U.S. Green Building Council Rhode Island Chapter Names Kenneth J. Filarski Chairman of the Board

PROVIDENCE, RI – Kenneth J. Filarski, has been named Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Rhode Island Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. He is the founder and principal of FILARSKI /ARCHITECTURE + PLANNING + RESEARCH, an award winning, integrated design and planning, ecology studio and workshop. The studio has been honored with national, regional, state awards and honors from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, several Federal agencies, professional societies, organizations, and the White House.

Filarski is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, a Richard Upjohn Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, a Certified Planner, a LEED Accredited Professional, and a Certified Flood Plain Manager. He holds a Master’s Degree in Architecture and Environmental Design from Goddard College where he was a Teaching Fellow in their internationally recognized Design and Construction Program. Filarski is the youngest architect ever inducted into the prestigious American Institute of Architects College of Fellows, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon an American Architect. Filarski is an AICP Certified Planner and holds LEED-AP BD+C Credentials. He is also a Certified Flood Plain Manager and is the only architect serving on the National ASCE 24-05 Committee. He is a member of RI Architects and Engineers Emergency Response Task Force 7, which was recently recognized with a national award from the American Institute of Architects. He served on the Board of Directors of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and chaired three national AIA committees. The work he led as the Chair of the City of Cranston Green Building Commission was recently recognized as a national best practice by the U.S. Green Building Council and the Land Use Law Center of Pace Law School.

Filarski also chairs the Upper Northeast Regional Committee of the U.S. Green Building Council and the LEED-ND Regionalization Task Force for the Upper Northeast and was part of the LEED v.4 regionalization process for the Northeast. He also serves as Vice Chair of the Cranston Chamber of Commerce and serves on the Board of Directors of the Providence/Cranston Workforce Investment Board. His award winning planning projects include the Smith Hill Historic Districts Preservation Plan; the Glocester Plan, the Smith Hill NOW Neighborhood Revitalization Plan; the Only In Olneyville Neighborhood Revitalization Plan; the Plan for Facilities Needs Analysis for Senior Citizens and Community Organizations for the City of Pawtucket; and the Coastal Energy Impact Plan for the Town of Charlestown. He is currently developing a sustainable, mixed use, urban transit oriented LEED for Neighborhood Development plan for the 231 acre Elmwood/Wellington Corridor in Cranston, Rhode Island, which is pursuing LEED Platinum status. Filarski has won national awards from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the innovative and sustainable HOME Housing System. He is honored with regional and state awards for 21 affordable homes on Federal Hill, the Foster Town Hall, and national recognition for the renovations and additions to the Leon A. Mathieu Senior Center in Pawtucket.

Senior Director,
Real Estate Services – RI
Fidelity Investments

Jill Langevin has been appointed to the Board of Directors and will serve as the Program Committee Chair. She is Senior Director, Real Estate Services at Fidelity Real Estate Company (FREC), a Fidelity Investments company. Fidelity is one of the largest providers of investment management, retirement planning, brokerage, and human services and benefits outsourcing for individuals and institutions. Ms. Langevin joined Fidelity in 1998 and served in a number of roles in the institutional businesses before joining FREC in 2004. In her current role, Ms. Langevin is responsible for strategic planning and execution of all real estate projects including oversight of project management, relocation services and facilities management for 1.1M sf of corporate office space in the Smithfield, RI campus. Prior to her career with Fidelity Investments, she worked at BankBoston in a variety of positions supporting the operations of multiple phone centers. Ms. Langevin earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Rhode Island and is an active member of CoreNet.

MELISSA D. TRAVIS, has been appointed to the Board of Directors and will serve as the RI Cities and Towns Advocacy Committee Chair. She previously served as the Membership Committee Chair. Prior to joining the USGBC, she spent 14 years in sales and marketing in the private sector where she received numerous sales and vendor recognition awards. She also served on the Board of Directors at the International Wire and Cable Association. She attended Johnson & Wales University and University of Rhode Island for graduate studies in Communications. She received LEED accreditation, GPC certification and has extensive quality and management training. 

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