Leia Sims

Leia's passion for improving the built environment goes back to her first net-zero retrofit project installing geothermal and solar PV in 1999. Since then her education and career path has been focused on building science from educating owners, operators and tradespeople to diagnosing buildings of all sizes to assisting with implementing the most cost-effective solutions to reduce energy use in buildings. Currently Leia is the Director of Sustainability Services at KOW Building Consultants where she has built a diverse team, of sustainability consultants focused in the multifamily affordable housing sector. Her team provides full sustainability consulting services from energy audits to project implementation including technical assistance, training and verification. Prior to KOW, Leia was Program Officer of Green Technical Services at Enterprise Community Partners and owner of Bright Alternatives where she completed over 2,500 energy plans and implemented energy efficiency retrofits and solar PV installations on over 1,500 homes. Leia holds 5 certifications from the Building Performance Institute that she has maintained for 15 years and is a Certified Energy Manager and Certified Passive House Consultant. Leia has a passion for sharing this knowledge and has developed and provided training programs in the energy efficiency field for developers, contractors, emerging professionals, building operators and energy consultants.