2010-11 Board of Directors
Nomination Application Form
Please complete this application in its entirety and email it to:
paul@usgbc-ncc.org
, with “NCC
Nomination” in the subject line, in .doc (Microsoft Word) format on or before Monday, October 19,
2009. The Nominating Committee will verify and review all applications and announce the qualified
slate of candidates prior to the election taking place Nov. 1 – 30, 2009. Election results will be
announced in mid-December. The term of service for new board members is January 1, 2010 –
December 31, 2011. Your responses to this application will be posted on the chapter website during the
election. The Nominating Committee reserves the right to edit lengthy responses for posting. Before
filling out, please review the Board responsibilities and minimum criteria in the Guidelines and Fact
Sheet at
www.usgbc-ncc.org/2010election
. Thank you for your interest in serving the Chapter.
Name of Nominee:
Lisa Michelle Galley____
Title:
Managing Principal_____________________________
Organization:
___Galley Eco Capital ____________________
Address:
71 Stevenson Street, #400, San Francisco, California 92105
Telephone: _+1 (415) 655-6668____ Email: lisa@galleyecocapital.com___________________
Membership Category: ___Either: a) Other Professionals or b) Financial Services _
Individual NCC Membership Categories: Building Product Manufacturers; Building Controls Manufacturers/ Building Operations, Maintenance; Building Owners, Facility Managers & Developers; Owner’s Representatives & Project Managers; Real Estate Brokers & Property Management Firms; Contractors & Builders; Professional Societies; Local & State Governments; Environmental & Non-Profit Organizations; Architectural Firms; Engineering Firms; Other (non-A&E) Professionals; Financial Services (Lenders, Advisers, Others); Utilities, ESCOs & Energy Service Providers; Insurance Companies, Brokers & Agents; Universities & Research Institutes; Federal Agencies; and Green Building Consulting.
1.
Please summarize the reasons you wish to serve on the board of the NCC and why the
membership should elect you to the board in 250 words or less.
I would like to continue my service to the NCC membership because I can deliver a few key perspectives that strengthens NCC’s fiscal management, chapter growth and NCC’s engagement with the finance and
investment community locally and beyond:
Improved Chapter Fiscal Management & Growth Strategies: During my time as Treasurer, the size of the NCC budget has more than doubled. I helped NCC to study its own operation and develop its own playbook with best approaches to membership growth, branch structures, revenue generation and expense management. This has enabled better Chapter service to the membership as well as the built environment in Northern California.
Knows both the traditional financial services and emerging green finance industry: My work consists of helping investors and governments to use green finance to maximize the value of sustainable development. This experience comes from 22+ years of work as a real estate lender and asset manager. Finally, I am one of a handful of professionals who are developing and teaching green investment underwriting to financial institutions nationally.
Connects Northern California to International Efforts at Regional Sustainability: My work also serves non-US investors that are applying sustainability to their programs – particularly focusing on developing financial mechanisms for district-level sustainability. From these engagements, we are heavily involved with developing green building information and perspectives out of other markets, which can
contribute to similar efforts here in Northern California.
2.
When did you join the USGBC-Northern California Chapter? (Note that the candidate must be a
member in good standing for a minimum of 1 year from due date of application.)
2006.
3.
Briefly describe your past involvement in USGBC-NCC chapter and branch activities, including
positions held, committee participation, program work, volunteering or other work associated
with the NCC. Indicate your year(s) of involvement and specific achievements for each.
My past involvement with USGBC-NCC includes:Finance Committee Member for, approximately 1 year.
Treasurer, of USGBC-NCC Board, for nearly 2 years. The focus during this time has been on growing revenues through better membership management, the use of more management reporting (key performance indicators) so that the Chapter, via the Board, obtains the best information about how budgeted finances are supporting the agreed upon strategy.
Participation in additional “on-demand” Chapter initiatives:
o Co-chair for Alliance of California Chapters – representing NCC in statewide collaborative efforts among California Chapters.
o Plus my volunteer work focuses on one-off initiatives to engage members of finance and investment community to be more aware of chapter activities, become more
knowledgeable about the positive business case for green building; for example, I put together and led Chapter meeting on the Green Business Case for brokerage, finance and investment community.
4.
Provide a summary of the professional qualifications, knowledge and experience you have that are
of most relevance to the NCC. Identify any affiliations, memberships and accreditations which may
be pertinent to chapter leadership. Indicate the degree to which you have senior management
and executive level experience.
