Meet the Team
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Aaron Hirshberg
COO
If Aaron invites you over for dinner, you’ll probably be eating homemade pizza while listening to Electro swing. An energetic problem-solver, he enjoys spearheading marketing and tech initiatives, tackling eco-friendly home renos, crunching spreadsheets, woodworking, solar installation, playing Ultimate Frisbee, and snowboarding. Growing up in Fairfield, Iowa, Aaron never saw himself working in a family business, but now that he’s COO of family-owned Green Building Supply, he couldn’t be happier.
Joy Hirshberg
Co-Founder
Joy lives, breathes, and dreams design—whether designing a beautiful new home, restoring a charming old farmhouse, or replicating a stunning Frank Lloyd Wright fireplace. Her love for design and build traces to her teenage years when she was a National 4-H Home Improvement Winner. Prior to founding Green Building Supply, Joy worked 10 years in Michigan government, with six years as Executive Director of the Michigan Consumers Council, the state's consumer advocacy agency. Her slogan, "Good consumer information is good business," inspired the development of GBS's information-dense website and popular eco advisor service.Today, Joy researches and field tests new non-toxic products. She also edits the countless information pages on the GBS website.
Holly Butler
Kitchen and Bath Designer
A card-carrying member of the American Institute of Architects, Holly loves helping people design custom kitchens, bathrooms, and cabinets. Weekends, she perfects her down dog in yoga class and eats steaming bowls of Pad Thai with her son, Charles. Holly got her Master of Architecture from Tulane U and served as Construction Manager for a local Habitat for Humanity for 7 years. She also taught power yoga for 6 years, which is why she would probably beat you in an Utkatasana contest.
Lyndi O.
Eco-Advisor
“Have house, will travel,” is Lyndi’s new motto: she’s building a tiny house on wheels (check her out on YouTube). When she’s not doing that, you’ll find her hiking, gardening, snacking on persimmons, and helping people find relief from chemical sensitivity through Green Building Supply products. An eco-warrior, she has a B.S. in Sustainable Living under her belt and used to garden for Chicago’s elite, including the mayor. Interested in going vegan? Lyndi’s happy to talk bean sprouts with anyone.
Pam Burnes
Accounting Department
You can take the girl out of Texas, but she’ll never stop watching Longhorns games or the Dallas Cowboys. Now a Hawkeyes fan, too, Pam scores big points in our accounting department, where she tackles taxes, accounts receivable, order processing, and more. For downtime, she does Swing dance and works on the century-old craftsman home she shares with her husband, cat, and dog. Pam has a degree in accounting and psychology minor. Her hands are especially eloquent; she speaks American Sign Language.
Robert Allen (a.k.a. Goj)
Web Admin Assistant
He used to be a lead singer in a college punk garage band, but these days Robert makes our website rock with his mad creative design skills, writing, and tech savvy. This Pacific Northwesterner wears lots of other hats here—which shouldn’t be a surprise, as he loves tabletop role-playing games. He also has a BFA in visual tech and a BS in game design. He’s REALLY happy to work for Green Building Supply, but just don’t challenge him to a duel in karaoke or trivia (he’ll win).
Harley Cook
Shipping & Receiving
If your kids play baseball in Fairfield, Iowa, you probably already know Coach Harley. Here at Green Building Supply, he knocks it out of the park every day, fielding incoming packages and palletizing flooring for freight deliveries, among other responsibilities. This Iowa native has college credits for residential and industrial electric; a knack for mechanics; and an alter ego as pro-level four-wheeler racer. He also built a tiny cabin with solid walnut floors and used refurbished pallet wood for the walls and ceiling. Superhero? We think so.
Melanny Hirshberg
Happiness Expert
Melanny Hirshberg makes the best pesto on the planet. Hands down. She also loves supplying health-conscious renovators with sustainable solutions for their building projects. On an average day here, you might find her training eco advisors, handling HR projects, or managing the showroom, to name a few responsibilities. On weekends, she’s busy planting things, singing, dancing through wheat fields, and doing CrossFit (so she can lift those flooring boxes easy-peasy). Or listening to Electro Swing, of course.
