Team and Culture

Ben Stapleton

Executive Director (He/Him)

A native Angeleno, Ben Stapleton is a recognized sustainability leader who brings a creative mind and consultative approach to a wide range of projects with a focus on building teams and designing programs to deliver impactful results. His current work is based on coordinating an ecosystem leveraging the built environment as the entry point and connective fabric to help create a more sustainable society for all as Executive Director for the U.S. Green Building Council – Los Angeles.

In his time at USGBC-LA, he has strengthened the foundation of this leading, membership-based sustainability organization while developing and delivering a portfolio of community engagement and education focused programming centered on climate justice, high performance buildings, occupant health, corporate sustainability and regional resilience; establishing talent development and a people first philosophy as the pillars of the brand.

Previously, he launched and then managed the La Kretz Innovation Campus in Downtown LA while leading operations, finance, and major program initiatives for the LA Cleantech Incubator (LACI). The Campus has become an epicenter for sustainability in the region and an iconic green building for the City of LA, featuring events with prominent thought leaders, while being home to a community of cutting-edge businesses and nonprofits. During his time at LACI, the team worked with 80+ companies to raise $225M+ in funding, create 1,800+ jobs, and deliver $400M+ in long-term economic value for the City of LA.

His other work has included real estate advisory, energy efficiency consulting, facilities operations, site selection, and project management as well as business and strategy development for a wide range of companies and real estate investors. He serves on a number of boards where his talents and insight have proven invaluable in managing, negotiating, and executing on complex real estate projects while delivering technology startups and community engagement programs that exceed expectations.

He is a recipient of JLL’s distinctive Da Vinci Award for Innovation, the Los Angeles Business Council’s Community Impact Award, Stratiscope’s Impact Maker to Watch Award, and CoStar’s Power Broker designation in the Los Angeles market. Representing competing schools in Los Angeles, Stapleton holds a MBA from the USC Marshall School of Business as well as a Bachelors of Arts degree in Economics from UCLA. Ben is a LEED AP O+M, ENV SP, and WELL AP certified green building nerd driven by a connection to nature while being inspired by the people around him. 

Neal Anderson

Director of Operations (He/Him)

Neal co-founded the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) which grew into a thriving global model for innovation during his 7-year tenure, helping 80+ companies raise $225M+ in funding, create 1,800+ jobs, and deliver $400M+ of long-term value for Los Angeles.  Over 30 years, Neal has helped launch and grow dozens of projects and organizations with an overarching focus on net positive impact, including leadership roles at XPRIZE, Idealab, United States Artists, Livestream, and Street Poets.  Neal is a native Los Angeleno, proud dad, nature nut, and incurably curious.

Julie Du Brow

Director, Communications & Partnerships (She/Her)

Julie serves as Director, Community & Partnerships for the U.S. Green Building Council-Los Angeles. She has been with the organization for over a decade, including serving as Interim Executive Director, and starting as a volunteer with the Westside Branch. She is dedicated to addressing climate change through a sustainable, equitable and resilient built environment by sharing stories of impactful education and community programs and policies, and by nurturing partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders. Since 2003, Julie has worked providing support to manufacturers, and for- and non-profit changemaker clients who are helping create a more sustainable society.

Carrie Hester

Director of Development (She/Her)

Carrie Hester is a part of the USGBC-LA family as our Director of Development. With over 20 years of experience in program development and advancement, Carrie is passionate about people and the planet. She has served several organizations such as The Y to grow their fundraising and advancement strategy. As a former Starbucks partner, Carrie was a founding chair of Partners for Sustainability LACCAL building the infrastructure to provide education, fellowship, and community opportunities for baristas in sustainability. She received her Bachelor’s of Science in Management and Master’s of Business Administration with a concentration in Digital Innovation and Information Systems from Pepperdine Graziadio Business School and currently studies sustainability at Harvard University. Carrie lives in Los Angeles with her family and enjoys all things related to coffee and the ocean.

Farah Lavassani

Director, Sustainable Marketing and Events (She/Her)

Farah serves as the Marketing and Events Director of the U.S. Green Building Council, Los Angeles. Originally hailing from the Southern United States, she split her time between Mississippi and Iran while growing up, giving her a unique, international vantage point and a deeper understanding of environmental awareness at a young age. Farah began her career in advocacy, focusing her degrees from the University of Mississippi in Social Work with an emphasis on both Childhood Development and Urban Planning. After her work with CASA, Farah pursued higher education in environmental sciences with a focus on marketing. With over 7 years of experience in non-profits, forming her own organic clothing line, and managing a sustainability lifestyle blog, she’s happy to bring her dual experience with advocacy and marketing skills to an organization that she is proud to support.

