Orlando Standard

“Focused on creating smart and sustainable cities, Michael has worked on more than 100 LEED Certified projects and is well-qualified to lead the department here at the city,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “Recognized as a LEED Fellow, the highest designation for sustainability expertise, I’m confident Michael’s knowledge and proficiency will ensure we continue to leverage innovation and collaboration to meet the needs of our residents and businesses. I look forward to working with him in his new and expanded role.”

In 2019, Hess started his career with the city as the Director of Orlando’s Future-Ready Initiative and helped forge the Future-Ready City Master Plan which outlines achievable goals to utilize technology and data to address community challenges, including connectivity, energy, health and safety, materials, mobility, placemaking, and water. Hess is leading the effort to implement these strategies through his skills in sustainability and LEED consulting, energy modeling, building commissioning, water re-use and renewable energy systems.  

“The city has an amazing sustainability and resilience team in place and my plan is to continue supporting them so we can achieve our Greenworks and Future-Ready City Initiative goals,” said Michael Hess. “I’ve spent decades helping with sustainability, resilience and innovation projects throughout the world and I’m thrilled this appointment will allow me to focus these efforts in Orlando where myself and my family calls home.” 

Hess, a licensed mechanical engineer originally from Wisconsin, earned his degree from the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Living in Central Florida now for more than two decades, he was selected by his peers as the first President of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Florida Chapter in 2016 also has served several terms on the USGBC National Board of Directors. Hess has worked on several smart city projects across the U.S., including those connected to autonomous vehicles, bridging the digital divide, carbon neutral micro-grids, food recovery, resiliency hubs, advanced air filtration systems 

The appointment went into effect on October 2, 2022. 

VISUALS:

For Michael Hess’ photo, click here. 

INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES:

For interview opportunities, please contact Ashley Papagni, City of Orlando Public Information Officer, at 407.246.4275 or Ashley.Papagni@orlando.gov.