Meet Illinois Green’s 2022 Outstanding Volunteers
We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2022 Outstanding Volunteer Awards! These six volunteers have gone above and beyond in their work with Illinois Green. They will be receiving their awards in person at the 2023 Annual Meeting on February 8th. Click here to register!
We asked each recipient to tell us a little bit about why they volunteer with Illinois Green, what they enjoy about participating in the community, and to share a volunteer highlight from 2022. Here's what they had to say:
Kate Anderson, CEM, LEED GA
Account Executive Owner (HVAC Domain), Johnson Controls
Kate’s leadership helped build a partnership with the Young ASHRAE Professionals Group - a building tour at 401 N. Michigan. Her long-term tenure on the Auxiliary Board and strengths in relationship building have promoted strong ties between volunteers. Her leadership also led to a sold-out Holiday Party raising several thousand dollars in sponsorship. Thank you Kate, for your dedication and enthusiasm for advancing green buildings and promoting the green building community!
Q&A
Why do you volunteer with Illinois Green?
I volunteer with Illinois Green Alliance because I believe in their mission, especially when it comes to decarbonization and fostering education about green technology. It has also been a great opportunity to connect with and be mentored by leaders in the space.
What do you enjoy about volunteering with Illinois Green?
I love volunteering with Illinois Green Alliance because it brings together people from such a wide range of industries, all working in unique ways to help our environment. Cross-collaboration is critical in finding creative solutions, and Illinois Green Alliance has done a great job creating a place that brings together people with a common concern for nature and social justice who are eager and willing to work towards decarbonization goals.
What is your volunteer highlight from 2022?
The Holiday Party was a highlight because it was great to see so many people passionate about sustainability all together! You could feel the excitement in the room - I hope that the energy from the party will overflow into 2023 and help ignite the desire for more people to join IGA and for even more organizations to take swift action toward net zero!
April Bartnick
Special Education Teacher & Green Classroom Professional, Murphysboro Middle School
As a Special Education Teacher at Murphysboro Middle School, April has participated in every cohort of the Illinois Green Schools Project since 2020. Within our current cohort, she has expanded her participation and engagement by not only enrolling her own school, but by volunteering to act as a mentor for another southern school as well. April has also been instrumental to building our Green Schools network across Southern Illinois. She has encouraged many other schools throughout the region to participate—going as far as to inspire an entire course full of Masters Teaching Fellows at SIUC to enroll their own schools in the program. She leads sustainability efforts at Murphy Middle School – working to implement sustainability into the curriculum, the culture, and the infrastructure – and inspires other teachers and staff in her district to do the same. She brings energy and positivity to her work and has been a powerful representative of our mission. Thank you April, for all you’ve done to spread the green schools message across Illinois.
Q&A
Why do you volunteer with Illinois Green?
I volunteer with Illinois Green to sew seeds of hope and to educate others. As an educator in rural southern Illinois, my mission involving environmental sustainability is in alignment with Illinois Green's vision of providing “people better, brighter, healthier places to live, work, and learn.” My volunteerism has given me the opportunity to bring awareness to global issues by acting locally with integrity, accountability, and commitment. Overall, the Illinois Green Alliance has helped me give back to my community and strengthen my school climate.
What do you enjoy about volunteering with Illinois Green?
I enjoy networking and attending virtual training sessions with Illinois Green. Learning about environmental issues that I can share with my school and students is a high priority, and I find the programming and information of Illinois Green to be innovative and accessible. I also enjoy being a mentor with a local teacher for the first time; team building and collaboration are essential to education. Illinois Green has been a significant motivator in my journey as an educator when offering social, academic, and green values to my community.
What is your volunteer highlight from 2022?
My volunteer highlight from 2022 was helping motivate several southern Illinois schools to join the Illinois Green Schools Project. Encouraging more volunteerism can have a ripple effect in helping build a healthier place to live and a more sustainable future for generations to come. Schools are in a unique position to offer students 21st Century learning opportunities to exercise creative problem solving skills in a real-world setting. I believe teachers, citizens, and community leaders working hand-in-hand can influence the lives of others that can last a lifetime.
