Emerging Green Builders

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Traci Rose Rider, LEED AP, was working as an intern at HOK in Houston in 2002 when she decided to drive over to Austin, Texas, for the afternoon to attend the U.S. Green Building Council-sponsored Greenbuild conference. Energized by the overwhelming turnout of students and young professionals—and alarmed by the lack of networking available to them—she and several cohorts founded Emerging Green Builders, a branch of USGBC. Firms can join USGBC but individuals cannot, she explains, so there was no way to include students and interns stuck in status-quo firms. “Some firms still perceive sustainability as a fad, and young professionals don't get paid for their research,” Rider says. “We wanted to offer them not only access to discounts through USGBC but also to national resources.” More