Joel Hirshberg
Co-founder and President
Joel’s idea of good, green fun is to help people find non-toxic products and to solve their building and home improvement problems. He develops, field tests, and markets new green building products. Joel has authored dozens of articles about green building issues, helped source products for countless new homes and remodels, and consulted with thousands of customers nationwide—many of whom suffer from multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS). He also designs beautiful non-toxic kitchens and baths that ship all over the U.S. Joel spends most of his free time gardening and hands-on testing of products in real life situations. How does he feel about his family-run company? He says, “This business rocks!”
Sasha Luse
Eco Advisor
Being an eco advisor calls for flexibility, so it’s a good thing Sasha’s a certified yoga teacher. She’s passionate about educating customers on alternatives to conventional building supplies, which she loves as much crème brulee, Regina Spektor, and improv comedy. An encaustic artist who paints with pigmented hot wax and has exhibited widely, she’s 100% behind non-toxic art materials. This nature-lover also pursued Environmental Studies during her art degree at Luther College. Did we mention she can dance, too?
Riley Callaway
Eco Adviser
Both a practicing foodie and an advocate for communal living, Riley dreams of building an eco-community where every day ends with a group dinner around a big wooden table. Originally from Georgia, Riley holds a BA in Humanistic Studies from John Cabot University in Rome, Italy, and a MS from MUM in Fairfield, Iowa. When she’s not helping customers find the best products for their projects, Riley enjoys planning her own dream home, singing at the local cafe, and mastering new accents. She’s currently perfecting talking like a Kiwi.
Ricardo Ortiz
Web/Network Administrator
Ricardo describes himself as a “Singing-Ninja Code Monkey with 'PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWER... in an itty-bitty living space!'” But watch out! He also specializes in groan-inducing dad jokes. He loves being a part of the GBS family where he manages our networked-systems hardware and software and our website back-end content. He enjoys volunteering with kids, holds a black belt in the martial arts, sings bass, and can often be found listening to (and participating in) barbershop music groups. His impressions of the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of OZ and Santa are the stuff of legend.
Derek Walls
Eco Advisor
Can you guess where this fan of the Cubs and the Bears originally hails from? When he’s not rooting for his hometown teams, you can find him practicing yoga or playing the drums. He holds a B.A. from DePaul University. Derek spends his days at Green Building Supply talking about cork, hardwood, and bamboo, answering product questions, helping select the best product for each customer, and troubleshooting projects. This Capricorn with lots of Scorpio is passionate about music, pancakes, and supporting a healthier more sustainable world!
Lennen Sanchez
Shipping and Receiving
Lennen appreciates working in a relaxed, supportive environment with people who never fail to get the job done, saying, “When it's time to hustle, we can hustle good.” He clearly takes his role in getting orders in and out the door, shipping and packing pallets, and receiving and unpacking shipments seriously! He puts his BFA to good use by painting, designing tattoos, making knives, and building tools. He loves listening to ambient electronic music and if you ever need a buddy to try new foods with, Lennen is your guy.
Cynthia Palmer
Eco Advisor
Cynthia loves owning her own home. Her expertise in caring for her own house shows in her work at Green Building Supply in her outstanding technical support for our products and her enjoyment of helping people choose and purchase flooring they will love. When she’s not working, Cynthia spends her free time hanging out with her kitties, writing non-fiction, listening to classical music and opera, and growing heirloom tomatoes from seed. So far, she’s grown over 200 varieties! You won’t be surprised to learn that she also makes the best fried green tomatoes ever.
Julie Stumo
Eco Advisor
Julie loves working with clients to bring happiness and health to their homes. As the resident color queen of GBS, she happily shares her expertise in color theory with clients and coworkers alike. In addition to her official role of Eco Advisor, Julie is known among coworkers as leader of the hug brigade and commander in chief for cheering people up on a bad day. When not at work, Julie can be found painting, cooking and baking, watching sweet Hallmark movies, riding motorcycles, listening to Ella Fitzgerald, and knocking people’s socks off with her own amazing jazz vocals.
Aaron Hirshberg
COO
If Aaron invites you over for dinner, you’ll probably be eating homemade pizza while listening to Electro swing. An energetic problem-solver, he enjoys spearheading marketing and tech initiatives, tackling eco-friendly home renos, crunching spreadsheets, woodworking, solar installation, playing Ultimate Frisbee, and snowboarding. Growing up in Fairfield, Iowa, Aaron never saw himself working in a family business, but now that he’s COO of family-owned Green Building Supply, he couldn’t be happier.
