Uploaded January 2019 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Listen to the full episode here:
gbes.com/green-building-matters-podcast
Announcement Starting on January 1, 2019, GBMS will begin rolling out it’s new membership community. Members will be given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions to, if you are preparing for an exam there will be more insurances that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member and so much more.
Dan Carney & Brett Taysom, both of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta join Charlie Cichetti live at the Fed. Dan Carney grew up outside Boston and moved around quite a bit as a child. Dan went to the Ohio State University and earned a Master's of Architecture. He joined the Fed after the big recession and for the last 9 years has worked on sustainability for the bank. Brett Taysom is from Roswell, GA but went to school in the Carolinas. His undergraduate studies were at Furman University where he started to get into the sustainability arena. Brett then went to school in Charleston in an environmental studies and started focusing on sustainability.
Dan & Brett- Introduction to Sustainability Brett grew up loving science and enjoyed the environment and became more focused on sustainability in grad school. Dan heard about the term LEED for the first time during grad school in his second year during a Mechanical Systems class. This peaked Dan’s interest but wasn’t a strong connection at that time with architecture. When he started working, the buildings included sustainability and he took his first LEED exam.
Mentors Brett recognizes his professors at Furman University as the ones who got him started. They encouraged him to go to grad school. He also credits his father who was in the real estate industry who recognized changing trends and shared those with Brett.
“If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t have gone to grad school and found sustainability and wouldn’t have found this path.” - Brett Taysom
Dan credits his parents as a big influence. A big part of his childhood upbringing included not being wasteful, conserving energy, and not wasting water.
“I think about those aspects of my childhood and I think that planted some seeds that later on shaped who I was; a sustainability professional.”- Dan Carney
Real Estate and LEED Dan and his team developed a sustainability plan and strategy when he first joined the FED. That was 10 years ago, but was the first time that they had developed a strategy and thought about all the environmental impacts. Planning their strategy and setting goals was something they pursued vigorously for the next 5-6 years.
"Brett came on board and was really able to apply a lot more attention to our sustainability program, work with the green team and really refine and enhance our communication with bank employees and how we engage with bank employees so we were able to take our reporting and data to the next level." –Dan Carney
Pro-Tips/Routines/Rituals “Have coffee every morning.” -Brett Taysom
“Exercise daily, stay up to date in the sustainability world.” -Dan Carney
To hear more about Dan and Brett’s journey and their thoughts on Sustainability download and listen to the episode!
Book Suggestions: Brett Taysom’s Suggestion: The China Study by T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell II
Dan Carney’s Suggestion: The Desert and the Sea by Michael Scott Moore
Learn more about Dan and Brett: Dan Carney LinkedIn
Brett Taysom Linkedin
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES: Charlie on LinkedIn
Green Building Educational Services
GBES on Twitter
Connect on LinkedIn
Like on Facebook
Google+
GBES Pinterest Pins
GBES on Instagram
Announcement: Starting on January 1, 2019, GBMS will begin rolling out it’s new membership community. Members will be given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions to, if you are preparing for an exam there will be more insurances that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member and so much more.
If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on iTunes . We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the Green Building Matters Podcast !
Copyright © 2018 GBES
Listen to the full episode here:
gbes.com/green-building-matters-podcast
Announcement Starting on January 1, 2019, GBMS will begin rolling out it’s new membership community. Members will be given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions to, if you are preparing for an exam there will be more insurances that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member and so much more.
Dan Carney & Brett Taysom, both of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta join Charlie Cichetti live at the Fed. Dan Carney grew up outside Boston and moved around quite a bit as a child. Dan went to the Ohio State University and earned a Master's of Architecture. He joined the Fed after the big recession and for the last 9 years has worked on sustainability for the bank. Brett Taysom is from Roswell, GA but went to school in the Carolinas. His undergraduate studies were at Furman University where he started to get into the sustainability arena. Brett then went to school in Charleston in an environmental studies and started focusing on sustainability.
Dan & Brett- Introduction to Sustainability Brett grew up loving science and enjoyed the environment and became more focused on sustainability in grad school. Dan heard about the term LEED for the first time during grad school in his second year during a Mechanical Systems class. This peaked Dan’s interest but wasn’t a strong connection at that time with architecture. When he started working, the buildings included sustainability and he took his first LEED exam.
