Hi Ann,

The GBCI (Green Building Certification Institute) was established in 2008 to provide third party accountability to the LEED-AP and building certification process. As you may already know, to become a LEED Accredited Professional under the new GBCI rules of accreditation, you must first earn the designation of Green Associate by passing the GA exam before you can sit for the Building Design & Construction (BD&C) exam. (I apologize if I’m repeating things you already know, I wasn’t sure if you meant that you already took the GA exam or LEED-AP v2.2 exam).

So the first step to becoming a LEED-AP is to take and pass the Green Associate exam. There are various resources available via links right here from the green-buildings.com website. Once you’ve passed the Green Associate exam, other new requirements have been put in place before someone can sit for the LEED-AP exam. These requirements seem to attempt to provide a clear delineation from people who are interested in green building principles and practices versus people that have had experience implementing green building design on registered or certified LEED projects.

LEED Green Associate Accreditation demonstrates a dedication to green building design and is now a building block towards becoming a LEED-AP. From the GBCI website (http://www.gbci.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=182), “to take the LEED Green Associate exam, you must have experience in the form of involvement on a LEED-registered project, employment (or previous employment) in a sustainable field of work, or engagement in (or completion of) an education program that addresses green building principles.” Since you state you already have knowledge of green building principles, this step shouldn’t be too hard. Just make sure you study.

Once you earn the LEED Green Associate accreditation, you’ll be able take the LEED-AP exams once you’ve gained LEED project experience. This is the largest difference in the new testing system and for specific requirements and strategies candidate handbooks (http://www.gbci.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=97) are available to help walk you through the process.

There are several universities, colleges and distance learning programs that are turning their focus on the green movement. It’s routine that I see an invitation at least once a week for a new program. That being said, the GBCI is somewhat explicit to have LEED project experience to meet testing and acceptation requirements.

That being said, if you’re looking for educational opportunities to generally improve your knowledge (or for, in the future, continuing education credits to maintain your LEED-AP credential) I’d say your best resource would be the USGBC website http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=127 where you can find information on USGBC courses or USGBC-approved Education Providers.

And if you’re looking for a green job, check out the USGBC Career Center, http://careercenter.usgbc.org/home/index.cfm?site_id=2643.

- Sarah Gudeman, LEED AP