Current Board Members
Michelle Apigian
A passionate advocate for sustainability, Michelle (AIA, AICP, LEED AP, CPHC) is the Environment Social Governance Director at ICON Architecture. She is an architect, planner and urban designer who has worked on a broad array of project types and scales, from large, multi-phase master plans and design and construction of new multifamily developments to strategic infill , adaptive reuse and modernization projects. Her work has achieved LEED certification at numerous levels and soon will include the first Passive House certified multifamily project in New England. Michelle received a B.A. from Dartmouth and Masters in Architecture and City Planning from MIT.
Lauren Baumann
Lauren is a sustainable building professional with seventeen years of experience improving the performance of the built environment, including as Vice President at New Ecology, Inc. where she led the senior management team and green building consulting business. In addition to her work providing green building consulting services for new construction and renovation projects, Lauren regularly present about high-performance building design, construction, and financing at conferences and symposiums, and routinely act in an advisory capacity to entities developing programs and policies to positively influence climate, health, and equity outcomes.
Lauren is currently serving as the Secretary of Passive House Massachusetts.
Chris Burke
Chris is the General Superintendent for NEI General Contracting and a Certified Passive House Builder. With 26 years of experience, Chris has tremendous experience building projects ranging from luxury high-density multi-family developments to occupied rehabilitation on all types of sites, both complex urban and open. Chris’ primary focus is the analysis of the civil, structural, and MEP scopes of work to ensure the efficient constructability and coordination of the project. He assists with the development of site logistics, operations strategies, and sequencing to ensure swift and efficient completion of the project.
Laura Homich
Laura (AIA, LEED AP BD+C) is a Principal at PCA, an architecture, interiors and planning firm that recognizes the architect’s responsibility to mitigate the impact of building on our environment. With a core belief in a holistic sustainable design approach the PCA team addresses technical performance, resource efficiency, universal + inclusive design and user health + community responsive design on projects resulting in – efficient, high-performance buildings that re-energize their communities.
In addition to her role as leader of PCA’s sustainability practice, Laura is an active member of Building Green – Sustainable Design Leaders, Built Environment Plus and CREW Boston. She received a Bachelor of Architecture and a Bachelor of Building Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Laura is a registered architect in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Brad Mahoney
Brad Mahoney is Director of Sustainable Development at Millennium Partners. He is also responsible for all aspects of Millennium’s Boston commercial development, including design, construction, leasing and tenant coordination. He led all sustainability efforts on the newly opened Winthrop Center, the pinnacle of the Millennium Partners portfolio, named the largest Passive House office building in the world and the most sustainable building in the U.S. in a northern climate.
Brad Mahoney joined the Millenium team in 2012 and oversaw the restoration of the historic Burnham Building, the former Filene’s Building, in Downtown Crossing. Also an integral member of the Millennium Tower team, which at time of its completion was the tallest residential building in Boston and became the largest sellout in the history of the city. Prior to joining MP, Brad worked at Lend Lease as a construction manager where he oversaw a wide variety of projects ranging from large scale residential to historic restorations. He also managed an expansion for a life science client by using an integrated and virtual MEP design assist platform. Brad volunteers his time coaching the young men and women of Boston in various youth sports including soccer and baseball and serves on the Board for a number of youth sports organizations.
Christina McPike
Christina manages various energy efficiency and sustainability projects for the WinnCompanies portfolio. With her expertise and cross-disciplinary approach, WinnDevelopment successfully integrates energy and sustainability goals and targets into every project, from occupied moderate renovations to historic adaptive reuse projects. In addition to supporting acquisition rehab projects, she also often interfaces with WinnResidential property and asset management staff on energy retrofit opportunities, energy usage benchmarking, resident engagement, and green operations and maintenance. Christina is a member of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, where she received the Kate Goldstein Fund award in 2016, and has participated in numerous speaking engagements with NESEA. She is an active member of Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA), the United States Green Building Council of Massachusetts and the Women’s Exchange for Leadership and Living Well (WELL). Christina holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Environmental Studies from Boston College and a Master of Science in Urban and Regional Policy from Northeastern University.
Christina is currently serving as the Treasurer of Passive House Massachusetts.
