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Signing off

Lois Vitt Sale

Chief Sustainability Officer

Wight & Company

LEEDuser Basic Member

0 thumbs up

December 13, 2022

Hi Everyone! About ten days ago, Megan Zack posted a note announcing her new role as Chief Sustainability Officer at Wight & Company. (Yay!) I'm so delighted that she will be stepping into this leadership role at Wight to shepard the firm in the next chapter of their journey in sustainability.

I wanted to take a moment to say farewell to you and to let you know how inspired I've been by so many of you in the years I've had the priviledge to get to know and hang out with you. This group is the engine driving change in the design world. Your passion, intelligence and dogged determination is making a significant contribution to the changes you seen coming to fruition all around you. In the early days, I remember the feelings of despair I had over the slow pace of change and the sense that one project at a time was not adding up to anything at all. Today, if you look around us, that change is speeding up and together with other dedicated, funny, passionate brainacs in other fields of innovation, the change is being magnified. Don't let the bad news bears and the naysayers stop you in your tracks! Yes the work is urgent and the pace needs to increase, but each of you is making a difference. And I'm proud to know you.

I'm hanging up my shingle on my 34 years in architecture with confidence that you and your colleagues are going to continue sprinkling your brilliance on all your endeavors. I will be in my basement working on my art in clay. My personal email, if you're ever in the Chicago area and you want to have coffee or tea or just hug a tree is lvittsale@gmail.com

Lois

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Rand Ekman

Principal | Chief Sustainability Officer

HKS, Inc.

LEEDuser Basic Member

14 thumbs up

Tue, 12/13/2022 - 19:04

You will be dearly missed Lois. I have fond memories of Chicago activities … and beyond. Enjoy everything that comes next And welcome Megan. I am enormously thrilled for your new role and deepening engagement. I am sure we will cross paths. Rand RandEkman, FAIA, LEED Fellow Chief Sustainability Officer Principal 125 S Clark St, #1100, Chicago, IL 60603 +1 312 262 9750| m +1 847 420 5577| www.hksinc.com F

Patty Lloyd

Director of Sustainability

Leopardo Companies, Inc.

LEEDuser Premium Member

12 thumbs up

Tue, 12/13/2022 - 19:13

I am so thrilled to have gotten to know you better over the last few years. You have been an inspiration to me and many others as you have progressed yourself, your firm, and this green building industry further down the road! You have been a leader! I wish you nothing but the best and look forward to seeing you out and about from time to time!!

Jason Hainline

Senior Project Manager

Dake Wells Architecture

LEEDuser Premium Member

0 thumbs up

Tue, 12/13/2022 - 19:15

WOW, Lois. Echoing Rand's comment, you will be missed. Thank you for all that you have contributed and the friendship that you so openly provide. Wishing you the best in this new/next chapter!

Luke Leung

Principal

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP

LEEDuser Basic Member

0 thumbs up

Tue, 12/13/2022 - 19:47

Lois, Agreed with all the others! I will miss you...in Chicago, the SDL trips, waiting for the boat at Seattle Pier to Bain Bridge Island...and more. Best wishes, LL

Dustin Davis

Project Manager

WDD Architects

LEEDuser Premium Member

0 thumbs up

Tue, 12/13/2022 - 20:36

Lois, Enjoy your next adventure in life. I wish you all the best in what comes ahead for you. Enjoy retirment, Dustin

Pauline Souza

Partner, Sustainability Director

WRNS Studio

LEEDuser Basic Member

0 thumbs up

Wed, 12/14/2022 - 01:25

Lois! So great to see you at Greenbuild and cheers to you for all you have done for all of us. We know you will still be making the most wonderful positive waves in the industry. Enjoy the new adventure and keep in touch!

Clark Brockman

Owner

Brockman Climate Strategies

LEEDuser Basic Member

0 thumbs up

Wed, 12/14/2022 - 02:07

Lois - I will miss you sooo much! Your special brand of heart-centered leadership has moved me and the whole SDL crowd!
Just a few of the ways you have modeled sustainability leadership over the years:

Your ability to cut to what's truly important
Your honesty about what's hard, without giving an inch on what really has to be done
Your clarity on what's working, and what's not, and what progress is and isn't being made
Your clear eyed approach to building foundational systems that can be improved over time

Thank you for all that you've shared with us, for so many thoughtful conversations, and some great laughs!
I wish you the very best in your next chapter!