Mentors Brett recognizes his professors at Furman University as the ones who got him started. They encouraged him to go to grad school. He also credits his father who was in the real estate industry who recognized changing trends and shared those with Brett.
“If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t have gone to grad school and found sustainability and wouldn’t have found this path.” - Brett Taysom
Dan credits his parents as a big influence. A big part of his childhood upbringing included not being wasteful, conserving energy, and not wasting water.
“I think about those aspects of my childhood and I think that planted some seeds that later on shaped who I was; a sustainability professional.”- Dan Carney
Real Estate and LEED Dan and his team developed a sustainability plan and strategy when he first joined the FED. That was 10 years ago, but was the first time that they had developed a strategy and thought about all the environmental impacts. Planning their strategy and setting goals was something they pursued vigorously for the next 5-6 years.
"Brett came on board and was really able to apply a lot more attention to our sustainability program, work with the green team and really refine and enhance our communication with bank employees and how we engage with bank employees so we were able to take our reporting and data to the next level." –Dan Carney
Pro-Tips/Routines/Rituals “Have coffee every morning.” -Brett Taysom
“Exercise daily, stay up to date in the sustainability world.” -Dan Carney
To hear more about Dan and Brett’s journey and their thoughts on Sustainability download and listen to the episode!
Book Suggestions: Brett Taysom’s Suggestion: The China Study by T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell II
Dan Carney’s Suggestion: The Desert and the Sea by Michael Scott Moore
Learn more about Dan and Brett: Dan Carney LinkedIn
Brett Taysom Linkedin
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES: Charlie on LinkedIn
Green Building Educational Services
GBES on Twitter
Connect on LinkedIn
Like on Facebook
Google+
GBES Pinterest Pins
GBES on Instagram
Announcement: Starting on January 1, 2019, GBMS will begin rolling out it’s new membership community. Members will be given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions to, if you are preparing for an exam there will be more insurances that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member and so much more.
If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on iTunes . We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the Green Building Matters Podcast !
Copyright © 2018 GBES


![LEED Pioneer in the Philippines - Alvin Tejada
Alvin Tejada is a LEED Fellow, an Architect, Project Management Professional (PMP), a pioneering LEED & WELL Accredited Professional, and TRUE Advisor in SE Asia; He is also USGBC and IWBI Faculty. Alvin has acquired more than 25 years of experience in architectural and interior design, corporate real estate, construction, property and facilities management. He has advanced his career as an independent practitioner and a team player in multinational companies.
Specialties: Construction and Project Management, Sustainability/ LEED, WELL, TRUE, EDGE Consulting, Property and Facilities Management, Architectural Design and Space Planning
Show Highlights
Challenges with LEED and green building in the Southeast Asia region.
Partnership with USGBC & higher education to develop a center for sustainability learning in the Philippines.
Grooming future architects on key sustainability practices as part of their design process.
Heightened alertness and awareness of carbon footprints has pushed the standards for practice and reporting to become a normal requirement for the built environment.
How the market has been transformed to adopt green building practices.
Academia has to catch up to train students in taking the correct mindset and practices to drive the change needed for the world.
“Theres really an interest [in green buildings] coming from students, especially hearing me share actual experiences and the developments that are going on. Ive seen how theyve been performing with the exercises that Ive been giving and it looks like theyre up to the challenge of taking on extra credentials. Ive also been encouraging them that this would really support them as they build their career early in life.”
-Alvin Tejada
“While were living in a challenging time, this is also an exciting time. The speed of technological development may be dizzying. We know that humankind continues to evolve with rapid changes. Just keep reading, keep learning, keep sharing, and eventually you get into the habit of this green building movement.”
-Alvin Tejada
Get the episode transcript here!!
Show Resource and Information
LinkedIn
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster:
Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES Charlie on LinkedIn
Green Building Educational Services
GBES on Twitter
Connect on LinkedIn
Like on Facebook
Google+
GBES Pinterest Pins
GBES on Instagram
GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to www.gbes.com/join to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!
If you truly enjoyed the show, dont forget to leave a positive rating and review on iTunes . We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the Green Building Matters Podcast !
Copyright © 2023 GBES LEED Pioneer in the Philippines - Alvin Tejada](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hfr-R5PdHYs/mqdefault.jpg)







