leed-ap ross freeman

Brainstorm, test, and implement various green public and internal initiatives to reduce environmental impact, improve efficiency while saving money, and shrink carbon footprint of regional ski area with 410,000 visits/year, and 1000 employees. Accomplishments led to widespread public and industry accolades, including winning prestigious national 2012 Ski Area Association Environmental Award, and significant media coverage. Solely responsible for: developing and managing environmental initiatives; budgeting for annual and multi-year projects; assessing and quantifying baseline conditions; measuring success of mitigation measures; applying for industry grants and awards; public outreach education and staff training. Specific programs included: energy efficiency retrofits and upgrades, electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, employee transit, carbon offset contracts, air quality improvements, comprehensive recycling, waste reduction, food waste composting, hazmat management, solar power installation, etc.

For 6 years, worked in PNW office of national river conservation NGO performing an unusual blend of science, outreach, policy, grant administration, and technical work, all in the context of governmental planning processes and regulations, and often on collaborative teams. Served multiple simultaneous roles as: river ecologist, grassroots outreach & advocacy lead, conservation policy analyst (local, regional, national), project coordinator, program manager, restoration grants administrator ($200K+ per year), and GIS/imagery/mapping/graphics specialist.

Led complex ecological floodplain classification effort to assess 60 years of land cover history using aerial photos, satellite imagery, GIS software. Responsible for: supervision of 3 lab technicians, data capture protocols, digitization, orthorectification, oversight & maintenance of digital spatial data, acquisition of datasets from multiple public/private sources, status reports.

During Graduate School summers assisted with design and management of intensive field survey protocol (trees, shrubs, soil, water, birds), visiting over 200 study plots in remote and extremely arduous locations statewide. Responsible for: field survey planning and execution, training of 8 full-time Undergrad crew members, transportation planning, staff supervision, data collation & entry, equipment maintenance, crew safety & first aid.

Wrote several stories per week for award-winning Earthwatch Radio series about science and the environment, and general conservation issues. Researched and interviewed (by phone & in-person) distinguished speakers, notable scientists, lecturers; edited recorded content and helped distribute program to hundreds of radio stations nationwide for broadcast. http://ewradio.org/

Staffed high-alpine backcountry camps on 14,411 foot snow- and glacier-covered peak, and initiated safety/educational contacts with mountain climbers and other users. Assisted natural resource crews w/rehab work, and interpretive staff w/educational contacts and data collection. Registered climbers at frontcountry station explaining regulations and collecting fees. Performed numerous Search & Rescue missions and provided 24-7 emergency medical care in extreme conditions. Missions involved: high-angle cliff and crevasse extrication, extensive sled & litter usage, technical rope systems, frequent helicopter evacuation work, body recovery.

* On a contract basis, I perform a wide variety of services within the conservation and sustainability arenas, including: GIS/mapping projects * outreach material design * advocacy campaign guidance * policy distillation and analysis * technical writing * sustainability report production * climate impact assessments * carbon reduction metrics and tracking * major event footprinting * and project management.

The City of Mercer Island is a full service agency providing municipal services to a residential community of 23,000. Just over five miles long and two miles wide, Mercer Island lies in Lake Washington east of the City of Seattle and west of the City of Bellevue. Mercer Island is noted for its Schools and Quality of Life.