Meet the 2021 CHRYSALIS AWARDS working group
Thanks to the lovely individuals helping to prepare this year's award ceremony! Hear a bit about them and their favorite climate-related book below.
Beth Ament
Beth leads the USGBC Georgia and Tennessee communities and will help facilitate the Chrysalis Awards program for the third year. Celebrating and showcasing the people and projects that elevate our sustainability community is the most rewarding part of her job. She is looking forward to working with the dedicated and passionate volunteers to develop an inspirational and entertaining celebration honoring the good people working in sustainability in Georgia.
What is your favorite book that discusses climate change and the part we can play in reversing global warming?
This is a hard question to answer as there are so many influential and innovative books published on the subject. I can say the first book that inspired my career choice in sustainability was Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. It is a philosophical novel that examines the hidden cultural biases driving modern civilization and explores themes of ethics, sustainability, and global catastrophe. The book that I’m reading now is How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates. In this book Gates argues that both government and businesses have a role to play in fighting global warming. Gates discusses the scale and urgency of the global carbon emissions problem and offers solutions that involve innovative new technologies
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Jaida Holbrook
Volunteering for the third year, she is a Chrysalis Award’s volunteer veteran. By day, she manages project administration for multiple green building certifications, conducts healthy material screenings, and enjoys leading organizations to enhance sustainability initiatives. By night she corrals her three kids and transforms her urban backyard into an edible garden.
What is your favorite book that discusses climate change and the part we can play in reversing global warming?
I believe we have entered the most important decade in our industry and for our planet. Climate solutions are accessible, within reach, and represented every day within our community. Look at the Chrysalis Awards recipients implemented climate solutions for a start. But if real examples are not enough, a great read is the All We Can Save - a diverse collection of essays by “everyday people” working on climate solutions in their respective industries.
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Stephen DeLaurier
Stephen is new to the Chrysalis Awards working group, but is excited to work with an amazing team to make this year another success. He brings an education in Sustainability, with a focus on sustainability in business, as well as 4 year of LEED Consulting with Southface. He is excited for this event because it will be a chance to celebrate progress and hope during such a hard year.
What is your favorite book that discusses climate change and the part we can play in reversing global warming?
I have two that are tied: “Strategy for Sustainability” by Adam Werbach and “The B Corp Handbook” by Ryan Honeyman. I like them because they provide strategies for promoting sustainability in the business world and how those strategies will make a company even more successful and impactful.
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Jeff Denno
A career-long USGBC volunteer, Jeff joins the Chrysalis Awards Working Group after having been a part of the recipient team for last year’s Community Impact Award. He brings perspective through projects ranging from affordable housing to community-scale planning, and looks forward to amplifying the spotlight on the great work being done in GA through this year’s awards.
What is your favorite book that discusses climate change and the part we can play in reversing global warming?
The Obstacle is The Way by Ryan Holiday. Not a book on climate change but a very applicable framework with which I believe we need to approach the challenge of mitigating and adapting to the dynamic effects of climate change. Unconventional or unpopular solutions to these challenges paired with a collective persistence towards climate justice and corporate responsibility will take us in the right direction and I think that sentiment can be found throughout this book.
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E.V. Bennett
This is E.V.’s third year on the Chrysalis Awards Working Group and second spearheading the associated Silent Auction – which will provide USGBC event scholarships to underserved communities within Georgia and tickets for those who cannot afford to attend the USGBC Georgia Women in Green program. She has over 15 years of high-performance building experience and loves figuring out sustainable solutions for projects and the community!
What is your favorite book that discusses climate change and the part we can play in reversing global warming?
Her favorite books on climate change are oldies but goodies – Cradle to Cradle and Upcycle by William McDonough and Michael Braungart. Both of these speak to her heart from a perspective of recovery and reuse of waste and inspire her to always look at what can be changed for the better during the planning phase.
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Stephanie Teta
Stephanie joins the Chrysalis Awards working group for the second year in a row. She brings with her community connections and sustainable manufacturing knowledge from managing events and customer relations at Interface, helping to influence the theme of this year’s celebration. She looks forward to the Chrysalis Awards as a gathering place of people from different backgrounds and industries, all fighting for a common goal of combating climate change.
What is your favorite book that discusses climate change and the part we can play in reversing global warming?
I have three: Project Drawdown, a list of suggestions about how to limit carbon emissions; All We Can Save, an a collection of essays, short stories, and poems written by women about their personal relationships with the climate crisis; and The Overstory, a novel about the integral connection between humans and trees and our responsibility to project forests in order to save humanity.
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Suzanne Haerther
Suzanne has driven the local USGBC Georgia mission for over eight years! She is the “man behind the curtain” (a Wizard of Oz reference), and our community chapter could not survive without her. Suzanne coordinates the webpage and application process to reach more of our Georgia community.
What is your favorite book that discusses climate change and the part we can play in reversing global warming?
I recently read (actually, listened to) The Green New Deal by Jeremy Rifkin. It was exciting to see how much money we have to make the changes if we just make the right investments. I think our future is a pretty good investment!
