Washington D.C., 21 March 2023 — ISI is very pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Feniosky Peña-Mora of Columbia University to its Board of Directors. Professor Peña-Mora fills the member-at-large seat previously vacated by Martin (“Marty”) Janowitz, who completed his term in 2022.

“We are indebted to Marty for his contributions to the board and the tremendous support he has provided to the development of the Envision® sustainability framework over many years,” said Anthony Kane, ISI’s President & CEO. As communities and public agencies look to solutions like Envision to achieve sustainability, equity, and resiliency in the built environment, ISI is fortunate once again to be able to attract another infrastructure professional of outstanding calibre to join its board: Feniosky Peña-Mora, the Edwin Howard Armstrong Professor of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at Columbia University.

“Professor Peña-Mora has made exceptional contributions to infrastructure sustainability through his research, teaching, academic leadership, and practice, and in particular as the former commissioner of New York City’s Department of Design and Construction — the country’s largest municipal public works department,” Kane highlighted. “The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure is privileged to be able to benefit from Dr. Peña-Mora’s wealth of expertise and significant prior board experience in shaping strategic direction at ISI.”

Feniosky Peña-Mora, ScD., PE(DR), NAS(DR), CCM(UK), F.CIOB(UK), NAC, Dist.M.ASCE, along with being the Edwin Howard Armstrong Professor, is a Professor of Earth and Environmental Engineering and of Computer Science at Columbia. He is the Executive Director of Columbia’s Center for Buildings, Infrastructure and Public Space, which identifies how best to design, construct, and manage buildings, infrastructure, and civic space, emphasizing functionality, sustainability, and resilience.

From 2014 to 2017, he was Commissioner of the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC). In response to the devastation of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, DDC managed the creation and expansion of resilient and sustainable infrastructure projects to protect New York City against extreme weather emergencies and reduce green gas emissions. As part of the New York City Build-it-Back Program, he led the Program Management efforts to procure and manage three Construction Management-Design-Build contracts responsible for raising, rebuilding, and flood-protecting over 1000 homes in the three hardest-hit NYC Boroughs. Among the most significant projects of Peña-Mora’s tenure at DDC were the new $740 million Police Academy, the new $640 million 911 Site, and the Times Square reconstruction.

Prior to his public service leave at DDC, he was dean of the school of engineering and applied sciences of Columbia and an endowed professor. Previously, he held endowed professorships at MIT, where he had earned his MS and PhD in civil engineering, and at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he also served as Associate Provost. Peña-Mora is a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the FIATECH Engineering & Technology Innovation Award, as well as numerous awards from ASCE.

Professor Peña-Mora is a member of the Boards of New York City Health and Hospitals, the ACE Mentor Program of Greater NY, and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). At ASCE, he chairs the Industry Leaders Council (ILC) and the Board Strategy Advisory Committee (BSAC), which is currently updating ASCE’s strategic plan.

At ISI, Prof. Peña-Mora will serve alongside Board Chair Michael Murcha (Madison Metropolitan Sewage District) and Board Members Erin Cooke (San Francisco International Airport), Lauren Evans (Pinyon Environmental), Sergio Pecori (Hanson Professional Services Inc.), Mark Pestrella (Los Angeles County Public Works), and Renee Ring (Environmental Financial Consulting Group).

Who we are
ISI is a nonprofit education and research organization based in Washington, D.C. We were established in 2010 by the American Public Works Association (APWA), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). In 2011, ISI and the Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design collaborated to develop Envision^®.

ISI developed and manages Envision to encourage systemic changes in the planning, design, and delivery of sustainable, resilient, and equitable civil infrastructure through education, training, and third-party verification. To date, we have verified more than 140 infrastructure projects in the United States, Canada and abroad, and more than 8,000 people have taken our training program to become Envision Sustainabilty Professionals (ENV SPs). Currently we count as members over 300 private companies, 200 public agencies, and 80 academic institutions.

More information about ISI
To learn more about ISI, please visit our website: SustainableInfrastructure.org. Also, candidates are highly encouraged to use their free ISI account to access valuable information about the verification program from the Resources section of the individual dashboard.

