The Green Building Economy
11am - 11:45am - Room LER 555
Gordon Bell - Moderator
EVP Strategy & Business
Gordon Bell has led Restoration’s weatherization and energy efficiency businesses, sustainability initiatives, and economic development activities since 2011, including the Gateway Business Improvement District, and ad hoc efforts such as increasing the accuracy of the 2020 US Census. In 2019 he helped to close the acquisition of over 2,600 units of housing, the largest deal in Restoration’s history. He has established and helped lead the New York Real Estate Chamber and the Black Business Collaborative, trade organizations comprising the most successful Minority- and Woman- Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) real estate firms on the East Coast. Additionally, Mr. Bell advises wealthy families towards social impact. Mr. Bell is a Chartered Financial Analyst who for over 30 years has managed both bond and equity investments on Wall Street, working at such firms as JPMorgan, Prudential, Citigroup, and Legacy Growth Partners. With significant expertise in real estate and other industries and a desire to promote social welfare, Mr. Bell became a C-level leader at several non-profits including North General Hospital, MSK Ralph Lauren Center | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Literacy Partners, and others. As an Officer and Director of the New Rochelle Industrial Development Agency, he helped vet and approve a multi-billion dollar development plan that is currently underway. Mr. Bell also serves as Board Director of the Joint Ownership Entity of NYC and NYC’s Economic Development Corporation New Market Tax Credit Advisory Board and a Board Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Delivering Good, a nonprofit organization that supports people affected by poverty and tragedy through new merchandise donations from retailers and manufacturers. Mr. Bell attended the University of Mexico as a Rotary International Fellow and earned his AB from Harvard College and MBA from Harvard Business School. He and his wife, Professor Sherrie Bell, have been married for over twenty years and have three children.
Keith Kinch
General Manager
Keith Kinch co-founded BlocPower and serves as its General Manager. He earned degrees from John Jay College and American International University. Prior to BlocPower, Keith spent eight years as a community organizer, and two years as Deputy Field Director in New York State for the Democratic National Committee under President Obama’s grassroots arm Organizing for America. He helped advance key pieces of legislation including the Affordable Care Act.
In the summer of 2016, Keith led the Solarize Brownsville campaign, bringing together
community organizations, local residents and a solar installation partner to outfit more
than 200 homes with solar panels. The project demonstrated solar power’s potential
impact in low-to-moderate-income communities and remains one of the largest solar
projects in New York State history. In 2017 Keith oversaw the Community Retrofit NYC program, a partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The project, which produced over 500 retrofits for 5-50 unit multi-family buildings in Con Edison’s Brooklyn Queens Demand Management zone, completed one year ahead of schedule and earned a national award. In 2019 BlocPower partnered with Con Edison and NYSERDA to launch “Green the Bronx,” a campaign to help hundreds of multifamily building owners in the Bronx convert their fossil fuel heating systems to clean heating and cooling systems. The partnership provided engineering, project management, customer education, financing, and no money down equipment leases for building owners. In 2021, Keith oversaw a $37MM contract with the New York City Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice to develop a 1000+ person climate tech jobs program focused on neighborhoods with high levels of gun violence—placing over 600
individuals in training cohorts within the first two months. Keith is leading BlocPower’s historic partnership with Ithaca, New York to decarbonize all of the city’s buildings. Keith currently resides with his wife and two children in New York.
Jeffrey Perlman
CEO/President/Founder
Jeffrey Perlman is the CEO, President, and Founder of Bright Power. An experienced energy auditor, energy analyst, and solar-energy-system designer, Jeff is as happy in a boiler room or on a rooftop as he is in a corporate boardroom. He has built Bright Power from a single rented desk in a shared office to the substantial enterprise that it is today. Jeff was named to Crain's New York 40 Under 40 Class of 2018, listed as a 2019 Environmental + Energy Leader 100 honoree, recognized as a top power player by City & State’s Energy & Environment Power list in 2019 and 2020, and recognized as a RealLeaders Earth Advocate in 2021.
