This year’s awardees will be honored at Emerald Evening, May 14, at the Union Trust Building.
Presented by GBA, Emerald Evening will also mark the release of the 2025 Pittsburgh 2030 District Progress Report, detailing achievements of Pittsburgh-area property partners in reducing emissions and energy use in 2025.
The 2026 Emerald Evening honorees are:
-- Beacon Award: Etna Borough;
-- Pathfinder Award: Project Pipeline/National Association of Minority Architects (NOMA) Pittsburgh;
-- Enterprise Award: Hickman Lumber/Allegheny Mountain Hardwood Flooring;
-- Vanguard Award: Pittsburgh International Airport Terminal Modernization Program;
-- Luminary Award: Angela Garcia, Global Links;
-- Legacy Award: William Bates, Fellow of the American Institute of Architects Emeritus, National Organization of Minority Architects.
“This year’s Emerald Evening awardees are leaders and models of excellence, creating a brighter, more sustainable and economically vibrant future for all in our region,” says GBA President & CEO Jenna Cramer.
“At the community level, we honor Etna Borough, where public officials, community leaders and residents have worked hand in hand to enable this historically disinvested and flood-prone neighborhood to emerge as a national model of sustainability and resilience.
“NOMA Pittsburgh’s Project Pipeline youth workshops are tackling lack of diversity across the design profession and fostering a new generation of architects and changemakers.
“North of Pittsburgh, Hickman Lumber/Allegheny Mountain Hardwood Flooring, a legacy family business, is serving as a leading industry voice to educate consumers and landowners on the critical importance of sustainable forestry management practices.”
“Through the leadership of Angela Garcia, Global Links is providing a socially and environmentally responsible solution to the relentless generation of medical surplus and furnishings, while architect William Bates, an early catalyst of our region’s green building movement, has imprinted transformational projects across the region and the world with his wisdom and talent.
“And there is perhaps no recent project that demonstrates the intersection of innovation, sustainability, and the leading-edge skills of Western Pennsylvania’s industry professionals and workforce than the Pittsburgh International Airport Terminal Modernization Program, our region’s new front door and economic engine.”
Awardee Profiles
-- Beacon Award: Etna Borough
Honored for its remarkable capacity to develop solutions-focused collaboration between community leaders, professionals, residents, and environmental advocates, resulting in vibrant community development that is a national model of sustainability and resilience.
A former mill town certified in 2019 as the world’s first EcoDistrict, Etna’s post-industrial recovery and redefinition have been supported and led by Borough Manager Mary Ellen Ramage, advanced through the Etna Center for Community, and strengthened by the energy and commitment of residents and the many young families who have moved to the neighborhood in recent years.
Located at the bottom of the 67 square-mile Pine Creek Watershed, Etna has experienced ongoing and at times catastrophic flooding over its history. As a result, economic development has been focused through the lens of stormwater.
The Borough’s Comprehensive, Climate Action, and EcoDistrict Plans have resulted in carefully defined strategies for growth, and Etna has implemented an array of innovative green infrastructure solutions, including street reconstruction, downspout disconnection and restatement to new conveyances, installation of sidewalk grates and underground storage, pervious pavers, tree plantings, rain gardens, and more.
In 2021, Etna celebrated the completion of Etna Riverfront Trail and Park, a welcoming space that features a pavilion, scenic overlooks, and artist installations that interpret the evolution of Etna.
In 2026, Etna Community Organization will mark the opening of the Etna Center for Community, a mixed-use redevelopment of a historic building that will serve as a community library and neighborhood gathering place.
-- Pathfinder Award: Project Pipeline - National Organization of Minority Architects Pittsburgh
Project Pipeline Pittsburgh, a hands-on workshop program presented by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA PGH), is honored for introducing youth to the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry, and for fostering a more diverse future generation of design professionals, civic leaders, and changemakers.
Established through the NOMA National initiative, workshops are led by local minority architects and designers.
Through lively, thought-provoking and creative exercises, students in grades 6-12 gain early exposure and pathways into architecture, construction, and the broader built-environment professions.
Participants learn design skills such as site analysis, model-making, and sketching, while making connections with and getting to know real-world architects and planners who are available to help guide their interests.
Throughout the process, youth participants gain an understanding of the significance of architecture not only in their daily lives but also in the broader cultural, social, and historical context of their communities and the world.
Established in 2014, NOMA Pittsburgh advances professional equity through relationship building, promoting and supporting minority architects, and inspiring youth.
-- Enterprise Award: Hickman Lumber/Allegheny Mountain Hardwood Flooring
A family-owned business in Emlenton, Venango County, Hickman Lumber/Allegheny Mountain Hardwood Flooring is honored for its leadership in responsible forest management, its commitment to preserving the long-term health of precious hardwood resources, and for educating consumers and landowners on sustainable hardwood products and harvesting practices.
Located in Pennsylvania’s 'Allegheny Plateau,'' recognized for the quality of its oak and cherry hardwoods, Hickman Lumber owns 6,000 acres and manages an additional 8,000 acres, all of which are thriving and increasing in timber square footage each year.
In 1999, Hickman Lumber became the first sawmill in the country to earn Forest Stewardship Council Certification.
The sawmill’s hardwood flooring process is 100% FSC Certified, with 100% tree utilization from the forest to the floor, empowering consumers to support sustainable forestry by purchasing wood flooring sourced from well-managed forests.
