Central Carolina C.C. hires first Green Building coordinator

Posted Monday, March 17, 2008

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Pittsboro, NC - Think “green” and you have Laura Lauffer’s attention. Central Carolina Community College recently hired Lauffer as its first Green Building Program coordinator. She is located at the Chatham County Campus.

Lauffer has been brought on board to recruit highly qualified instructors, expand course offerings and apprenticeships for those who want careers in green construction and renewable energy, promote job creation, and increase the number of seminars on green building offered for consumers and homeowners.

Green building, also called “sustainable construction,” uses materials and methods that are energy efficient and have far less impact on the environment than traditional building materials and methods.

“Green building is an economic force and environmental necessity,” Lauffer said. “Our program will be about using alternative energy, conserving energy, and using building techniques and materials that minimize the use of natural resources. I really believe in this. I’m so glad I can live my convictions and passions in this position.”

The Chatham County Campus Continuing Education Division already offers a Green Building Certificate. The campus’ new Sustainable Technologies classroom building, constructed to green building standards, will open in the fall of 2009. It will have laboratory space specifically designed to train students in the green construction and renewable energy trades. Lauffer was hired in anticipation of the program expansion the new building will make possible.

Lauffer, a Pittsboro resident, has nearly two decades of experience promoting sustainable development. She is a former director for Carolina Farm Stewardship Association. She and her husband, Pierre Lauffer, developed GreenStep, a consulting firm that promotes green living and conducts research for alternative, sustainable business models.

A Fayetteville native, Lauffer has a bachelor’s degree in history from Western Carolina University and a master’s degree in international development from North Carolina State University. She is a 2007 graduate of Central Carolina C.C.’s Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning (REAL) program.

“We are very excited about the addition of Ms. Lauffer to our staff,” said Dr. Karen Allen, Chatham County provost for the college. “She comes to us with a great deal of education and experience in sustainable education as well as an extensive knowledge of the Chatham County community. We expect that, with her leadership, Central Carolina Community College will become a recognized leader in the state in green building education.”

Lauffer is eager to engage new instructors and wants to know what courses people would like to see offered. For more on the college’s Green Building Program, she can be reached at llauffer@cccc.edu or at (919) 542-6495, ext. 228.