Sarah Gudeman Joins BranchPattern’s Nationally Recognized Sustainability Team

Omaha, Nebraska – (January 27, 2023) BranchPattern recently announced the hiring of Sarah Gudeman as a new Practice Lead. Sarah began her career as a mechanical engineer designing HVAC and plumbing systems for various building types, where she developed skills to support her interest in sustainable and high-performance design. This interest grew into an expertise in healthy buildings with a focus on the people inside those buildings. With over 15 years in the AEC industry, she understands an engineer, architect, owner, and contractor’s viewpoint.

Sarah sees a natural alignment between herself, her career journey, and the evolution and growth of BranchPattern. “I knew that BranchPattern was doing exciting work based on my previous experiences interacting with employee-owners through either direct project work or volunteer efforts. As I began to reach more outside the Omaha market to understand where sustainability was going nationally and look for inspiration even globally, I continued to encounter BranchPattern.”

“I have long admired Sarah’s tenacious commitment to sustainability, and over the last few years, I have been fortunate to collaborate with her through industry organizations and have been incredibly impressed. This unwavering commitment convinced me she was the real deal and that she would be a great cultural fit. I also believe that we’ll more greatly scale our impact on some of the challenges facing our industry – like how to achieve decarbonization goals more rapidly – by working together,” stated BranchPattern Principal Pete Jefferson. “Many within BranchPattern look at Sarah with admiration and are excited to work together. As a leader within BranchPattern, Sarah will bring another perspective to help us manage and teach our growing team.”

As Director of Sustainability for her previous company, Sarah developed the role, giving her firsthand experience with nearly every aspect of sustainable design – from third-party green building certifications like LEED®, WELL®, and Fitwel® to building performance modeling, healthy materials selection, commissioning, energy auditing, and carbon accounting. Working closely with design and construction teams gave her direct experience with everything from code compliance and specifications to post-occupancy benchmarking and surveys. She was also given the opportunity to write and lead the company’s sustainability efforts, including policies for purchasing procedures, green cleaning, renovations, and ongoing reporting, plus multiple certifications and recertifications for LEED®, ENERGY STAR®, and the 2030 Challenge.  

Sarah recounts BranchPattern’s rebranding effort in 2018, watching the company’s evolution from engineering to sustainability and refocus on human-centered design. “I’m thrilled to be a part of a team and help build on a national reputation for sustainability and building science. I have been impressed by the stellar group of professionals dedicated to the same goals of improving the human experience while remaining focused on environmental stewardship.”

“Working as a part of a consultancy dedicated to sustainability for real estate is exactly what I needed for the next phase of my career. To be able to collaborate with people I admire and who are leaders in their specialisms will continue to provide the collaboration, challenge, continuous improvement, and learning opportunities I thrive on.”

Sarah’s extensive expertise, passion for human-centered design, and alignment with BranchPattern’s goals and culture will make her an integral part of BranchPattern’s leadership group. The firm is excited to have her on the team and to see what the future holds for both.