BOARD OF DIRECTORS

David Yocca

GIF Board Chair; Senior Landscape Architect/Ecological Planner

During his over 30 years’ experience in ecologically-focused planning and design practice, David has served a significant leadership role in a wide array of restorative projects and efforts, including the celebrated Chicago City Hall Demonstration Green Roof, one of the nation’s first ecological green roof applications, and one of North America’s first comprehensive green street demonstration projects in West Union, IA. Home-based in Grand Rapids, MI, David provides planning and design support for a broad range of restorative, high-performance sites and communities.

Michael Krause

GIF Treasurer; Principal, Kandiyo Consulting

Michael is the co-founder and former board chair of the Green Infrastructure Foundation. He is also the Founder and Principal of Kandiyo Consulting and Kandiyohi Development Partners, a multi-disciplinary development and consulting firm in Minneapolis focused on green buildings, renewable energy, green infrastructure and public policies related to sustainability. Projects include community-scale renewable energy development, grant-writing, LEED certification, green infrastructure planning, energy and development analysis and feasibility studies.

Andy Creath

Owner, Green Roofs of Colorado

Andy Creath is an entrepreneur in the environmental and sustainability fields. He founded Green Roofs of Colorado, a green roof design, installation, maintenance, and consultation company. Andy is recognized as an Accredited Professional in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED AP) by the U.S. Green Building Council. He is a board member for the Green Infrastructure Foundation, which was founded in 2007 to respond to the need for greater awareness and resources to promote green infrastructure in local communities. He worked for four years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a program analyst within the Office of the Inspector General. 

Wendi Goldsmith

Director, Center for Urban Watershed Renewal

Peter Lowitt

Director, Devens Enterprise Commission

Altje Macy, Project Manager, Senior Water Resources Engineer, Meliora Design

Altje Macy is a Senior Water Resources Engineer with experience in civil engineering, water resources management, and environmental science and policy. Altje specializes in green stormwater infrastructure planning and design, using her foundation in environmental science and policy to aid in decision making for sustainable water management. She develops sustainable site designs using green infrastructure for projects of various location and scales. Serving as a Project Manager, Altje consistently meets budget and schedule goals. She has extensive experience in water resources planning and design for parks, public spaces, and streetscapes, including public outreach and engagement, and has contributed to several manuals and publications for stormwater. Altje has been a Project Manager at Meliora Design for 11 years.

Steven Peck

Founder and President, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities

Mr. Peck is the founder and president of the industry association, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, established in 1999 after completion of the report “Greenbacks from Green Roofs: Forging a New Industry in Canada.” The association organizes research and training to determine the public and private performance of green roof systems in order to support public investment in the development of a multi-million dollar market for green roofing products in North America. Working with NRC’s Institute for Research in Construction, Environment Canada, and the City of Toronto, the consortium helped secure Team Funding for technical research and market development in Toronto. He has traveled all over North America and world wide promoting public policy support and research on green roofs and green walls.

Shanyn Viars

Associate Director, Clean Water Program, Economist - American Rivers

Shanyn joined American Rivers in 2018 with a background in economic analysis and sustainable urban planning to participate alongside communities in fostering an equitable clean water future. As an economist, Shanyn explores the nexus of climate resiliency and development activity to encourage communities to invest and deploy instruments that support healthy watershed management. Based in Grand Rapids (MI), Shanyn collaborates with municipal leaders and community organizations in restoring urban rivers and mitigating climate threats through natural infrastructure investments. Shanyn earned both a M.S. and B.S. in Economics with a concentration in Urban Policy & Sustainability from the Belk College of Business at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. Shanyn is a Senior Environmental Leadership Fellow and previously taught Economics at Grand Valley State University.