While everyone was posted across the U.S, my host community will be based in Washington D.C with the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) – Green Building Division.

I was welcomed by Bryan – Green Building Program Analyst on the first day, who oriented me about the green building movement and structure in D.C. Of course, I also got to meet the team driving this sustainable initiative forward.

One particular takeaway on my 1st day was the professionals rating system which is currently still work in progress. The key is to create an open platform consisting of the performance of the professionals from building plans submission to approval by the authority. This metric can then be used by tenants, developers, and owners to better select an effective team of professionals to drive their project in a timely fashion!

The 2nd day kicked off with DCRA quarterly stakeholders meeting to gain public feedback and update on the agency initiatives.  The meeting was also being live-streamed on Youtube, providing an extra sense of convenience to the public and living the digitization era. This bottom-up approach not only allows quicker information flow but also creating a better collaborative working environment between public and private stakeholders.

 

my volunteer staff pass!

 

For info: Falafel is a deep-fried ball, or a flat or doughnut-shaped patty, made from ground chickpeas, fava beans, or both. Herbs, spices, and onion relatives are commonly added to the dough. It is a Levantine and Egyptian dish that most likely originated in Egypt, but is commonly eaten throughout Western Asia

Till next time lah.