Farah is a LEED Green Associate, ENV SP, and Living Future Ambassador with primary interests in forming sustainable infrastructure for our communities and optimizing sustainable strategy + programs for the professional world.

Colin Mangham

Director, Net Zero Accelerator (He/Him)

Colin has guided dozens of global brands (generating over $500 million in revenues) and hundreds of entrepreneurs (securing over $80 million in capital) through birth, growth, and rebirth. With the Net Zero Accelerator and USGBC-LA he guides startups in speeding commercialization of cleantech innovation to move us all toward net zero energy, carbon, water, and waste.

His mentorship and guidance is further informed by his position as co-founder and COO of Morpho Energy, where he’s focused on optimizing people and systems to unlock the idle asset value of commercial and industrial rooftops. Further, with his approach to what he’s defined as Natural Innovation, Colin develops brands and go-to-market strategies rooted in deeply human motives and aligned with nature’s operating principles.

His “Find Your Woods” TEDx and appearances on CNN’s “Going Green” have helped establish him as an internationally recognized voice for biomimicry and nature-based innovation. As a Liverpool MBA and LSU Tiger, Colin lectures frequently at universities including UCLA, USC, LMU, DePaul, The University of Helsinki, and the ESB Business School at Reutlingen University (Germany) where he is Visiting Faculty. His certifications include Biomimicry Specialist, LEED Green Associate, and Living Future Ambassador. Colin has been an Angeleno since 1998 and is now rooted in the hills with his wife, kids, cats, and whatever neighboring species happen along.

Fernanda Zuin

Director, Sustainability Programs (She/Her)

As a professional in the sustainability field for over 12 years in Brazil, working on the implementation of environmental management systems in various industry sectors during the early stages of the sustainability movement in that country, she brings her experience in community outreach and government affairs while developing solutions to mitigate environmental impacts resulting from mining activities and vehicles manufacturing. Fernanda holds a Bachelor degree in Environmental Engineering and earned her diploma with distinction for the completion of the Certificate in Sustainability from UCLA Extension. 

Wayne Alldredge

Senior Advisor, Building Performance

Robyn Eason

Senior Advisor, Policy & Advocacy (She/Her/Love)

(she/her/love)

Robyn is a fun-loving, challenge-seeking professional who exists to do the work of a human being embodying empathy, compassion, and love. Her experience incorporates the vast array of systems thinking, strategy, & expertise necessary to nurture human-centered approaches to sustainability through change management and targeted universalism. From 2016 to 2022, she built an award-winning sustainability program for the City of West Hollywood that anchored the intersectional components of the field that make it such a powerful movement in shaping the way we heal from past and present traumas, uplift all living things, and amplify inclusivity, reciprocity, and equitable outcomes. The program included a portfolio of projects, including electrical vehicle charging readiness, clean energy initiatives, water efficiency and conservation, climate action planning, and green building. Her many roles at USGBC and GBCI from 2009 to 2016 included direction of certification activities for LEED for Neighborhood Development, LEED review execution & quality control responsibilities for the LEED Building Design and Construction Rating System, GBCI’s Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Location and Transportation (LT) credits, and other duties related to customer support, business development, and education.

Robyn holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from The Catholic University of America in Northeast Washington (DC) and a Master’s in City and Regional Planning from Clemson University in Clemson (SC). She has served in various leadership roles within the American Planning Association, the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, USGBC-Los Angeles, the Urban Land Institute, STAR Communities (now LEED for Cities), and co-founded the California BIPOC Sustainability Network to serve as a brave space of support & nourishment to environmental professionals of color. She is a recipient of the 2021 Women in Sustainability Leadership Award (WSLA), a 2022 AIA-LA Presidential Honoree, a credentialed member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, & is accredited in LEED Building Design + Construction and LEED for Neighborhood Development.Robyn is nourished by rich & genuine connections with people, places, and the land. She has a passion for sunrises & sunsets, cultural anthropology, travel, music, books, mindfulness meditation, sustainable wine & spirits, and the Great Outdoors.

