2025 Cohort - Landing Page - Sustainable Design Academy

Designing Tomorrow: An Online Cohort for Sustainable Impact

Suitability

This series of 6 videos split over 4 sessions is taken from the SDA’s inaugural Online Cohort – a 4 week intensive program which took place in early 2025. It is ideal for early and mid-career professionals, as well as students, through a competitive nomination process. Join us to shape the future of sustainability in design.

Workplace designers
Architects
Project managers
CRE professionals
FFE and Finishes Specifiers
Product designers

At a glance

Modules: 4
Hours Needed: 13+
Tutors: See below
Exam: No
Certificate: No
Language: English

Sessions

Our Cohort session recordings are sold separately. Select one below to find out more:

"Sustainable Design Process" & "Sustainable Certifications"

Learn how to integrate sustainability into every stage of design, leveraging proven models and collaborative approaches to achieve impactful outcomes. Understand the role of certifications in ensuring accountability, preventing greenwashing, and driving sustainability throughout project lifecycles.

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"Demystifying Net-Zero Energy and Low Carbon Design" & "Circular Economy and Design"

Break down the complexities of achieving net-zero and low-carbon design through real-world strategies, electrification, and embodied carbon solutions. Explore how to adopt circular economy principles, considering material health, reuse, and lifecycle impacts to embed sustainability in design and construction

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"Advancing Human Sustainability in Design"

Examine how design enhances human well-being through inclusivity, equity, health, and universal design principles.

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"Nature-Based Solutions and Biomimicry in Design"

Discover how nature-inspired strategies like regenerative design, biomimicry, and biophilic design drive decarbonization and biodiversity.

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Meet the Presenters

Komal Kotwal

Founder & Principal Consultant at EquiSustain, Content Director at Sustainable Design Academy

Komal Kotwal is a Global Sustainable Strategy and Management Leader, Architect, and Educator. As the Founder and Principal Consultant at EquiSustain, she specializes in sustainability consulting, education, and mentoring, focusing on climate change, health, and equity in design. Previously, she served as HOK’s firmwide Sustainable Design Leader for Health, Well-Being, and Equity. Komal has served as an Adjunct Lecturer at VCUarts Qatar Continuing Education Program and is the Content Director for the Sustainable Design Academy. With 19+ years of experience, she has led sustainability initiatives for projects spanning over 10 million sq. ft., including net-zero energy strategies, ESG frameworks, and WELL and LEED Platinum certifications. An award-winning Architect, WELL Faculty, and recognized Thought Leader, Komal has been featured in Disrupt Magazine and Madame Architect and honored by the International WELL Building Institute. She serves on IWBI’s Community Advisory and has contributed to leadership boards such as AIA Houston and the Texas USGBC Regional Council. Komal holds a Master’s in Architecture from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor’s from the University of Mumbai.

Lucy Bagshaw

Project Director and Sustainable Designer at tp bennett

Lucy is a Project Director at tp bennett with a breadth of experience across different sectors, both locally in the UK and internationally. As a key member of the sustainability team at tp bennett, Lucy implements initiatives across interiors projects as well as for the business more broadly. She is the internal lead on responsible sourcing of materials and the internal materials database, and has co-written the sections on Circular Economy and Responsible Sourcing for the upcoming British Council for Offices (BCO) Fit-out Guide.

Asif Din

Sustainability Director at Perkins&Will

Asif is Sustainability Director at Perkins&Will. He has raised the profile of carbon proficiency in the practice which includes a costed Zero Carbon Report at the end of concept design for all projects. He has also been involved in expanding the sustainability remit within designs as part of the ‘Living Design’ initiative. He has over 20 years’ experience in delivering Zero Carbon design projects: Notably BedZED and Jubilee Wharf in Penryn, Cornwall. He has worked in the UK and abroad in China and the Middle East. He has a PhD in Life Cycle design of buildings from Cass School of Art and Design at LMU.

