Kathleen O'Brien
Director
EMERGE Leadership Project
Kathleen O’Brien, LEED AP and CSBA, is a long-time leader in the sustainable building field, working as author, educator, writer, strategic planner and project consultant for more than 30 years. As President of O’Brien & Company, the oldest consultancy dedicated to green building in the Seattle area, O'Brien was instrumental in developing programs, plans and policies that supported sustainable development initiatives by government agencies, industry trade groups, and non-profit environmental groups.
She now directs the EMERGE Leadership Project, a charitable non-profit dedicated to "energizing the emergent leadership capabilities of green building professionals and advocates through training, mentoring, community engagement, and other support, with the ultimate goal of fostering a thriving and life-sustaining environment."
O'Brien earned an MA Environment & Community at Antioch University-Seattle where she was recognized as Distinguished Alumna in 2009 and now sits as a Board Trustee.