1.5 AIA LU|HSW
Cost:
$10 for AIA and NOMA Members
$30 for Non-Members
Materials Selection: Extraction to Construction
Presenters:
Jessie Templeton: Brightworks
Jeff Olivares, Kerry Phillips: Lake Flato
Amy Running: Bora
Jack Rusk: C-Scale
The annual AIAO COTE Green Champion Summit brings to you the sustainability leaders from around the country and the region. This year the summit will focus on the tools readily available in the architect’s toolbox, material selection, to inform design and construction that can reduce embodied carbon, promote zero waste, reduce human health and environmental impacts, and acknowledge the significance of participation by all communities. By committing to responsible material sourcing, we can design and build elegant structures that can better weave into our urban and rural infrastructure. With an exciting panel of speakers from Lake Flato, Bora, Brightworks, and C Scale, you will gain a better understanding of how zero carbon structures can be built and tracked and learn the tools that can strengthen your ability to better select products, with time for audience participation and discussion with the panel speakers.
Thank you to our Green Champion Summit Sponsors:
Speakers
Kerry Phillips, AIA
Lake Flato Architects
Kerry Phillips has nineteen years of experience spanning a wide range of project types and scales. After receiving her Bachelor of Architecture from Virginia Tech, she joined Lake Flato in 2012, where she has demonstrated excellence in designing and detailing vibrant, community-centered environments for higher education institutions. Kerry has led the technical execution of four mass timber projects. Her leadership on these technically complex, sustainability-driven projects reflects a deep understanding of how material innovation and collaborative design can advance both environmental performance and architectural expression.
Jeff Olivares, AIA
Lake Flato Architects
Jeff is an architect in Lake Flato’s Urban Studio. He has extensive experience in a variety of project types ranging from historic renovations and adaptive re-use, to higher education facilities and urban-scale projects. He excels at navigating the complexities of large-scale initiatives and leading large multidisciplinary teams to create innovative and sustainable architecture.
Rooted in a strong commitment to environmental responsibility, Jeff’s design philosophy emphasizes the careful implementation of innovative technologies and thoughtful material choices. He has a deep interest in high-performance facades, mass timber construction, adaptive reuse, and historic preservation, all aimed at enhancing the synergy between architecture and its surroundings.
Amy Running
Amy Running is an Interior Designer, Project Manager, and sustainability leader at Bora Architecture & Interiors, advancing thoughtful material selection as an integral part of design excellence. With more than 25 years of experience, she brings a practical perspective to translating sustainability goals into design decisions. Amy serves on the AIA Materials Pledge Working Group and helps lead the Portland Materials Transparency Collaborative (PMTC), connecting the design and manufacturing communities to advance healthier, lower-carbon, more transparent, and responsibly sourced building materials.
Jack Rusk
C-Scale
Jack Rusk is the CEO and co-founder of C.Scale, a software platform democratizing access to whole life carbon data and design strategy. C.Scale was founded on the belief that data-driven tools can help get “all hands on deck” in the work of transforming buildings and cities from a climate burden to a climate solution.
In the last few years, he’s presented research at over a dozen conferences a year, applied machine learning to streamline early-phase carbon estimation, consulted with the Biden White House on measuring and managing supply chain emissions from buildings, and led the development of LCA methodology and data solutions for hyperscale tech companies, Autodesk, and Schneider Electric.
He currently volunteers for the Living Future Energy+Carbon Technical Advisory Group, the AIA DDx working group, Mindful Materials Tech and Data working group, and as an AIA representative on the Embodied Carbon Harmonization and Optimization (ECHO) Project.
Jessie Templeton, AIA
Brightworks
Jessie Templeton is an expert in reducing embodied carbon. Her building type experience includes affordable housing, data centers, multifamily housing, campus communities, transit-oriented developments, and urban neighborhoods. Before Brightworks, Jessie was a Senior Associate Architect at GGLO Architects in Seattle, where she led the firm's embodied carbon-related work. She was a core member of GGLO's Climate Positive team advancing sustainability in the firm's projects and acted as Design Lead and Project Architect on multifamily developments.
Sustainable Building Week 2026
October 5-9, 2026
The Green Champion Summit is the Keynote event of Sustainable Building Week (SBW). SBW is a week-long celebration of sustainable building, design, construction, policy, innovation, and collaboration across the Portland region. Through educational sessions, project tours, networking opportunities, and community conversations, SBW brings together professionals from across the built environment to accelerate a more sustainable future.