Jill Kurtz

Principal / Director of Building Science at Page

Jill has spent her 20-year career advancing sustainability best practices in the built environment. As a registered architect and environmental building design specialist, Jill has excelled in growing a team and approach to integrating sustainability Page’s extensive architecture and engineering portfolio. With a background in consulting, building performance, and qualitative research, she has brought a robust interdisciplinary approach to Page’s 1,500 person architecture and engineering firm and has significantly grown environmental and social impact of Page’s work. As Director of Building Science, Jill leverages her systems thinking and leadership skills to drive Page’s ESG initiatives, developing effective frameworks like “Design for Impact” and leading annual reporting to enhance the firm’s commitment to sustainable and socially responsible design. Her client-centric approach and proven ability to integrate sustainability into project delivery methods underscore her dedication to creating and elevating all design solutions that positively impact communities and the environment.

Max Driscoll

Vice President, Sustainability at AECOM Construction Management

Max is a seasoned practitioner of sustainability with 20+ years of experience. He is currently the Vice President of Sustainability for AECOM Construction Management, where he leads decarbonization efforts for AECOM Tishman, AECOM Hunt, and Leeding Builders Group. Project examples include JP Morgan Chase HQ supertall in Manhattan, Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, Tennessee Titans Stadium, One Madison Avenue, JFK Terminal 1 and JFK Terminal 6.

He came to AECOM from HOK where he was a Sustainable Design Leader for the Northeast. There he led both project engagements and internal initiatives, highlighted by a 1.8M sf net zero corporate campus, LaGuardia Airport Terminal B and the firmwide Interiors sustainability strategy.

Prior to HOK, Max was the sustainability lead for Purdue University and developed the sustainability strategic plan for the university. He also served as the subject matter expert for all university new construction and renovations as well as campus-wide sustainability initiatives. Max came to Purdue from Croxton Collaborative Architect in New York where he managed the implementation of the sustainable design guidelines at the World Trade Center for the Port Authority or New York and New Jersey. While at Croxton he also helped develop the Sustainable Infrastructure Guidelines for the Port Authority, a pre-curser to Envision, and delivered many firsts including the highest rated LEED Platinum interiors certified by USGBC at the time.

Max is adept at using sustainability as a tool for innovation and uncovering new value for clients. He is a thought leader and passionate about sharing successes along with lessons learned in order to accelerate progress on sustainability.

Alejandra Menchaca

Founding Principal at AIRLIT Studio

Alejandra is a Founding Principal at Airlit Studio, an environmental design consulting practice with a design-minded approach rooted in technical excellence.

Alejandra combines expertise in mechanical engineering and building science to give clients a clear understanding of the impact design strategies and innovative solutions have on long-term building performance. Alejandra leverages research and simulations to provide project teams with sustainable design knowledge and energy expertise. With a Ph.D. in natural ventilation, she is experienced in designing passive buildings. In addition to her interest in passive solutions, Alejandra also has extensive experience with energy-intensive buildings such as laboratories and healthcare facilities having worked as an in-house building scientist at Payette for four years. Her experience also includes a focus on the power of early design analytics, gained during her tenure as a consultant at Thornton Tomasetti, where she built their Boston-based sustainability group. Lastly, Alejandra’s expertise also includes thermal comfort, energy modeling, daylighting, and computational fluid dynamics.

Ale is passionate about early design building science: assisting design teams with analytics and reports that impact design outcomes. She is a co-founder of Project StaSIO, a community of building performance simulators (consultants, architects, in-house building scientists) that strives to teach others how to ask the right building analytics questions and convey the results in ways that are beautiful and impactful.

Highly committed to growing the next generation of sustainability-focused designers and engineers, Ale loves teaching. She has lectured at MIT and the Harvard GSD, where she’s had the good fortune to mentor several brilliant students who have become inspiring disruptors in the building simulation industry.

