Julia Farber, Regional Solutions and Consultants Manager, Northeast, Legrand AV

Julia Farber is the Regional Solutions and Consultants Manager for the Northeast for Legrand AV. In her role, she is responsible for assisting specifiers, end users, and architects with the design and selection of appropriate AV solutions, and consults on products contributing to high performance building certifications like, LEED, WELL and STARS. A WELL-AP, WELL Faculty, and LEED-AP, Julia has been working in the green building and technology sectors for over 14 years, spending the majority of her experience working for Underwriters Laboratories, and as a sustainability advisor and consultant. Last year, she co-developed a podcast called “Imagine If,” a podcast featuring stories of teenagers across the country and their personal experiences with climate change, produced with the help of National Geographic and the North American Association for Environmental Education.
Julia holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration with a concentration in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University, and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Michigan. She volunteers locally with the health and wellbeing committee of the CTGBC, the University of Michigan alumni club, and the Climate Reality Project.

Michelle Johnston, National Sales Director Education, Legrand Building Control Solutions

Michelle Johnston is the Sales Director for Education for Legrand Building Control Systems, in addition to managing the New England region. Her primary responsibilities are promoting and selling lighting controls and shading systems to the higher education market that enable colleges and universities to meet energy code requirements as well as design high performance buildings that achieve LEED, WELL and STARS certifications. She was part of the team that established the business partnership between Legrand and AASHE and participated in the 2019 AASHE Conference.
Michelle has spent much of her career in the lighting industry, focused on designing energy-efficient spaces for end-users in various vertical markets.
She holds a Juris Doctorate from Massachusetts School of Law and a B.A. in Communications from the University of New Hampshire.

Anne Spafford, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, North Carolina State University

Anne received her Bachelor’s degree in Horticultural Science and her Masters of Landscape Architecture from the University of Illinois. She worked for a landscape design/build firm and the Army Corps of Engineers before launching into her teaching career. She taught in the School of Landscape Architecture at Louisiana State University then made her way to North Carolina State University where she currently teaches six landscape design courses in the Department of Horticultural Science. Her work has centered around people-plant-environments, most notably rain gardens and pollinator habitats. However, her heart has always been anchored in the environment-behavior arena. Anne’s research interests include the efficacy of therapeutic landscapes, and how landscapes can be tailored better for specific population groups. She is also passionate about researching landscapes that improve mental health.

Rich Miller, Director of Sustainability, University of Connecticut

Rich was hired as UConn’s first environmental officer in 2002. He established and oversees the University’s Office of Sustainability (OS), formerly the Office of Environmental Policy (OEP). He also established and, for many years, directed UConn’s Environmental Compliance Office, which has since become a part of EH&S/Public Safety.
Rich leads and collaborates on a wide range of sustainability initiatives and programs related to energy, water, waste, food and dining, transportation, low impact development, outreach & engagement, green building and climate action. He chairs UConn’s Environmental Policy Advisory Council and is the founding advisor to the EcoHusky and ECOalition student groups. He led collaborative efforts among faculty, staff and students to develop UConn’s Climate Action Plan (adopted in 2010) and subsequent five-year interim updates with specific strategic goals and metrics. He is the executive editor of UConn’s sustainability reports and publications, including a website, blog, semi-annual newsletter, and biennial Sustainability Progress Reports.
To further advance climate-leadership at UConn, Rich organized the UConn@COP program, by which a group of high-achieving and environmentally-minded students have participated in the UN’s annual Climate Summit and Conference of the Parties. He has been a collaborator on several research projects, taught an honors course in environmental sustainability, conducted green building/campus tours, and been a frequent speaker and guest lecturer in many courses across a wide range of disciplines. Under his leadership, UConn has been ranked consistently among the greenest colleges and universities, nationally and globally.
Prior to joining UConn, Rich held positions as a corporate environmental manager for a Fortune 500 energy company, practicing environmental and land use attorney, faculty adjunct in environmental law and management, legislative attorney, and an energy and environmental program director and lobbyist for a statewide association.
Rich is a member of the Board of Directors for AASHE (Chair, 2018-19), and the NECSC Steering Committee, as well as an Executive Liaison to Second Nature’s University Climate Change Coalition. He has served on many advisory boards and commissions, including five years as a gubernatorial appointee to the Connecticut Council on Environmental Quality, and was a long time member of his hometown Conservation & Inland Wetlands Commission, which he chaired for nine years. He received his B.A. from Penn State University and J.D. from Stetson University College of Law.