The 2011 UTC Green Schools Fellows

The Center for Green Schools is pleased to announce that the 2011 Green Schools Fellows have been selected for placement at Boston Public Schools and Sacramento City Unified School District.

Phoebe Beierle,
Center for Green Schools UTC Fellow for Boston Public Schools

Phoebe Beierle brings diverse work experience in the areas of green building, renewable energy, corporate social responsibility and non-profit management to her role as the Green Schools Fellow for Boston Public Schools. At both the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust (RET) and The Green Roundtable, she fostered strategic program partnerships and supported the design, construction, certification, curriculum implementation and financing policies of green schools within Massachusetts. While at the RET, she served as a green champion for districts looking to build green through the MA Green Schools Initiative, an incentive program to fund green building, renewable energy and green curriculum projects at K-12 public schools. As the head of this initiative, she worked hand-in-hand with School Building Committees and facilities staff and reviewed a dozen project submissions for compliance with LEED and MA-CHPS guidelines. Phoebe is a Board member of the MA USGBC Chapter and an active participant on the Green Schools Committee. She holds a BA in Environmental Studies and Psychology from Oberlin College.

Farah McDill,
Center for Green Schools UTC Fellow for Sacramento City Unified School District

Farah McDill received her master’s degree in Sustainable Building and has been connected with the construction industry for over 10 years, receiving her bachelor’s degree in Construction Management in 2001 from Colorado State University. While working at JE Dunn Construction, she was one of the first project managers to become LEED Accredited. After four years of work for JE Dunn, Farah decided to travel the world, visiting 17 countries and eventually landing in New Zealand where she worked for a general contractor. In 2007, Farah helped her company become leaders in the newly formed New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC). Her research while attending the CSU Construction Management Graduate Program focused on how teachers can use their school building to teach sustainability. She contributed to the development of building-focused sustainability clubs in seven Poudre School District K-12 green schools, engaging students with the built environment to help create awareness and reduce natural resource consumption. Farah has participated in a green school building audit for the America’s Greenest School Competition and has taught a summer energy conservation class to middle school students in Roaring Fork School District. She continues to help teachers develop building-focused sustainability clubs that connect building occupants to the built environment and help them gain a better understanding of how to reduce their impact on the natural environment.