Joy Hirshberg
Co-Founder
Joy lives, breathes, and dreams design—whether designing a beautiful new home, restoring a charming old farmhouse, or replicating a stunning Frank Lloyd Wright fireplace. Her love for design and build traces to her teenage years when she was a National 4-H Home Improvement Winner. Prior to founding Green Building Supply, Joy worked 10 years in Michigan government, with six years as Executive Director of the Michigan Consumers Council, the state's consumer advocacy agency. Her slogan, "Good consumer information is good business," inspired the development of GBS's information-dense website and popular eco advisor service.Today, Joy researches and field tests new non-toxic products. She also edits the countless information pages on the GBS website.
Holly Butler
Kitchen and Bath Designer
A card-carrying member of the American Institute of Architects, Holly loves helping people design custom kitchens, bathrooms, and cabinets. Weekends, she perfects her down dog in yoga class and eats steaming bowls of Pad Thai with her son, Charles. Holly got her Master of Architecture from Tulane U and served as Construction Manager for a local Habitat for Humanity for 7 years. She also taught power yoga for 6 years, which is why she would probably beat you in an Utkatasana contest.
Lyndi Ouellette
Eco-Advisor
“Have house, will travel,” is Lyndi’s new motto: she’s building a tiny house on wheels (check her out on YouTube). When she’s not doing that, you’ll find her hiking, gardening, snacking on persimmons, and helping people find relief from chemical sensitivity through Green Building Supply products. An eco-warrior, she has a B.S. in Sustainable Living under her belt and used to garden for Chicago’s elite, including the mayor. Interested in going vegan? Lyndi’s happy to talk bean sprouts with anyone.
Pam Burnes
Accounting Department
You can take the girl out of Texas, but she’ll never stop watching Longhorns games or the Dallas Cowboys. Now a Hawkeyes fan, too, Pam scores big points in our accounting department, where she tackles taxes, accounts receivable, order processing, and more. For downtime, she does Swing dance and works on the century-old craftsman home she shares with her husband, cat, and dog. Pam has a degree in accounting and psychology minor. Her hands are especially eloquent; she speaks American Sign Language.
Robert Allen (a.k.a. Goj)
Web Admin Assistant
He used to be a lead singer in a college punk garage band, but these days Robert makes our website rock with his mad creative design skills, writing, and tech savvy. This Pacific Northwesterner wears lots of other hats here—which shouldn’t be a surprise, as he loves tabletop role-playing games. He also has a BFA in visual tech and a BS in game design. He’s REALLY happy to work for Green Building Supply, but just don’t challenge him to a duel in karaoke or trivia (he’ll win).
Harley Cook
Shipping & Receiving
If your kids play baseball in Fairfield, Iowa, you probably already know Coach Harley. Here are Green Building Supply, he knocks it out of the park every day, fielding incoming packages and palletizing flooring for freight deliveries, among other responsibilities. This Iowa native has college credits for residential and industrial electric; a knack for mechanics; and an alter ego as pro-level four-wheeler racer. He also built a tiny cabin with solid walnut floors and used refurbished pallet wood for the walls and ceiling. Superhero? We think so.
Melanny Hirshberg
Happiness Expert
Melanny Hirshberg makes the best pesto on the planet. Hands down. She also loves supplying health-conscious renovators with sustainable solutions for their building projects. On an average day here, you might find her training eco advisors, handling HR projects, or managing the showroom, to name a few responsibilities. On weekends, she’s busy planting things, singing, dancing through wheat fields, and doing CrossFit (so she can lift those flooring boxes easy-peasy). Or listening to Electro Swing, of course.
Joel Hirshberg
Co-founder and President
Joel’s idea of good, green fun is to help people find non-toxic products and to solve their building and home improvement problems. He develops, field tests, and markets new green building products. Joel has authored dozens of articles about green building issues, helped source products for countless new homes and remodels, and consulted with thousands of customers nationwide—many of whom suffer from multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS). He also designs beautiful non-toxic kitchens and baths that ship all over the U.S. Joel spends most of his free time gardening and hands-on testing of products in real life situations. How does he feel about his family-run company? He says, “This business rocks!”
