We are deeply saddened by the passing of our dear friend Patti Southard. We have lost an incredible driving force in the green building community. Patti was a brave and loving friend who made everyone smile and had an infectious way of making hard environmental and social justice work fun. Her environmental contributions at every level surpassed those of anyone I’ve ever met. She was one of a kind and will be greatly missed.
Patti Southard was the program manager for GreenTools at King County for the past 14 years. She was a pioneer in creating incentives and solutions to move the needle forward in making green building mainstream. Patti received numerous awards for her work in the green building sector and was on several boards including Oxfam, Built Green and Northwest Natural Resource Group to name a few.
Patti had a long family history in conservation of the New Jersey Pine Barrens as well as many years of leadership in outdoor and environmental education. She was raised on her family farm and focused her sustainable development career on the juxtaposition between rural and urban communities and planning.
Our hearts go out to Patti’s friends and family, especially her sister Ellen Southard, who is a very close partner of Stewardship Partners and manages the Urban Salmon-Safe Program. Throughout the year we will be recognizing Patti’s spirit in the work we do, starting yesterday with the trees we planted along the banks of the Snoqualmie River in her honor.
With my deepest loving condolences,
David Burger
“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die”. -Clyde Campbell