Mary Tod Winchester comes from a family of boat builders and watermen who have spent generations on and around the Chesapeake Bay. This heritage played a central part in her desire as a young woman to devote her career to preserving the Bay's environment for generations to come. 

She joined the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in 1971, during its fledgling years.  Over the last 39 years, the Foundation has grown into one of the premier regional environmental organizations in the country.  She has grown with the organization over these 39 years progressively serving as the President's secretary, developing and running the membership program, becoming Director of Administration and serving as Vice President for Administration and Operations for the last 17 years.  The Foundation's operations department includes facilities, vessels and vehicles valued at $30,000,000. 

In addition, Mary Tod has been very involved within her community helping to retain its culture and involve the community in environmental restoration projects.  She currently serves on the Board of the community association.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Philip Merrill Environmental Center, an international model holistic green facility, was Mary Tod's dream 14 years ago.  Without her determination to hold firm to the objective of constructing the greenest office building possible – “practice what we preach,” the chances of winning the many awards, including the US Green Building Council's first LEED Platinum and its Longevity Award or the Business Week/Architectural Record International Top Ten Award, would have been remote.

Ms. Winchester has traveled nationally and internationally giving presentations on the Merrill Center’s successes, realizing education is key to change.  In addition, she has developed an extensive tour program for the facility with a long-range goal of making the Merrill Center the norm instead of a model as others adopt green techniques and use of sustainable materials and practices.

Mary Tod Winchester
Vice President Administration & Operations
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
SAVE THE BAY
Annapolis, MD

Rob Watson
Chairman, CEO
and Chief Scientist
ECOTECH International
New York, NY

Under Rob Watson's direction as the “Founding Father of LEED” and as its national Steering Committee Chairman between 1994 and 2005, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) became the most widespread and fastest-growing standard by which green buildings are measured worldwide.  He currently serves as a Director of the US Green Building Council.

In 2006 Rob founded ECOTECH International and its subsidiaries, American SINOTECH (AST) and American INDOTECH (AIT) to meet the fast-growing demand for green building technologies and services in China, India and the U.S..

In 2005, China’s Ministry of Construction (MOC) recognized Rob with one of its first “Green Innovation” awards--the only foreigner so honored--for his work on green buildings in China. Since 1997, Rob has worked with the MOC to develop green building standards and energy codes for residential and commercial buildings. He also was the principal coordinator for a key green building demonstration project in Beijing (www.accord21.org) for the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This building was the first to receive LEED Gold Certification in China. Watson’s work on this building and green technology in general was featured in a 2005 article by New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman, as well as in Fortune Magazine.

As a Senior Scientist and Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s (NRDC) International Energy (www.chinacleanenergy.org) and Green Building (www.nrdc.org/buildinggreen) programs from 1985 to 2006, Mr. Watson was active in international sustainable building, utility and transportation issues in a dozen countries including China, the United States and Russia. Rob took primary responsibility for the green features in NRDC’s showcase green offices in Washington, DC, New York, and the LEED Platinum Robert Redford Building in Los Angeles--until recently the recipient of the most LEED points of any project in the world, and consulted on the San Francisco office, which achieved LEED Gold Certification. Each of these offices is a model of energy and resource efficiency.