Clark Clark Brockman, AIA, LEED Fellow
Principal
(he / him)

m: 971.227.1514

SERA
600 SW 10th Avenue, Suite 500, Portland, OR 97205
Portland + Oakland
seradesign.com LinkedIn: @Clark_Brockman
Twitter: @ClarkBrockman

Mary Ann Lazarus

Consultant

Cameron MacAllister Group

LEEDuser Expert

2 thumbs up

Wed, 12/14/2022 - 02:33

Lois: I echo these sentiments. It's been great to have you as part of my life (albeit limited these past few years.) I remember you talking about your passion for clay so it's wonderful to learn that you'll be returning to that love in earnest. Congratulations and enjoy this next phase with the wonderful positive approach to life you've always had. Best wishes. Mary Ann Mary Ann Lazarus maryannlazarus2@gmail.com mobile: 314.805.9332

Brian Feagans

Strategic Design Advisor

Ratcliff

LEEDuser Basic Member

0 thumbs up

Wed, 12/14/2022 - 15:54

Lois, When I first heard the news, I was very happy for you but also knew that I would miss you, as will others. Your extraordinary warmth and the open arms extended to our group is part of what has made the SDL experience special and effective. In addition to your knowledge, passion, and persistence toward making progress in the sustainability world, your ability to make the people you know feel special is definitely one of your super powers. Inspiring. Hope to see you in the Chicago area one day and look forward to seeing how you give shape to your world through clay. Regards, Brian

Betsy del Monte

Consultant

Cameron MacAllister Group

LEEDuser Basic Member

0 thumbs up

Wed, 12/14/2022 - 19:25

Lois, I echo the others in expressing my delight in getting to know you and be inspired by your impact. You will certainly be missed, but I know that the wheels you have set in motion will continue to turn. That momentum is your legacy! Go make some great art, and let's stay in touch! Betsy

Nancy Malone

Principal

Siegel & Strain Architects

LEEDuser Basic Member

0 thumbs up

Wed, 12/14/2022 - 19:59

Lois, You are a sage! I will miss your wit and wisdom and, as others have said, so appreciate your warmth and open arms. Your openness and positivity are the tools of a true advocate. Congratulatins and best wishes, Nancy

Lois Vitt Sale

Chief Sustainability Officer

Wight & Company

LEEDuser Basic Member

0 thumbs up

Wed, 12/14/2022 - 20:37

Honestly your notes are overwhelming! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I'm so sure our paths will cross somewhere again..and if you find yourself in Chicago, my door is open - even if you have to share the chair in my basement studio with my slobbery dog - the cup of tea or coffee will be all yours. Warmest Regards, Lois

Meredith Elbaum

Executive Director

Built Environment Plus

LEEDuser Basic Member

9 thumbs up

Wed, 12/14/2022 - 21:04

How to add to this chorus of appreciation? Lois, you are an inspiration. I feel lucky to have had you to look up to all these years and I continue to do so. I promise I’ll come see you and your art in person. I do hope that while you are stepping down from Wight & Company that you continue to teach and mentor the next generation of green building leaders. I was honored to “visit” with your students and saw first hand your impact. I bet that our friends at Illinois Green Alliance are scheming already on how to engage you in this next stage! I know I would be if you were in Boston. You say farewell and I’m not accepting it. You will always be a Green Sage. With much appreciation, Meredith Meredith Elbaum, AIA, LEED AP Executive Director Built Environment Plus 617-752-2422

Anne Hicks Harney

Founder and Principal

Long Green Specs

LEEDuser Basic Member

0 thumbs up

Wed, 12/14/2022 - 21:54

You are the best Lois and we will all miss you. I so fondly remember connecting with you at various summits. The conversations, your thoughts, always added so much and pointed us all a little closer to true north. Enjoy your retirement and your new pursuits. But Meredith is right, we know that you will always stay in the game at least a little bit. We need your wisdom.