Career Conversations founder Jeremy Latriano

BuildGreenCT exists to accelerate the just and sustainable transformation of the built environment through education, advocacy, and community building. To put it simply: we’re here to help Connecticut design, build, and retrofit buildings that are healthier, more resilient, and dramatically lower-carbon, while ensuring that the benefits of sustainability are shared equitably.

BuildGreenCT’s mission only works if the next generation of practitioners is supported and empowered, which is exactly why BuildGreenCT’s Emerging Professionals (EP) Community exists. EP is designed to be a home base for students and young professionals, as well as those changing careers or pivoting into sustainability. BuildGreenCT provides programming that focuses on practical growth through networking and professional development, skill-building, mentorship, and support for accreditation/certification. This programming includes a monthly series called Career Conversations, which I began hosting in Summer 2025.

Why I Started Career Conversations

I like to start every Career Conversation with a brief summary of my career path and professional development, to demonstrate how every path is unique and to set the tone for the interview to follow. This summary usually sounds something like this:

I’m Jeremy Latriano, a Certified Passive House Professional and Daylight Product Consultant at 475 High Performance Building Supply. I received my bachelor degree in Energy Business and Finance from Penn State University, and was not immediately qualified upon graduation for a career in green buildings. For this reason, I interned at Urban Green Council following college graduation, and eventually went back to school to get my masters. I joined 475 in 2017 while completing my Masters in Sustainability in the Urban Environment at City College of New York (CCNY). I started at 475 as a business development intern, moving into operations, then consulting, and eventually into my current management role. During this time, I also spent four years as an Adjunct Lecturer at CCNY, teaching an introductory course to graduate students on low-energy buildings and high performance architecture.

My experience as an Adjunct Lecturer led to my interest in volunteering to be chair of the EP Community in 2025, and shortly thereafter to start Career Conversations. Early-career folks often hear about the more prominent roles that exist in sustainability, but not enough about the real career paths, challenges, pivots, and the “how did you actually get that job?” details. Career Conversations is meant to make the industry feel more accessible to students and professionals of varied backgrounds, particularly for those students who are interested in pursuing sustainability in a less traditional way. Through Career Conversations we aim to demonstrate that just because you do not come from an architecture, engineering, or construction background does not mean that you cannot have a successful career in green building.

What the Series Is

Career Conversations is a monthly virtual speaker series hosted by yours truly. Each session is intentionally simple:

• A ~30-minute casual and candid interview followed by audience Q&A
• Career Conversations are focused on real-world experiences, lessons learned, and practical advice for people exploring careers in sustainable and green building
• Provides an opportunity to network with existing professionals and like minded individuals

Why become an Emerging Professional member?

If you’re a student, a recent graduate, early professional, or making a pivot into the built-environment sustainability space, EP membership plugs you into a community that’s actively designed to help you grow through mentorship, education, and connection-building (not just “networking” in the awkward sense). BuildGreenCT also offers a discounted membership rate for Emerging Professionals of $45/year.

Watch past Career Conversations

You can catch up on past guests through BuildGreenCT’s Video Library. Unlike BuildGreenCT’s typical programming, these recordings are free access to anyone and are intended to support the EP community.