According to Thornton Tomasetti, principal Gunnar Hubbard and senior VP Lynn Simon achieved the rank of LEED Fellow, a title held by fewer than 80 professionals worldwide. Hubbard and Simon were among the 43 professionals in the 2012 class of LEED Fellows, at the Greenbuild conference in San Francisco. LEED Fellow is the highest distinction offered by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), which administers the LEED professional credentialing and project certification programs. The LEED Fellow program was established to recognize LEED Accredited Professionals (LEED AP) who have made exceptional contributions to the green building field at a local, regional or national level. The designation was first conferred in 2011 with 34 people selected for the inaugural class. The requirements to become a LEED Fellow are arduous. Nominees must be a LEED AP for at least eight years and have earned a LEED AP with Specialty. They also need 10 years of professional green experience and have worked on LEED-certified projects. Potential Fellows must be nominated by a peer - who also must meet a set of eligibility requirements - and then evaluated in four out of five "mastery elements": technical proficiency (required), education and mentoring, leadership, commitment and service and advocacy. A committee comprising LEED Fellows and other industry peers makes the final selection. Responsibilities of a LEED Fellow include sharing knowledge and experience with others through teaching and mentoring, by participating in committees related to LEED and through speaking engagements, published articles, case studies and other materials that support the green building profession. With more than 23 years of experience as a green building consultant, Hubbard, AIA, LEED Fellow, has been involved in green building efforts across the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He has played a key role on a wide variety of sustainability projects and project types, including hotels, educational facilities, sports facilities, high-rise buildings, science buildings, health facilities, government buildings, retail facilities, museums, manufacturing facilities and residential buildings. He is leader of the Thornton Tomasetti Building Sustainability practice. His project credits include Las Vegas CityCenter Block C, Harvard University's Allston Science Complex, more than ten of Vornado Realty Trust's high-rise buildings in New York, Shanghai International Financial Center, and the Museum of the Built Environment in Saudi Arabia. Hubbard's experience as a LEED consultant encompasses a variety of LEED rating systems including LEED NC, EB:O&M, CI, CS, LEED for Schools, LEED for Retail, LEED for Healthcare and LEED for Homes, and he has experience with Net Zero Energy buildings. A founding member of the Maine chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, Hubbard was nominated for the LEED Fellow designation by chapter executive director Katye Charette. He graduated from the University of Vermont with a bachelor's degree in environmental studies, and from the University of Oregon with a master's degree in architecture. He is a licensed architect in California. Simon, FAIA, LEED Fellow, joined Thornton Tomasetti in 2013 after 18 years leading green building consulting firm Simon & Associates, Inc. and has more than 20 years of experience in the green building industry, including the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Global Green USA, a nonprofit dedicated to greening affordable housing. As a senior VP, Simon is responsible for leading the firm's U.S. West Coast building sustainability efforts and for managing complex green design and consulting projects. As a green building pioneer and a leading authority in the industry, Simon has consulted on LEED projects in California such as the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco (LEED EBOM Platinum); CalPERS Headquarters Expansion Project in Sacramento (LEED NC Gold); the Energy Foundation in San Francisco (LEED CI Platinum); Gish Apartments in San Jose (LEED NC Gold and LEED for Homes Gold); and the recently completed Hunters Point Shipyard-Candlestick Point in San Francisco, a 777-acre LEED-ND Gold certified mixed-use development. She also has experience with LEED for Neighborhood Development and with airport projects. Simon has served on a number of USGBC committees and on the boards of directors of several building industry organizations, including the AIA San Francisco Chapter, the National AIA and the USGBC. She was nominated by Brenda Morawa, vice president of Integrated Environmental Solutions, who is active in the USGBC. Simon holds a bachelor's degree in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley and a master's degree in Architecture from the University of Washington. She is a licensed architect in California. "To be LEED Fellows means that Lynn and I are recognized as experts within the sustainability field and in turn, so is Thornton Tomasetti. As the saying goes, with great honor comes great responsibility. We want to leverage our leadership role and make a difference," said Hubbard, AIA, LEED Fellow. "I think it is a responsibility of a LEED Fellow to provide insight and guidance to young people in our industry. It could be through formal classes or just talking to them about our own experiences. Mentoring is an important part of our profession and it is something we need to focus on more closely," said Simon, FAIA, LEED.