of living building principles. The fact is, and this is how I responded, this change could be instantaneous, if we surrendered our positions. No more posturing on standards or technologies. No more keeping solutions close to the chest. No more standing behind the idea that "we've always been green" (not!) Emerge is intended to bring this transformation about. But no one person can do it. Please join us for what one participant has called a "life-altering experience."

Kathleen O'Brien, LEED AP, CSBA is the Founder of O'Brien & Company, the Founder of the Emerge Leadership Project, and Editor of Building Capacity Blog. She is a long time green building advocate, and a Cascadia Fellow. Sponsors of the Emerge Leadership Project include AIA 2030, Cascadia Green Building Council, the Sustainable Building Advisor Institute, O'Brien & Company, and Eco-Maven. Kathleen was recently interviewed by Eco-Logical Radio Host Terry Phelan on the Emerge project, and has been invited to speak at TEDX Tacoma Transformation, this April 17, 2012. Register now for the only Seattle area workshop scheduled for this year at Islandwood, March 17-18, 2012.

Emerge: Leadership for a more sustainable society

As many of you know I recently celebrated 20 years as founder of O'Brien & Company, and 30 years in the field of sustainable building. For much of this time, I have focused on the practical matter of assisting clients apply sustainable building methods to their building and community projects through education, facilitation, and consultation. Since sustainable building represents a change from business as usual, this assistance has by definition required me to lead others.

I am not what you would call a "born leader" -- far from it, I have been diagnosed as an extreme introvert. And yet, driven by concern about the impact of our built environment as well as the promise of sustainable solutions, I've managed to counter my natural insecurities.

Over the years I have discovered a form of leadership that works for me, and is based on the physical process of emergence where simple elements come together to form a beautiful and functional complex system (think snowflake). Emergent leadership does not require celebrity status or title. It does, however, require inspiration, dedication, leadership competencies, and knowledge. The conceptual elements of emergent leadership combine servant leadership philosophy, change psychology, and leadership best practices. It is uniquely appropriate for our field, since it isn't simply about helping individuals or organizations to grow, nor about helping them to change. It's about both.

Indeed, unlike a change agent, which catalyzes change but remains unchanged, an emergent leader is committed to continuously growing and changing herself. I am convinced by my experience that this kind of leadership flourishes when founded in community.

That's why I've launched "Emerge: Leadership for a More Sustainable Society" -- a residential workshop especially designed for those wishing to create the change we need in the realm of the built environment. The two-day workshop's experiential elements combine inspired story, informational lectures, interactive problem solving, physical integration, and community building.

Our guest speakers represent the best of emergent leadership: Since 1995, David Eisenberg, Founder of DCAT has quietly yet firmly led the effort to create a sustainable context for building regulation. Imagine changing the International Building Code! Fiona Douglas-Hamilton, President of the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild, and Founder of S.E.E.C. has spent the last 20 years building an understanding of the interplay of value(s) and market. And John Cunningham, Assistant Business Manager for IBEW 77 and mediator certified by the Dispute Resolution Program for King County, brings a long history of applying mutual gains bargaining principles in his over 30 years experience successfully negotiating labor agreements and "getting to yes" when they want to say no!

Our first workshop is scheduled for December 10-11th at Islandwood, a LEED Gold Conference Center located in Bainbridge Island, Washington. Whether you have an explicit franchise to lead or not, consider registering if the concept of emergent leadership speaks to you. Hope to see you there!

If you cannot attend, please consider contributing to a needs-based scholarship fund. We are particularly interested in supporting individuals working for affordable housing non-profits and promoting leadership diversity. Contact Kathleen at [email protected]. Put yourself on a mailing list  for future events.The workshop is sponsored by O'Brien & Company and Eco-Maven. Information about the new workshop is being updated regularly at www.emergeleadership.net.

