Laurie Kerr is the President of LK POLICY LAB, was Director of Policy at the Urban Green Council, New York Chapter of the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and was a “Lab Operator” at the LafargeHolcim Awards Lab in New York City in September 2015.

At the Urban Green Council, her work focused on the development of green building and urban sustainability policy and she advised New York City on strategies to put the metropolis on course to achieve 80% carbon reductions by 2050. She was also Senior Advisor for Policy & Strategic Planning on the City Energy Project for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Laurie Kerr holds a BA in engineering and applied science, cum Laude, from Yale University; an MSc in applied physics from Cornell University; and an MArch from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD).

She is a licensed architect, founding Laurie Kerr Architect in 1990. She was Chief of Sustainable Research at the New York City Department of Design & Construction (2002-06), and Deputy Director for Green Building & Energy Efficiency in the NYC Mayor’s Office (2006-2012) where she was responsible for developing the city’s signature green building policies, including the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan, the NYC Green Codes Task Force, the Mayoral Challenges to Universities and Hospitals, and the Energy-Aligned Lease.

She was then Director of the City Energy Project for the Natural Resources Defense Council (2012-14), a project that is bringing energy efficiency to scale nationally by helping major American cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Atlanta, craft policies similar to New York’s.

She became a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 2015. She received World Green Building Council Industry Transformation Award for the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan (2011), the AIA New York Chapter (AIANY) Public Architect Award (2012), and the Green Design Award for the NYC Green Codes Task Force (2012) from the New York School of Interior Design. She serves on the boards of Green Light New York, AIANY, and the Global Cool Cities Alliance.

Laurie Kerr was a Lab Operator in L-Lab dedicated to large-scale projects at the 1st “Next Generation” Awards Lab held in New York City in September 2015.