James Petersen
James is the principal of Petersen Engineering, a MEP firm he founded 1992. He has always had a passion for energy efficiency and is an industry leader in advancing sustainability, high-performance building, and building a zero-carbon future. With his holistic philosophy for the design of buildings, James leads and collaborates with project teams to optimize the integration of MEP/FP systems with architecture, sites, building enclosures and building science fundamentals. James is a licensed Professional Engineer in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maine, Vermont, and the District of Columbia. He received a BS in mechanical engineering and a BA in philosophy from the University of New Hampshire. He is also a lifetime member and leader in Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) having served as chair of the board of directors, and co-chair of the Boston Building Energy Conference. From 2020 through 2021, James served as co-chair of the Citizen Response Task Force, a 21-person committee charged with making recommendations to Portsmouth city officials related to COVID-19.
James is currently serving as the President of Passive House Massachusetts.
Ed Sople
Ed Sople is the Chief Operating Office at Dellbrook JKS. He has a degree in Civil Engineering from Northeastern University and previous experince as a Construction Superivsor and as the Vice President of Project Management. He has led several trainings for PHMass on cost estimating and construction management and led the Passive House charge at Dellbrook with thier latest project, The Loop at Mattapan Station. Ed and his wife, Brenda, have four kids and he enjoys coaching sports of all kinds and playing golf.
Andrew Steingiser
Andrew is a Project Architect at RDH Building Science, a CPHC, LEED AP, and RA in Massachusetts with more than 15 years of experience. Andrew leads RDH Boston’s Passive House consulting practice and has broad experience with commercial, residential, and higher education projects. As a well-rounded and detail-oriented architect, he can carry a project from conceptual design through construction to ensure the design intent is realized. Andrew has experience leading design and construction administration of large-scale PHIUScertified higher education projects and promoting sustainability and energy efficiency initiatives across multiple projects. Andrew has also presented regularly at the national PHIUS conference and Passive House Massachusetts, and he has served as a guest lecturer at academic institutions such as the Wentworth Institute of Technology and Boston Architectural College. Prior to joining RDH, Andrew previously worked for SGA, Perkins + Will, and CBT.
Advisers and Former Board Members
Steve Baczek
Steven Baczek is a nationally recognized architect, designing and developing custom residential structures for over 20 years. His work is routinely found in numerous local and national media outlets. He has designed hundreds of projects across the spectrum of energy performance, comfort, and durability, to include many of the nation’s top energy conscious homes. Notable projects include a handful of Passive Homes to include the Nation’s first Certified Passive House Retrofit under Enerfit, numerous Zero Energy Homes and Retrofits, and many Deep Energy Retrofits. His commitment simply equates aesthetics and durability with performance. In addition to his design work, he routinely provides detail and content for use in Publications, Books, Webinars, and associated educational formats, most notable being the author of over 1,000 details for Green Building Advisor. He can also be found at various conferences around the country, talking and sharing his knowledge on the bridge of architecture and sound building science.
Tom Chase
Tom Chase is a Senior Program Manager for commercial building decarbonization on the High Performance Buildings team at MassCEC, which he joined in 2022. Prior to joining MassCEC, Tom was Director of Green Building Services at New Ecology, Inc. (NEI). At NEI he provided sustainable design guidance for a wide range of new construction and existing building projects including Passive House, LEED, Enterprise Green Communities, and ENERGY STAR certification and oversaw internal project teams. He was also the climate change adaptation lead, working in resilience planning and design for multifamily housing and critical facilities. Tom developed NEI’s climate change resiliency assessment protocol and tool to drive improvements in building performance and occupant health during and after extreme and chronic climate change impacts. He has a background in ecology and urban environmental management and holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biology from Wesleyan University and a Master’s of Environmental Management from the Yale School of the Environment. He is a Certified Passive House Consultant and a Massachusetts State Certified Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Provider.
Steve DeMetrick
Steve DeMetrick has been building houses since he graduated from Georgetown University in 1995. He worked for Habitat for Humanity in inner city Washington, DC as an AmeriCorps volunteer for two years, then moved back to Wakefield in 1998 and has been building and remodeling in his community ever since. He is a Certified Passive House Builder and built the first PHIUS Certified Passive House in the state. He is an active member of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association and is an occasional contributor to the Journal of Light Construction and Fine Homebuilding magazines. Steve lives in Wakefield, RI with his wife and four children.
