Build It Green Announces New Executive Director & CEO

Build It Green’s Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Karin L. Burns will join Build It Green (BIG) as Executive Director/CEO beginning in April. Burns brings 15 years of leadership experience in sustainability, non-profit management, equity investments, finance, and new business development.

“Karin is a tremendously talented executive and her appointment begins an exciting new chapter for Build It Green,” says Cheryl O’Connor, Build It Green’s Board Chair and Executive Director of HomeAid Northern California. “She brings the energy, leadership, and business development skills to help Build It Green expand and diversify its programs—and to increase its presence on the national stage.”

Burns will transition into her new role beginning in April 2016. She takes the reins from Interim CEO Larry Simi.

“I am thrilled to join an organization with an ambitious yet achievable vision: to build or renovate every home to enhance our well-being and protect the environment,” says Burns. “I sincerely believe we can accomplish this, but it’s going to require our best effort to make policies and practices work in the marketplace, and to bring a new level of investment to residential green building. I see Build It Green as the hub in this wheel—the one organization that is able to bring together policymakers, building professionals, investors, and consumers so that everyone wins.”

Burns previously served as Executive Director of Code REDD in San Francisco, an environmental nonprofit that she built into a globally recognized brand in the REDD+ carbon credit industry. Burns has extensive experience as a managing director and vice president at several financial and global investment firms, where she originated and managed a range of cleantech and green building projects. She served as U.S. West Coast Representative for the Masdar City Initiative in Abu Dhabi, UAE—the world’s first carbon-neutral city. In addition to this work, Burns is a real estate investor with a passion for residential real estate renovation projects.

Burns holds a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and a Master in Business Administration from the Edinburgh Business School in the UK. She studied in India as a Fulbright Fellow and completed her undergraduate degree at Duke University.