Mohammad Heidarinejad, Ph.D
Assistant Professor, Illinois Institute of Technology
Mohammad joined Illinois Green’s Programs Committee for the first time as a volunteer in 2022, but has been a supporter, contributor and cheerleader of Illinois Green’s work for several years. During his first year on the Programs Committee, Mohammad led the development of our highest attended program EVER, contributed to multiple additional programs throughout the year and consistently brought new voices and connections to our programs – and introduced Illinois Green to many of his students at IIT. We are thrilled that Mohammad has chosen to share his time, talents and network with Illinois Green and our educational work.
Q&A
Why do you volunteer with Illinois Green?
While Illinois Green provides a unique opportunity to get involved in sustainability in the area, its impact is not limited to here and it reaches beyond the region, as we have seen participants registering for our events from all over the world. It has been an amazing experience to see this breadth of engagement when coordinating and putting together an educational program. As an educator and researcher, I’m passionate about sharing my experiences and skills, as well as learning from others how we can improve our built environment and train the next generation of our workforce. In addition, this volunteering opportunity has enabled me to engage with a wide range of stakeholders and meet new colleagues that would not have been possible without my involvement with Illinois Green.
Volunteering in sustainability has also provided motivation for our students at Illinois Tech to see how they can get more involved with implementing sustainability in IL. Several of them have volunteered with Illinois Green on various activities. We recent developed an undergraduate minor in Sustainability at Illinois Tech, and also many of our graduate programs focus on sustainability applications in the built environment, so it’s excellent alignment for them.
Overall, I am very glad that I am part of this unique organization and its volunteers, and I have enjoyed my experience being part of the educational programs committee and more.
What do you enjoy about volunteering with Illinois Green?
Since moving to Chicago in 2018, Illinois Green was one of the organizations that I got to know through referrals from colleagues, and it has been a rewarding experience to work with their amazing staff and colleagues in the Chicago area. In 2021, I decided to join the Educational Program, and I also served as a judge for the Schools Project. The discussions and collaborations between the volunteers have been so fruitful, and I’m very happy with how we are assisting with sustainability in IL. I was fortunate to be able to lead the Heatpumpification program in May 2022 and also assist with the Building Decarb Tech Series: Modeling Deep Commercial Retrofits program in December. These have been highlights of my involvement with Illinois Green.
Also, all the Illinois Green staff are amazing people to work with. Thanks to Katie, Twyla, Maya, Brian, and Maggie for all you do!
What is your volunteer highlight from 2022?
I am very proud of how our program sub-committee put together the Heatpumpification program last year. While we had volunteer experts with different perspectives about the future pathways for decarbonization of our building stock, we were able to discuss the topic together productively and came up with an exciting program that we all were happy about. The program brought together different stakeholders, including homeowners, developers, designers, and contractors. The program was well-received in the community and the program committee is so grateful to the Illinois Green Alliance for providing this opportunity. The teamwork for organizing the Heatpumpification program served as an excellent example of how all decarbonization discussions should happen to engage all voices, experts, perspectives, and stakeholders in order to come up with innovative, resilient, equitable, and affordable decarbonization pathways.
Justin Johnson
Energy Field Specialist, Evergreen Consulting Group
Justin has been on the Auxiliary Board for three years. This past year, he served as the Fundraising Chair, where he helped to plan and execute the 2nd Annual Running to Net Zero 5K event. Justin’s leadership resulted in over $5,500 raised for the Illinois Green Schools Project — Illinois Green’s flagship program for schools. Additionally, Justin has also volunteered his time on Illinois Green’s ED&I Committee and as a Green Ribbon Reviewer for schools. Justin’s enthusiasm, initiative, and ability to build relationships makes him an outstanding volunteer. We are excited that Justin will be spending the next two years as a co-chair, and look forward to seeing all he does next! Thank you Justin for all your hard work on the Auxiliary Board!
