Paula Zimin is the Director of Sustainable Building Services at Steven Winter Associates (SWA). She specializes in professional architecture and design, with particular expertise in high performance design within the commercial and residential sectors. Ms. Zimin leads the simulation team, which has assisted dozens of commercial and residential projects in successfully achieving building certification, securing government incentives, and exceeding energy code compliance.

Ms. Zimin has extensive experience implementing local government and utility incentive programs for commercial projects, including NYSERDA’s New Construction Program and the New Jersey Clean Energy Program’s Pay for Performance. Her team has assisted new construction and interiors project exceed LEED energy requirements, meeting project goals and maintaining budget constraints. On the residential side, Ms. Zimin has contributed to the development and refinement of several green residential programs including LEED® for Homes™ for Multifamily Mid-Rise (including the High-Rise Pilot), and Enterprise’s Green Communities program for affordable housing developments. In addition, she has provided support to various government programs including the NYSERDA Multi-Family Performance Program and the national ENERGY STAR® Multifamily High-Rise Program.

Ms. Zimin also is a regular volunteer with local and national organizations. Ms. Zimin is currently a member of the USGBC LEED Energy & Atmosphere Technical Advisory Committee. This roll enables her to discuss the challenges of LEED and energy efficiency in new construction buildings, as well as discuss future plans of the rating system.