Contest Details: Jury
Michelle Kaufmann
Michelle is an architect, designer and advocate for smarter ways to design, build and live. Her mission with all of her work is to make thoughtful, sustainable design accessible.
She was the founder of Michelle Kaufmann Designs, a design/build company that led the movement of prefabricated green homes. The firm was given the 2008 TOP FIRM AWARD by Residential Architect. Her book, Prefab Green describes off-site construction and the green design principles of homes such as the Glidehouse®, the Sunset® Breezehouse®, the mkLotus® and others. Michelle has been called “the Henry Ford of green homes” by the Sierra Club and was named “2009 Green Advocate of the Year” by the National Association of Home Builders, was included in Business 2.0 magazine’s list of “100 People Who Matter Now”, and was listed as one of the “The Green 50” by INC magazine.
A full-size replica of Michelle’s home, the Glidehouse® home was built at the National Building Museum as part of the exhibit The Green House, and a fully-functioning 3-story mkSolaire® home is on display at the Museum of Science and Industry. The home is the exhibit on green building called The Smart Home: Green + Wired.
Michelle received her undergraduate degree from Iowa State University, and her Masters from Princeton University. She has been a lecturer and keynote speaker for numerous events, and has taught at Iowa State University and Woodbury University. Prior to founding Michelle Kaufmann Designs, Michelle was an Associate with Frank O. Gehry.
Michelle and her husband, Kevin, live in their Glidehouse home in Marin County with their 2 dogs.
Michelle is an architect licensed in the States of Hawaii and Florida.
Allison Arieff
Allison Arieff writes the "By Design" column for the NY Times, is editor at large for Sunset, and contributing editor for Growers&Nomads. She is also a fellow at the Commonweal Institute. The former editor in chief of Dwell magazine (and its founding senior editor), she is co-author of the books “Prefab” and "Trailer Travel," and the editor of many books on design and popular culture, including “Airstream: The History of the Land Yacht.” Ms. Arieff lives in San Francisco.
Lloyd Alter
Lloyd Alter has been an architect, developer, inventor, and builder of prefab housing. He now writes for TreeHugger, is an Associate Professor at Ryerson University teaching sustainable design, and has written for Azure and Ontario Nature magazines. In the course of his previous work developing small residential units and now prefabs, Lloyd became convinced that we just use too much of everything- too much space, too much land, too much food, too much fuel, too much money, and that the key to sustainability is to simply use less. And, the key to happily using less is to design things better.
Ron Jones
Internationally renowned pioneer of the green building movement, award winning builder, architectural designer, and the only person ever to serve on the national Boards of Directors for both the U. S. Green Building Council and the National Association of Home Builders…..Ron Jones…..founder of GREEN BUILDER®, co-founder of Green Builder Media LLC and Editorial Director of Green Builder Magazine, is a unique individual within the sustainability arena.
Selected as Chairman of the Consensus Committee to develop the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) National Green Building Standard, his lengthy resume of service bridges a wide variety of organizations, associations, industry groups, sustainability advocates and stakeholders, including seven years of service as an original member of the USGBC LEED for Homes committee.
Ron enjoys a distinguished record of industry leadership and green building advocacy at local, state, national and international levels. A Life Director on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Board of Directors, he served five consecutive years on the NAHB Executive Committee from 1998 through 2002, including two years as an NAHB National Vice President.
In June of 2009, Mr. Jones accepted an appointment from the International Code Council to serve on the Sustainable Building Technology Committee (SBTC) whose assignment is to develop the first ever set of comprehensive and adoptable green building regulations, entitled the International Green Construction Code (IgCC), which is expected to be published in early 2012.
Ben Uyeda
Ben Uyeda, Chief Architectural Officer, FreeGreen.com
After Graduating from Cornell University with a Master of Architecture Degree in 2005 Ben co-founded Zero Energy Design (ZED). As a design principle Ben focused on sustainable housing projects both in the US and abroad. Ben’s interest in designing sustainable housing for developing nations has taken him to a multitude of countries including Nigeria, Dominica, and Panama. In 2006 Ben was asked to speak before the prime minister of Dominica about the possibility of using environmentally sensitive building practices to revitalize the local economy.
Ben has received an award from AutoDesk for ZED’s professional commitment to sustainability through the design of the built environment. His work has appeared in notable publications such as Architectural Record, Popular Mechanics, and Solar Today. Ben has also made television appearances on HGTV.
Ben has taught in the architecture departments of both Cornell University and Northeastern University. During his time as a visiting lecturer at Cornell, Ben developed an original curriculum for teaching architecture students how to critically evaluate sustainable design strategies.
Ben has worked to address social issues such as homelessness and environmental sustainability by integrating fundraising and coalition building techniques into architectural processes. Never one to shy away from danger Ben dedicated a period of time to living on the streets of Brooklyn documenting various aspects of the homeless condition. This endeavor is part of an ongoing campaign to address some of the deficiencies of permanent shelters. His experiences also inspired the 2008 documentary film, A Hole in a Fence.
Steve Hewitt
Steve Hewitt, Greensburg Kansas City Administrator
Steve Hewitt City Administrator for Greensburg, Kansas, recently named the 2008 City and County Magazine Municipal Leader of the Year for his efforts to rebuild his community in a sustainable direction. May 4, 2007, Greensburg was hit by one of the largest disasters in U.S. history, after an EF5 tornado 2 miles wide struck the heart of the community. 95 % of Greensburg was destroyed, including all government buildings, infrastructure, business district, school, and hospital. The City of Greensburg is currently working on more the 80 projects totaling $30+ million, working with federal, state, and local agencies. He is leading the charge for rebuilding ‘green’ and rebuilding a stronger/better Greensburg. Hewitt strongly recommended the City Council adopted a resolution stating City Municipal Facilities be built at the highest sustainable level, targeting LEED Platinum. Hewitt continues to advocate “Green” as a true revitalization tool for all Rural Communities.
Mary Melton
Mary Melton, Greensburg GreenTown Board Chair
Mary Melton grew up in Greensburg and now lives with her husband and three kids just outside of Greensburg on a working ranch. Mary is the GreenTown Board Chair and is involved in several other civic ventures in the community. She is a natural health practitioner and does consulting with individuals and teaches classes on healthy living.
