Elizabeth (Liz) Beardsley brings more than 25 years of professional experience working on environmental and climate issues both as an engineer and lawyer. In her current role, Liz serves as Senior Policy Counsel at the U.S. Green Building Council, a global environmental nonprofit best known for LEED, the world’s most widely used green building rating program. She provides strategic green building law and policy guidance and direction across the international, federal, state and local spectrum, and her work focuses on connecting building policy to climate mitigation.
Liz is a sought-after expert and spokesperson for USGBC who has been interviewed by dozens of media outlets such as the LA Times, Yale Climate Connection, BBC News: Business Matters, The Aaron Harber Show, ENR, Building Green, and Commercial Property Executive. She’s also an accomplished writer whose work has been published in Governing Magazine, Green Operations, USGBC+, and others. Since joining USGBC in 2014, Liz has represented the organization at multiple United Nations COP climate change conferences. Liz currently serves on the Board of the Virginia Energy Efficiency Council (VAEEC), and previously served on the Board of the National Association of State Energy Offices (NASEO). She regularly presents at conferences. Liz appeared as a witness at hearings of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Energy; and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Public Buildings and Emergency Management.
She has authored or co-authored policy papers such as State and Local Policy Proposal: Property Tax Incentive for GHG Reductions (2019), Perspectives on State Legislation Concerning Lead Testing in School Drinking Water (2018) and Perspectives on Implementation and Effectiveness of School Green Cleaning Laws (2015).
Liz came to USGBC from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), where she was a Senior Attorney involved in evaluating government environment and energy programs. Prior to her legal career, she was an environmental engineer and Principal at Camp Dresser and McKee (now CDM Smith), where she focused on water issues and infrastructure planning.
Liz has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Stanford University and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.
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