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"Green" Resident Engagement Cards Inform AND Empower in California Non-Profit Housing Developments: Interview with Maria Elena Marquez-Brookes, LINC Housing’s Director of Resident Services

Enterprise Community Partners offers technical resources and training grants for affordable housing communities. In 2010 O’Brien & Company developed a suite of customizable engagement tools to educate and inspire affordable housing residents about green features in their buildings and how to sustainably operate and maintain their home and make healthy lifestyle choices. The primary tool is a set of Resident Engagement Card templates, developed in Power Point. O’Brien & Company also developed companion tools, including a User Guide, a short Tutorial video, a video highlighting some of the universal key concepts covered in the cards, quiz question templates, and an image library. LINC Housing participated in a pilot to show how Enterprise’s new residential engagement tool can be customized for affordable housing agencies and then for specific properties.

Editor: What is LINC Housing and what do you do there? MARIA: LINC is a nonprofit developer of affordable housing for low-income seniors, families and individuals with special needs throughout the state of California. We are located in Long Beach, California. Since 1984 we have helped create more than 6,500 units of affordable housing in 59 communities across the state.

About six years ago I was hired as the Director of Resident Services, tasked with developing the resident services department otherwise known as LINC Cares. At LINC we feel it is important to go beyond simply offering housing and also provide life enhancing services.

With our senior communities, for example, we understand how important it is for our seniors to live independently for as long as possible, so we try and support this goal by providing opportunities to maintain their mental, physical, and social health with exercise and nutrition programs and community engagement activities such as game days. It may just look like Bingo or Arts and Crafts, but in fact we are providing an opportunity to exercise the mind, socialize and build new networks.

Likewise with our family communities, we provide after school programs for children and youth, where they receive tutoring, homework help and have the opportunity to engage in a variety of enriching programs. We hold Family Nights, sessions where families learn about the local resources in their community. We hope that by providing our families with information and increasing access to local services that we are taking a proactive approach and preventing crises from occurring or at least minimizing it.

Can you describe LINC’s role in this project and the process? What were you hoping to accomplish? Enterprise's residential engagement tool seemed to fit right in with our life-enhancing approach to resident services. Giving information to our residents is a great thing –coupling that with the tools to take action is even better. LINC Housing has been engaging residents in being stewards of their environment since 2006. What we learned from our experiences is you can't just tell people to "be green." It's too big. What does that mean? It's overwhelming. The engagement tool was an opportunity to expand on our experiences and break it down even further, making “being green” that much more doable. The tool allowed us to recognize and celebrate what our residents were already doing while providing them with new ideas or strategies they could adopt. And the best part of the tool was that because it was customized to the community we were able to identify stores or services in their neighborhood that could help support their behavior changes.

The specific property you chose to focus on for the pilot was the Pepperwood Apartments. Can you tell us little about Pepperwood? Pepperwood is in Rancho Cucamonga, providing 230 apartments to families. It was a market rate development that we purchased in 2006, converted to affordable housing, and renovated with "green" upgrades including: insulation, energy efficient appliances, heating and cooling, lighting, and low-flow toilets. The resident engagement cards were an opportunity to go back to the residents to make sure they understood how these features worked and how they could take better advantage of them.

How did you use the tool? For our pilot we ended up customizing 30 cards for Pepperwood. We knew that would be too much for a single sitting so we focused our first workshop on two things: some simple energy efficient things they could do, and creating a product they could use in their homes. We used 4-5 cards and used these to stimulate dialogue and to introduce ideas like creating an all purpose green cleaning product they could use at home. This project was greatly appreciated by residents who were looking for something inexpensive and environmentally safe. We also had each participant sign a commitment card;the commitment cards focused on behaviors or strategies the participant was planning on adopting. We plan to check in with these residents in three months.

