Houston, TX — Komal Kotwal, WHR Architects’ Sustainable Design Coordinator, has been named to the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) first ever Emerging Professionals Leadership Academy (EPLA).

The EPLA class was limited to professionals between the ages of 21 and 30 involved in local or national USGBC chapters and includes representatives from the United States, Hong Kong, Brazil and Argentina. Academy participants will collaborate in four webcasts on a variety of topics such as non-profit basics, leadership skills and other personal/organizational development themes through October 2011. The Emerging Professionals Leadership Studio will occur July 13-15, 2011 in Pine Mountain, Ga., focusing on leadership training and relationship building. All participants will work on projects supporting their local chapters’ objectives, using the lessons learned during leadership training.

Komal is serving as Program Working Group member for USGBC’s Greenbuild 2011. Additionally, she serves as Vice-Chair for USGBC’s Texas Gulf Coast Chapter’s LEED for Neighborhood Development Committee and is part of AIA Houston’s upcoming Gulf Coast Green Symposium’s Exec-Committee.

“Komal Kotwal represents the highest caliber of young sustainability specialists," says WHR President and Chairman David Watkins, FAIA. "Through her thought leadership and hard work, she is helping to change the future of sustainable design in healthcare and higher education. WHR is very proud to have her as part of the team.”

About WHR Architects, Inc.
WHR Architects is a full service architecture, interior design and technology planning firm. The firm’s commitment to critical thinking is balanced by an ingrained empathy that results in both improved project outcomes and positive working experiences for their clients. With over 110 people in Houston and Dallas, Texas, Washington DC and New Jersey, the 32-year-old firm is working on projects throughout the US for top–tier public and private education and medical institutions. WHR was named the 2008 AIA Houston Firm of the Year and 2010 IIDA Texas/Oklahoma Pinnacle Firm of the Year.  

Among WHR recent and current projects: Stamford Health System in Connecticut and the Jersey Shore University Medical Center in New Jersey; At the Texas Medical Center, projects include The Methodist Hospital Outpatient Center, The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Research Park Campus, Behavioral and Biomedical Sciences Building; and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Mid-Campus Building One. 
 
For more information, visit www.whrarchitects.com and follow @whrarchitects on Twitter.