For fourth generation siblings Jessica Hickman Fresch and Jake Hickman, who now run the business, FSC Certification was a validation of 50 years of caring for and respecting hardwood forests as a valuable renewable resource.
The company continues this stewardship, committing land to forest and using a holistic approach to timber management, aesthetics, and wildlife management.
Allegheny Mountain Hardwood Flooring products have been used in many high-profile projects, including the Obama Presidential Center, PSU Palmer Museum of Art, and Trump Tower.
-- Vanguard Award: Pittsburgh International Airport Terminal Modernization Program
A project transformative in design, function, and impact, the Pittsburgh International Airport Terminal Modernization Program (TMP) is honored for delivering outstanding user experience, a commitment to sustainability, and design guided by the principles of nature, technology, and community.
The $1.7 billion project encompasses a new landside terminal led by Gensler + HDR in association with luis vidal + architects; and new parking structure, associated roadway, and customer service building led by Michael Baker International; with construction management by PJ Dick/Hunt and Turner Construction.
Within the challenging context of accommodating the flow of thousands of daily passengers, the TMP embraces a throughline of sustainability and environmental harmony.
Biophilic principles include an infusion of natural light; a branching canopy of tree-like columns within the soaring terminal space; interior greenery; sustainable materials such as locally sourced wood, stone and steel; and lush outdoor terraces.
Tracking LEED Gold certification, the terminal features an undulating roof that enables rainwater harvesting and high-performance energy systems for operational efficiency.
Advanced HVAC systems and enhanced air quality strategies ensure thermal and indoor comfort, and a new baggage system cuts conveyor distance, saving energy and $18 million in annual operational and maintenance costs.
The terminal project also achieved 99% construction waste diversion, with concrete removed during demolition crushed and reused on site; 30% of materials - from steel and metal to flooring, ceiling tiles and insulation - were sourced with recycled content.
These same high standards are reflected in the new parking complex, which is pursuing Parksmart certification and achieved a reuse rate of 85% for construction waste.
The complex features energy-efficient lighting systems and smart signaling to reduce pollution from idling and circling vehicles.
Full case study on the terminal project’s sustainability features available upon request and will be published in the Pittsburgh 2030 District Progress Report.
-- Luminary Award: Angela Garcia, Executive Director, Global Links
Angela Garcia is honored for her leadership in growing the impact of Global Links, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that serves vulnerable communities locally and globally through the provision of life-changing, critically needed medical and home health equipment gathered from local health facilities and other partners.
Recognized as a national model for sustainability in healthcare, the Global Links Surplus Recovery Program provides healthcare organizations, corporations, universities, and the public with a socially and environmentally responsible alternative to discarding surplus medical supplies and furnishings.
These efforts result in the collection of an average of 250 tons of high-quality surplus materials annually.
Domestically, Global Links works with local safety net organizations to provide home health equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers, and shower benches to individuals who lack the financial resources to purchase these items, helping to restore dignity, mobility, and independence to recipients.
Global Links also works with international partners to provide medical and surgical supplies ranging from sutures, nebulizers, IV poles, and hospital beds, to desks, filing cabinets, and chairs.
These items, donated by hospitals and health systems across Western Pennsylvania and beyond, along with no longer needed furnishings from corporate and university partners, equip doctors, nurses and clinics serving patients in remote and rural areas.
In 2020, Angela led an efficiency transition at the organization’s headquarters in Green Tree.
Comprising installation of a 63.2-kilowatt, 10,000 sq. ft. bifacial solar array on the organization’s warehouse roof and a conversion to all and primarily motion-activated LED lighting, the project furthers the organization’s commitment to sustainable operations.
-- Legacy Award: William (Bill) Bates
A foundational figure in Pittsburgh's green building movement and an early GBA board member and Chair, William (Bill) Bates, Fellow of the American Institute of Architects Emeritus, National Organization of Minority Architects, Hon. PhD, was an integral part of the community that first fueled interest and growth in sustainable building practices across the region.
He is honored for his local, national and global impact in advancing excellence, sustainability, and diversity across the field of architecture; for inspiring the next generation of designers and builders; and for championing historic preservation.
His many notable projects include strategic planning for PNC Firstside Operations Center, the world’s first LEED-certified financial institution; FORE Systems world headquarters in Warrendale, Pa., its European research and manufacturing facilities in Ireland, and offices across Asia, South America and Australia; Eat’n Park Hospitality Group’s first LEED-certified restaurant in Fox Chapel; and Westinghouse Electric Corporation headquarters in Pittsburgh, as well as many industrial facilities and broadcast stations across North America.
Bill was the architect for the African Heritage Nationality Classroom at the Cathedral of Learning; served as President of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), AIA Pennsylvania, and AIA Pittsburgh; and was the founding President of the Pittsburgh Chapter of NOMA, the National Organization of Minority Architects, helping to establish programs to advance minority representation across the profession.
Most recently, Bill chaired the board that developed The Mosaic Apartments, a new LEED-certified affordable senior housing project in Oakland.
An adjunct faculty member at CMU School of Architecture, Bill is currently president, Pennsylvania Architects Licensure Board, and trustee, National Trust for Historic Preservation.
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[Posted: April 20, 2026] PA Environment Digest