How did it go? Really well. We were a little surprised; since we held it directly following our after school program, we expected youth to stay and participate. We didn't really expect adults to come. It was a two-hour meeting on a weeknight, dinner included. We had 27 participants, including 15 kids and 12 adults ranging in age from 7 years old to someone in their 60’s. We had moms, dads, grandparents, and whole families participating and everyone stayed right to the end. People were really engaged. And everyone left with a product they had made and could use at home. (The children made play dough.)

So the pilot was successful? Yes, and in more ways than we thought. The cards were about engaging the residents, but it also ended up being a great tool for dialogue with property management, asset management, and housing development staff. In our customization process, there were things we learned through our discussions with community staff. For example, at Pepperwood, we learned that clothes line drying was against policy.

We also learned from Pepperwood's property manager that she was struggling to get cooperation regarding cleaning the lint from dryers. Since this can help make a dryer act more efficiently, it was something we could point out as an energy saver. Residents can hear the message from someone other than the property manager, therefore, validating it.

What's next? We plan on using the generic cards next in one of our senior communities. One thing I liked about working with Kelly (at O'Brien & Company) was that in working with me on getting the cards ready for Pepperwood she would always have a question I didn’t think about, and she would keep digging deeper. In the end we ended up with some great customized cards and with skills to meet the specific needs of all our communities. We want this experience to last for the long haul. We also plan to use the cards as a basis for a community-specific booklet we can hand out to every resident.

Do you have plans to customize the cards for other properties? Yes, two properties, including SEASONS at Compton, which is scheduled to open in summer 2011. SEASONS at Compton will serve a blend of limited income seniors, seniors with developmental disabilities, and seniors who care for dependents with developmental disabilities. The project is registered with the U.S. Green Building Council and is set to achieve LEED Gold Certification. The complex will include environmental features like photovoltaic panels and solar thermal hot water, as well as accessibility features like wider doorways and hallways, adjustable height counters, lower light switches, ramps, and elevators. A bioswale will be used to filter rainwater runoff and collecting silt and pollution before it enters the sewer system. This is very exciting and we have a great opportunity to customize cards for this unique community.

Do the cards only work on "green facilities? No, there are lots of cards that have to do with one's lifestyle and the choices we make, and are not dependent on living in a green building. Again, it is about what our residents can do. They can change out light bulbs, use green cleaning products, recycle or simply walk to the local store.

What lessons learned would you like to share? Engage as many people as you can. We work at such a fast pace, I grabbed at the pilot opportunity without realizing the extent of the project. Fortunately, everyone was as excited about the project as we (resident services) were and provided the support we needed. Engaging everyone who needed to get involved did slow the process down but it was well worth it. The engagement tool is much more effective because everyone from corporate to property staff to residents have had a hand in shaping it.

The other lesson we learned was that today’s youth are much more informed on environmental issues than we ever were at their age. They are familiar with recycling for example, because they've been hearing about that in school for most of their lives. They can be great allies for your resident engagement program and should be part of the development process.

Maria Elena Marquez-Brookes is Director of Resident Services for LINC Housing where she continues a life of "giving back" to the community, something she learned growing up in a community-oriented family. A social worker by training, she has been a community organizer, activist and in addition to her work at LINC serves as a field instructor for other up and coming social workers. This interview was conducted by Kathleen O'Brien, President of O'Brien & Company, and editor of Building Capacity Blog. For more information on how your agency can use this tool, Enterprise Community Partners plan to host a webinar “Introducing New Resident Engagement Tools for Affordable Housing Developers and Owners” on Wednesday, April 20, 2011 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM (EST)

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Why must we reinvent the wheel when conducting collaborative change projects? Kathleen O’Brien, LEED AP, CSBA and Yvonne Kraus, LEED AP, CSBA Responds.

