Thom Powell
Chair, USGBC Texas Chapter
Director, North Texas Region

Mr. Powell is a Partner at BVG4 Architecture.  BVG4 specializes in civic projects that require state of the art thinking in resilient and sustainable design while promoting the health and wellness of its occupants. Previously, he worked as Southwest Regional Director at ADG and Director of Sustainable Design at GFF.  His previous roles included Sustainability Consultant for the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in collaboration with Morphosis and Executive Architect on the AT&T Performing Arts Center Box Office and Annette Strauss Artist Square, both in collaboration with Foster + Partners.  

Thom has served on the USGBC North Texas Board of Directors since 2009, as chair in 2014, on the USGBC Texas Board of Directors since its inception in 2016 and maintains a LEED AP BD+C credential.  His past Sustainability Consultant roles include achieving LEED Gold Certification on the Perot Museum, 17Seventeen McKinney Avenue, as well as Nurses Hall and Woodlawn Hall at Old Parkland Hospital. Past architectural projects in the Dallas Arts District include Fiedler Atrium at First United Methodist Church of Dallas, Crow Collection of Asian Art and the Hamon Recital Hall in I.M. Pei’s Meyerson Symphony Center.

Maria Perez
Vice Chair, USGBC Texas Chapter
Director, Texas Gulf Coast Region

Maria Perez is a Senior Associate and Director of Sustainable Design for Gensler, an integrated architecture, design, planning and consulting firm of 5,000+ professionals networked across 46 global offices. In this role, she serves as one of the firm’s leading sustainability ambassadors and promoters, engaging staff, clients, and the public on innovative and sustainable design, construction, and operational thinking.

A recognized expert in LEED standards and sustainability rating systems, Maria is a leading advocate for performance-based design. Maria is a licensed architect in Texas. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from ITESM, Monterrey, Mexico and a Master of Science in Architecture from the University of Houston. In 2015, she was named a LEED Fellow for her exemplary leadership, impactful commitment, service, and advocacy in green building and sustainability. She is an Accredited Professional in multiple credentials including Building Design(BD+C), Interior Design(ID+C), Operations and Maintenance(O&M), Neighborhood Development(ND) and WELL. Maria is currently serving in the GBCI Credentialing Steering Committee and USGBC Texas Chapter Board of Directors.

Tim Murray
Secretary, USGBC Texas Chapter
Director, Texas Gulf Coast Region

Tim Murray is a Sustainability Consultant with GreeNexus Consulting, having certified 45 LEED projects to date. Tim was awarded the designation of LEED Fellow in 2019. He has been involved in regional USGBC roles since 2005, currently serving as Secretary of the USGBC-Texas Chapter and on the USGBC-Texas Gulf Coast Region Council. He was the chair of the USGBC Texas Gulf Coast Chapter in 2006/2007 and served on the national LEED Steering Committee during the development of LEED v4. Tim was the founding chair of the Green Building Subcommittee at the Greater Houston Partnership. A registered architect, Tim has been on the AIA-Houston Committee on the Environment since 2015.  He graduated from the University of Houston and is active as a committee member of his son’s Scout Troop. 

Paul Brown
Treasurer, USGBC Texas Chapter
Director, Central Texas Region

Paul is a president and co-founder of Bautex Systems, LLC, a Texas based manufacturer of high performance insulated concrete wall systems. He has devoted his career to building innovative start-up companies in a wide range of industries including consumer goods manufacturing, enterprise software, web technologies, and IP telecommunications. Paul received his Bachelor of Arts from the Plan II Honors Program at The University of Texas at Austin and his MBA from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. 

Tricia Loe, LEED AP BD+C, LEED AP ID+C, WELL AP, LFA
Strategy Officer, USGBC Texas Chapter
Director, North Texas Region

Tricia Loe is President of Sustainable Concepts, LLC, a consulting firm focusing on high-performance buildings and a certified Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE). She enjoys working with clients to provide the knowledge and resources they need to meet their sustainable design goals. Her experience includes managing LEED and WELL Building Standard projects, as well as third-party verification for the Dallas Green Building Program. 

Tricia is proud to be a Living Building Challenge Ambassador-Presenter and frequently gives presentations to professional organizations on the Living Building Challenge and other green building and sustainability topics. She serves as Strategy Officer for the USGBC Texas Chapter, past-chair Chair of the Dallas AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE), and is an active member of the North Texas Living Building Challenge Collaborative. 

Scott Gerhardt
Past Chair, USGBC Texas Chapter
Director, Central Texas Region

Scott is a Built Environment Leader with a passion for sustainable development and building practices. He is a connector and catalyst for greening our industry and Texas through established metrics such as LEED, SITES, PEER, etc. He currently chairs the USGBC Texas Board Of Directors, comprised of Board Members from all five Texas USGBC Regional Councils, working in concert with the USGBC National / International organization to advance our mutual Mission. He works diligently to educate and engage future generations, educational institutions, and community groups in this transformation of our industry, also helping to preserve precious Texas resources.