Sasha Luse
Eco Advisor
Being an eco advisor calls for flexibility, so it’s a good thing Sasha’s a certified yoga teacher. She’s passionate about educating customers on alternatives to conventional building supplies, which she loves as much crème brulee, Regina Spektor, and improv comedy. An encaustic artist who paints with pigmented hot wax and has exhibited widely, she’s 100% behind non-toxic art materials. This nature-lover also pursued Environmental Studies during her art degree at Luther College. Did we mention she can dance, too?
Riley Callaway
Eco Advisor
Both a practicing foodie and an advocate for communal living, Riley dreams of building an eco-community where every day ends with a group dinner around a big wooden table. Originally from Georgia, Riley holds a BA in Humanistic Studies from John Cabot University in Rome, Italy, and a MS from MUM in Fairfield, Iowa. When she’s not helping customers find the best products for their projects, Riley enjoys planning her own dream home, singing at the local cafe, and mastering new accents. She’s currently perfecting talking like a Kiwi.
Ricardo Ortiz
Web/Network Administrator
Ricardo describes himself as a “Singing-Ninja Code Monkey with 'PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWER... in an itty-bitty living space!'” But watch out! He also specializes in groan-inducing dad jokes. He loves being a part of the GBS family where he manages our networked-systems hardware and software and our website back-end content. He enjoys volunteering with kids, holds a black belt in the martial arts, sings bass, and can often be found listening to (and participating in) barbershop music groups. His impressions of the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of OZ and Santa are the stuff of legend.
Derek Walls
Eco Advisor
Can you guess where this fan of the Cubs and the Bears originally hails from? When he’s not rooting for his hometown teams, you can find him practicing yoga or playing the drums. He holds a B.A. from DePaul University. Derek spends his days at Green Building Supply talking about cork, hardwood, and bamboo, answering product questions, helping select the best product for each customer, and troubleshooting projects. This Capricorn with lots of Scorpio is passionate about music, pancakes, and supporting a healthier more sustainable world!
Lennen Sanchez
Shipping and Receiving
Lennen appreciates working in a relaxed, supportive environment with people who never fail to get the job done, saying, “When it's time to hustle, we can hustle good.” He clearly takes his role in getting orders in and out the door, shipping and packing pallets, and receiving and unpacking shipments seriously! He puts his BFA to good use by painting, designing tattoos, making knives, and building tools. He loves listening to ambient electronic music and if you ever need a buddy to try new foods with, Lennen is your guy.
Cynthia Palmer
Eco Advisor
Cynthia loves owning her own home. Her expertise in caring for her own house shows in her work at Green Building Supply in her outstanding technical support for our products and her enjoyment of helping people choose and purchase flooring they will love. When she’s not working, Cynthia spends her free time hanging out with her kitties, writing non-fiction, listening to classical music and opera, and growing heirloom tomatoes from seed. So far, she’s grown over 200 varieties! You won’t be surprised to learn that she also makes the best fried green tomatoes ever.
Julie Stumo
Eco Advisor
Julie loves working with clients to bring happiness and health to their homes. As the resident color queen of GBS, she happily shares her expertise in color theory with clients and coworkers alike. In addition to her official role of Eco Advisor, Julie is known among coworkers as leader of the hug brigade and commander in chief for cheering people up on a bad day. When not at work, Julie can be found painting, cooking and baking, watching sweet Hallmark movies, riding motorcycles, listening to Ella Fitzgerald, and knocking people’s socks off with her own amazing jazz vocals.
Aaron Hirshberg
COO
If Aaron invites you over for dinner, you’ll probably be eating homemade pizza while listening to Electro swing. An energetic problem-solver, he enjoys spearheading marketing and tech initiatives, tackling eco-friendly home renos, crunching spreadsheets, woodworking, solar installation, playing Ultimate Frisbee, and snowboarding. Growing up in Fairfield, Iowa, Aaron never saw himself working in a family business, but now that he’s COO of family-owned Green Building Supply, he couldn’t be happier.