George Lu

Senior Advisor, Corporate Sustainability & ESG

Maureen Erbeznik

Senior Advisor, Water Innovation

Maureen Erbeznik has been a driving leader of California’s water efficiency initiatives for the past 32 years… creating the designs and directing the daily operations of a multitude of high-achievement water programs.  Maureen owns and operates a women-owned consulting firm specializing in water use efficiency market/program evaluations, strategic planning, marketing campaign development, and program design and implementation.  On behalf of her clients, Maureen identifies messaging and outreach strategies for products and diverse customer markets, secures political and community support, and directs the launch of new initiatives.

Maureen has led some of the most innovative multi-agency initiatives for Metropolitan Water District, Inland Empire Utilities Agency, San Diego County Water Authority, and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Her management includes 50+ successful water efficiency programs including Metropolitan Water District’s SoCal WaterSmart Large Landscape Turf Removal Program resulting in the removal of 40 million square feet of turf.

Maureen has also developed and delivered twenty-five water use efficiency strategic plans for utilities throughout California.  Each of these plans include an in-depth market analysis as well as design of program marketing and delivery mechanisms to meet each agency’s water savings goals.

In 2018, Maureen authored the highly regarded Alliance for Water Efficiency Market Analysis and Recommendations for Landscape Transformation Study.  The study includes: the most expansive and diverse evaluation of outdoor water efficiency programs, an in-depth market analysis of customer barriers and drivers to making landscape transformations and irrigation upgrades, and recommendations to move the market towards reducing irrigation requirements at properties. Report highlights were recently published in the AWWA Journal and the Opflow magazine.

A sampling of Maureen’s current clients include:

• Metropolitan Water District’s Water Savings Incentive Program
• LA County Waterworks’ Malibu and Topanga Smart Program
• Santa Clarita Valley Water District’s Lawn Replacement Program
• Municipal Water District of Orange County Residential Potential Study
• LABBC’s Water Technical Advisor
• Alliance for Water Efficiency’s Cooling Technologies Study

Becky Feldman-Edwards

Corporate Sustainability Manager (She/Her)

Becky brings 15+ years of varied management and events experience to USGBC-LA.  With an ongoing goal of working with organizations and projects that will have a positive impact on the community and planet, she launched BE+, a creative consulting agency in 2017. Since then, she has worked with amazing organizations including, The City of Santa Monica, Plug in South LA, Fika Ventures, The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, and now USGBC-LA.  Her role as Corporate Sustainability and Events Manager has allowed her to bring her strong management skill set and passion for the environment together to tackle her true goal, saving this beautiful planet she loves so much!

A native Angeleno, Becky’s happy place is in nature, especially the ocean. She is an avid surfer, hiker, triathlete, and gardener and enjoys exploring California and traveling to new places solo or with her young daughter Sierra and partner Alek.

Elizabeth Christy

Sustainability Program Manager (She/Her)

Elizabeth graduated in Environmental Studies from Temple University. Elizabeth worked under Joanne Donahue, the Manager of Land Restoration at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education cultivating native plants and removing invasive species from the Penn’s Native Acre. Elizabeth also designed and installed an educational sensory garden for students. Elizabeth also worked in the West End of Outdoor Horticulture at Longwood Gardens, where she oversaw the orchard, Migratory Bird Sanctuary, vegetable garden, idea garden, trial garden, children’s garden.

Since moving to California, Elizabeth was the Program Manager for Eco Urban Gardens. She developed and implemented the Farm to Table and Farm to School programs. Elizabeth combines her passion for regenerative landscape and urban design with the impact on community health and environmental justice. She has a Docent Naturalist certification from Eaton Canyon Nature Center and has volunteered for the LA County Arboretum and California Native Plant Society.

Kim Krempien

Community & Events Manager, (She/Her)

Kim joins USGBC-LA as the Community & Events Manager with over ten years experience in operations, event planning, and production. As self-described entrepreneur and creative, Kim transformed her passion for sustainability into a redesign workshop with a mission to champion circularity and reduce textile waste. In 2023, she graduated from USC Marshall with Certificate in Sustainability and Business, complementing her Bachelor’s degree in Human Environment from Concordia University. Kim joins USGBC-LA energized and excited about creating unforgettable, engaging events for the organization’s community in Los Angeles.

Beryl Sinclair

Sustainability Program Manager (She/Her)

Beryl brings a cross-functional background in environmental management and geographic analysis to her role as a Sustainability Program Manager at USGBC-LA. She is committed to advancing a just transition through climate adaptation and local mitigation strategies. Before moving to Los Angeles, she managed operations at the High Line, an elevated infrastructure reuse project and public park in New York City. Her professional interests include participatory planning, the water-energy nexus, sustainable food systems, and the politics of maintenance. Beryl is a LEED Green Associate with a certificate in GIS and Design from Pratt Institute. Additionally, she holds an MPA in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and an undergraduate degree in philosophy.

