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Beth Lavelle

sustainability manager for SERA Architects

Architecture gave Beth Lavelle a way to blend her passion for art and design with her exposure to construction through her family鈥檚 small contracting business. She said she grew up in a small rural town with a narrow worldview, and college opened up her perspective and understanding of the environmental and social impacts of design.

鈥淚 love that I get to solve new problems every day and guide the work of my firm and my broader profession towards more sustainable outcomes for people and the environment,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 also love translating deep technical information into stories that all project stakeholders can understand and get excited about.鈥�

Lavelle played a pivotal role in leading SERA鈥檚 adoption of the JUST label and in the formation of SERA鈥檚 Equity in Design Committee, which champions the firm鈥檚 efforts to consider equity not just in firm-wide actions and policies, but also in project design work.

During her leadership tenure at the Portland Hub of the Carbon Leadership Forum, she played a pivotal role in raising awareness about embodied carbon emissions and their impact on the environment. Lavelle鈥檚 efforts have helped to increase the capacity of individuals and organizations in Portland to understand, measure and, ultimately, reduce these emissions.

In a recent collaboration with Central City Concern, Lavelle helped develop and implement the organization鈥檚 Climate Action Plan. Through a comprehensive grasp of CCC鈥檚 mission and values, she played a vital role in identifying key strategies to effectively address how its work is threatened by climate change.

Clark Brockman, SERA鈥檚 sustainability principal, credited Lavelle with 鈥済enerously sharing her wealth of knowledge and becoming a national leader in the expanding realm of embodied carbon research and practice, transforming the industry鈥檚 approach to a critical sustainable strategy, while providing mentorship for the next generation of sustainability leaders.鈥