Executive Staff

President, CEO & Founding Chairman

Chief Operating Officer (COO) 

Senior Vice President, Education & Research 

Senior Vice President, LEED 

Senior Vice President, Business Technology Transformation 

Senior Vice President, Global Policy & Law 

Vice President, Technology 

Vice President, Business Solutions 

Vice President, Market Development 

Vice President, Residential Market Development 

Vice President, Conferences and Events 

Vice President, LEED Resource Development 

Vice President, LEED Technical Development 

Vice President, Finance and Administration 

Vice President, Community 

Vice President, Operations

S. Richard Fedrizzi
President, CEO & Founding Chairman

Rick Fedrizzi, founding chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 1993, was appointed President & CEO in April 2004. Under his leadership, the Council has tripled its membership, broadened its influence, and cemented its role as a leadership voice in the global sustainability movement. 

The evolution and extension of the internationally recognized LEED Green Building Rating System to all building types and expansion of LEED certification and accreditation through the spin off the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), of which Rick is chairman, has helped build in speed and capacity to the organization.  Collaboration, through work with the Clinton Global Initiative, the International Codes Council, AIA, ASHRAE, ASID, ASLA, BOMA and IFMA has broadened the base of green building. Expanded outreach and education, advocacy support for public policy initiatives, and a heightened emphasis on green building’s role in social equity progress are part of Rick’s vision for the organization.  In 2009, Rick Fedrizzi and the USGBC were recognized as visionaries in sustainability by the National Building Museum, which awarded them an Honor Award. A founder of the World Green Building Council, Rick is now an active member of its board.  He also serves on the board of the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative.

Prior to his appointment, Rick was with United Technologies Corporation (UTC), before establishing Green Think, an environmental marketing organization.    He serves on the Board of Directors of the New York Indoor Environmental Quality (NYIEQ) Center and The Environmental Project™,  as an Advisory Council member for Planet Green, and is an active alumnus of Syracuse University, where he received his MBA degree. Rick received his BS from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY. 

Chris Smith
Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Chris joined USGBC in June, 2005 to help the organization meet the challenges created by rapid growth.  As COO, Chris provides organizational leadership and management of finance, human resources, technology and administration.  Prior to his arrival, he facilitated the sale of Washington, DC based architecture firm Ai, in which he was CFO/COO and a partner since 1998.  His experience also includes similar senior management responsibilities in a commercial real estate services firm and a systems integration company.  Chris began his career in banking, where he specialized in branch management and commercial lending. 

A native of the Washington, D.C. area, Chris has been active in the community for over 20 years, serving as a Director and Treasurer of both St. Luke’s House and the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce as well as President of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rotary Club.  He is a graduate of Duke University, and earned a Master of Science in Organization Development from  American University/National Training Labs (AU/NTL).

As Senior Vice President of Education & Research for the U.S. Green Building Council, Rebecca Flora directs USGBC’s far-reaching education program and expanding research initiatives. Rebecca has been deeply involved in USGBC’s growth and development as an active volunteer, providing leadership to USGBC’s board as outgoing chair, to the core committee of LEED for Neighborhood Development, and as chair of the host committee of Greenbuild 2003 in Pittsburgh.

She has served on the Pittsburgh Civic Design Coalition, and recently was an advisory board member for the University of Pittsburgh’s Mascaro Sustainability Initiative, and a board member of Phipps Conservatory and the Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development. Additionally, she has been an adjunct faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz School of Public Policy and Management.

A LEED AP, Rebecca holds a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Science from Plattsburgh State University of New York.

As the Vice President of Technology for the U.S. Green Building Council, Joseph Diianni brings over 12 years of technology experience in corporate, education and nonprofit industries.

Prior to joining USGBC, he developed web and graphic technology for USAID's Support for Analysis and Research in Africa (SARA) Project. Joe worked with the Dean of Academics at Pepperdine University in Southern California to develop the foundation of the country's leading student learning assessment project. As an independent contractor, he has also developed web sites, applications and networks for numerous engineering, architecture, retail, political, and advertising firms throughout the U.S. In addition, Joe has designed and implemented computer labs at educational institutes in both Germany and Italy. Before that, Joe worked with SAP America, Inc. to strengthen regional Information Technology and web application support.

Joe studied technology at Pepperdine University, receiving his degree in International Relations.

As the Vice President for Market Development at the U.S. Green Building Council, Doug Gatlin has oversight for deploying the family of LEED rating systems in all the major commercial market segments and for managing overall customer relations for LEED and the Council’s new pilot initiative, the Portfolio Program.

Doug has 16 years experience in energy and environmental policy and has worked on climate change response strategies and voluntary pollution prevention programs for most of his career. He has authored publications on climate change mitigation strategies, energy efficiency program design, and energy efficiency project financing.

Prior to joining USGBC, Doug worked at the US EPA for nearly 10 years. For most of his tenure there, he served as Team Leader for the ENERGY STAR Commercial Buildings program, spearheading numerous activities including the launch of the first vertical sector marketing strategy, a new public sector program for governments, K-12 schools and universities, an energy efficiency financing initiative, and the launch of new partnership program with utilities.  From 1992-1996, Doug served as a project manager at the Washington, DC based Climate Institute, where he managed the Energy Smart Cities campaign and helped the U.S. Department of Energy launch the Rebuild America program.

Doug holds a bachelors in political science from Duke University and a masters in public policy from Georgetown University. He lives with his wife and two children in Silver Spring, MD.

Nate Kredich joined the U.S. Green Building Council in March 2008 as Vice President of Residential Market Development. He spent the prior five years working in the production homebuilding environment as the chief operating officer and general manager of Creative Touch Interiors, a national turnkey provider of design center and installation services that he helped to sell to The Home Depot in 2004. Following the sale, Nate oversaw the growth of the company’s California and Nevada operations, and he held various leadership positions within his own local homebuilding association.