Priscilla Steele

Marketing Manager (She/Her)

Priscilla serves as the Marketing Manager and comes with a passion for helping the community through outreach, education, and awareness. Born and raised in Costa Rica, she received her Bachelor’s degree in advertising from the Latin University of Costa Rica. She then moved to Los Angeles and worked in the fashion and education industries before starting her work in non-profits. Priscilla worked for two partner organizations in the education sector before joining USGBC-LA. She also volunteers for Costa Rican non-profit organizations to help increase their exposure through social media strategies; these include environmental, animal rescue, and mental health awareness organizations.

Makeeta Birdsong

Training Coordinator (She/Her)

Makeeta Birdsong is the Training Coordinator at USGBC-LA and loves helping people reach their career goals. She has spent the majority of her career in the education and training industry, gaining experiences in areas such as project and event management, community outreach, leadership and career training, and course development. While training and mentoring others are her primary job functions by day, Makeeta also enjoys nature walks, event planning, and design.

Cherylina Dee

Marketing Coordinator (She/Her)

Cherylina serves as the Marketing and Events Coordinator at USGBC-LA. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Marketing from the California State University of Long Beach. Additionally, she has a background working with agencies and specializes in digital marketing. Driven by a deep passion for sustainability and social responsibility, Cherylina has transitioned to the non-profit sector where she is committed to making a positive impact on the environment and the community. She is a creative problem-solver with a keen eye for detail.

In her personal life, Cherylina values mindfulness and connecting with others. She finds peace through expressing her creativity, and enjoys exploring nature. 

Rodney Hupalo

Sustainability Program Coordinator (He/Him)

Rodney, a Los Angeles native, is a LEED BD+C, SITES AP, Envision SP, ActiveScore AP, and Fitwel Ambassador with over two decades experience in the construction industry. A graduate of California Lutheran University, he was first introduced to sustainability as a Project Manager with Walt Disney  Imagineering in Japan where the recycling rate of the Tokyo Disney Resort reached 70% while over 90% of demolition and construction waste from the Tokyo Disney Sea jobsite was diverted from landfills.  During his time in the landscape industry, he developed a further appreciation on how built landscapes and green infrastructure have the ability to protect and even regenerate natural ecosystems, leading him to further explore his true passion. Areas of interest  include incorporating low-impact development into the built environment and the integrative process between indoor/outdoor systems for the betterment of human health and well-being.

Han Le

Community Coordinator (She/Her)

Han is an Angeleno native, not born, but raised, and serves as the USGBC-LA’s Community Coordinator. As a first generation Vietnamese American, she has a firm understanding of the hardships of the lower to middle socioeconomic class. With her natural curiosity and genuine passion for the environment, she serves as a bridge that provides connection, transparency, and depth to inter-organizational partnerships. She brings her diverse background from the nonprofit, public, private, and entrepreneurship sectors. Han has dabbled in different spaces of the built environment and is excited to combine all of her knowledge with a focused mission here with USGBC-LA.

She has worked for the City of San Diego Environmental Services Department and supported the analysis of landfill financial assurance mechanisms, administered a grant from the state’s Habit Conservation Fund, and reviewed environmental impact reports relating to CEQA. With Enterprise Community Partners, she helped spearhead a statewide campaign in gathering stakeholders to advocate for the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program of California. Most recently with Green Dinosaur, she supported project compliance verification for the LEED BD+C, LEED Homes, CALGreen, and Fitwel programs. Han has her LEED AP Homes credential. 

She is currently a part-time MBA student at Presidio Graduate School and has received her Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Systems from UC San Diego, where she is a proud alumnae.

Pars Parikh

Sustainability Program Coordinator (He/Him)

With a passion for implementing sustainable practices from a multi-disciplinary approach, Pars serves as Sustainability Programs Coordinator. He has experience in various areas, with a focus on the sustainable management of waste. Since SoCal is home to some of the largest landfills in the country, Pars is enthusiastic about talking trash and raising awareness about the detrimental impact of accumulating waste. He is also passionate about animals and has both a dog and a cat. A native Californian, Pars earned his Bachelor’s in Economics with a minor in Environmental Science from UCLA.