Monthly Forum: The Green Catwalk

Join GreenHomeNYC at this month's Forums event for an in-person panel discussion + Q&A with professionals who work in building efficiency, street safety, and green development. 

GreenHomeNYC is kicking off 2025 with our annual Green Catwalk forum featuring an eclectic lineup of sustainability professionals. This is a great opportunity to learn about new technologies, innovations, and policies happening in the New York City environmental sustainability and green infrastructure sphere. Presentations will be slightly shorter than normal to allow for all of our speakers to have the spotlight on the catwalk.

Our panel speakers will talk about recent projects in range of industries and share their insights into the latest with topics such as tracking protected bike lanes, floating solar installations, financing climate action, sustainable coffee production, and improving energy efficiency in low-income multifamily buildings.

Join us January 15th for a presentation style panel discussion, networking, and Q&A!

Date: 1/15/2025

Time: 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM (doors open at 6:15)

Location: Fujitsu AirStage - 1450 Broadway, New York, NY 10018

Presenters for this event include

Tim Ponciano - Project Leader at Delivery Associates. Topic: Leveraging blended and braided financing models to drive local climate action

Cecilia Cheng - fellow at the Climatebase Fellowship. Topic:  Sustainable coffee production

Gilberto Arribas - Real Estate and Renewable Energy Professional. Topic: Floating Solar installations

Brandon Chamberlin - Safe Streets Activist. Topic: Tracking the City's progress on their protected bike lane requirement of 50 miles per year

Hunter Armstrong - Executive Director, Brooklyn Greenway Initiative 

Martha Gutierrez - Program Manager for AEA. Topic: An Overview of Common and Cost-Effective Energy Efficiency Measures for Affordable Multifamily Buildings

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Tim Ponciano - Project Leader at Delivery Associates

Tim is focused on delivering sustainable outcomes at the city and local levels. He brings deep expertise in strategic planning and policy implementation across sectors such as climate technology, infrastructure, and quantum innovation. Currently, Tim collaborates with communities to leverage blended and braided funding—integrating grants and philanthropy—to drive meaningful local action.

Gilberto R. Arribas – Real Estate and Renewable Energy Professional

With over 20 years of experience in real estate and a decade dedicated to renewable energy projects, Gilberto R. Arribas stands out as a seasoned expert in project development and sustainable solutions. He has played a pivotal role in originating community, utility-scale, floating solar, and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) projects across the Northeast United States, tackling complex challenges across the lifecycle of these initiatives. Gilberto's background includes leading diverse hotel and condominium projects on both national and international stages.

This foundation in real estate made his transition to renewable energy a natural evolution as he recognized the global demand for clean energy solutions. Passionate about creating a sustainable future, he emphasizes the importance of expanding our understanding of diverse energy production and storage methods to drive adoption and usage.

Committed to collaborative efforts and continuous innovation, Gilberto thrives on the shared goal of transforming energy usage for a cleaner, greener tomorrow.

Cecilia Cheng - fellow at the Climatebase Fellowship

The Climatebase Fellowship a program that helps mission-driven professionals deepen their knowledge around climate science, solutions, and organizations. Prior to the Climatebase Fellowship Program, Cecilia operated in a diverse range of finance and operations leadership roles, driving strategic initiatives for organizations of all sizes, from start-ups to global public companies. She is excited to focus the next chapter of her career on climate action and is currently exploring opportunities in sustainability consulting and clean energy.

Martha Gutierrez - Program Manager,  Certified Energy Manager (CEM)

Martha Gutierrez is an Energy Engineer and Program Manager for AEA. Since she joined in 2021, Martha has worked primarily on existing multifamily and residential buildings focusing on energy audit and engineering support for Weatherization Assistance Program and NYSERDA’s Programs. Martha has been involved in several projects during her career at AEA. As Program Manager, she actively participates in due diligence sessions, communications, and interaction with NYS Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Martha also evaluates buildings to determine their compliance with the emission limits and other requirements specified in Local Law 97. Gathering energy consumption data from buildings, analyzing it, and developing energy reduction plans aiming to comply with Local Law 97.

Brandon Chamberlin is an attorney and safe streets advocate. He is a long-time member of the Transportation Alternatives Brooklyn Activist Committee and was named Transportation Alternatives’s 2023 Citywide Activist of the Year for his work tracking the city’s progress installing protected bike lanes as required by the NYC Streets Plan law. His protected bike lane tracker has been widely cited in local media, including by the New York Times, Gothamist, and Streetsblog. Brandon formed the Department of Transformation, a tactical urbanism collective that installed guerrilla protected bike lanes on NYC streets.

Brandon is Of Counsel to the law firm of legendary NYC cycling attorney Adam D. White, where he represents cyclists, pedestrians, and other victims of traffic violence. Prior to joining forces with Adam White, Brandon was a litigator with Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where he worked on complex civil litigation and regulatory investigations and specialized in mass tort and consumer class actions with a particular focus on automobile cases. Brandon began his legal career clerking for the federal district court for the Southern District of New York. 

Brandon holds a B.S. from the Northwestern University School of Communication and J.D. with High Honors from Emory University School of Law.

Hunter Armstrong is the Executive Director of the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative where he calls on nearly two decades of experience improving public spaces and the public realm in New York City. For more than 20 years, BGI has focused on planning, advocacy, and community engagement for greenways in Brooklyn. In 2016, BGI created the Naval Cemetery Landscape public space, historic site, and pollinator meadow which it fully funds, operates and programs as a green space on the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. BGI, a non-profit, is the founding convener of the NYC Greenways Coalition, which includes 45+ greenway-aligned groups. Previously, Hunter worked at the Natural Areas Conservancy, a NYC park conservancy, and CIVITAS, a community-based planning organization in Manhattan where he organized multiple environmental and open space programs, including an ideas competition to improve the East River Esplanade. He has a masters degree in urban and environmental planning from the University of Virginia.

If you have any questions, please contact the GreenHomeNYC Forums group at forums@greenhomenyc.org.

Since 2002, GreenHomeNYC has been promoting an energy efficient and sustainable built environment, and supporting green professional development in NYC.

Visit www.greenhomenyc.org to learn more!