The Role
The Verification Specialist plays a crucial role in the ongoing growth and development of the Envision verification and awards program. The Verification Specialist works alongside contracted third-party verifiers to undertake documentation reviews of infrastructure projects seeking an Envision award. The Verification Specialist directly liaises with third-party verifiers and ensures timely, consistent, and high-quality project verifications. The Verification Specialist ensures the correct application of ISI guidance and policies, collaborates with the Verification Director and others on the Verification Program team to develop and implement tools and strategies to further grow the program, and supports both third-party verifiers and applicants.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Thoroughly review project submissions against the Envision sustainable infrastructure framework to ensure consistency and quality across all project reviews.
• Develop and maintain excellent relationships with contracted third-party verifiers during the verification process and support them in correctly interpreting requirements.
• Develop tools and other guidance materials to support third-party verifiers and applicants.
• Conduct pre-verification reviews of credits to provide applicants insights on their submission.
• Address general and technical questions about the Envision verification process/specific requirements, including delivering training via remote video platforms.
• Identify and escalate issues to the Verification Director.
• Participate in staff and committee meetings.
• Provide administrative support for the verification program.
• Other duties, as assigned.

Work Environment

• This position may either be based at ISI’s Headquarters in Washington, DC, or work remotely within the United States or Canada.
• Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States or Canada.
• Work hours can be flexible, but core hours of 10 AM to 4 PM (Eastern Time) on weekdays are expected to respond to customer needs and actively engage with ISI staff.
• Required attendance at weekly Verification Team meetings and bi-weekly staff meetings.
• This position is not expected to require regular travel.

Qualifications

Education and work experience

• Post-secondary degree in engineering, planning, or a sustainability related field.
• Envision Sustainability Professional (ENV SP) credential is required. If not currently an Active ENV SP, the credential must be obtained within 60 days from start of employment.
• 5 years or more of relevant professional experience.
• Experience as an applicant or verifier on at least one Envision awarded project or as an Envision trainer is highly preferred.
• Experience developing and/or applying sustainability frameworks and rating systems on infrastructure projects, buildings, and/or communities.

Knowledge and Skills

• Indepth understanding of technical concepts, including equity, social justice, health, mobility, collaboration, resource use, conservation, ecology, emissions, and resilience.
• Knowledge of infrastructure project delivery processes (e.g., planning, design, construction, and operation) and preferably methods (e.g., Design-Bid-Build, Design-Build, Construction Manager at Risk, Construction Management Multi-Prime, Public-Private Partnership, and Integrated Project Delivery) across multiple infrastructure sectors (e.g., water, energy, transportation, etc.)
• Organized with strong project– and time–management skills, including the ability to prioritize and multitask several projects.
• Proficient writer and communicator, possessing strong copy-editing skills.
• Comfortable delivering presentations in person or via remote video platform.
• Able to navigate online project and file management systems.
• Adept at using Excel and other Microsoft Office programs.
• Excellent command of the English language and ability to produce quality products tailored for targeted audiences. Fluency in additional languages (particularly Spanish and/or French) is considered an asset.

Personal Qualities

• Demonstrated passion to protect the environment, enhance human health and well-being, bolster economic prosperity, and advance equity and social justice.
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Detail-oriented
• A self-starter who possesses sound judgment
• Service-oriented with the ability to work independently or as part of a team

Remuneration

Salary: $70,000 – $80,000

Benefits: health, dental, vision, and life insurance; Health Savings Account; company-matched retirement plan with up to 5% match; quarterly stipend for internet and phone expenses.

Vacation: Four (4) weeks; all federal holidays per the United States or Canadian calendar; five (5) sick/personal health days per year.

ISI’s Commitment to Inclusion

ISI is an equal opportunity employer, and we remain steadfastly committed to creating a diverse and inclusive work environment. Our dedication to promoting diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusion is clearly reflected in our work and within the Envision framework, and we partner regularly with organizations to champion these ideals. We are tenacious in our pledge to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace and will evaluate qualified applicants without regard for race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other protected characteristics. Accommodations will be made for employees with disabilities.

To Apply

Applicants must submit a cover letter and resume clearly describing how they meet the qualifications for this employment opportunity. Send by email only to: hr@sustainableinfrastructure.org, no later than Friday, March 31, 2023.

Social equity, historically overlooked in the A/E/C industry, is receiving more attention of late as stakeholders have pushed for more diverse approaches to project delivery for communities. When considering equity in the A/E/C industry, it can be instructive to look at how different rating systems grapple with the concept, says new research, published in the journal Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability.

Sustainability frameworks all attempt in different ways to encourage social equity achievement, the authors find. Moreover, they argue that differences in how these systems understand and value the idea can contribute to substantial differences in actual project conception and implementation.

Titled “Social equity in sustainability certification systems for the built environment: understanding concepts, value, and practice implications,” the article cautions that project teams need to bring a clear set of goals regarding equity of what and for whom. Also fundamental are “the ideas of how to measure and evaluate the distribution of social costs / benefits in order to put social equity into practice.”

