WASHINGTON — The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Informa Connect announced today that former President Barack Obama will speak at the Wednesday keynote of the 2019 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo. This year’s conference will take place Nov. 19-22 in Atlanta at the LEED Gold Georgia World Congress Center.

“USGBC is deeply honored that President Obama has accepted our invitation to speak at Greenbuild 2019,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, President and CEO, USGBC. “President Obama is a global leader and a longtime friend of the green building community. While in office, his administration negotiated the landmark Paris Climate Accords, expanded the impact of our field, and helped open the door for energy efficiency investments in both the public and private sectors. I know that when he joins us on the keynote stage in November, he will impart his ideas, passion and vision to our growing global green building family.”

Barack H. Obama is the 44th President of the U.S. He took office at a moment of crisis unlike any America had seen in decades – a nation at war, a planet in peril, the American Dream itself threatened by the worst economic calamity since the Great Depression. And yet, despite all manner of political obstruction, Obama’s leadership helped rescue the economy, revitalize the American auto industry, reform the health care system to cover another 20 million Americans, and put the country on a firm course to a clean energy future – all while overseeing the longest stretch of job creation in American history.

“As the green building movement evolves and continues to permeate our everyday lives, President Obama is a valuable leader to bring that vision to life,” said Andrew Mullins, CEO, Informa Connect. “His commitment to unite humanity in combating a changing climate is a great example to follow. At the 2019 event, our attendees, exhibitors, and all participants of Greenbuild will be celebrating the notion that every human, regardless of circumstances, deserves to live a long and healthy life. There is no better voice or embodiment of that than President Obama.”

Previous Greenbuild keynote speakers have included Ret. Gen. Colin Powell, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, famed architect Bjarke Ingles, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, human rights activist Amal Clooney, former Vice President, climate activist Al Gore, and many others. For more information, visit www.greenbuildexpo.org.