Jo Carol Conover - Principal

Jo Conover is an expert in sustainable design and construction project management, a LEED® Accredited Professional and co-founder and former Chair of the Northern California Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. She has an MBA degree from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Additional education and training in the areas of architecture, interior design and construction was provided by UCSC Extension, SJSU Professional Development and the Pacific Energy Center.

Since forming Bennington/Conover & Associates as a sole proprietorship in 1999, she managed several construction and renovation projects for the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, working with teams of architects, general contractors, landscape architects and commercial interior designers. Aspects of this assignment included project formulation, user interface, budget management, space planning, furniture specification, signage and landscaping.

In November 2000, she was engaged by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation as project manager for the construction of their new 48,000 sq. ft. headquarters building in Menlo Park. As interface between the president of the Foundation and its architects and general contractor, Conover facilitated prompt resolution of budget, schedule and design issues as they arose, bringing the project in on time and within budget. She was instrumental in obtaining the Foundation's commitment to register the project for LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification through the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The building was the first in California and the fifth in the nation to be awarded a LEED Gold certification (September 2002).

Upon completion of the building, she served as the Hewlett Foundation's Facilities Director until March, 2003. During this period she negotiated contracts with more than a dozen firms for the maintenance of the Foundation building and site, and developed and implemented building maintenance policies and procedures that use only natural cleaning products. She also directed the creation of educational materials for permanent display and a presentation used to teach groups of visitors about LEED and sustainable design and construction using the Foundation's building as a case study.

Knoll Inc. retained Conover to guide the project team in the design and renovation of its furniture showroom in San Francisco, under the LEED-CI (LEED for Commercial Interiors) pilot in January 2003. On completion, this project achieved a LEED Silver rating.

Actively promoting sustainable design strategies and materials, Conover is currently assisting other clients in California and Central Oregon seeking to achieve sustainable goals in new commercial and school buildings as well as commercial interiors projects. She has been a frequent speaker on sustainable issues in public forums around the Bay Area, has served on the Board of First Community Housing in San Jose, CA, a low-income housing developer with three LEED-registered housing projects under development; and is currently on the Steering Committee of the Building Green Council of Central Oregon.