The research, authored by a team from HDR, Inc., was published at the end of January and can be freely accessed at: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2634-4505/ac949d

“Equity and social justice refer to the responsibility of a society to ensure that civil and human rights are preserved and protected for each individual, and that all persons are treated equally and without prejudice. These issues are particularly relevant to infrastructure development, which often involves the provision of significant benefits as well as potentially significant impacts.” — Envision v3, Introduction, p. 15

Envision® and Equity

Envision provides a consistent, consensus-based framework for assessing sustainability, resiliency, and equity in civil infrastructure. The equity dimension is embedded in Envision and paired with the term “social justice.” The dedicated Credit titled QL3.1 – “Advance Equity & Social Justice” is designed to ensure equity and social justice are “fundamental considerations within project processes and decision making.” The evaluation metric to be used is the degree to which equity and social justice are included in stakeholder engagement, project team commitments, and decision making. Higher levels of achievement for this credit call for empowerment of communities to engage in the development process, or even positively addressing or correcting an existing or historic injustice or imbalance.

The “Advance Equity & Social Justice” credit is related to these other Quality of Life Credits: QL1.2 (“Enhance Public Health and Safety”), QL2.1 (“Improve Community Mobility and Access”), QL2.2 (“Encourage Sustainable Transportation”), and QL3.2 (“Preserve Historic and Cultural Resources”). It is also related to Leadership Credits LD1.3 (“Preserve Historic and Cultural Resources”), LD2.2 (“Plan for Sustainable Communities”), LD3.1 (“Stimulate Economic Prosperity and Development”), and LD3.2 (“Develop Local Skills and Capabilities”).

The Envision framework ties equity goals to a wide array of other project goals and activities. For example, in QL.1 (“Enhance Public Health and Safety”) the historic factors of equity and social justice within the project context are among the criteria that the project team should consider. This is to demonstrate that health and safety risks and impacts are not disproportionately borne by one community over another.

Washington D.C., 25 January 2023 — ISI is very pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Pestrella, P.E., the Director of Los Angeles County Public Works, to its Board of Directors. He fills the seat vacated by Gary Lee Moore (City of Los Angeles), who completed his term in 2022. ISI thanks Gary for his tireless leadership and dedication to ISI.

As communities and public agencies look to solutions like ISI’s signature Envision framework to achieve sustainability, equity, and resiliency in the built environment, ISI is fortunate to be able to attract dedicated infrastructure professionals of outstanding calibre to join the leadership team at ISI.

“Mark Pestrella brings nearly four decades of experience providing leadership in the design, construction, operation and maintenance of complex infrastructure systems of every description at LA County Public Works, and his department, from the beginning, has also been a key member and partner for ISI in advancing sustainable and resilient infrastructure practices,” says Anthony Kane, ISI’s president and CEO, and ex-officio member of the Board.

As Director of L.A. County Public Works, Mark Pestrella serves as the Chief Engineer of the Los Angeles County Flood Control District, the County Road Commissioner, and the County Engineer. With an annual budget of more than $2.7 billion and a workforce of 4,000 employees, Los Angeles County Public Works is the largest municipal public works agency in the United States, providing vital public infrastructure and civic services to more than 10 million people across a 4,000-square-mile service area. Its diverse operations are defined within the following business areas: Water Resources, Transportation, Environmental Services, Construction Management, and Municipal Services.

He was nominated to ISI’s Board by the American Public Works Association (APWA), one of the three national engineering organizations that co-founded ISI, with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). He is a longtime APWA member and advocate for sustainable infrastructure and under his leadership, Public Works has set records in leading a sustainable infrastructure sector. In 2015, Public Works was publicly recognized by ISI as the first government agency in the U.S. to credential 100 Envision Sustainability Professionals, and the number has now grown close to 400. In 2016, he successfully assisted the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in adopting Envision^TM as the infrastructure standard of the County, making the County one of the first public agencies in the U.S. to do so.

Mr. Pestrella will serve alongside Board Chair Michael Murcha (Madison Metropolitan Sewage District) and Board Members Erin Cooke (San Francisco International Airport), Lauren Evans (Pinyon Environmental), Sergio Pecori (Hanson Professional Services Inc.) and Renee Ring (Environmental Financial Consulting Group).

Great initiative here from ISI’s Envision Review Board! Richard Fernandez of Aquario Engineering interviewed Margaret Cederoth, Director of Planning and Sustainability at the California High-Speed Rail Authority for a special Envision Review Board Podcast. Have a listen …