Advisory Committee

Meet the Green Lease Leaders Advisory Committee

The Green Lease Leaders Advisory Committee is a sounding board to help us stay in touch with the market, provide input on the direction of the Green Lease Leaders program, and ensure that it continues to evolve and grow as a valuable recognition program. Our committee members are experts from across the real estate, law, and sustainability fields to provide expertise and advice to facilitate long term growth of the Green Lease Leaders program. Please note that committee members are not automatically offered Green Lease Leaders recognition and are providing input on a voluntary basis. Green Lease Leaders does not offer monetary compensation for committee participation.

Click on each member’s profile to learn more about their background.

CHRIS PYKE
(he/him)

Chief innovation officer,
gresb

Chris Pyke is an environmental scientist and Chief Innovation Officer for GRESB. Dr. Pyke has cross-cutting responsibility for innovation, communications, and supervision of the GRESB Foundation. Dr. Pyke previously served as Senior Vice President for Arc Skoru (part of the USGBC family of organizations), Chief Strategy Officer for Aclima, and a research scientist for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Dr. Pyke is on the faculty of the Urban and Regional Planning Program at Georgetown University. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

EMILY MCLACHLAN
(she/her)

Vp – sustainability,
federal realty

Emily is responsible for driving forward Federal’s sustainability program. This includes setting and implementing portfolio decarbonization strategies, managing the company’s solar portfolio, and overseeing all sustainability reporting efforts. 
 
Before joining Federal in 2018, she managed LEED and energy efficiency projects at Cushman & Wakefield for their Class A office portfolio. 
 
Emily earned a Bachelor of Science in environmental science and management with a focus in ecology and a minor in communication from the University of California Davis.

karen saarkoppel
(she/her)

principal,
sci

With more than 15 years of experience driving Commercial Real Estate (CRE) sustainability strategy and programs, Karen Saarkoppel has built an impressive career with industry-leading investors and occupiers across North America. As a Sustainability Strategy specialist, understanding opportunities and challenges of all parties within matrix organizations is what has allowed her to turn strategic plans into operational solutions, Karen’s strong ability to develop relationships and collaborate effectively has been demonstrated in successful program leadership in critical areas including Green Leasing, Stakeholder Engagement, Data Management and Procurement. Now as an independent consultant, Karen continues her career supporting clients in achieving their Green Leasing ambitions.  
Using this experience in Green Leasing, Karen has directly supported major Landlords and Tenants in achieving recognition via Green Lease Leaders, including the first Platinum-level Team Transaction award in 2022 in support of a major FI client. 
Karen has been a lead contributor to the larger CRE community as an instructor and advocate for Green Leasing across North America, supporting training and publications on the subject. 

lauren brust moss
(she/her)

senior vp – sustainability,
vornado realty trust

Lauren Brust Moss oversees the Company’s industry-leading sustainability programs including initiatives focused on energy efficiency, green cleaning, waste diversion, technology and infrastructure, and healthy environments. Ms. Moss has more than 20 years of experience managing sustainability, energy and capital improvements for large-scale buildings and portfolios, and is recognized as an industry thought leader and advocate on green policy, regulation and compliance. Prior to joining Vornado, Ms. Moss was Senior Vice President at Adai, the administrator of the Fitwel certification program, and previously worked in the sustainability practices at engineering firms NORESCO and Steven Winter Associates. Ms. Moss is a member of the Board of the Building Energy Exchange (BE-Ex), Co-President of the New York Energy Consumers Council and a member of the USGBC Board of Directors. She earned an undergraduate degree from Columbia University and a master’s degree in Urban Planning from New York University.

Nicole Denamur
(she/her)

founding attorney,
climate aligned law

Nicole DeNamur combines more than a decade of experience litigating construction and insurance coverage matters with extensive knowledge of sustainability and the real estate industry. She leverages her unique experience to help clients drive deeply sustainable outcomes while managing the associated risks.  
Nicole’s work includes compliance with building performance standards, climate-aligned contracts, collaborative lease language, regulatory compliance, climate risk and resilience work, and practical solutions that align with carbon and social goals and metrics. She teaches sustainable development at the University of Washington and Environmental Health at Boston Architectural College. In 2021 she was awarded Honorary Membership by the American Institute of Architects in Seattle.  In 2022 Nicole was named Educator of the Year by the International WELL Building Institute, and in 2023 she was named an Outstanding Voice of Pride by the Puget Sound Business Journal.  

Diana Lee
IMT’s Director of Business Engagement

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