Paul Poirier AIA, LEED AP, PRC, CSC: Advocacy

Paul Poirier is the principal architect in the Santa Barbara based firm Paul Poirier+ Associates Architects designing award winning commercial and residential projects with emphasis on “green” innovation and design excellence.  He is the past President of the USGBC California Central Coast Chapter, served as vice chair of the Pacific Regional Committee, and represents the Pacific Region on the USGBC Chapter Steering Committee. 

He is also on the USGBC Education Steering Committee, working to make educational programs relevant and successful at the local level. Paul is a founding board member of both The Sustainability Project and The Green Building Alliance, two active Santa Barbara based environmental organizations.  In addition, he has served as president of the AIA Santa Barbara Chapter, and as chair of the AIA California Council Committee on the Environment. Paul is committed to maintaining the architectural beauty of the central coast of California, while protecting the environmental quality and sustainability of our community for future generations.

Amanda Martin-Behrendtsen: VP Diversity & Inclusion

Amanda has a vision to heal the planet through sustainable building practices and personal connections. Known for being a jack-of-all-trades and a multi-faceted, out of the box thinker; Amanda has come from a humble background and at one-point homelessness.  To pursue her desire for knowledge and to seek answers to the harder questions in life, she has earned multiple degrees and extensive experience as a Nurse, Executive Medical Coordinator, Teacher, Marketing Coordinator, Solar Consultant, Solar Designer and Construction Project Manager; Amanda plans to run multiple social businesses and bridge gaps in society to create a whole healthy community.  She began the growth of her green construction company, Renewal Revolution, during her second year of pre-med studies when she decided she wanted to open a wellness center that treated individuals as a whole and not just a symptom, this clinic would be a social business model and as such would treat everyone, regardless of insurance or income.  She later felt the need to not only give back to her community and the planet but to run outreaches in other countries.  After getting into the solar field on a whim and then building contracting with solar, she realized if she wanted to see her dreams to fruition she had to “be” her goals on every level.  Her cornerstone company was designed so she could cut out the middle man and take control of her vision with full understanding, enabling her to manage any project, anywhere, efficiently whilst being a light to those around her.  Being a social entrepreneur Amanda serves a triple bottom line (People, Planet, Profit), with plans to work closely with the community and several non-profits to ensure that she is not just a helper of our neighbors but a Catalyst for Change.  Seeking out collaborative projects with other local business in an effort to aid in stimulating the economy right here at home and with extensive knowledge in many different building materials from standard to recycled/green materials, multiple renewable energy options, and eco-friendly agricultural design for optimal sustainability.

Brian Johnson: Strategic Partnerships

Mr. Johnson is a thirty-year veteran of the community greening and sustainability movement.  From his early years as legislative analyst with the statewide Toxics Coordinating Project, his subsequent leadership of the City of Santa Monica’s Office of Sustainability and Environment, where he conceived and oversaw numerous environmental programs, including green building, energy and water conservation, toxics use reduction, green cleaning, integrated pest management and green procurement initiatives, to his recent tenure as a Deputy Director at the California Environmental Protection Agency where he led the Statewide Hazardous Waste Program, his leadership has been seminal to the success of sustainability initiatives throughout the world.  Brian’s current role as Director of The Ashkin Group’s sustainability practice, has allowed him to work with leaders and learners in the green cleaning and sustainability movement where he has developed policies, practices, audits and technical coaching for an array of local and global organizations.

Natasha Elliott: Barbara Regional Council Liaison

Natasha Elliot is a Landscape designer, Landscape contractor and educator. Her design practice is rooted in the idea of form following function with sustainability being the leading function. While earning a BFA in sculpture at California State University Long Beach, she explored themes of the human relationship with the outdoor world, particularly the ways in which humans have worked with nature to create the built-environment. After graduating, she studied horticulture, permaculture, and worked in restoration ecology. Today Natasha is the owner of the landscape design firm, Sweet Smiling Landscapes, as well as teaching Landscape Drafting at Santa Barbara City College and is a teacher in a program with the Metropolitan Water District that teaches home-owners principles of water shed wise landscape design. 

Candice Wong: Board Member

Candice is a nationally recognized leader in the public architecture sector, working with municipalities and agencies throughout California on sustainable civic, public safety and institutional projects. She is a LEED accredited professional and works with her clients to create programmatically successful, operationally efficient, and resource conserving buildings that improve the communities in which they are built.  Together with her husband, she is raising two thoughtful and curiosity-filled girls, nurturing a semi historic home, and looks for almost any excuse to do her own construction. 