At the Washington State Boundary Review Board for Kitsap County annual conference this past September, Kathleen sat on a panel with Art Castle, Executive Vice President of the Kitsap Home Builders Association, and Dave Tucker (Director, Surface and Stormwater Management, Kitsap County) to discuss the highly successful collaborative process used to develop the Kitsap LID Implementation Standards. The project made history because the work product developed through the process was unanimously adopted by Kitsap County and all four Cities within the County -- something that hasn't happened in recent memory. (This blog published an interview with Art Castle on this project on April 7, 2010.) Panel Moderator and Resource Conservation Manager Katherine Morgan said: "You need to write an article in your blog on an effective collaborative process!"

Anyone who’s ever conducted a project where the point is for groups of individuals or organizations to change the course of their everyday practice and/or business – that’s everyone who is seriously working in the field of sustainability – knows that ownership of the work product is absolutely key.

You can’t simply plop down a program, plan, or policy that another group has developed and expect a stakeholder group to adopt it wholesale. A true collaborative process must take place. And that means you can’t predict what the product of that process will be. And that means that to some degree you must allow for “re-inventing the wheel” -- as taboo as this concept might seem in a society that focuses on “uber” efficiency. Efficient isn’t necessarily effective!

Does this mean that we have to start from ground zero every single time? No, but we do need to allow room for the reality of what it takes to create real social change.   Kathleen asked Yvonne Kraus to join her in providing O’Brien & Company's top ten tips for effective collaborative change projects:

1. Include Everyone. Make sure everyone who has a stake in the process is represented at the table, and that everyone knows why and what they are expected to contribute. This means holding orientation conversations with individuals you are inviting to the table before stakeholder meetings take place. It may mean paying extra attention to individuals who are likely to contribute unpopular views or minority opinions. Hear them out, identify what their issues concerns are, and design a collaborative process that leverages discussions of these concerns as opportunities to expand perspectives and open minds (including yours!). Be prepared to coach your stakeholders from time to time during the process itself. In the photo, Kathleen is facilitating a pre-design workshop for the Building Industry Association's Construction Training Center for the Pacific in Honolulu, HI.

2. Manage Expectations. Be clear how much authority and scope you can offer your stakeholder group. If they think they are going to approve the collaborative work product, but legally they can only provide input, they need to know this right up front! If your budget only permits you to tweak an existing deliverable, you need to tell them this as well. (But be prepared to let them tweak to the fullest extent of your resources!) If you’ve just finished a process that you don’t want to reopen with this one, let them know.

3. Build a foundation for consensus and compromise. In your orientation discussions, you should be able to identify common concerns that could lead to common solutions. For real change to occur, it helps to get all parties behind one or two items that are really important to them. There may be other aspects the stakeholders are less consistently supportive of, but may be willing to compromise over, if these key items are addressed successfully.  And don’t assume you know why someone is resisting change. It may be for reasons you are totally unaware of, and perhaps for one that is more easily resolved than the problem you are imagining.

4. Plan and Prepare Thoroughly. Meeting preparation and follow-through will convey to your stakeholders how much you value their contribution of time and energy. Provide clear agendas that include a statement of the meeting's purpose and desired outcome. Meeting handouts or visual materials should correlate with the agenda so participants can easily map their progress. Have the meeting room set up in plenty of time before your participants arrive. Provide a warm welcome. Follow the maxim: "A good meeting begins on time and ends on time." And, plan a process that “fits” your stakeholder group. (This should be easy, since your orientation process, described in #1 should help you determine the nature of your stakeholder group.) Make sure any presentations are aimed at your audience’s general level of understanding, and that interactive exercises (such as icebreakers) will be inviting rather than off-putting. It may feel like overkill, but setting ground rules is never a wasted exercise. Having a few rules to start with and asking to complete the list is a great way to get a "read" on how the group will interact as a group before you get into content.

5. But, be flexible. Your stakeholder group may come up with a better solution (and process) than what you had in mind! In the Kitsap LID project mentioned above, the first meeting of the Leadership Team identified a different (and even better) way to organize the work. We took a break from the next monthly meeting to allow for planning and preparation, and then restarted the process. The Leadership Team was content knowing they were heard. They owned the process and in the end, they owned the product!

