The Green Building Alliance hosts the annual Green$ense green building conference, and the theme for the 2009 event is “Beyond Buildings”.  Green jobs will be a major theme of this year’s sessions. 

 

The conference will begin with an evening keynote address and opening reception on Monday, March 30 at the Westin Convention Center Hotel in Pittsburgh, Penn.  The David L. Lawrence Convention Center will host a full day of breakout sessions on Tuesday, March 31.

 

Jerome Ringo of the Apollo Alliance will be the opening keynote speaker; the topic of his speech will be The Future of Green Jobs.

“The Apollo Alliance is a coalition of labor, business, environmental and community leaders working to catalyze a clean energy revolution that will put millions of Americans to work in a new generation of high-quality, green-collar jobs.” Source: Apollo Alliance

Tuesday’s breakfast keynote speaker is Harvey Bernstein of McGraw-Hill Construction.  Mr. Bernstein is a LEED Accredited Professional (AP) and a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (FACSE).  A variety of breakout sessions will follow the breakfast keynote including a case study on the LEED for Existing Buildings program as well as a look at a LEED for Neighborhood Development pilot project.

 

The Shades of Green Leadership Awards ceremony is scheduled during the lunch break on Tuesday.  “The Shades of Green Leadership Awards highlight the efforts of distinctive people in Western Pennsylvania who have contributed to the region’s environmental transformation through green leadership within the built environment.” Source: Green$ense

 

Early-bird registration for the event is still open.  Registrations received by 5:00 p.m. (EST) on March 10 are eligible for a discount.  Discounts are also available to students who wish to attend the event.  For more information, read the 2009 Green$ense brochure (PDF).