Dewberry, a privately held, nationally recognized professional services firm, has recently hired Lidia Berger, MEM, LEED Fellow, LEED AP BD+C, LEED O+M, as national sustainability director. In her new role, Berger will be responsible for developing a framework for sustainable strategies and programs, driving Dewberry's sustainability efforts and providing technical leadership.

Berger has more than 18 years of experience, including work on projects with award-winning teams for both public- and private-sector clients. Her multi-faceted areas of expertise include innovative sustainable design solutions, federal sustainability mandates, the LEED^® Rating System and sustainable return on investment (SROI) principles. Berger has worked with a wide variety of clients, including the U.S. Department of Defense, Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and Fortune 500 companies.

Prior to joining Dewberry, Berger served as Vice President and Sustainable Practice Director at URS Corporation in its Washington, D.C. office. She was also the National Federal Sustainability Director at HDR in Alexandria, Virginia, managing a team of 12 multidisciplinary professionals on large-scale federal projects.

"Sustainability is vital to the future growth of our industry," said Berger. "The demand for businesses to demonstrate an ability to increasingly focus on the environmental and societal impacts of their decisions is paramount. In my new role, I plan to spearhead Dewberry's sustainability strategic planning efforts and promote design solutions that incorporate a business case approach for high-performance buildings and infrastructure projects."

"The addition of Lidia Berger to the Dewberry team enhances our practice across all of our market segments," said James Draheim, AIA, president of Dewberry's architectural practice. "Her nationally recognized contributions to sustainability and close association with organizations such as USGBC and ISI allow Dewberry to be a leader in the marketplace for analysis and development of sustainable design strategies across all our businesses."

"Lidia Berger has led the evolution of sustainable design processes to a triple bottom line evaluation approach in buildings," said Dewberry Chief Executive Officer Don Stone, Jr., PE. "Dewberry could not be more pleased to have her as part of our team, supporting all of our clients in being cost-effective stewards of their environment, economy, and impacts to society."

Berger is a founding member of the U.S. Green Building Council's National Capital Region Chapter. She participated in the development of the LEED-CI rating system and served on the LEED-EB Core Committee. Berger was named a LEED Fellow in the Inaugural Class of 2011. She is on the editorial advisory board of Eco-Structure Magazine and a member of the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) Economics Committee, which was formed to introduce economic indicators into Envision™, the ISI sustainable infrastructure rating system. Berger earned a master's degree in Environmental Management from Duke University.