Ben Shepherd ’00 is taking design to new levels: integrating sustainability, functionality, beauty, and community planning.

He’s been working in the green building and sustainable design field since his Northland graduation, first at the non-profit, research think tank, Rocky Mountain Institute, then overseas to gain an international green perspective.

For the last ten years, he’s been at Atelier Ten, an international sustainable design company in New York City, where as director, he manages projects for clients around the world and closer to home, like the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada to the Museum of American Revolution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 2015, he was the recipient of ENR New York’s 2015 Top 20 Under 40 rising star awards, given to those making a positive impact on design and construction.

Shepherd received an MA in environmental management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in 2006, and teaches one course each semester at Cornell University and the Pratt Institute. Shepherd joined the Northland College Board of Trustees in 2017.

The most memorable thing about attending Northland College? “Above all, it would have to be, and continue to be, the close friendships I made while attending Northland. We have a great group of friends who still regularly keep in touch…often via massive group chain texts. We stay connected even though we all have our own commitments, families, and we’re geographically spread from coast to coast. We visit each other when traveling, and have used recent College reunions and events to enable most of our large group to be organized and get back on campus.”