METROPOLIS has announced the lineup for the 2026 Planet Positive Awards, a program designed to highlight sustainability and social equity in the built environment. The organization describes the awards as the largest of their kind, covering more than 50 categories that range from physical projects and products to innovation and people. The judging process evaluates entries based on their ability to reduce environmental impact, address complex challenges, and integrate beauty with community function.
Project entries will be judged by a panel of experts from academia, nonprofits, and sustainability leadership. Meanwhile, product winners will be selected by top specifiers and material experts driving sustainable design forward. The full list of jurors and their specific roles is available on the METROPOLIS website.
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Academia and Nonprofit Leadership
Two jurors represent the academic and nonprofit sectors. Beatrice Galilee serves as the Co-founder and Executive Director of The World Around, a New York-based nonprofit platform dedicated to global design and architecture. She previously held the position of first curator of contemporary architecture and design at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The judging roster includes several professionals from major corporations and industry organizations. Melissa Berardi is a director for CBRE Project Management’s Building Sustainability Consulting team, where she manages third-party certification processes.
Ken Potts is an Architect and Senior Project Manager at Mayo Clinic, responsible for delivering over 200 capital projects annually. Kyle Pickett serves as the Senior Project Manager for Community Initiatives at USGBC California, where he advances high-impact strategies for the built environment.
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Design Firms and Sustainability Leaders
Several jurors work within leading design firms to push for healthier and more equitable outcomes. Kelly Moynihan serves as a Principal at Nurture, a design leader that pursues the preservation and creation of carbon-free, equitable, high-performance projects. A graduate of IIT, Kelly is a multi-faceted architect, with diverse experience across affordable housing, education, historic preservation/reuse, and interiors. As a Certified Passive House Consultant and WELL AP, Moynihan prioritizes maximizing energy efficiency.
The judging panel also includes experts focused on material transparency and health. Kristen Dotson is a Principal at Amazon’s Sustainable Buildings team, specializing in Scope 3 embodied carbon and healthy materials. Yakuh Askew is the founder of Y.A. studio, where he emphasizes that sustainability is a core responsibility for all projects, not just those with high budgets. Jonsara Ruth is the co-founder and Design Director of the Healthy Materials Lab at Parsons School of Design, working to improve health outcomes for underserved communities through design.