STAFF

Jenna Antonino Dimare

Executive Director

Jenna has served as the Executive Director of Vermont Green Building Network since 2013. She also serves as the Director of the Burlington 2030 District, an urban sustainability initiative managed by VGBN. Jenna holds a Masters in Landscape Architecture (MLA) from Cornell University and a BA from Brown University, where she studied architecture, ecological design and environmental policy. When not in the office, Jenna enjoys hiking, backcountry skiing, photography, cooking, and co-teaching mushroom hunting workshops with her partner via their joint project The Mushroom Forager, LLC. Jenna resides in Richmond, Vermont with her husband and two daughters. Pronouns: She/Her

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

laura bailey

Board President

Laura strives to continually engage with systems thinking and community-based design to advance projects towards healthy, energy efficient, and adaptable spaces. Laura is the Climate Economy Program Manager at the Vermont Council on Rural Development, where she manages the initiatives to support local leaders, town energy committees, or other community groups to develop equitable climate solutions. Laura’s diverse work experience includes solar electric system design and installation, natural ventilation and daylighting analysis, documentation of historic rammed earth buildings in the high Atlas Mountains of Morocco, biodiesel production, an off-grid design/build company in Colorado, a research fellow at the Energy Studies in Buildings Lab (ESBL) at the University of Oregon, an instructor at Yestermorrow Design/Build School, and as a practicing architect of net zero energy buildings. Laura can be found exploring the forests and rivers around her home in Fayston by foot, bike, boat or skis with her husband and two young children. Pronouns: She/Her

SHELLY POTTORF

Board Vice President

Shelly Pottorf, AIA, NCARB, CPHC, LEED AP BD+C is the Principal of Architend, an architecture firm committed to catalyzing a living future through architecture, community design, sustainable consulting, and research. She has further served as an Assistant Professor in the Prairie View A&M University School of Architecture, where she designed and directed the Minor in Sustainable Design. Her work focuses on place-based regenerative design while incorporating reach standards such as Passive House and the Living Building Challenge. Shelly has had the honor of speaking on these topics at international conferences such as the Living Future unConference, the North American Passive House Conference, and the International Forum on Urbanism. She is excited to now be continuing this work in her wife’s home state of Vermont, where she recently joined the faculty of Middlebury College. Pronouns: She/Her

christine mcgowan

Board Secretary

Christine McGowan is the Director of the Forest Products Program at the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, where she coordinates the Vermont Forest Industry Network and strengthens Vermont’s forest economy. Her work has forged deep connections with forest and wood products businesses throughout New England, and she sees a wonderful synergy with Vermont’s green building sector. Her background is in strategic communications, having spent nearly 15 years working in leadership roles for several national conservation non-profits. A graduate of Ithaca College, Christine began her career as a journalist and when she’s not following political news, she’s probably in her garden in Stowe, Vermont. Pronouns: She/Her

KATIE MASON

Board Treasurer

Katie Mason, EI, LEED AP O&M, is a Senior Engineer at Cx Associates. She is an environmental engineer with over eight years’ experience in performing building commissioning, retrocommissioning, energy audits and energy measurement and verification. Prior to Cx Associates, Katie worked in construction management. She has a broad knowledge of the LEED certification process for new construction, interior renovations and existing buildings. As part of her work with Cx Associates, Katie acts as one of the program engineers for the Burlington 2030 District. She holds a BS in Environmental Engineering from the University of Vermont. In her free time, she enjoys skiing, hiking, running and spending time with her horse and dog. Pronouns: She/Her

jacob deva racusin

Board Member

Jacob Deva Racusin is co-owner of New Frameworks Natural Design/Build, offering services in green remodeling, new construction, consultation, and education featuring low-impact high-performance building technologies. Through his work as a designer, builder, consultant, and educator, Jacob is able to merge his passions for fine craft, ecological stewardship, relationship to place, and social justice. Jacob is former Program Director of the Certificate in Building Science and Net Zero Design at the Yestermorrow Design/Build School, and is a BPI-certified contractor. Jacob is the author of the books Essential Building Science, and The Natural Building Companion which he co-authored with Ace McArleton. An active member of the Embodied Carbon Network’s Renewable Materials Task Force, Jacob has been active in introducing sustainability measures into building codes, including the IRC and the Vermont Residential Building Energy Standard.