6. Use a knowledgeable facilitator. We’ve observed processes where the facilitator was significantly more focused on getting everyone heard then on getting to a solution. Perhaps they didn’t know enough about the content area to move things along. So annoying. A facilitator with content expertise can help make gentle course corrections. You'll want to make sure, however, that the facilitator has enough ego strength to provide functional leadership without manipulating or dominating the discussion.

7. Encourage full engagement. If someone or several some ones (a very bad sign) shut down by remaining silent or withdrawing from the process, hit pause and find out what's going on. Make sure the facilitator provides a number of different methods for drawing your participants into the dialogue or activity.

8. Educate everybody. No collaborative process is worth a grain of salt unless it leaves the stakeholders more knowledgeable. This knowledge gives them the confidence to be cheerleaders later when the work product is completed, and helps them create a better result in the first place. We like to bring in peers from other organizations or jurisdictions that can provide information about how they completed a similar project with lessons learned as well as content experts who can present information on specific topics in non-technical terms. Don’t forget the stakeholders themselves. Besides asking them what their informational needs are at the outset of the process, find out who has special areas of expertise and can contribute to the general body of knowledge. Include them in the agenda as presenters. This can be especially helpful if they are opinion leaders. And, you’ll find that most stakeholders (even those who hated school) love learning when it’s presented in a way that helps them do their job better or improve their life. (They may even volunteer for the next stakeholder process!) In the photo, you see stakeholders, invited content experts including King County’s Tom Watson, and residents at a recent City of Sammamish Community Workshop for planning the City’s Sustainability Strategy. This particular breakout group is focused on strategies for waste reduction and recycling.

9. Keep things moving. If you have the luxury of time, spread your meetings out just enough for your participants to digest the information and process as you go -- but not much more. You don't want to lose momentum. If you do need to take a significant break (which can happen when you’re preparing the final deliverable), keep participants apprised and excited with updates and content-related announcements, such as seminars on the topic they might be interested in attending. If you’ve set up a website for your project (a good idea) keep it active between meetings. The Kitsap LID website offered a presence during the project and continues to be an outreach tool for the Kitsap Home Builders Foundation on the subject of LID.

  10. Take care of your stakeholders and celebrate! With education you feed your stakeholders’ minds, but don't forget their bodies and souls! Take restorative breaks with yummy, healthy food, lots of water, fresh air and light. Make sure each session with your stakeholders represents a milestone that is obvious and take the time celebrate it! They'll thank you for it. And of course, thank them, every chance you get. At the City of Sammamish Community Workshop, the Staff put together a basket (see photo) containing local, healthy goodies for a raffle held at the end of the session. It doesn’t get any better than that!

Kathleen O'Brien, Editor of Building Capacity Blog, and President of O'Brien & Company, and Yvonne Kraus, Program Manager of O'Brien & Company have facilitated scores of meetings, workshops, and charrettes focused on sustainability in their professional careers. Yvonne leads the company's strategic plans, programs, and policies team. Among other professional credentials, she has multiple certifications in group process including: Design Charrette Planning and Facilitation, Group Facilitation Methods, and Public Facilitation. The company also provides services in green building consulting and education, all in the name of promoting sustainability of the built environment.  Kathleen also wants to acknowledge that the top ten tips reflects many lessons learned along side our wonderful clients and stakeholders!

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Environmental Educator Targets Latino Community: Interview with Stuart Vazquez

O’Brien & Company, Inc. has long been concerned with the lack of diversity in green building service providers, so when one of our staff members saw you promoting the bi-lingual Eco-Logica Magazine at a local solar festival she brought your project to my attention. I’m impressed. Can you share with the readers what you are trying to do with this publication? STUART: Eco-Logica Magazine is part of an educational effort I am making that is primarily aimed at the Latino community, but the magazine should also be a bridge between Latino and Anglos. Hence the articles are in both Spanish and English. The focus is on living and doing business in a more sustainable manner. The magazine is available for free to the community, in both print and electronic versions.

