Meet The 2014 Award Winners

Rochelle Routman

Chief Sustainability & Impact Officer, HMTX Industries

Rochelle Routman is the Chief Sustainability and Impact Officer of HMTX Industries, a global leader in resilient flooring. Rochelle’s work in transparency continues to transform the building products industry and has resulted in greater openness in both product ingredients and social justice. Her most recent endeavor at HMTX is ESG reporting with a focus on IMPACT.

Rochelle is a staunch supporter of those that are taking action to address pressing environmental and social justice issues, and she won the Women in Sustainability Leadership Award (WSLA) in 2014. With great determination, she established the WSLA Alumnae Group in 2017. Last year, the WSLA Alumnae Group purchased the WSLA program, and 501(c)(3) non-profit status was secured under her leadership. Rochelle is now President and Chairperson of the Board and continues to support the members of this organization in all ways possible.

Robyn Beavers

CEO & Co-Founder, Blueprint Power

Arielle Bertman

Head of New Product Initiative, Devices & Digital Services, Amazon

Hillary Clinton

Former US Secretary of State and First Lady

Beth Heider

Chief Sustainability Officer, Skanska USA, Inc.

Daniele Horton

Founder and President, Verdani Partners

Daniele brings over 23 years of experience in corporate sustainability, real estate and project management to the management of Verdani Partners. A licensed architect, a LEED Fellow and a Certified Energy Manager, she currently leads the Verdani team in sustainability efforts for 10 national and international real estate firms with over 4,000 properties managed across 720 Million SF of diversified real estate portfolios, representing over $350 Billion AUM.  

Most of Verdani’s clients rank among the top ten on GRESB, which speaks to the success of the organization’s sustainability and ESG programs. In the 2019 GRESB Assessment, Verdani clients earned top ranks – 1st, 2nd and 3rd in their peer groups, and 1st globally, and 1st, 2nd and 3rd in their peer groups in the Resilience Module. As the head of sustainability for Thomas Properties Group (TPG) for almost a decade, she led the LEED certification of TPG’s nationwide portfolio of office buildings in house and was ranked as the highest environmental performer on GRESB in the Americas in the Office category (2011, 2012 & 2013).  

A Harvard graduate with a master’s degree in Sustainable Development, she holds degrees in architecture, urban planning and construction management. She is an adjunct Professor at the University of San Diego where she has taught Sustainable Real Estate at their MSRE program since 2013. For almost a decade, she actively participated on national sustainability committees such as the GRESB Benchmark Committee and ULI Greenprint Performance Committee and has served on USGBC’s Advisory Council, USGBC-LA, SDGBC Boards and the BOMA Sustainability Committee. Daniele recently started a non-profit organization called the Verdani Institute for the Built Environment (VIBE) to advance global sustainability adoption in the built environment.

Leisha John

Director of Environmental Sustainability, Ernest & Young

Leisha John is the Director of Environmental Sustainability for EY, a global professional services organization providing audit, tax, transaction and risk advisory services. She is experienced in ESG, environmental sustainability, strategy design, innovation, leading change, business process re-engineering, program management, business transformation / capacity-building, leading large scale operations and network creation / stakeholder engagement.

In her current role, Leisha works with the firm’s leadership to develop and implement strategies to reduce EY’s impact on the environment. Her focus is on measuring EY’s carbon footprint, applying best practices in sustainability to the organization’s business processes and infrastructure (e.g., LEED/Energy Star green building strategy), greening the supply chain, sustainability and carbon reporting (GRI & CDP), and engaging employees in adopting more eco-friendly ways of working. Leisha is an EY brand ambassador for sustainability and is a frequent speaker and panelist at sustainability conferences throughout the US.

Leisha serves as the Chair of the Board for Earthwatch Institute, an NGO with a mission of engaging citizens in science.

Cindy Ortega

Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, MGM Resorts International

Bea Perez

Senior Vice President, Chief Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability, Coca-Cola

Amanda Sturgeon

Regenerative Design Lead - Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Mott MacDonald

Amanda Sturgeon leads Regenerative Design projects and strategies across buildings, infrastructure and cities in Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific regions.