nate gusakov

Board Member

Nate Gusakov is a lifelong Vermonter, avid ethical hunter, certifiable bird nerd, and he sometimes makes noise on the 5-string banjo. He has a couple of decades of experience as a builder including 10 years with Silver Maple Construction, and recently founded Green Mountain Enclosure Consulting llc offering airtightness testing, building enclosure forensics, building science teaching, and certified Building Enclosure Commissioning (BECx) services.

andrew mackechnie

Board Member

Andrew works for ReArch Company as a superintendent overseeing the construction of some of their higher efficiency buildings such as Vermont’s first Multifamily Passive House “Elm Place” and more recently the new headquarters for OnLogic in South Burlington which incorporated, geothermal, roof mounted solar, and a super tight envelope. He started his passion for construction at a young age working with his family building sets for Essex Community Players and proceeded to attend Vermont Technical College where he received his associates in Construction management and his bachelor's in Sustainable Design, Green Building.  During his free time, he enjoys getting outside to paddleboard, hike Mount Mansfield and mountain bike.

Missy mackin

Board Member

Missy came to Vermont Works for Women in 2017 from a career in education and is the manager of the Trailblazers program as well as a Gender Equity facilitator. She loves collaborating with local partners and her awesome colleagues to develop programs which expand opportunities for women. Missy can be found gardening, hooking rugs, volunteering for Let’s Grow Kids, and enjoying Lake Champlain with her family, including Chopper the rescue dog. Pronouns: She/Her

Greg Montgomery

Board Member

Greg Montgomery is the Co-Founding Principal of Osso Studio, an architecture, design, and consulting firm based in Vermont and dedicated to the dual belief that good design improves the quality of people's lives, and that good design should not be restricted to the affluent. Prior to starting Osso Studio, he wore a variety of hats working for non-profit affordable housing developers including Cathedral Square in South Burlington, and Thunder Valley CDC in South Dakota. Greg's background is in architecture, with a Masters in Architecture from the University of Texas at Austin, and a BA in Art History/Studio Art from Gettysburg College. He enjoys being outside and spending time with his family.

megan nedzinski

Board Member

Megan Nedzinski is an Architect focused on high-performance buildings employing lower embodied carbon solutions.  Her work with Vermont Integrated Architecture draws on 20 years of experience in the US and internationally as a founder of Architects Without Borders-Seattle. Megan enjoys learning, collaborating, and serving.  After Hurricane Katrina, she performed building assessments for the Mississippi State Bureau of Buildings. Her leadership was instrumental with the 2015-2019 NNE Committee on The Environment Leadership Summits and in successfully amending the National AIA Code of Ethics to include sustainability. Currently, she’s serving on multiple community committees, and as co-chair of NESEA’s Building Energy Boston Conference.   Megan’s passion for science, adventure, and experimentation feed her curiosity while out exploring rivers and mountains, on the homestead in her “culinary laboratory,” and in her research and teaching endeavors.  

Oluwapelumi Adefarakan

Student Board Member

Oluwapelumi Adefarakan is a rising senior studying for his bachelor’s degree in architectural studies at Norwich University Senior Military College in Northfield, Vermont. Originally from Nigeria, Oluwapelumi has a unique perspective in his design approach informed by his experiences living, volunteering, and studying in different countries. Last summer, he was part of a team that expanded an orphanage home in Tanzania and part of another project that built an affordable shipping container house in Waitsfield, Vermont. His primary goal in becoming an architect is to pioneer affordable, sustainable, and eco-friendly housing in Lagos, Nigeria, Africa’s most populated city. Fueled by this passion, he continues to actively pursue numerous research opportunities that allow him to conduct analysis even in disciplines outside his field of study, such as political science, economics, studies in war and peace, construction management, and entrepreneurship. This wealth of information allows him to develop holistic and thorough academic papers. Through his research and community engagement, Oluwapelumi seeks to create designs responsive to the needs and aspirations of the people they serve.

Nathan Steil

Student Board Member

Nathan moved to Vermont from Mississippi five years ago for a term of service with an AmeriCorps chapter. He has since started pursuing his education at Vermont State University, receiving an associate degree in civil engineering in 2023 and currently on course to obtain a bachelor's degree in architectural engineering in 2024. He is presently leading a student research team of five individuals that are developing remote systems to autonomously monitor geological occurrences. After completing his bachelor's degree, Nathan aspires to pursue a master's degree, with a career focus on raising awareness for neurodivergences such as dyslexia and ADHD. He aims to highlight how these minds are uniquely developed to excel in STEM fields, despite the challenges they face due to current STEM practices, and strives to empower individuals with these conditions to feel confident in pursuing careers in these fields.