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The Hanley Award for Vision and Leadership in Sustainable Housing

By Donna Kimura

Hanley Wood Business Media and its EcoHome magazine, in partnership with The Hanley Foundation, have created The Hanley Award for Vision and Leadership in Sustainable Housing. This annual award will honor individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary, lasting, and far-reaching contributions to the advancement of sustainable housing in the United States. The award winner will receive $50,000, the largest award ever established for advancing sustainable housing. The first Hanley Award will be presented at The USGBC Hanley Award Dinner in November at the U.S. Green Building Council’s annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Phoenix.

Twelve renowned industry leaders from public and private sectors specializing in green building, sustainable architecture, affordable housing, building science, energy policy, performance standards, and public outreach have committed to serve on the nominating committee that will submit the candidates for consideration by the panel of judges in June. The nominating committee includes Alex Wilson of Building Green LLC; Nate Kredich from the USGBC; Builder magazine’s Denise Dersin; Doug Seiter of the U.S. Department of Energy; David Johnston of What’s Working; Mark LaLiberte from Building Knowledge; Kevin Gobble from Habitat for Humanity; Claire Conroy of residential architect magazine; Mike Hodgson from ConSol; Sandra Mendler of Mithun; Kathleen O’Brien of O’Brien and Co.; and Dennis Creech of the Southface Energy Institute.

Eligible nominees are residential construction industry professionals, or those working in technical research, product development, educational outreach, environmental advocacy, governmental policy, and related areas, who have made deep, long-standing, and influential commitments to sustainability, and significant and lasting contributions to the widespread implementation of environmental building concepts, techniques, and innovations in advancing sustainable housing in the United States.   

A distinguished panel of judges will meet in Washington, D.C., in June to review and evaluate the slate of nominees according to the program criteria and select the award winner. The 2009 Hanley Award judges include Michael J. Hanley, co-founder and retired CEO of Hanley Wood and president of The Hanley Foundation; Frank Anton, longtime industry thought-leader and CEO of Hanley Wood; Steven Winter, FAIA, environmental building pioneer and president of Steven Winter Associates; Sarah Susanka, FAIA, acclaimed architect and author of the best-selling “Not So Big House” and “Home By Design” series; and Allison Ewing, AIA LEED AP, award-winning sustainable design architect and principal of Hays + Ewing Design Studio. 

The USGBC Hanley Award Dinner will host invited green building industry leaders from across the country, including executives from leading companies, agencies, and organizations active in sustainable housing. 

The Hanley Award program and winner will be featured on the cover of EcoHome magazine as well as covered on EcoHome’s Web site (www.ecohomemagazine.com) and in its weekly e-newsletter, EcoHome Update. In addition, the announcement about the inaugural award will be delivered to more than 360,000 professional builders, architects, and remodelers via Hanley Wood’s extensive residential and commercial construction networks.