Joy Hirshberg
Co-Founder
Joy lives, breathes, and dreams design—whether designing a beautiful new home, restoring a charming old farmhouse, or replicating a stunning Frank Lloyd Wright fireplace. Her love for design and build traces to her teenage years when she was a National 4-H Home Improvement Winner. Prior to founding Green Building Supply, Joy worked 10 years in Michigan government, with six years as Executive Director of the Michigan Consumers Council, the state's consumer advocacy agency. Her slogan, "Good consumer information is good business," inspired the development of GBS's information-dense website and popular eco advisor service.Today, Joy researches and field tests new non-toxic products. She also edits the countless information pages on the GBS website.
Holly Butler
Kitchen and Bath Designer
A card-carrying member of the American Institute of Architects, Holly loves helping people design custom kitchens, bathrooms, and cabinets. Weekends, she perfects her down dog in yoga class and eats steaming bowls of Pad Thai with her son, Charles. Holly got her Master of Architecture from Tulane U and served as Construction Manager for a local Habitat for Humanity for 7 years. She also taught power yoga for 6 years, which is why she would probably beat you in an Utkatasana contest.
Lyndi O.
Eco-Advisor
“Have house, will travel,” is Lyndi’s new motto: she’s building a tiny house on wheels (check her out on YouTube). When she’s not doing that, you’ll find her hiking, gardening, snacking on persimmons, and helping people find relief from chemical sensitivity through Green Building Supply products. An eco-warrior, she has a B.S. in Sustainable Living under her belt and used to garden for Chicago’s elite, including the mayor. Interested in going vegan? Lyndi’s happy to talk bean sprouts with anyone.
Pam Burnes
Accounting Department
You can take the girl out of Texas, but she’ll never stop watching Longhorns games or the Dallas Cowboys. Now a Hawkeyes fan, too, Pam scores big points in our accounting department, where she tackles taxes, accounts receivable, order processing, and more. For downtime, she does Swing dance and works on the century-old craftsman home she shares with her husband, cat, and dog. Pam has a degree in accounting and psychology minor. Her hands are especially eloquent; she speaks American Sign Language.
Robert Allen (a.k.a. Goj)
Web Admin Assistant
He used to be a lead singer in a college punk garage band, but these days Robert makes our website rock with his mad creative design skills, writing, and tech savvy. This Pacific Northwesterner wears lots of other hats here—which shouldn’t be a surprise, as he loves tabletop role-playing games. He also has a BFA in visual tech and a BS in game design. He’s REALLY happy to work for Green Building Supply, but just don’t challenge him to a duel in karaoke or trivia (he’ll win).
Harley Cook
Shipping & Receiving
If your kids play baseball in Fairfield, Iowa, you probably already know Coach Harley. Here are Green Building Supply, he knocks it out of the park every day, fielding incoming packages and palletizing flooring for freight deliveries, among other responsibilities. This Iowa native has college credits for residential and industrial electric; a knack for mechanics; and an alter ego as pro-level four-wheeler racer. He also built a tiny cabin with solid walnut floors and used refurbished pallet wood for the walls and ceiling. Superhero? We think so.
Melanny Hirshberg
Happiness Expert
Melanny Hirshberg makes the best pesto on the planet. Hands down. She also loves supplying health-conscious renovators with sustainable solutions for their building projects. On an average day here, you might find her training eco advisors, handling HR projects, or managing the showroom, to name a few responsibilities. On weekends, she’s busy planting things, singing, dancing through wheat fields, and doing CrossFit (so she can lift those flooring boxes easy-peasy). Or listening to Electro Swing, of course.
Joel Hirshberg
Co-founder and President
Joel’s idea of good, green fun is to help people find non-toxic products and to solve their building and home improvement problems. He develops, field tests, and markets new green building products. Joel has authored dozens of articles about green building issues, helped source products for countless new homes and remodels, and consulted with thousands of customers nationwide—many of whom suffer from multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS). He also designs beautiful non-toxic kitchens and baths that ship all over the U.S. Joel spends most of his free time gardening and hands-on testing of products in real life situations. How does he feel about his family-run company? He says, “This business rocks!”
