After an extensive search with many highly qualified candidates, I am thrilled to announce that the Board of Passive House Massachusetts has chosen a new Executive Director to lead our organization: Alexander Gard-Murray.
Alexander brings deep experience in building decarbonization, advocacy, and education. He was previously the Director of the Greenhouse Institute, where he was a leader in a national movement to accelerate space heating electrification. Before that he earned his Doctorate in Politics at Oxford, and taught and researched energy policy in the Government Department at Harvard and the Climate Solutions Lab at Brown.
Our new Executive Director joins us at a critical point in the trajectory of both PHMass and the adoption of Passive House construction in Massachusetts. The incorporation of Passive House requirements into the Specialized Opt-In Stretch Code for large multi-family buildings, the ongoing adoption of that Specialized code by over 45 cities and towns across the state, the embedding of Passive House bonus points into housing tax credits, and the expansion of the Mass Save Passive House incentive program—not to mention the fundamental advantages of Passive House building—are all driving increased demand. Over 13,000 Passive House units are already in the development pipeline for the coming years.
The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center has entrusted PHMass with a $1 million grant over the next three years to rapidly expand training opportunities for developers, designers, and contractors choosing to pursue Passive House certification for new projects. Alongside a new Education Program Director to be announced soon, Alexander will be leading our efforts to make sure that this transition happens smoothly. In his own words:
“I am deeply honored to join PHMass as its new Executive Director. PHMass and its partners have laid an incredible foundation for Passive House in the state. It is my mission to make sure that we build on those successes in a way that sparks even more excitement and demand for Passive House projects, both in Massachusetts and across the country.”
I hope you will join me and the PHMass Board in welcoming Alexander to our community. I encourage you to come meet him at our upcoming events, especially our Symposium on December 10th (for which registration and sponsorship opportunities are now open). And if you share our goals of promoting Passive House adoption in Massachusetts, I invite you to support PHMass as an Individual or Corporate Member. Thank you for your partnership as we enter this exciting new phase in our history.
Hank Keating, AIA
President, Passive House Massachusetts
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