Jenna Morgan Hamilton
Vice President of National Affairs, GBI

Jenna is a Washington, D.C.-based leader with more than 20+ years of experience in the buildings and construction sector and significant expertise in public and governmental affairs. As Vice President of National Affairs for GBI, Jenna conducts outreach and education on green building issues with GBI’s growing list of national customers and stakeholders as well as non-profit and for-profit community members. Jenna is also the primary liaison for GBI to the federal government as GBI continues its support of federal Agencies and Congress in the shared pursuit of sustainability goals for the built environment.

While lending her skills to the Green Building Initiative, Jenna brings significant experience in construction practices, energy efficiency, sustainability technologies, liability and tax issues through her work with the Leading Builders of America—a trade group representing the nation’s largest home builders. Additionally, she worked for almost a decade for the National Association of Home Builders, where she was the Assistant Vice President for Government Affairs and the association’s principal government liaison for the NAHB Research Center, a 501c3 charitable organization now known as the Home Innovation Research Labs.

Jenna holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees with honors in Political Science and American government from The American University in Washington, D.C.

Mark Russell
Founding Partner, Wise Built, LLC

Mark Russell is a founding partner of the consulting firm Wise Built, LLC, a building sustainability consulting firm that has worked on building projects throughout the US and in Europe. Additionally, Dr. Russell joined the faculty of the ME Rinker Sr. School of Construction Management in August 2016. As a scholar, engineer, and contractor, Dr. Russell investigates sustainable construction techniques and building rating systems. His research focuses on effective ways to reduce building energy, water, and resources while promoting a healthy indoor environment.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Central Florida, Mark worked with the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps in a variety of construction related positions. After earning an M.B.A. at New Hampshire College and a master’s degree in Civil/Environmental Engineering from Old Dominion University, Mark retired from the U.S. Navy. Next, he took a position with URS in Frankfort, Germany where he was responsible for design and construction projects on military bases throughout Europe. Mark later earned his Ph.D. in Design, Construction, & Planning from the University of Florida. Prior to accepting his current position at the University of Florida, Dr. Russell was the AGC Endowed Chair for Construction Management at the University of New Mexico.

Mark Russell is a licensed Professional Engineer and General Contractor in Florida. Mark has worked with the Green Building Initiative for over 15 years as an assessor for New Construction, Existing Buildings, and Guiding Principles Compliance projects. Having demonstrated success in the improvement of the built environment, Dr. Russell was selected to be part of the inaugural group of Green Globes Fellow and Guiding Principles Compliance Fellow in 2021.

Adolfo Salas III
Sustainability Commissioning Lead

Adolfo Salas III is a mechanical engineer, commissioning authority, and sustainability consultant with more than 25 years of professional experience. His background has included mechanical designer/engineer, CADD administrator, project manager, and third-party code inspector. Adolfo leads projects with a technical team of commissioning agents, energy modelers, energy auditors, and sustainability consultants.

Adolfo has experience in commissioning and green building facilitation services for renovation and new construction facilities ranging from federal, state, municipal, industrial, commercial, higher education, and healthcare.

Currently Adolfo is working on projects in Canada that are following the Greening Government Strategy. The GGS serves as the model for the United States Government’s Executive Order 14057. These mandates have direct impact on energy models, operational carbon calculations, life cycle carbon analysis, life cycle analysis, and climate resiliency.

Vicki Worden
President & CEO, Green Building Initiative (GBI)

Vicki Worden is President & CEO of the Green Building Initiative (GBI), which is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to making buildings healthy places to live and work while reducing their impacts on the environment. In an age of great change, Worden is leading the GBI’s rapidly growing global community with a strong focus on delivering education and tools that allow the building industry to respond swiftly to new regulatory and market realities.

GBI makes aspirational goals achievable through user-friendly tools built upon comprehensive ANSI standards and supported by outstanding staff and expert third-party assessors. GBI has certified more than 550 million square feet of commercial building space through its Green Globes® and Guiding Principles Compliance programs that support every building type from office and multifamily, industrial and manufacturing, stadiums and mega resorts, to life sciences and data centers.

Before taking the helm of GBI, Worden served as President of Worden Associates, Inc., a consulting firm, where she progressed sustainability goals for government agencies and international nonprofit organizations in diverse industries, including solar, wind, parking, furniture, mattress, composites, wood products, and rainwater harvesting.

Worden holds an MBA from Loyola University in Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science & International Relations from West Chester University.