Expand Your Community
Whether you are inspired by project-focused work or you enjoy connecting with your fellow colleagues and community members, there is a Member Committee for you!
All of our members have access to our community of thought leaders, subject-matter experts, and sustainability professionals, and help guide our strategic direction.
Check out our regionally-focused or interest-based committees and find one that matches your interest and opens doors to collaborating with a network of authentic, purpose-driven advocates.
Why Join a Committee?
Connect and collaborate with our members through our online collaboration platform and searchable Member Directory.
Serve in a leadership position within a Member Committee and help guide our focus and collective community impact.
Gain access to our technical resources, training portfolio, recorded content, and research publications.
Invest in diversifying and guiding a pipeline of future leaders, changemakers, and a greener workforce.
Influence local and regional policy-making through your professional expertise and applied passions.
Collaborate with other USGBC-LA Members, learn from leaders in the green building movement, and grow your professional and personal skill sets.
Request to present to a Committee
USGBC-LA’s Committees are places to connect with colleagues and community members, as well as gain access to thought leaders, subject matter experts and sustainability professionals. During our monthly meetings, we collaborate to be greater than a sum of our parts, learn from each other, and ultimately deliver more impact in making Southern California a more sustainable region for all. If you would like to make a 5-minute (max) presentation at a particular Committee meeting on a topic, organization, idea or yes, even yourself, we’d love to hear from you. All requests will be reviewed and forwarded to the Committees. (No sales pitches, please!)
Our Committees
Interest-based committees lead the way for greening the built environment throughout California in the places that matter most.
Regionally-focused committees deliver locally on the broader USGBC-LA mission. Neighborhoods are distinct and diverse providing the best opportunity to dig into local issues. Microclimates in Southern California range from subtropical to snowy mountains and each require thoughtful design and planning to create sustainable cities. You can participate in the committee where you live or work to affect positive change and connect with local leaders in sustainability.
Building Decarbonization Committee
Collaboratively advances education, policy, and programs on building decarbonization for the greater Los Angeles Region through education, technology and tools, policy and advocacy, and materials and products.
Leadership:
Co-Chairs:
Construction Committee
Provides a space for collaboration to advance sustainability in construction for the greater Los Angeles Region through education, leadership, and access to resources.
Leadership:
Co-Chairs:
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Committee
Underlying Environmental Justice in planning, infrastructure, and other related issues which are not just affected by climate change, lack of representation, and inclusion of solid commitments. The DEIB committee seeks to combat environmental and social injustice issues that plague inner city communities, like air pollution, lack of sustainable housing, lack of funding for training programs, lack of representation in community block grants, and sustainable urban planning projects.
Leadership:
Co-Chairs:
Ricardo Duarte, Metropolitan Water District
Thomas Webster
Ambasador:
Mat Kilivris
Emerging Professionals Committee
Convenes fresh new perspectives from some of the brightest minds in our sector. This group helps to support all of our committees and serves as a pipeline for emerging talent to grow into leadership positions within USGBC-LA and their own organizations.
Leadership:
Chair:
Mike Thompson, Howard Building Corp
Green Homes Committee
Provides a dynamic platform for exchange, engagement, and alignment to encourage healthy, sustainable, affordable, and regenerative practices in home building and living. The committee aims to address the inequities of access to information, resources, and technology by working to advance and diversify the awareness, knowledge, and innovation in greening homes through education, training, and outreach.
Leadership:
Chair:
Izumi Tanaka, Home Green Homes
Green Schools Committee
Engages Southern California schools in a dialogue that facilitates and encourages the growth of a sustainable school system, for K-12 schools and higher education. This includes providing the fundamentals of sustainability education, improving internal and external campus systems. Suggested changes ensure the health and well-being of all students and school campus employees for both indoor and outdoor spaces in which they inhabit daily.
Leadership:
Chair:
Inland Empire (IE) Committee
Covers San Bernardino and Riverside Counties with a collective population of over 4.3 million people and over 1.3 million households. Implementing green building practices is crucial to the IE’s future environmental sustainability, economic success, and quality of life. A unique focus of the committee is on the positive impacts that green building can have on public health. We provide a rich and impactful series of events throughout the course of the year, such as green building tours of local sustainable buildings, green business workshops, sustainable education classes for kids, and World Water Day events.
Environmental Justice Project Committee
Supports USGBC-LA’s annual Environmental Justice Project which is focused on fostering environmental, economic, and social sustainability across Los Angeles’ diverse neighborhoods. The selection team strives to ensure the project is community-supported, has an educational and sustainable focus, is replicable, and serves a variety of socioeconomic conditions. The Committee assists with design & development, volunteer support, and resource referral to serve its target community effectively. Learn more about the Environmental Justice Project here!
Leadership:
Chair:
Katie Freeze-Becker, Leading Edge
Long Beach Committee
Collaborates with the key players in this sector–actively promoting energy efficient and environmentally responsible building designs that will result in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and prevent depletion of our natural resources. The committee believes that, as design professionals, we need to do our part in promoting buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work.
Leadership:
Co-Chairs:
Los Angeles Sustainability Executives Roundtable (LASER)
Gathers corporate sustainability leaders to empower and support a stronger focus on sustainability and environmental stewardship as sound business principles. This committee is by invitation only.
Leadership:
Chair:
Urban Landscape Committee
Protects and expands access to high-quality green space. The focus will be on the places where nature can have the greatest impact on community health and resilience–our public schools and youth in our local, historically excluded communities.
Leadership:
Co-Chairs:
Women in Green Committee
Provides a forum for women and allies to make an impact in Los Angeles, build networks, celebrate women leaders, and create healthy, inclusive, sustainable, resilient communities for all.
Leadership:
Co-Chairs:
More Ways to Get Involved
Volunteer
Volunteer
Volunteering is the perfect way to demonstrate your passion for sustainability. Volunteers serving 100 hours or more annually qualify for the esteemed President’s Volunteer Service Award, and professionals can earn up to 50% of their CE hours per GBCI reporting period for Committee and Branch Volunteer Work!
Become an Annual Sponsor
Become an Annual Sponsor
We invite you to become a key player in leading the green building movement in California!
