The USGBC-LA Green Building Corps delivers a structured volunteer engagement program that provides volunteers with valuable experience, relationships, and contributions towards green building projects that benefit the greater Los Angeles region. Green Building Corps participants commit to either a 3, 6, or 12 month term of 5 – 20 hours per week and will receive a certificate of completion at the end of their program experience.
Project Experience
Green Building Corps participants will provide project support for the USGBC-LA Annual Legacy Project, Green Schools microgrant projects, Chapter initiatives, and committees. Additionally, green building projects will be sourced across Architecture, Engineering, and Construction firms as well as sustainability consultants, public agencies, and community partners. The intent is for these projects to provide a public or community benefit, allowing unemployed or underemployed people to gain experience, build relationships, and better position themselves for future employment.
Mentorship
USGBC-LA will match participants with mentors from USGBC-LA’s Mentor Network with a requirement of at least one-hour per month meeting, either in-person or virtual, focused on career development.
Resources
Green Building Corps members will be provided with USGBC-LA memberships at no charge and access to USGBC-LA’s training, recorded content, and events at no cost wherever possible.
Corporate Engagement
Companies can purchase bundles of hours from the Green Building Corps for support on projects, back office work, event support, data entry, and more. All hourly payments will go directly to support the Green Building Corps.
Ankitha Doddanari
My name is Ankitha Doddanari and I am a recent alumna of U.C. Berkeley’s Sustainable Environmental Design program (a combination of Landscape, Architecture, and Urban Planning through the lens of sustainability). I am interested in pursuing a profession in green building or urban design, especially as it relates to resilience and climate adaptation.
Tamsyn Hunnewell
Tamsyn is a LEED AP, WELL AP and TRUE Advisor with over ten years of experience in environmental consulting and sustainable resource management. Areas of particular interest include the relationships between the built environment and natural systems. Tamsyn is dedicated to working creatively with others to solve urban development challenges with focus on the environment, human health and wellbeing of communities. She holds a degree in Environmental Engineering from Syracuse University.
Maja Jeremic
Maja Jeremic has more than 10 years of experience managing redevelopment and real estate development projects and policy in the private sector as well as various levels of government across the US, Canada and Europe. Having lived and worked globally, her experience spans a variety of functions some of which include being the Managing Director of a ski-in, ski-out resort development in Europe, helping reorganize the real estate services division of a large US Federal government agency and managing award-winning real estate assets for the City of Toronto. As a mission-driven and service-oriented individual, some of her proudest accomplishments include raising funds for orphans and victims of human trafficking in Europe. Maja holds a Master of Public Administration degree from USC's Price School, sits on the board of an environmental design-build nonprofit and is an active Climate Reality Leader in the Los Angeles Chapter.
Ali Karim Lee
Recently moved from Canada to California, Ali is passionate about sustainability and has experience in academic research, sales and customer service. He is LEED AP BD+C and EIT from Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia. He has been volunteer for CaGBC and professional engineering associations in Canada. Ali has a Master of Applied Science in Building Engineering from Concordia University, Montreal. His master’s research was in the field of Energy & Buildings. He holds a bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering. In his free time, he enjoys exploring and capturing natural and urban beauties, watching movies and reading books.
Kolby Medina
Kolby is currently an undergraduate student at the University of San Francisco expecting to graduate this fall with a B.A. in Fine Arts and a minor in Architecture. With a passion for promoting social justice, social equity, social access, and social opportunity, he focuses on influencing change in his local communities through his membership with the Green Building Corps and his current employment with Family Health Care Resources, a non-profit organization based in Boyle Heights. He aims to pursue these passions through a career path within the nexus of architecture, urban design, urban planning, urban agriculture, and sustainability.
Osnat Naiberg
A Business Operations professional in the energy industry with more than 15 years of experience in business development and revenue management, a reach background in customers' engagement, commercial agreements with an emphasis on regulation and compliance, project management, and cost-effectiveness. Relocating from Tel-Aviv to Los Angeles four years ago, I took the opportunity to immerse myself in the sustainability space, keeping my passion for energy and extending my reach to experience clean energy hands-on. Volunteering with Grid Alternatives triggered my curiosity and motivated me to understand the science behind the operations and enroll in the Solar Program at SMC, which opened my eyes to the full sustainability landscape and inspired me to enroll in the Sustainability Certificate Program at UCLA Extension. Joining USGBC Green Building Corp is an exciting opportunity for me. Gaining know-how and experience how different aspects of sustainability all come together under one roof to transform and produce one product – the green building, to allow a sustainable living will pave the way to engaging in the similar projects in the future.
Jane Roschen
Raised as a climate activist in LA, Jane Roschen has worked on the editorial team for LA City’s Resilient Los Angeles, managed an energy resilience initiative for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in DC (U.S. DOE), and supported the recycling and water policy effort at State Senator Ben Allen’s office. Jane’s grade school fostered stewardship at a local level, where she embraced sustainable practices like composting, urban gardening and upcycling. She amplified her own green community experiences as an Eco-Rep at George Washington University, where she rallied GW students to advocate for climate policy through civic engagement and led competitions amongst residence halls to conserve water and energy. While studying abroad, Jane brought sustainability awareness to a health intervention project in Northern Thailand. She currently serves as a Science, Technology and Policy Fellow for the State Energy Program at the U.S. Department of Energy, where she provides support to states, tribes, territories and local governments to fund energy efficiency projects on a broad scale. She is excited to join the inaugural Green Building Corp to meet professionals working in sustainability to build her network of committed specialists and experts. Wanting to push a clean-energy agenda with a community focus, she is eager to gain hands-on advocacy experience, so that one day she may be in a leadership role for global environmental protection policy.
Kate Zeile
Kate is currently pursuing a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), with a concentration in Environmental Systems & Society and a minor in GIS. Aside from her involvement with the Green Building Corps, she has held sustainability research positions at UCLA and is a Sustainability & LEED Intern at Verdical Group, a green building consulting firm. Following graduation, Kate is looking to pursue a career as a sustainability or green building consultant with the goal of creating a greener, healthier built environment.
Michael Zurita
Michael Zurita, a Los Angeles native, is currently employed as an equipment operator ranging from Class 8 vehicles to heavy construction equipment. Michael attended San Jose State University where he earned his degree in Environmental Studies with a minor in Energy Policy and Green Building. Along with his deep passion for a sustainable future, Michael has extensive knowledge in green building design, sustainable development, renewable energies, environmental issues, and solutions. Open to new connections and opportunities, Michael has a diverse professional background that ranges though hospitality, construction, film, sales, transportation, and logistics. In his free time, he enjoys biking around Los Angeles, swimming, learning to dance, and playing basketball.
