Preview: Check out the June Member Magazine for exclusive invitations, upcoming events, our Community Hub, and member spotlight!
Long Beach Container Terminal Tour - Exclusive invitation!
Please join us for an exclusive, Members-only tour of USGBC-LA’s 2023 Project of the Year awardee…the Long Beach Container Terminal!
Take a tour of the nation’s greenest marine terminal with a goal of Zero Emissions by 2030. See containers transferred from ships to trucks and trains, all with electric cranes and vehicles, and see firsthand the largest battery exchange building in the world.
For a preview, please enjoy this video!
RSVP here
Long Beach’s Approach to Decarbonization
Join us at Studio One Eleven on June 6th to hear from Long Beach green building professionals and experts. Organized by our Long Beach Committee, this panel features engineers, architects, city planners and more. RSVP here.
Community Hub
Have you joined us on the Community Hub yet? Log in here for content from our members, RSVP to committee meetings, and receive exclusive pricing for upcoming events.
MEMBER Spotlight
Steffi Reyes-Thomas
Steffi is an Afro-Chicana holistic designer and artist. Growing up near Chicago, she has been passionate about architecture from a young age. As the Founder & Chief of Holistic-Spaces Design Consultancy, she focuses on wellness in the built environment and regenerative practices. Steffi seamlessly navigates between the tangible and virtual realms, crafting deeply personal experiences. Her background emphasizes representation and inclusion. She currently resides in San Diego, California, where she pushes the limits of design innovation and firmly believes that the built environment influences behavior. Her holistic approach to design is both critical and adaptable.
Steffi's interest in green building began when she learned that 50% of landfill contents are from construction waste. She graduated from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design with a Bachelor's in Interior Architecture & Design, where she helped shape the curriculum to emphasize green building. She was the first in her class to achieve LEED Green Associate certification. Steffi dedicated two years to landscape design in Chicago, ensuring that everything she specified was biodegradable. She then moved to San Diego to pursue a career in sustainable interior architecture.
Steffi serves as the Chair of Women+ in Green San Diego until 2025. The group hosts three events annually, providing a safe space for women in the green building industry to share their experiences. They focus on leadership, education, and networking for success. Steffi won Volunteer of the Year in 2021 for her outstanding work with Greenbuild International's Legacy Project in 2020 and 2021, organizing over 100 volunteers to revitalize a crucial land improvement in a border region's food desert.
Steffi's latest notable project is the headquarters for Verdani Partners in Carlsbad, California. The space is designed to minimize noise distractions and promote a peaceful environment, with 100% of employees agreeing on its effectiveness. It is poised to be turn-key ready for WELL, LEED, and FITWELL credentials.
Steffi's proudest moment came in 2021 when she designed her first project as a newly formed company. The space, the Cacao Cafe at Maya Moon Collective, has become a popular spot for people seeking well-being in a mindfully social environment. The café accounts for 85% of the brand’s total sales, which are projected to double by the end of 2024.
Reach out to Steffi here.
Exclusive USGBC-CA Member Benefits
from Partner Organizations
Verdani Webinar
Verdani is working on their latest Bundles of education, so meantime they would like to provide USGBC-CA Members with a 25% discount code to their three existing Bundles linked here - code ‘usgbcca25’ is valid through December 31, 2024.
Don’t miss the upcoming releases of latest VIBE Guidance Reports, click on the links to reserve your advance copy now:
Corporate Sustainability Strategies - to be published end of June
Global Decarbonization - to be published Nov/Dec
GreenBiz / VERGE 2024
VERGE 24 (Oct. 29-31, San Jose, CA) is the center of gravity for professionals deploying climate tech at scale. Join USGBC-LA and over 6,000 sustainability professionals to explore emerging trends, take stock of new technologies, and work to accelerate the speed and scale of impact. Register before June 7 to secure the lowest rate and use our discount code V24USLA for 20% off the All-Access Pass or One-Day Pass: https://buff.ly/3wk0WZe
Stay Active as a USGBC-CA Member!
Please join the EJP Committee on Saturday, June 29th as we officially break ground on our 2024 Project, the RootDown LA KitchenPod! We look forward to getting our hands dirty as our awardee team’s brilliant vision comes to life- a fully mobile, passively cooled structure with solar-powered refrigeration to house the George Washington Carver Middle School garden’s culinary programming.
Things are starting to heat up for the summer, so we will be getting started bright and early at 9 AM. In addition to starting on construction of the KitchenPod, we will be prepping new raised beds for the expanding vegetable garden. Come prepared with close-toed shoes, sunscreen, and your reusable water bottle- tools and snacks will be provided. Please check out our community hub page or contact Katie (katie@leconsultants.net) to learn more about the project.
Learn more about the Kitchen Pod project here.
RSVP here