A More Sustainable and Resilient City with Mike Hess

<h3><strong>A More Sustainable and Resilient City with Mike Hess</strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mike Hess is the Smart City Project Director in Orlando, Florida.  He was born and raised in southeastern Wisconsin. He graduated from the Milwaukee School of Engineering.  Mike spent most of his life in Wisconsin and then was recruited by an engineering company in Orlando and focused on mechanical/electrical/plumbing engineering for buildings.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">“My background is in mechanical engineering but I quickly switched to an energy and sustainability focus early in his career.”</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">-Mike Hess</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <h3><strong>Mike’s Aha Moment</strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mike remembers bumping into the CEO at the coffee machine where they had a discussion about Energy Star.  The CEO asked Mike if he would do some research and provide him a short memo version so he was up to date for clients.  That whole exercise caused Mike to stumble upon LEED and more holistic green building rating system. It was just a chance encounter that has brought him to where he is today.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">“Once I read about it (green buildings), I just gravitated towards it and realized that it was just the right thing to do.”</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">-Mike Hess</span></p> <p> </p> <h3><strong>Transitioning From the Engineering Side</strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mike started out as a mechanical engineer right out of college.  He traveled across the country trying to convince people to pursue LEED and Energy Star.  Mike believes it was too early for those customers. He started his own green building consulting firm so he could focus on sustainability.  Once the sustainability movement started to pick up, Mike was recruited back and took his small business to a national and i