David Segan: Board Member

 David Segan works for the Association for Energy Affordability and leads the implementation of the Tri-County Regional Energy Network (3C-REN) Multifamily Home Energy Savings (MHES) program He works with property owners and contractors in the counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura to make energy efficiency and electrification upgrades. David resides in Santa Barbara and holds a Master’s in Environmental Science and Management from the Bren School at UCSB. He participated in the CCGBC mentorship program in 2022 and has been on the board since 2023. He is a PHI Certified Passive House Consultant, AEE Certified Energy Manager and BPI Multifamily Building Analyst. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, camping, and surfing.

Mari Warner: Board Member

 Mari is the Client Relations & Sustainability Manager at Allen Construction, a recognized leader in green building practices, and one of their core values is to build homes that are healthy, comfortable, durable, and energy and water efficient.  She has her Master’s degree in Construction Management and Technology with an emphasis in sustainability from Arizona State University. Prior to starting at Allen Construction, she worked on the development of a 60-acre LEED-platinum certified, master-planned community in the heart of Honolulu. Mari hopes to collaborate with industry partners to continue improving our collective carbon footprint and work towards building a more sustainable future.

Rachel Albritton: Board Member

Rachel Albritton is a talented draftsperson at Appleton Partners LLP and serves as the executive director’s assistant at the American Institute of Architects Santa Barbara. Her journey began in Northern California and led her to Santa Barbara, where she pursued her education at the University of California Santa Barbara. In 2022, Rachel proudly earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Art and Architectural History with a specialization in Architecture and the Environment. Her deep passion for history has fueled her commitment to a career in traditional architecture, enriched by her dedication to sustainability and environmental consciousness in the field.Rachel's impact reaches beyond her professional roles. She actively contributes to her community by serving on the AIA Advocacy Committee and the Emerging Professional’s Committee. Additionally, she's involved in the Rapid Rehousing Program, advocating for equitable and accessible housing. 

Dave Intner: Board Member

Dave Intner, with Southern California Edition's Building Electrification and Codes & Standards team, is a Licensed Architect, LEED AP, and Certified Energy Manager. A graduate of Cal Poly SLO, Dave provides education and outreach supporting Building Decarbonization and Energy Code Compliance Improvement. He is a board member with USGBC Los Angeles and has served on the LEED Energy and Atmosphere Technical Advisory Group (EA-TAG). He is a Past President of AIA Ventura County and serves on the statewide AIA Committee on the Environment.  

Ian Logan: Board Member

Ian has been in the building industry for the past 10 years at varying degrees, working in carpentry and property management. He acquired his bachelor’s in environmental studies with an emphasis in Energy & Sustainability from UC Santa Barbara in 2018. Ian now works closely with 3C-REN's Building Performance Training & Energy Code Connect Programs to provide stellar educational opportunities and code support for the Central Coast’s workforce.

Marc Whitman: Board Member

Marc Whitman has been educating himself on green technologies and methods since his student days at Arizona State University where he studied solar architecture in the late 1970s. he has included green practices and technologies in many of his own projects. Marc has completed many "green " projects. and wishes to spread the word about our climate crisis and reaching the goal of a carbon free world. 

Kendra Butters: Board Member

Kendra Butters is a skilled, passive house certified interior designer at Tri County Office Furniture and previous Director of Sustainability at Whitman Architectural Design. Born and raised in Ventura County, she received her bachelor’s degree in political science and with a minor in economics at San Francisco State University and has continued her education in interior design at UCLA and architecture and design at Sci-Arc. Her love and passion for sustainability and design has continued to influence her work with clients such as Keller Williams, Goodwill Industries International Inc., YMCA, Taft Electric, and Oxnard and Ventura Unified School Districts. Her community outreach expands beyond the CCGBC with her involvement in numerous organizations such as Women in Design, Poison Free Agoura, and AIA Ventura. 

Ellen Strickland: Board Member

Ellen Strickland founded and co-owned the former Livingreen retail and online stores which specialized in green products and construction materials. Now, as a consultant with BuildingHealthMatters, Ellen works with both homeowners and the design / build trades throughout Southern California to bring the healthiest green practices and materials to their projects.

 Christy Bates: Director of Communications