GEIH Spotlight: Candace Pearson
What is your primary work at BuildingGreen?
My title is officially “Research Analyst,” which is vague enough to allow me to wear a couple different hats! Mainly, I work on the contract side of the company, serving a project management role. I’m currently developing an illustrated guide on ‘How to Choose an Insulation for Your Home’ for the City of Vancouver. I’m also sometimes brought into projects where we are hired to provide facilitation support for green charrettes or integrative process meetings.
The other side of our business is an online publication that architects and builders subscribe to. I write feature articles and news posts for BuildingGreen.com and serve on our editorial team.
What is your role(s) in the GEIH?
I act as local research support for the GEIH and serve as a point of contact for people who would like to plug into the process. ViTAL Economy is the real expert in this type of economic development, but the company is based in Baltimore. My job is to bring local context to the research about this region’s green economy and to learn all about the process of developing a green economy cluster, so that I can help move the process along between Milestone meetings. Our team works with BDCC to keep everything coordinated.
What inspires you about the work with the GEIH?
I’m inspired by the level of potential that so many have come to see in this process. It took awhile, but Jim and Frank of ViTAL Economy encouraged us not just to brainstorm one or two new business ideas, but to really think of new ways that our amazing institutions could partner together to open up national—or international—markets. When you look at the things our small organizations have been able to achieve individually and the amount of expertise that has been accumulated over decades, it just makes sense that together we could solve some of the thorniest problems.
Why shouldn’t our builders, product manufacturers, and building science experts be the ones to figure out how to streamline building retrofits? Why shouldn’t our local banker be the one who develops the first investment instrument that finances zero energy buildings? Why shouldn’t our learning centers become world renown for their education programs in all facets of the green economy?
It is truly inspirational to see this community begin to believe that can be a world leader. And it just happens to be in an industry that the world desperately needs.