Sasha Luse
Eco Advisor
Being an eco advisor calls for flexibility, so it’s a good thing Sasha’s a certified yoga teacher. She’s passionate about educating customers on alternatives to conventional building supplies, which she loves as much crème brulee, Regina Spektor, and improv comedy. An encaustic artist who paints with pigmented hot wax and has exhibited widely, she’s 100% behind non-toxic art materials. This nature-lover also pursued Environmental Studies during her art degree at Luther College. Did we mention she can dance, too?
Riley Callaway
Eco Advisor
Both a practicing foodie and an advocate for communal living, Riley dreams of building an eco-community where every day ends with a group dinner around a big wooden table. Originally from Georgia, Riley holds a BA in Humanistic Studies from John Cabot University in Rome, Italy, and a MS from MUM in Fairfield, Iowa. When she’s not helping customers find the best products for their projects, Riley enjoys planning her own dream home, singing at the local cafe, and mastering new accents. She’s currently perfecting talking like a Kiwi.
Ricardo Ortiz
Web/Network Administrator
Ricardo describes himself as a “Singing-Ninja Code Monkey with 'PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWER... in an itty-bitty living space!'” But watch out! He also specializes in groan-inducing dad jokes. He loves being a part of the GBS family where he manages our networked-systems hardware and software and our website back-end content. He enjoys volunteering with kids, holds a black belt in the martial arts, sings bass, and can often be found listening to (and participating in) barbershop music groups. His impressions of the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of OZ and Santa are the stuff of legend.
Derek Walls
Eco Advisor
Can you guess where this fan of the Cubs and the Bears originally hails from? When he’s not rooting for his hometown teams, you can find him practicing yoga or playing the drums. He holds a B.A. from DePaul University. Derek spends his days at Green Building Supply talking about cork, hardwood, and bamboo, answering product questions, helping select the best product for each customer, and troubleshooting projects. This Capricorn with lots of Scorpio is passionate about music, pancakes, and supporting a healthier more sustainable world!
Lennen Sanchez
Shipping and Receiving
Lennen appreciates working in a relaxed, supportive environment with people who never fail to get the job done, saying, “When it's time to hustle, we can hustle good.” He clearly takes his role in getting orders in and out the door, shipping and packing pallets, and receiving and unpacking shipments seriously! He puts his BFA to good use by painting, designing tattoos, making knives, and building tools. He loves listening to ambient electronic music and if you ever need a buddy to try new foods with, Lennen is your guy.
Cynthia Palmer
Eco Advisor
Cynthia loves owning her own home. Her expertise in caring for her own house shows in her work at Green Building Supply in her outstanding technical support for our products and her enjoyment of helping people choose and purchase flooring they will love. When she’s not working, Cynthia spends her free time hanging out with her kitties, writing non-fiction, listening to classical music and opera, and growing heirloom tomatoes from seed. So far, she’s grown over 200 varieties! You won’t be surprised to learn that she also makes the best fried green tomatoes ever.
Julie Stumo
Eco Advisor
Julie loves working with clients to bring happiness and health to their homes. As the resident color queen of GBS, she happily shares her expertise in color theory with clients and coworkers alike. In addition to her official role of Eco Advisor, Julie is known among coworkers as leader of the hug brigade and commander in chief for cheering people up on a bad day. When not at work, Julie can be found painting, cooking and baking, watching sweet Hallmark movies, riding motorcycles, listening to Ella Fitzgerald, and knocking people’s socks off with her own amazing jazz vocals.
Our Pledge
We pledge all of our green building materials meet one or more of the following criteria:
- Non-toxic and safe
- Renewable, recycled, or upcycled
- Energy-efficient and Energy Star compliant
- Meet or exceed US or European environmental standards
- Good reputation in the industry
- Personally tested by our company
We pledge to get you the answers you need to questions regarding safety, installation, and maintenance of each product we sell.
We pledge to listen to your stories and offer advice and guidance to better your situation. We love helping people solve their problems. We have been challenged by many unusual situations that our customers have found themselves in as a consequence of using materials that were highly toxic to them and their families or thrust into an awkward situation by purchasing a new home where the previous owner used toxic materials.
Our Vision at Green Building Supply is to be your number one trusted source for eco-friendly building products. Let us help you make your home healthier, greener, and happier.