Nate’s prior experience also included a position as CEO of a software company focused on the interior design market, where he helped build a searchable interior products database which helped design professionals gather information on sustainable products. He was recently named to the Nominating Committee for the Michael J. Hanley Award for Vision and Leadership in Sustainable Building.

Nate received a bachelor’s degree from Emory University and a master’s in business administration from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

As the Vice President of Conferences & Events at USGBC for over seven years, Kimberly Lewis manages the direction of the annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, the world’s largest conference and expo dedicated to green building. As a direct testament to the department’s success, Greenbuild has received the IMEX responsible meeting award and Trade Show Week’s Fastest 50 conference award four times.

Along with the annual conference, the Conferences & Events team coordinates more than 100 committee meetings, summits, roundtables and special events throughout the year. With 12 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Kimberly is a leading speaker for her peers, educating audiences on coordinating sustainably responsible meetings and conferences.

Prior to joining USGBC, Kimberly served as the Senior Meeting & Events Manager of Incentive and Recognition at WorldCom Inc. where she planned both domestic and international sales roll-outs and incentive and recognition contests and events.

Kimberly serves on the advisory boards of convention and visitors bureaus in three cities – Denver, Atlanta and New Orleans – as well as on the advisory board of Starwood Hotels Inc. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and Political Science from Hood College in Frederick, Md. She is a professional member of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), and the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC).

Mike Opitz is the Vice President of LEED Implementation at USGBC, whose main responsibility is developing and maintaining the LEED submittal documentation requirements and corresponding LEED Online v3 functionality for individual building projects and the LEED Portfolio Program. During his time with USGBC Mike has overseen the revisions to the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance rating system, managed the LEED certification team, and directed ongoing operations of the LEED for Existing Buildings program.

Prior to joining USGBC Mike’s professional career has focused on energy efficiency in buildings, starting with the development of a regional model energy code in Russia in the 1990s that has since been locally adopted by regions constituting 75% of the country. Mike also spent several years at a consulting firm in the DC area where he was responsible for quality assurance and quality control of energy measurement and verification, and also managed an energy performance contract for the U.S. Army covering 700 buildings across five installations.

Mike is a licensed Professional Engineer and a LEED Accredited Professional. He holds dual master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering and in Technology and Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

As the Vice President of LEED® Technical Development at the U.S. Green Building Council, Brendan Owens collaborates with volunteer technical committees to refine and evolve the USGBC’s LEED Green Building Rating System. During his time at USGBC, Brendan has led development activities for LEED for New Construction, LEED for Existing Buildings, LEED for Core and Shell and several market specific LEED Application Guides including retail, healthcare facilities and laboratories. Brendan is currently focused on creating the framework for LEED Version 3, a system that promises to be technically more robust and easier to implement.

Brendan is a member of the ASHRAE/USGBC/IESNA committee developing Standard 189.1 – Standard for High-Performance Green Buildings and is a delegate to the United Nations Environmental Programme Sustainable Buildings & Construction Initiative (UNEP/SBCI) Think Tank on Benchmarking Sustainable Buildings. He represents USGBC on the steering committee for the Advanced Energy Design Guide series and the Green Guideline for Healthcare. Prior to joining USGBC, Brendan worked designing and implementing performance contract based energy conservation projects in existing buildings. Brendan also managed the energy conservation program for a 100+ building campus.

Brendan is a LEED Accredited Professional and a licensed Professional Engineer. He received his Bachelor’s of Science in Engineering from Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN.

As Vice President of Finance and Administration, Dave Witek manages the Accounting Department, monitoring the organization’s financial processes and internal controls, and ensuring financial statements are prepared and reported in accordance with GAAP. He maintains the relationship with the auditors, and oversees the budget preparation, corporate investments and the payroll functions. His administration functions for USGBC include business insurance and real estate capacities.

Dave joined USGBC in September 2006 as the Controller. Prior to joining the Council, he served as Operational Controller for the start up company InPhonic and as the Director of Accounting for their prepaid mobile phone division, Liberty Wireless. Before that, Dave managed several accounting departments at TeleCorp, another start up telecom corporation.

Dave received his bachelor of science in accounting from Syracuse University and his M.B.A. in Information Technology at Loyola College in Maryland. He is a Certified Public Accountant.

As Vice President of Community for the U.S. Green Building Council, Heather Tomlinson oversees the national membership program, directing a strong team that actively recruits new member organizations, develops new programs to engage members, and enriches the overall experience of being a part of USGBC. She also oversees the Council’s chapter program which includes managing a dynamic team of professionals and chapter volunteer leaders who are working to transform the built environment in their local communities through membership, education, advocacy, and outreach.

Before joining USGBC, Heather developed and managed several direct marketing and membership/investor relations departments for start-up energy companies in which she was also a co-owner. Her prior experience also includes senior marketing and membership positions with National Public Radio’s Boston bureau. Heather is a graduate of UCLA and earned a master’s degree in business administration from Rice University.

As Vice President of Operations for USGBC, Amy is responsible for Project Management, Customer Service and Business Analysis. Her primary focus is to ensure that USGBC responds timely and accurately to inquiries while ensuring technical solutions support our affiliates in the pursuit of their mission.

Prior to joining USGBC, Amy was Vice President of Operations for the world leader in traffic safety. Her team was responsible for the implementation, operation of and service for a network of global traffic enforcement systems. She has over ten years of experience leading global project management teams and client service functions. She began her career in product development for a Japanese company and in brand management at Revlon and General Mills.

Amy earned her Bachelor’s degree in Japanese and Spanish from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business with a dual concentration in Marketing and Operations.