Chad Riley, Director of Finance and Strategy, Living City Denver Lo Do Project Manager

Chad Riley, LEED AP, is the Director of Finance and Strategy for Living City Block. and is responsible for assessing the feasibility of Living City Block’s Denver project, securing financing for implementation, as well as developing the framework to determine the feasibility of future Living City Block projects.  Chad has a diversity of experiences ranging from assessing the financial and sustainable feasibility of real estate developments to consulting on LEED projects. Chad was instrumental in helping to conceive of Living City Block while at Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and ultimately rolling it out as an independent 501c(3) organization.

During his tenure at RMI, Chad was a consultant for the Built Environment Team and worked on numerous projects ranging from: sustainable design recommendations for new cities; developing sustainability guidelines for large scale, mixed-used developments; citywide energy efficiency plans; policy recommendations for a State government; a sustainability assessment of a large, multi-national corporate client; and research focused on integrating sustainable design solutions into the affordable housing industry.  While at RMI, Chad drove the creation of the “Framework for a Sustainable City Block” which became the referenced document at the RMI led charrette for Urban ReVision in San Francisco.  This Framework and charrette looked at the city block as an integrated system, where the buildings, the natural environment, and renewable energy are integrated and share resources.  This block approach was identified as a potential catalyst for addressing greater city-wide sustainability. Chad was also a member of RMI’s LEED project certification review team for the USGBC.

Prior to working at RMI, Chad worked at Zimmerman/Volk Associates, where he conducted feasibility and market analysis studies for a variety of real estate developments across the country, ranging from one- to over 4,000-acres in size.  Chad has been a quest lecturer at a number of universities and colleges and co-authored internationally published articles.  Chad has an Integrated Studies Degree, with a Concentration in Sustainable Community Development, from Warren Wilson College.

Interns

Master Planning, University of Colorado at Denver School of Architecture and Urban Planning

Kristina Kachur

Jacob Sacks

Urban Agriculture, University of Denver, Sturm School of Law

Jeffrey Johns

Colorado School of Mines