Patti and Ellen Southard

With roots in the rural Pine Barrens of New Jersey, twin sisters Ellen and Patti Southard each bring a unique approach to their leadership posts within the Seattle green building community. “We’re each other’s best teachers,” says Ellen, managing principle at Belt Collins Northwest.

A designer and planner with a keen passion for history and culture, Ellen is focused on the big picture: low-impact development and community issues. Patti, an expert on green building products, is focused on leading change one customer, one builder and one community at a time.

“We have a good yin-yang balance,” adds Patti, manager of King County’s GreenTools program.

Both went to school at the University of Montana and continued making their way west, eventually landing in Seattle, a city rich in green building pioneers. Patti and Ellen were early members of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in the ’90s and are still active in USGBC and the Seattle-area Built Green organization. 

Formerly a principal with Swenson Say Fagét, Ellen helped jumpstart Built Green’s certification for tenant improvements of commercial spaces when she built out Belt Collins’ office near Pike Place Market in 2006.

Patti is assisting 15 cities in King County to implement green building programs for the private and public sector. She has 11 years of experience working with green building product manufacturers and consumers, most recently as the business development director for ecohaus (formerly the Environmental Home Center).