MPC Commissioner Earns Highest Honors in Green Building Design

Elizabeth Eason - principal architect at Elizabeth Eason Architecture and an MPC commissioner - is the only architect in Tennessee to be selected as a LEED Fellow by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The designation honors Eason's 25 years of excellence in the practice of green building and recognizes her as one of the world's most distinguished professionals in the discipline.

"It is important to reduce our energy use, water consumption, and waste generation; but we need to do much more than that. I want to design healthy, inspirational buildings and places that benefit both our community and our environment," Eason said.

LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a green building program that recognizes best-in-class building practices. LEED standards can be applied to any type of project and its rating systems address the unique needs of different building types. The system also offers a way for professionals, like Eason, to show that they have the key technical knowledge, experience, and credibility necessary to operate in the green building marketplace.

"LEED Fellow" is the highest designation awarded by the Green Building Certification Institute and is attained by only the most accomplished professionals. The class of 2013?Eason's class?comprised only 51 green building professionals from around the world. Candidates are nominated by their peers and undergo an extensive portfolio review. To be selected, nominees must have 10 years of professional green building experience, must have a LEED professional credential in good standing for eight or more years, and must demonstrate significant contributions to advancing the movement.

Eason's contributions include her leadership at the local and national levels as East Tennessee Chapter Chair, Southeastern Regional Council member, and national advocacy participant with the U.S. Green Building Council. She has attained several LEED credentials and completed numerous LEED-certified residential, commercial, and federal projects.

Eason has provided green building design and consulting services for many federal and private clients, but she is most proud of her work with local affordable housing agencies. "The most personally rewarding and locally impactful work I have done is to design single and multi-family residences that have achieved the highest level of LEED certification, very low utility bills, healthy interiors, a sustainable landscape, all within an affordable housing budget," she said.