Ali Flynn is Sustainability Manager at XL Construction in Northern California. She began her career in commercial construction management but shifted into the sustainable development field 6 years ago when she seized the opportunity to manage the sustainability scope of work on a large Bay Area campus development. The project was pursuing both LEED Platinum and the Living Building Challenge Materials Petal. Her success on that project, particularly her wins surrounding zero construction waste efforts, exposed her ability to collaborate and strategize with project teams to deliver complex buildings without compromising sustainability goals. Her objective is always to connect projects teams to the “why” of green building. When all team members, from the field to the office, subscribe to the belief that sustainable construction practices have a greater impact than just a “plaque on a wall”, she feels she has done her job successfully.