Experience
o 22+ years in commercial real estate finance and investment
Includes 10 years as a commercial real estate lender with 7 of those years as senior manager.
5 years international (Germany, Northern Europe, Baltics, UK, Canada) lending and investment experience (Bilingual English-German)
Founded and running green finance consultancy for nearly 2 years.
Sourced and structured economic incentives into sustainable real estate investment programs for for-profit and non-profit property owners.
Also consulted on general real estate matters. Volunteer Activities
o Active 1 year in San Francisco chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties prior to USGBC-NCC activities
o Member, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Task Force on Existing Building Efficiency Awards
o Recognition by Sitra (Innovation Agency of Finland) for finance/economic models for carbon neutral district design competition named “Low2No”
o Named one of “First Ladies of Sustainability” by Sustainable Industries Magazine Teaching / Training / Presentations in Green Finance & Investment
o Invited Faculty Member, teaching Underwriting for Green Developments, United States Federal Reserve Bank – National Community Development Lending School, 2010; New Orleans o Workshop Presenter on Energy Efficiency Financing – GSMI Sustainability Conference, 10/2009 o Session Leader/Moderator at West Coast Green -
o Presenter on Energy Efficiency Finance – ULI Developing Green Conference: 2005 and 2009 o Workshop Presenter on Green Real Estate Investment – Triple Bottom Line Investment (Paris)
2007
o Conducted private finance and investment workshops and presentations for several corporations
o Developed course titled “Getting Started in Green Finance”.
Research / Publications on Green Finance & Triple Bottom Line Investing
o Current research paper to be presented at upcoming ULI Fall Conference (co-authored): “Metrics for High Performance Portfolios”, focusing on how investors can utilize responsible property investment metrics to evaluate triple bottom line activities within real estate portfolios.
o “How Sustainability Advances Science Parks, Their Users and Communities” (co-authored): This paper, prepared for the 2009 convening of the International Association of Science Parks, was presented at the IASP’s World Convention in 6/2009 in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. o “Green Finance for Affordable Housing”: This webcast, presented online at BrightTalk.com in
6/2009, has been rated 4.5 out of 5 stars by participants. Memberships
o Full Member, US Green Building Council
o Full Member, Urban Land Institute – active on Responsible Property Investing Council (see “Research” above)
o Member, San Francisco chapter of National Association of Office and Industrial Properties
5.
List past and current involvement with professional organizations, trade associations, volunteer
civic organizations, community groups and not-for-profit governance, including any leadership
roles that you held. Describe associated expertise, experience and resources you could bring to
both consensus building and NCC capacity-building activities.
In addition to the industry groups and memberships above, I have been active in the following organizations in the past:
o Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate o International Council of Shopping Centers
6.
PLATFORM: Identify the top three issues of concern, goals and/or areas for improvement on
which you would like to focus as a board member. Include statements describing how you
propose to address and/or implement each within your term.
The top 3 areas of concern that I would like to focus on:
o Helping the chapter to access grants / research funding for innovative research projects that advance green building. This would mean working together with Chapter experts and staff to
define needed research benefitting the built environment and helping to put together proposals that would allow Chapter to access grant funding for those projects.
o Further growing the Chapter corporate, individual and branch membership: With the rise of sustainability, I want to help lead the Chapter’s efforts to assist companies and individuals to learn about sustainability and how to apply it to their properties, their businesses and careers. In the past my efforts here have included working with Chapter staff to develop operational key performance indicators. In the future, I will support the Chapter’s efforts to grow via broadening and strengthening its presence in regions where branches are active and prepare the Chapter organizationally to engage other areas where branches may be active in the future.
o Increase participation in the chapter by finance and investment community members: I am already working informally with representatives of several other chapters who are putting together working groups focused on finance and investment professionals. Moving sustainability forward will require effective engagement of these professionals and I will be actively developing those efforts by NCC as well. I am well-placed to lead those efforts due to my work in that area of industry and knowledge of Chapter goals and processes and how to effectively coordinate these efforts.
7.
Fundraising is an important board member activity. It may take many forms, including but not
limited to: soliciting for direct sponsorships; helping to secure funding; opening doors to
corporate, governmental and charitable sources; recruiting important new members; providing
in-kind support. Please describe your experience with and ability to participate in resource
development.
