Habitat DC-NOVA will host a two panel symposium during Home is the Key Month focusing on sustainable home building during Earth Day and DC Climate Week.
WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, April 21, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — On Wednesday April 22 as part of Earth Day and DC Climate Week, Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C. & Northern Virginia will host ‘Home is the Key to Building A Sustainable Future’ Housing Symposium to celebrate Home is the Key, Habitat for Humanity’s annual fundraising and awareness initiative and help open doors to equitable homeownership and stronger communities across the U.S. This two-panel symposium convenes industry experts to explore the intersection of sustainable building practices and affordable housing, examining how sustainable design and construction practices can strengthen affordable housing developments across our region. The symposium will be held from 10:00AM-1:00PM at the American Geophysical Union in Washington, D.C. A brief run of show and events details are shared below. Habitat DC-NOVA has been on the forefront of sustainable residential building across the region, with every Habitat DC-NOVA home being built to a recognized sustainable standard. In 2011, Habitat DC-NOVA built the first award-winning Passive House certified homes in the District as part of the Solar Decathlon. Since then, Habitat DC-NOVA has completed eight more certified Passive homes and is building a subdivision of 17 new Passive homes in northeast DC. In 2017 and 2021, the organization won Viridiant awards for top high-performance homes in Virginia.
‘Sustainable building is non-negotiable for Habitat DC-NOVA’s affordable homes,’ says Susanne Slater, President & CEO of Habitat DC-NOVA. ‘Since building D.C.’s first certified Passive homes, we’ve been proud to continuously build above code and push high levels of sustainability in our Habitat homes. Sustainability is especially needed in affordable residential homes – the durability, energy savings, and overall performance translate into real financial, health, and environmental impact for low- and moderate-income households.’
‘The State of Sustainable Building’ will feature building industry experts to explore the future of sustainable building in housing, share lessons learned, and discuss how to scale sustainable practices for impact in affordable housing. Panelists include:
-Nick Burger (moderator), Deputy Director, Energy Administration at DC Department of Energy and Environment and Habitat DC-NOVA Board of Directors Member;
-Giuls Kunkel, Vice President Sustainable Investing at BGO;
-Oscar Macció, Executive Vice President at Hamel Builders;
-Prudence Ferreira, Vice President of Sustainability + Resilience at Thornton Tomasetti; and
-Teresa Hamm-Modley, Associate at VMDO.
‘Sustainability Meets Affordability: Case Studies in the DMV’ will build upon these industry insights with a deep dive into how Habitat DC-NOVA and local partners are applying sustainable building to affordable homeownership projects. Panelists include:
-Nick Burger (moderator), Deputy Director, Energy Administration at DC Department of Energy and Environment and Habitat DC-NOVA Board of Directors Member;
-Matt Fine, Principal, Architect, Certified Passive House Consultant at Peabody Fine Architecture;
-Kelly Renaud, Director of Construction – Northern Virginia, Habitat DC-NOVA;
-Dan Hines, Director of Construction – Washington, DC, Habitat DC-NOVA; and
-Mike Spotts, VP of Real Estate Development, Habitat DC-NOVA.
Event Program:
9:30AM Registration & Welcome
10:15AM ‘The State of Sustainable Building’
11:00AM Break
11:30AM ‘Sustainability Meets Affordability: Case Studies in the DMV’
12:15PM Networking Reception
12:50PM Building Tours of American Geophysical Union
Home is the Key is the first major U.S. activation of the Let’s Open the Door campaign, Habitat for Humanity’s global campaign to bring awareness of the worldwide housing crisis and to rally people everywhere to take action. Launched on March 23, the campaign draws upon Habitat’s 50-year milestone to address the global housing need and brings this urgency forward through door pop-up installations, on-the-ground builds, and digital storytelling across more than 60 countries.People can support Habitat and Home is the Key campaign by donating online and by purchasing select products that send a portion of the proceeds back to Habitat. Habitat encourages using #HomeIsTheKey on social media and visiting habitat.org/homeisthekey to
learn more.
About Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C. & Northern Virginia
Habitat for Humanity Washington, D.C. & Northern Virginia (Habitat DC-NOVA) believes everyone deserves a safe, decent, and affordable place to call home. Our mission is to reduce poverty housing and homelessness by building decent, affordable, energy-efficient homes for those in need. Since 1988, Habitat DC-NOVA has built over 300 homes and provided more than 350 repairs.
Liz Salter
Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C. & Northern Virginia
+1 703-944-0489
liz.salter@habitatdcnova.org
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