Mike Duclos
Mike Duclos is a principal and founder of The DEAP Energy Group, LLC, a consultancy providing a wide variety of Deep Energy Retrofit, Zero Net Energy and Passive House related consulting services. He is responsible for the design and certification of the second certified Passive House in Massachusetts, and assisted with the design, and preparation of the PHPP for the first EnerPHIT certified home in the US. Mike was a founding member of PHMass.
Paul Eldrenkamp
Paul Eldrenkamp is owner of Byggmeister, Inc., a Newton, MA-based design/build remodeling founded in 1983. He is also a principal of The DEAP Energy Group, an energy consulting firm that specializes in three areas of residential construction: Passive House, Zero-Net Energy, and Deep Energy Retrofits. Paul is a certified Passive House consultant and serves on the board of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association.
Nick Falkoff
Principal of Auburndale Builders Inc. He has worked in residential and commercial construction for 17 years, the company received the Angie’s List Service Award nine years in a row. Projects range from custom built Passive and Net-Zero homes to historic restorations of Victorian houses. Currently working on a passive retrofit of a commercial office and classroom. 3 Year Board Member at Builders & Remodelers Association of Greater Boston, CAPS Certified Aging in Place Specialist. Nick was previously the Vice President of Passive House of Massachusetts and is an active NESEA Member.
Kent Gonzales
Kent manages Northland’s large scale and complex mixed-use development projects. He has over 30 years of diverse real estate development experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors and has directly managed over $1 billion of development. Kent has managed the planning, design, development, and construction of multiple projects throughout New England and Colorado. Kent is currently working on what will be one of the largest, all-electric, PH, mixed-use, market-rate projects in the US. Located on 22 acres in Newton, Massachusetts, the project will combine LEED Multifamily standards with PH standards to create a resilient, durable, energy efficient and healthy environment for residents and visitors alike. Kent holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design from the University of Colorado at Boulder, a Master of Architecture, Urban Design from University of Colorado at Denver, and a Master of Science in Real Estate Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is an Associate Member of the AIA, a Certified Passive House Designer (CPHD), and a LEED Accredited Professional in Building Design + Construction. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Charles River Regional Chamber of Commerce. He also holds memberships in the Passive House Network, NESEA, the Urban Land Institute (ULI), NAIOP and The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU).
Fred Gordon
Fred Gordon is a long-time environmental activist, working with Newton Green Decade and on the Board of Mass. Climate Action Network, besides being a founding member and Board Member (and Treasurer) of PHMA. He owns and manages The Distillery building in South Boston, featuring a 65-unit Passive House section and an old industrial building with about 150 artists, artisans, and various small manufacturing people working and living there. The building brings together the cause of the arts – maintaining affordable arts space in the city – with a broad variety of environmental goals – including Passive House. He studied philosophy at Harvard, got his PhD at UC San Diego, spent 15 years (eight of them at the Harvard School of Education) on researching and consulting on democratic workplaces, and over the past 10 years became increasingly interested in architecture and the environmental crisis. He lives in South Boston with his wife, Judy Hall, who teaches psychology at Northeastern.
Anthony Gray
Anthony is a Senior Project Manager at AKAL Engineering, Inc., a mechanical engineering firm in Central Massachusetts. His early career experience on LEED Certified projects in the NYC Metro area contributed to his passion and commitment to energy management and green construction, which steers his current work toward energy and water efficiency, and clean energy utilization. After becoming a LEED AP, Anthony also participated in NYC’s Urban Green Council’s GPRO Curriculum, advancing his abilities in applying green building technologies in urban environments. His work in NYC also included fulfilling the Local Law 87 requirements of existing building energy audits and retro-commissioning. Anthony is a Licensed Professional Engineer (PE) in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York; LEED AP; Certified Energy Manager (CEM); and a Certified Passive House Consultant (CPHC). Anthony earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering at The University of New Haven.
Betsy Harper
Since 2013, Betsy has been the Sustainability Program Manager for the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) – the state agency which oversees 44,000 units of low income, multi-family housing located throughout the Commonwealth. Prior to this role, Betsy worked as a consultant at the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC), advising state utility councils and energy agencies in four New England states. Previously Betsy was the Project Manager for a developer of two new construction urban infill sites – giving her critical on-the-ground experience with design, financing and construction. She recently created a panel for NESEA’s BE18 Boston designed to engender a lively discussion on the merits and challenges of three metrics – Enterprise Green Communities, Zero Net Energy and Passive House. Betsy received her BA from Williams College and her MBA from Harvard Business School.