So is Eco-Logica a non-profit venture? I’m convinced that I can make a paying job out of this. Perhaps we’ll go that route in the future. Right now, the advertisements appearing in the magazine don’t yet support the time I invest, so I’m hoping that will change. This is not about being a saint like “Mother Teresa” but it definitely is a passion for me. I’ve had a lot of encouragement to expand the educational effort beyond the publication itself. We are taking invitations to organizations, such as churches, schools and businesses in the Latino community to talk about the project, and sustainability in general.

What’s been the response to your project? We’ve had positive feedback from both the Latino and Anglo community. However, most of the invitations to speak have been from the Anglo community. We’re hoping to change that. We want businesses and groups in the Latino community to see how this applies to them, and can help provide a more sustainable quality of life. Notably, once we get their attention, they will often say, this is how we did it back home! Conserving was a part of life.

I understand you make your living as a musician. How does environmental education fit into the picture? Well my degree was actually in biology with courses in chemistry, environmental issues, and waste management. When I was a college intern I worked for the Department of Ecology for a city in the State of Veracruz, Mexico, and then they hired me as Director of Solid Waste Department. We worked on developing a recycling program, conducting community education, and building the first legal landfill in that area. Unfortunately when the municipal administration changed, that job went away. They wouldn’t even let us work for free, so the landfill was not completed. Just prior to moving to the States, I ran a company doing business consulting. Since moving here, I’ve been performing and teaching drums, and writing the magazine on the side.

You mentioned advertising income earlier; do you have any criteria for accepting an advertisement? We are trying to avoid products that are part of an unsustainable system. On the other hand, this is a great opportunity to educate the businesses who want to advertise to the Latino community. It’s important to point out that there are diverse income levels in our community, and not to assume that Latino families can’t afford or wouldn’t want green services if they knew about them.

O’Brien & Company focuses on sustainability of the built environment. For the people you are targeting with your publication, what kinds of green building information would be most useful? For the most part, they need basic, simple ways to maintain their homes sustainably, such as changing the light bulbs, replacing leaky fixtures. Also, they need to know how to take advantage of weatherization programs now available. My understanding is that the Latino community here in Washington is not participating; they probably don’t even know about it, or truly understand the benefit. In some cases, it’s an issue of renting vs. owning, but not always. We need the Latino media to take this green building movement seriously and cover the topic in a meaningful way.

Kathleen O’Brien is the Editor of Building Capacity Blog and President of O’Brien & Company. O’Brien & Company is a woman-owned business founded in 1991 to promote sustainability of the built environment. The firm would love to see more diversity in the “feeder fields” – those that naturally feed into green building services consulting, such as design and planning, construction trades, and engineering.

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LEED Silver Building Stands as Beacon of Hope for Agency with Long Legacy of Fighting Poverty: Interview with Larry Eyre

Kitsap Community Resources (KCR) achieved a long-held dream in 2007 when it opened the Bremerton Community Services Center (CSC). Since its founding in 1965 as part of the War on Poverty, this was the first time KCR was operating out of a building it had designed and constructed. It was also the first building to achieve LEED Certification in Bremerton. As KCR’s Executive Director, can you share with our readers why your agency was willing to invest time, energy, and money in a green building? EYRE: It goes back to our mission, which is "providing hope and opportunity for low-income Kitsap County residents with resources that develop self-sufficiency." Since 1965, when our agency was created as part of the War on Poverty effort, we have been providing services to low-income individuals and families. Our goal is not just to provide emergency assistance, but to put our clients on the path to financial independence. The services we are now providing from the Bremerton CSC had been provided in four scattered rental locations. It seems fitting that we have built our own building, and that this building is built sustainably. We are so much better off financially.

