LEED AP Provisional Member CIP Board Member, Cascadia Chapter (2004-2007)

Dale Mikkelsen has been active in sustainable community building for more than 10 years. He has a variety in experience that lends well to understanding the challenges and opportunities associated with building in a more sustainable manner. With six years as a municipal planner at the City of Vancouver, Dale has worked actively in bylaw creation, community planning, and green building development, and is well aware of the policy and code-based challenges that faces the development sector. At the City of Vancouver, Dale was the project planner for the 2010 Athlete's Village in Southeast False Creek and coordinated the research and planning leading to the implementation of a LEED Gold commitment for all buildings and the development of an innovative district energy system. Additionally, Dale worked for 2 years at the City's Green Building Policy Planner, and has spear-headed the move for the City to develop a city-wide mandatory green building requirement for all developments. More recently, Dale is acting as the Manager of Planning and Sustainability for the Simon Fraser University Community Trust (SFUCT). SFUCT is developing a world leading demonstration of incrementally sustainable community development in the creation of UniverCity. The project is a "developer driven" project that is seeking to achieve SFUCT's 4 Cornerstones of a Sustainable Community -- equity, economy, environment, and education. The project is currently a world leader in stormwater management and has many innovative social equity programs and diverse housing typologies serving as a model throughout Canada.

I have demonstrated leadership in green building through both the policy development approach and the active developer approach. At the City of Vancouver I worked with all levels of staff to bring about a commitment to a green building strategy that can be implemented universally in all zoning areas. In Southeast False Creek, I worked with the potential developers and the staff selection team to ensure that a LEED Gold standard would be required for all developments in the community. At Simon Fraser University, I have been responsible for the re-writing of our green building requirements and is the key player in workin with the City of Burnaby to ensure that these green building standards are included in the new zoning bylaw for the community, ensuring UniverCity, the community at SFU, will continue to be a leader in innovation -- both in the built form, and in policy development. I am currently working on the direct development of a two highly mixed-use projects both striving to meet LEED NC standards of at least Silver. My professional work, has allowed me to test and demonstrate green building success from policy to activism to real-world development.

Over the past three years, I have served as a board member for the Cascadia Chapter, and would love the opportunity to continue in that capacity, representing the growth of green building across Canada, but particularly throughout BC. I am excited about the growing "emerging markets" in Canada and the US, and have endeavoured to bring green building momentum to the communities outside of the Lower Mainland. In addition, I have worked as a volunteer for the Vancouver Branch of the Canadian Green Building Council and for three years, sat on the BC Green Building Roundtable. I continue to participate and support these organisation and others that are seeking to make sustainable growth a part of their mission.

I have expounded on this already, but will touch briefly on several items once again. Such is the nature of these written nominations.... what can you do? I believe my key qualification is the fact that I fully believe this is the only direction we can head -- it is one piece of the bigger puzzle to combat global warming and accommodate our vastly growing population. I have no "qualification" for this, but it is critical that green buildings help to catalyse and shape green communities, which will catalyse green municipalities and the chain continues. I have had the pleasure to work municipally and privately, and have both written policy and worked with developers, I understand the "capital" cost and the "lifecycle" cost, and it all comes down to the doing. I hope through my experience, and my passion, I can continue to help Casadia and those that we represent, get at it... in a very real way.

I have previously been a board member and relished the experience. The cross-border nature of the Cascadia Chapter is a microcosm of everything sustainable thought and development stands for. The Board works together through very different policy environments, very different funding streams, and very different incentive programs to meet the same goals and objectives. The solutions found in BC are often not the exact solution for Washington, or Oregon, but the process is consistent. The implementation varies, but the model is profound. As a member of the board, I can continue to share my experiences and draw in the larger BC experience, to ensure that the base of knowledge and learning for our region is as broad and as powerful as possible. We are all of the generation left holding the wheel, as the car (hybrid electric, of course) is about to careen off the cliff. I truly believe that Cascadia can be a big part of either turning the car, or at least ensuring that there is one huge bungee cord tied to its bumper so it comes back up to move forward once again.