I have helped to open doors to corporate support from real estate investors through providing NCC a high profile presence at national finance and investment conferences that my firm has sponsored. Additionally, I have done a large amount of ‘one-on-one’ individual membership recruitment, which typically happens in conjunction with the frequent amount of speaking and training that I conduct for finance and investment professionals. Going forward, I would continue to facilitate fundraising for the Chapter through the heavy engagement of the finance and investment community on behalf of the Chapter.
8.
The NCC is committed to strengthening diversity amongst its membership. Describe the resources
you could bring to bear (e.g., demonstrated expertise, leadership positions, established contacts)
to help further chapter participation from various sectors, such as real estate, energy,
finance/insurance, residential, corporate, facilities, product manufacturing and others.
My expertise and leadership is “diverse” for NCC in terms of being a finance and investment professional who is well-versed in applying sustainability to the classic real estate investment and lending case. Another facet of my experience that is unique in that I have worked with investors already on developing evaluation metrics for triple bottom line investing, which helps to increase transparency within triple bottom investing and eliminate greenwashing.
9.
Are you able and committed to attend at least three quarters of the regularly scheduled monthly
board meetings each year?
Yes.
10. The board’s conflict of interest policy is summarized in the NCC bylaws. As the full statement
indicates, conflicts are not inherently improper but board members must be conscious of such
conflicts and act with candor and care in dealing with such situations. Please declare any
potential
conflicts of interest that may affect your board responsibilities.
11. The NCC is undergoing a time of great expansion as we add regional branches as coordinating
bodies across the chapter. How do you propose NCC work with branches to advance USGBC goals
and objectives?
Branches are key partners, and require assistance with regionalizing the Chapter tools for engagement (advocacy, education, etc.) to be successful. Going forward, I think the Chapter will have to determine the best ways to regionalize many of its educational and advocacy offerings so that membership with NCC is seen as equally relevant, regardless of the particular region that a member may be living/working in.
12. While green building has begun to hit the mainstream there is still much unknown about it and
many false myths that are spread about green building generally and USGBC specifically. How do
you propose the NCC increase USGBC exposure to the general public?
I think many in the general public want to know the WIIFM of green building, as in “what’s in it for me?” NCC can increase USGBC exposure to the general public by communicating the huge benefits to people’s lives that come from living and working in green buildings. Secondly, people are very concerned about issues of social equity and unemployment. The USGBC can communicate green building’s value in their everyday lives by connecting its activities with positive activities such as the creation of green jobs and the new career opportunities associated with them. Also, the increase in the use of renewable energy and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions can be connected with environmental justice, energy security and preservation of community long-term health, which are all things the general public cares deeply about.
13.
How do you propose the NCC advance green building practices in Northern California?
Green building can be advanced in a few ways: first, by giving companies and people tools to implement green building better within their jobs and second, by targeting the educational outreach necessary to enhance the former suggestion. A third important way to advance green building practices that is already working (and I suggest here, needs to continue and be strengthened) is for the effective advocacy of green building compatible practices within the various Northern California regions’ and the State of California California’s legislative efforts. Specifically, NCC can advance green building practices in Northern California by helping to develop simple tools that make easier for building owners and local agencies to administer key processes within the green building process. In addition to that NCC can advance green building practices. NCC has in the past and should continue to coordinate local advocacy among the many regions within the Chapter’s jurisdictions.
14. California is a hotbed for environmental policy leadership from the local to the State level. The
NCC interacts at all of these levels. How do you propose the NCC increase advocacy efforts with
governmental agencies?
NCC has already done a great job of getting member volunteers to participate on local advocacy and codes issues. NCC has also done a great job at organizing support for statewide advocacy via a California Advocacy Coalition, which streamlines advocacy efforts among the California USGBC Chapters. I recommend that NCC advocacy experts explore engaging governmental agencies by providing the agencies with simple tools, education that helps them connect green building activities with economic development efforts. Many of the federal level stimulus funding opportunities require that government agencies detail plans to achieve sustainable outcomes with the funds they apply for. NCC can increase its advocacy among these constituents offering those agencies education and tools, which help them to do a better job of prioritizing, and then articulating their sustainability policy initiatives within their budgetary, grant and stimulus funding efforts.
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Submission of Nomination Application Form and Accompanying Materials
Please email this completed and signed form, along with the following
required
material
below to
paul@usgbc-ncc.org
with “NCC nomination” in the email subject line by October 19, 2009.
Additional Required Material
1.
Signed Board of Directors Commitment on (see Page 4)
2. A biographical statement not exceeding 250 words