In addition to his work at Bright Power, Jeff serves on the board of the New Alternatives Fund, a mutual fund that invests in renewable energy. He has taught as adjunct faculty at NYU, CUNY, and Pratt. Prior to founding Bright Power, Jeff worked with Greg Kats at Capital E, with whom he co-authored “The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Buildings,” a ground-breaking report that used economic cost/benefit analysis to show that building healthy, energy-efficient, and environmentally responsible buildings makes economic sense.
Outside of improving the sustainability and comfort of the built environment, Jeff is an accomplished clarinetist. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and three sons, with whom he enjoys making milk carton solar cars and soda bottle rockets.
Jeff has a B.S. in Applied Physics from Yale University.
David Hepinstall
Executive Director
David K. Hepinstall has been the Executive Director of the Association for Energy Affordability, Inc. since 1993. His experience spans over 40 years of research, program planning, policy development, and management engagement in the public and nonprofit sectors, primarily in energy efficiency, community development and education. Dave has over 30 years of direct program implementation experience developing and running energy efficiency programs serving low-income communities, helping to achieve safe and affordable housing through energy efficiency.
Under his leadership, AEA has become a nationally recognized leader in multifamily energy efficiency, including technical engineering services, program implementation, and industry-leading training for energy professionals and contractors. Dave has been actively engaged in policy advisory bodies at the City, State, and Federal levels supporting energy efficiency in multifamily buildings. In addition, with federal, state, and utility support, he has taken the lead responsibility in organizing and delivering six national conferences on energy efficiency in multifamily buildings, sharing best practices and pressing for technical excellence to dramatically reduce energy consumption in this housing, including high performance new construction projects.
Guided by his vision, AEA has leveraged tens of millions of dollars to advance its energy efficiency and affordability mission, provided training and technical support to various implementers of efficiency programs, and served as the lead Implementation Contractor of several government and utility multifamily energy efficiency programs in New York and California. Dave earned his M.Phil. in Political Science from Columbia University and a B.S. in Economics from Albion College.
Marvin Church
Vice President
He has managed more than a $66M annual budget for mostly residential development as Regional Director of the agency formerly known as the New York State Division and Community Renewal, now Housing and Community Renewal in New York City, Westchester, Suffolk, Nassau and Rockland Counties. In addition, he also managed the Weatherization Programs in these counties.
As a real estate banker, he has managed more than $25B working for multiple real estate banking institutions including the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Bank of America, Barclay’s Bank PLC, Bank of New York and Bank of Boston.
A former President of Harlem Community Development Corporation, he laid the ground work for much of the commercial development in Harlem.
In his role as Associate Commissioner of Transportation for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Marvin was responsible for $1B in commercial development associated with relocating businesses during the construction of the Central Artery Tunnel. He was also responsible for minority and women participation in what was then a $7.7B project. Marvin also managed statewide construction of various roads and bridges throughout Massachusetts.
A former Commissioner of Transportation for Westchester County, New York, he was responsible for the largest corporate airport and the 90th largest airport in the US, and 35th largest municipal bus system in the US.
During his tenure as a transportation leader, Marvin had the opportunity to develop working relationships with major Fortune 500 national and international engineering, construction, and transportation companies. He regularly interacted with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Highway Administration (FHA), US Department of Transportation (USDOT), and Federal Transit Authority (FTA).
Marvin works as a senior energy advisor for AEA doing marketing, project financing, and construction management. Marvin works with such programs as NYSERDA New Construction and Existing Building; and utility programs for Con Edison and National Grid. He also works with all New York State Housing and Community Renewal weatherization agencies throughout the New York Metropolitan area.
He is a founding member of Comrie Enterprises, LLC, a consultant firm offering services in the areas of energy, transportation, finance, and real estate consulting.
Marvin currently serves on several energy boards working to devise solutions in light of Con Edison’s Gas Moratorium in Southern Westchester. In this capacity, he advocates for the needs of modest to low-income residents.