USGBC Reworks Committee Structure

Since its founding in 1993, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has depended on volunteer committees for a wide range of activities, from creation and management of the LEED rating systems to guiding green building research and education. After a six-month study by the Committee Assessment Task Force—a group of volunteers and staff—USGBC is reworking the committee structure, giving more responsibility to professional staff and changing the role of volunteers.

According to USGBC communications manager Ashley Katz, the reorganization was designed to make better use of the resources and talents of both professional staff and volunteers. “The new structure will make it easier for an organization that now has a large professional staff to best utilize the skills and expertise of our volunteer leaders and our staff in advancing our strategic goals,” she said.

The new structure will include committees that report to the Board of Directors as well as to the Steering Committees for chapters, education, and LEED. These committees will play an advisory role, rather than a supervisory one, and include Education Steering, Events, Review, and Development and Training Committees as well as a Research Advisory Committee. Committees that will disappear include the Greenbuild Steering and Program Committees, the Education Steering Committee, the Formal Education Committee, the Curriculum Committee, the Research Committee, the Professional Development Committee, and the Government Committee.