Q&A
Why do you volunteer with Illinois Green?
The reason why I volunteer with Illinois Green Alliance is to be able to share my energy with amazing peers in this industry. I've learned so much and gained so many friends since joining and they always make me want to make the communities we live in more sustainable and inviting for all the people of Illinois.
What do you enjoy about volunteering with Illinois Green?
I enjoy learning about state-of-the-industry practices and credentials during the educational sessions. Events like the Sustainability Credential Soup Sessions every year are particularly fun.
What is your volunteer highlight from 2022?
My volunteer highlight for 2022 was the Race to Net Zero 5K. Organizing and participating in that race was incredibly rewarding and I'm excited to see how it continues to grow in the coming years.
Ajit Naik, PE, BEMP, CCP
Vice President | Director of Building Performance Analytics, Baumann Consulting
Ajit has volunteered as an Green Schools Mentor for the past 2 years. His dedication to the Academy for Global Citizenship and Whitney Young have led them to some exciting waste reduction projects with their students and staff through the Illinois Green Schools Project. Additionally, Ajit always find ways to support Illinois Green, including volunteering his expertise by doing a pro-bono air quality assessment at UE Hall for the Neighborhood Power Project! We can’t thank Ajit enough for being such an awesome volunteer.
Q&A
Why do you volunteer with Illinois Green?
I volunteer with Illinois Green because it is one of the easiest ways for me to leverage my existing skillset into community service. I share Illinois Green’s dedication to improving all our communities, but as busy professional, finding time to volunteer is difficult. It really helps me stay engaged when Illinois Green provides me tailored opportunities to promote sustainability and energy efficiency in organizations and stakeholders within my own neighborhood.
What do you enjoy about volunteering with Illinois Green?
Being an Illinois Green member over the years has provided me with countless opportunities to network and socialize with other green building professionals, many of whom have become friends. Since serving as an Illinois Green Schools mentor, I’ve found that the opportunity to work with creative students passionate about sustainability sparks new ideas and reinvigorates my professional efforts, especially when working with schools to improve energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality. Above all, volunteering with Illinois Green provides me the valuable opportunity to keep learning and growing, often in ways I didn’t expect.
What is your volunteer highlight from 2022?
In 2022, I had the opportunity to help students at the Academy for Global Citizenship to perform a waste audit, set up vermicompost bins in all their school’s classrooms, and tour an advanced recycling facility. Making a connection with the students as they gained an understanding of their direct environmental impact, took steps to mitigate it, and learned about new technologies and career opportunities in the sustainability space was my personally rewarding highlight of the year!
Miranda Wright
Associate 1, Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture
Miranda served as the Co-Chair of the Auxiliary Board in 2021 and 2022, leading the group of young professionals towards successful events that raised support and awareness for Illinois Green’s programs. Miranda’s kind nature, willingness to share her time and expertise, and passion for green buildings shines through in her leadership and execution of events. We are so lucky that Miranda has volunteered her time with us, and thank her for all of the success she’s brought to our organization!
Q&A
Why do you volunteer with Illinois Green?
I volunteer with Illinois Green to fill my passion for learning and educating about sustainability that I don't always get at my day to day job. I feel like it is a great place to not only feel like you are making a small impact, but also grow a network of like minded individuals who you can learn more from.
What do you enjoy about volunteering with Illinois Green?
The people! The people within Illinois Green is what make volunteering so enjoyable and rewarding. From the amazing staff at IGA and the great groups of volunteers you get to know along the way - all team members are working towards the same goal of a more sustainable future.
What is your volunteer highlight from 2022?
My highlight of last year would definitely have to be conducting a waste audit with the Auxiliary Board and high school sustainability club! It was a great experience to understand the process of a waste audit, as well as seeing high schoolers get to brainstorming solutions for improving their waste streams. The future is in good hands!