It's got to be better owning rather than renting. How about savings directly related to the new green building features? It's fair to say we are saving about 40% a year on utilities with the new scenario. And this is with 10% more square footage than we had when we were renting four buildings.

Any other reasons for building green? Well the other half of our mission is providing "hope". Having a new LEED Silver building in downtown Bremerton is a very visible symbol of hope. We feel it has contributed to the revitalization of the Bremerton's downtown. And because the LEED concept was still novel in our area, we were able to obtain funding as a "pilot" -- this helped with the cost of documentation and certification. The project has brought the organization additional recognition. We won the Kitsap County 2008 Earth Day Award, and enjoyed good press about the project.

Any particular challenges with the project? Well it's hard to believe now, but construction was booming at the time, and the cost of construction was escalating tremendously -- up 20% during the year of construction. So we had a budget gap. Our funding partners, including Senator Patty Murray, came through for us, though, and we were able to complete the project. The project's goals were considered significant enough for this boost, and we appreciate that.

Are you happy with the building? We are delighted with it. Of course we're in a building designed for the services we provide, so it is much more functional. But the green emphasis on natural light, operable windows, and low VOC finishes, is making for a much better and healthier working environment. We're also really proud of the fact that we were able to purchase la high proportion of local materials for both building and furnishings. We're lucky to have Watson Furniture here, their manufacturing process is very green and they supplied all our furniture. Our plantings are local too, which saves us on watering and upkeep.

Looking ahead now, we're working with you on a new project that combines a community services center with eight units of affordable housing: What lessons are you hoping to apply here? Well we feel that the Bremerton building turned out pretty well. But we are more experienced. And the conditions are different. In this case we have a more natural, less urban site. We're going to take advantage of the fact that there are trees and we're going to look at on-site rainwater collection. There were a couple of things we didn't do on the Bremerton building we'd like to look at again here. In that building we ended up with a less advanced HVAC system than originally designed; a clerestory with operable windows was also value engineered out. It would be nice to see how those items would work in the new community services center. And we'd like to find a better-wearing low-VOC paint. The one we used isn't doing as well as we'd hoped. Even so, there was a lot we like about our Bremerton building and we plan to reproduce most of that in this new building.

      Based on your experience, what would you tell other community action agencies considering  capital improvement projects? I would certainly suggest they give serious consideration to sustainability early on. At this point (in Washington), if you are using state funds, you will be expected to certify your project with a LEED-Silver rating. To be successful you need to build in sustainable features as a practical matter. It's worth the extra effort because your clients, your employees (often former clients) will appreciate the investment you are making on their behalf. We have found it is more attractive for funders, also, so make sure it's part of the story you tell. With our Bremerton building, we used the project's sustainability goals to mandate no smoking on the premises, rather than just meeting the rule of law (25 ft. from entrance). Because of the extra hassle, several employees have quit. This is just one example of a positive outcome we can share with potential funders.

Also look for green features that have funding attached to them, such as alternative energy. This can help cover first cost premiums. Frankly, the more commonly these features are used, the lower the relative cost is going to be. Long term savings can also justify some expenditure. For a community service organization, it isn't just about the money, although it can certainly feel that way when dealing with the budget. For our part, it is very important that we are doing our part for the larger community by doing the right thing, and owning and operating sustainable facilities is a part of that.

Larry Eyre has served as Executive Director of Kitsap Community Resources (KCR) since 1979. KCR administers programs and services to meet the specific needs of Kitsap County’s low-income populations. KCR currently employs approximately 180 full-time employees and 80 part-time employees and is one of 31 Community Action Agencies in the state of Washington. Kathleen O'Brien, President of O'Brien & Company, and Editor of Building Capacity Blog conducted this interview. O'Brien & Company acted as the sustainability consultant on the Bremerton Community Services Center, which was designed by Rice Fergus Miller Architecture and Planning, and constructed by the Rafn Company.

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