Hip, Hip, LEED Fellow!
Director of Atelier Ten, Ben Shepherd, is selected as 2022 LEED Fellow by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI).
Ben is among 20 professionals who represent exceptional practitioners and leaders within the green building community and have demonstrated mastery of the technical application of LEED, the world’s most widely used green building rating system.
Leading the firm’s benchmarking and masterplanning practices, Ben approaches each project as an opportunity to create larger change through improved design standards, green building policies, and regulatory change. In his 18+ professional years, Ben has worked on nearly 150 high-performance projects, of which over thirty were LEED certified, with twenty-five projects still in design and pursuing LEED. His experience in daylighting, systems, stormwater management and reuse, green roofs, renewable energy, and battery storage has significantly advanced his projects. Notably, Ben’s advocation for sustainable design and LEED can be seen in the latest LEED Platinum Helen L. & Martin S. Kimmel Pavilion, the LEED Platinum 370 Jay Street, and the Battery Park City Resiliency project which is shifting and advancing how New York City thinks about resiliency. Ben’s appointment to LEED Fellow marks the fourth Atelier Ten induction into this prestigious group of professionals, joining Directors Nico Kienzl, Claire Maxfield, and Associate Director Emilie Hagen.
“Ben’s long engagement with the LEED system in all its versions, combined with his experience on hundreds of projects has over and over exceeded our client’s expectations and set new industry benchmarks with progressive, innovative strategies that demonstrate the value of LEED certification and pushed the boundary on sustainability achievement,” said Nico Kienzl, Director of Atelier Ten. “Ben has consistently demonstrated the exceptional leadership qualities and technical proficiency that are the hallmark of LEED Fellowship.”
LEED Fellows are nominated by their peers and must have made at least 10 years’ worth of exceptional impact on LEED and hold an active LEED AP with specialty credential, among other requirements. The evaluation process includes an extensive portfolio review and is carried out by the LEED Fellow Evaluation Committee and supported by GBCI. The LEED Fellow program was established in 2011 to recognize outstanding LEED APs who have demonstrated exceptional impacts with LEED in key mastery elements related to technical knowledge and skill; a history of exemplary leadership in LEED; significant contributions in teaching, mentoring, or research with proven outcomes; and a history of highly impactful commitment, service, and advocacy for LEED.
“Green building professionals drive progress and innovation in the built environment and make great contributions to the green building community,” said Peter Templeton, interim president and CEO of GBCI and U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). “LEED Fellows are recognized for their exceptional work in helping ensure our buildings and spaces are healthy, resilient and sustainable places for us all to enjoy. Their commitment to LEED will continue to help us shape a better living standard for all.”
The 2022 LEED Fellows will be recognized at this year’s Greenbuild International Conference & Expo on the main stage on Tuesday, Nov. 1 in San Francisco, CA. To register to attend the conference, visit the Greenbuild site. To learn more about LEED professional credentialing opportunities, visit the USGBC site.