Sean Quinn

Principal, Director of Regenerative Design at HOK

Sean Quinn leads HOK’s global regenerative design practice, leveraging natural systems and building technology to enhance development as a steward of the environment. Over the past two decades, he has demonstrated his commitment to performance-based sustainable design and progressive approaches to biomimicry in planning and design projects all over the world. Sean is committed to ensuring that the built environment of tomorrow goes beyond net-zero strategies, yielding mutualistic, net-positive benefits for nature, buildings and communities.

Ren DeCherney

Global Lead, Built Environment at Cradle to Cradle

Ren is a licensed interior designer who uses her first-hand experience of the complexities of the building industry to help designers and manufacturers translate their sustainability pledges into reality.

Prior to joining the Institute as Built Environment Lead, she worked in Portland as a designer, where she took her firm PVC-free, making them the first firm in Portland to make such a commitment. She was then the Director of Industry Transparency at Source, a digital materials platform, where she synthesized design team needs and industry trends to integrate sustainability seamlessly into the design process. This included building various user tools, growing strategic partnerships, and developing all of the sustainability filters on the platform.

She then worked at the International Living Future Institute, overseeing the Declare and Living Product Challenge programs. There she worked with both designers and manufacturers to understand the current market incentives for sustainable practices and how to implement sustainability strategy into everyday practices.

Ren has an undergraduate degree in Art History and French from Smith College in Massachusetts and holds a Masters in Interior Architecture from the University of Oregon.

Sam Allen

Associate Director, Global Sustainability at M Moser Associates

Samantha is a sustainability and healthy buildings expert, holding professional accreditations in WELL, LEED, RESET, BREEAM and SKA. Sam’s background in scientific research specializes in environmental science, material safety, as well as smart building. Sam is an Associate Director at M Moser Associates, where she engages in global health and sustainability initiatives and projects, focusing on portfolio engagements with clients. Sam has been a part of SDC coming up on two very fun years! Sam holds a Master of Public Health in Environmental Health Science and Policy from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Vassar College.

Vijaya Yellamraju

VP at USGBC

Vijaya is a senior sustainability leader with a unique blend of strategic leadership, program management, and sustainability expertise. As Vice President at the US Green Building Council (USGBC), she directs over 20 sustainability programs helping Fortune 500 companies such as Google, Microsoft, Colgate, and Apple achieve their sustainability and ESG goals.

Vijaya is passionate about advancing sustainability solutions at scale to accelerate climate action, and has played a pivotal role in the design and development of USGBC’s scale offerings such as TRUE for portfolios to drive zero waste at scale, and USGBC’s latest product, PERFORM, for large organizational real estate portfolios to track and verify their sustainability milestones and targets.

Her expertise spans green buildings, health, resilience, carbon, water, zero waste, circularity, and ESG. Vijaya is well-versed in third-party certifications and reporting frameworks such as LEED, TRUE, SITES, GRESB, GRI, and TCFD. She is also a published author and a frequent speaker at various conferences.

Chris Moss

Senior Consultant at Greengage Environmental Ltd

Chris has extensive knowledge of Green Infrastructure planning and implementation within urban areas, having worked across public, private, and third sector roles in this area. Chris’ expertise centre around Green Infrastructure planning, policy, and delivery, focusing more recently on corporate strategy production and the development of innovative finance mechanisms and valuation metrics for Nature-based Solutions. Since March 2022, Chris has sat on IEMA’s Policy and Practice Steering Group for Biodiversity and Natural Capital.

Joanna Knight

Co-founder at Sustainable Design Collective

In 2001, Joanna was a founder director of a groundbreaking company offering lifecycle management solutions for workplace environments. She is now an independent consultant; non-executive director at FIRA; advisory member of FISP; and chair of the climate change committee at The Furniture Makers’ Company.

Harsha Kotak

Projects Director at K2 Space, Founder at Women In Office Design, Co-founder at Sustainable Design Collective

Harsha, is an international Interior Designer and writer. With a lifelong passion for design, Harsha has worked in the workplace design industry for over 20 years and has practiced in the US, India and the UK. In 2024 she was appointed as a UK Design Council Experts Board Member.