Architect Jim Weiner, AIA, founder and principal of Los Angeles’ Collaborative Project Consulting, was named one of 34 inaugural LEED Fellows by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI).

Weiner is a recognized thought leader in architecture and sustainable building in the United States and internationally, according to a recent GBCI press release. Weiner has shaped green building policy by working with major utilities, universities and local governments. He is a charter USGBC LEED faculty member and mentor, training the educators who teach the LEED program globally. He was founding co-chair of the USGBC Los Angeles chapter and is president of the Architectural Foundation of Los Angeles, where he founded the Design Green Awards, one of the first internationally juried programs to honor excellence in architectural design among LEED Certified projects.

Weiner’s renowned design for the City of Los Angeles’ Lake View Terrace Library, on which he collaborated with Fields Devereaux Architects & Engineers, achieved the Leadership in Energy and Efficiency Design designation—the highest Platinum designation in the USGBC’s LEED certification system. Earlier this month, his fourth LEED Platinum project was certified, the Los Angeles Firemen’s Credit Union, as was another of several Gold LEED projects he’s consulted on, Amonix, Inc., a solar-power system manufacturer in Seal Beach, Calif.

 "I have worked with Jim since before LEED certifications were awarded,” said Murray Milne, an award-winning professor of architecture and urban planning at UCLA and USC who did not participate in choosing the LEED Fellows. “He has contributed greatly to the growth and success of green building within our profession and I can think of no one more qualified for this honor.”