2008 DINNER TOPICS/SPEAKERS
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Helen J. Kessler President, HJKessler Associates, Inc. |
Helen has over twenty-five years experience in sustainable design, energy efficiency and renewable energy. As a LEED Accredited Professional, she is a nationally recognized green building design consultant and was one of the first architects in Chicago to work with LEED. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is a green building rating system created by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). She is also a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the highest honor bestowed by the AIA on individual architects. Helen is adept at facilitating an integrated approach to resource efficient design with the goal of maximizing efficiency of building systems, minimizing costs and increasing facility value for her clients. Prior to starting her own firm, Helen was Executive Vice President at Sieben Energy Associates. She also worked as a Project Director for Hyatt Hotels Corporation and for Richard I. Rubin & Company.
Helen's extensive board service includes membership on the U.S. Green Building Council Chicago Chapter Board of Directors, Chicago liaison to the Heartland Chapters Regional Steering committee, Chair of the Chicago Chapter Education and Research Committee and voting member of the national LEED for Commercial Interiors Core Committee. She was Board Secretary of CREW Chicago through 2007. Helen chaired the Energy Code Committee that created Chicago's first energy code, and she is past chair of AIA Chicago's Committee on the Environment.
Helen is a licensed architect and has a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Arizona and an Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.