Beth Heider on a career in the movement Artwork

Design the Future

Women are living, learning, and leading towards a sustainable future. Their stories can help us all accelerate toward that vision in the built environment. Design the Future is a podcast created to elevate and explore the voices of women driving sustainable practices in the built environment and related fields. Lindsay Baker, a sustainability and social impact leader, and Kira Gould, a writer and communications strategist, host these conversations.

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Design the Future

Beth Heider on a career in the movement

March 26, 2026 • Lindsay Baker & Kira Gould

0:00 | 44:24

Beth Heider is a thought leader at the intersection of high-performance buildings and sustainable design, global business strategy, and organizational leadership.

As founder & CEO of Heider Sustainability Advisors, Beth supports businesses, organizations, and start-ups create more resilient, healthy, and just-plain-better solutions for the built environment.

She led at Skanska USA for nearly two decades, including a six-year stint as the company’s Chief Sustainability Officer. Beth has been at the forefront of the green building movement since its early days in the mid-90s.

A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, LEED Fellow, and Living Building Hero, she has served on multiple organizations, notably as the Board Chair for the U.S. Green Building Council and Living Future.

We talked with Beth about how she got interested in architecture, how she came to work in construction, and what it takes to “keep tough pups on the porch.”