Staff | Urban Green Council

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About Us / Staff

John Mandyck
Chief Executive Officer

John Mandyck joined Urban Green Council in 2018 as its first-ever CEO. He capped a 25-year career as Chief Sustainability Officer for United Technologies Corporation, a Fortune 45 global leader in the building, aerospace and food refrigeration industries. He serves as a member of the NYC Department of Buildings Sustainability Board, is a Visiting Scientist at the Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Connecticut School of Business. John is the founding chair of the Corporate Advisory Board for the World Green Building Council, a former board chair of Urban Green and co-author of the book Food Foolish.

Christina Anjesky
Managing Director

Chris leads Urban Green's Communications, Development and Education teams. Responsible for growing our reach and our network of sponsors and members, she comes to Urban Green Council with extensive experience in the nonprofit and for-profit worlds. Chris has held senior development positions at The Partnership for the Homeless and Make the Road New York, and managed the individual giving and Health and Safety Services programs at the American Red Cross in Greater New York. Prior to that, she honed her marketing and communications skills at Citibank and Random House. Chris holds a B.A. from The Ohio State University.

Jack Archambault
Associate, Communications

Jack assists with communications processes at Urban Green, including websites, social media, and Urban Green’s weekly newsletter. He previously worked in the communications department at The Fresh Air Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to providing free summer experiences to children from low-income families in New York City, and was the Editor-in-Chief of Fordham University’s student-run newspaper, the paper. Jack holds a B.A. in Communications and Media Studies from Fordham University.

Colleen Burns
Associate, Education

Colleen manages the outreach and delivery of Urban Green’s flagship programs, Crushing the Code and GPRO: Green Professional Building Skills Training. She previously worked at Green Amendments For The Generations, a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring and training community members and legislators to constitutionally protect their environmental rights. Colleen holds a B.A. in Communication and Culture and a minor in Environmental Studies from Fordham University.

Becca Elzinga
Associate Manager, Education Development, LEED GA

Becca supports Urban Green’s flagship education programs by developing curriculum to teach architects, engineers, construction workers and building operators the latest in green building practices. Prior to joining Urban Green, Becca worked at Partnerships for Parks training grassroots volunteers across NYC to advocate and care for their local parks and greenspaces. Becca holds a B.A. in Environmental Policy from Fordham University and a Master Composter certification from DSNY.

Christopher Halfnight
Senior Director

Chris Halfnight leads Urban Green’s policy initiatives, working with stakeholders and policymakers to advance energy efficiency and green building in New York City and State. He was Vice Chair of and managed the 80x50 Buildings Partnership, a collaboration of more than 40 leading stakeholders to shape an energy performance policy for NYC’s large buildings. Prior to Urban Green, Chris was an attorney at Shearman & Sterling LLP and worked on energy policy at the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and the Natural Resources Defense Council. He holds a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Laws, and Bachelor of Civil Law from McGill University, as well as a Master's in Environmental Management with a specialization in energy from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Ellen Honigstock
Director, Education, RA, LEED AP, GPRO: CM

Ellen oversees the development of Urban Green's Public Programs. She is also responsible for developing curriculum for Urban Green's signature programs including GPRO, a national green building certificate program for Contractors, Building Managers/Operators and Trades and Conquering the Energy Code, a training program for Architects and Engineers. Ellen has 28 years experience as an architect and volunteered for Urban Green for several years before joining the staff, where she served as the first Residential Green Building Advocate for Urban Green Council, working to increase green building and LEED for Homes certification in the New York residential marketplace, and as a committee chair of the Green Codes Task Force. In addition, Ellen taught at the 1,000 Green Supers program for SEIU Local 32 BJ Thomas Shortman Training Fund, and holds a number of BPI certifications. Ellen is a co-founder of Solarize Brooklyn, and Sustainable Kensington Windsor Terrace.

Currently serves on:

Urban Assembly School for Green Careers (Advisory Committee), and Sustainable Kensington Windsor Terrace (Founder).

Laurie Kerr
Senior Advisor, Policy, FAIA, LEED AP

Laurie Kerr advises on special Urban Green research and policy work. Kerr has extensive experience in urban sustainability policy. As Deputy Director for Green Building Policy at the NYC Mayor’s Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability under Michael Bloomberg, Kerr helped develop PlaNYC, New York’s influential sustainability plan, and spearheaded the development of New York’s innovative green building and energy efficiency policies. These included the first comprehensive policies by any jurisdiction to address energy efficiency in existing buildings, the greening of New York’s codes and regulations, a clause that solves the splint incentive problem in commercial leases, and programs by city government and leading sectors to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% in ten years -- which currently impact over half a billion square feet of space. Subsequently, Kerr conceived and launched the City Energy Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council, which is assisting ten major American cities – from Los Angeles to Chicago, Houston and Atlanta – in developing large-scale efficiency policies similar to New York. She is now the President of LK POLICY LAB.

Danielle Manley
Manager, Policy

Danielle is responsible for working on Urban Green’s policy initiatives in New York City and New York State. She previously worked at the Center for Climate Systems Research at Columbia University’s Earth Institute researching and communicating local climate risk information for stakeholders in global cities and ecosystems, and served as project manager for the Third New York City Panel on Climate Change Report. Danielle also worked for non-profits in Buffalo on environmental education and advocacy. She holds a Masters Degree in Climate and Society from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies from the University at Buffalo.

Viridiana Otamendi
Coordinator, Programs

Viri is responsible for Urban Green Council’s public programs and annual conference and coordinates Urban Green’s Monthly Programs Committee and Emerging Professionals Committee. Prior to joining Urban Green, she worked at the World Affairs Council of Houston as the Programs Manager and Co-Director for Global Young Professionals. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Escuela Bancaria y Comercial and an M.A. in International Studies from the University of St. Thomas.

Sam Pace
Manager, Operations

Sam supports administrative and operations processes at Urban Green. She is responsible for assisting with finance, human resources, and information technology business. She comes to Urban Green with experience in administrative roles, both in university and hospitality settings, and a background in biochemistry research. Sam holds a B.S. in biochemistry from Pace University.

Adam Schiabor
Associate Manager, Research

Adam is responsible for conducting data analysis and research into sustainability topics. Prior to Urban Green, Adam worked at a non-profit healthcare company that was dedicated to using the Affordable Care Act to expand access to services and lower the cost of healthcare in New Mexico. Adam hold a B.S in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Oregon and a M.A in Economics from the New School for Social Research.  

Sheena Thiruselvan
Associate Director, Communications

Sheena leads the communications processes at Urban Green, overseeing messaging, graphic design, online communications and public relations. She comes to Urban Green with extensive environmental and nonprofit experience, having previously worked at Wildlife Alliance, Clean Air Force of Central Texas and the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Sheena holds a B.S. in Biology from the University of California, San Diego.

Theresa Wetzler
Associate Manager, Operations

Theresa provides operations and development support for Urban Green, ensuring efficiency in finance, fundraising and IT processes while assisting in a range of projects across departments. Prior to joining Urban Green, she held nonprofit and private sector positions in financial services, database administration and hospitality management. Theresa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from New York University.

Staff

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