Archive for October, 2011

OGP Gives Back: OGP shares passion for IT careers with young students

John Ray, Executive Advisor for OGP’s Office of Technology Strategy (ME), returned to speak to the 2011-2012 class at the National Capital Region campus of Year Up. Year Up is a one-year, intensive training program that provides urban young adults 18-24, with a unique combination of technical and professional skills, college credits, an educational stipend and corporate internship. John was asked by the school to return this year to again share his passion for Information Technology (IT) and his career life experiences in the Federal government and industry. John shared highlights from his IT journey including serving as a Communications Officer with the U.S. Air Force, the aerospace industry selling tactical IT systems to the Department of Defense, and as an Intelligence Staff Officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency, and his time with GSA since 1974 in a range of IT assignments.

For more information, contact John Ray at (202) 501-3473.

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GSA Leading the Way at Greenbuild

Members of OGP’s Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings (OFHPGB) team and GSA PBS attended Greenbuild 2011, the largest green building conference, in Toronto this past week. Along with 23,000+ attendees, OGP both heard about and reported on the latest advances in the field.

The conference included a Green Jobs Summit that brought together leaders and practitioners for in-depth, interactive conversations to advance the creation of green jobs through a clean energy economy. PBS Commissioner Bob Peck gave a keynote address and John Simpson of OFHPGB presented on GSA implementation of the Federal Buildings Personnel Training Act, emphasizing how GSA is greening and elevating the profile of facility management.

Judith Heerwagen of OFHPGB led an inter-disciplinary explanation of the varied effects that buildings have on the health and well being of occupants. Bottom line: good buildings matter.

Kevin Kampschroer, Director of OFHPGB, spoke on the breadth of lessons learned re: building and operating high-performing buildings. Bottom line: green buildings perform better and cost less to operate. Both Judith and Kevin spoke about ways to measure the effects of buildings on productivity and organizational effectiveness.

Don Horn of OFHPGB presented, with PBS’s Kevin Powell, on GSA’s new report, Green Building Performance, http://www.gsa.gov/graphics/pbs/Green_Building_Performance.pdf, a post occupancy evaluation of 22 GSA buildings that found measurable energy and water reductions and increases in occupant satisfaction.

PBS Chief Greening Officer Eleni Reed spoke on use of LEED’s new portfolio analysis program, connecting Executive Order 13514 with the Guiding Principles and GSA’s Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan. Brad Nies from the GSA Heartland Region spoke on planning and conducting building performance evaluations.

As the green building field continues to advance, GSA remains committed to staying at the head of the pack, finding innovative, elegant solutions to make our buildings more efficient and healthy for their customers.

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