Stephanie Horowitz
Stephanie is Managing Director of ZeroEnergy Design (ZED), a green architecture and energy consulting firm specializing in new construction and major renovations. The firm’s commitment to innovative and ecologically sensible design is reflected in their multidisciplinary knowledgebase, which spans the fields of architecture, mechanical engineering and finance. ZED is committed to designing homes and buildings that use 50% less energy than building code requires, in pursuit of energy independence. In addition to her role at ZED, Stephanie serves on the Massachusetts Design Selection Board as the AIA of Massachusetts’ representative and is a founding board member of Passive House New England. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University. Stephanie is a Certified Passive House Consultant and a Massachusetts Registered Architect.
Hank Keating
Hank Keating is a registered architect with over 30 years of experience in the design and construction of multi-family residential developments. Recently retired from Trinity Financial, Hank completed over nine affordable housing developments totaling over 1,500 units in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York City while at Trinity. Prior to Trinity, Hank spent 10 years at the Boston Housing Authority as the Senior Architect for the Hope 6 Program where he was instrumental in the planning and redevelopment of over 3000 public housing units. For the last 10 years, Hank has been engaged with the Passive House movement and has designed and completed a passive house for himself while pushing to move Trinity’s large scale affordable projects toward Passive House standards.
Julie Klump
Julie Klump is Vice President for Design and Building Performance at POAH, responsible for design and energy efficiency for development projects and the owned portfolio. She is a Certified Passive House Consultant and LEED-certified architect with an undergraduate degree in environmental design, Julie has worked as an architect, construction manager, owner’s project manager and Executive Director of the Texas Historical Foundation. A graduate in Environmental Design from Texas A&M University, Julie received her Master of Architecture degree, with Certification in Historic Preservation, from the University of Texas at Austin. She has completed special studies in Art and Architecture in Florence, Italy and in Preservation/Restoration in Sebastopol, Crimea.
Doug Kumph
Doug (PE, CPHC, LEED AP) is Associate Principal and Director of Development at Petersen Engineering. His experience includes operations, business, project and team management, design, and commissioning of building mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. Doug received a BS in chemical engineering from the University of New Hampshire and an MS in organizational leadership from Southern New Hampshire University, earning the outstanding student award. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire, a LEED Accredited Professional, and a Certified Passive House Consultant.
Luke McKneally
Luke is a registered architect and CPHC with over 20 years of diverse design and project development experience in architecture and renewable energy systems. He trained as a registered architect under the guidance of talented principals and staff at The Stubbins Associates (now KlingStubbins), Lindsay Architecture Associates, and Einhorn Yaffee Prescott (now EYP). During that period, he became increasingly involved in sustainability and environmental issues and took a sabbatical to expand his knowledge of living systems, earning a Masters degree in Biology from Harvard. Then at New Ecology, Luke further developed his energy efficiency and sustainable design focus, earning LEED and Passive House credentials working on high-performance multifamily housing and providing WUFI Passive modeling and Passive House design guidance for a range of projects. Luke is now focused on improving the efficiency and sustainability of every building’s materials, systems, and construction to provide owners and tenants with durable and healthy buildings that make a positive impact on our environment. Wherever possible, he looks for opportunities to integrate renewable energy systems and strive for carbon neutrality, with fewer fossil fuels.
John Rodenhizer
John is a native of Cape Cod who began working on family homes during his high school years, learning the nuts and bolts of home construction from local builders before attending Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, earning a Bachelor of Science in Building Construction Engineering Technology. This was excellent preparation for the launch of his design/build company, which he operated successfully for 17 years before becoming a project manager and estimator for a respected custom building company on Cape Cod. He now operates JSR Adaptive Energy Solutions, where he offers comprehensive energy auditing, assistance with new code compliance, third party verification services and peace of mind to homeowners. John is a CPHC, PHIUS Certified Builder, PHIUS+Rater, and Certified PHIUS Verifier for Multi-family buildings
Kristen Simmons
Kristen Simmons is an Architect and Project Manager with more than 20 years of combined experience in architecture and energy efficiency program design and implementation. She is currently the City of Boston’s Program Lead for Residential Decarbonization. Knowledgeable and passionate about strategies for improving energy efficiency in the built environment. Kristen has expertise in project management and facilitation, deep energy retrofits, Passive House, net zero design, adaptive reuse, and multifamily housing. She holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Florida.