President Barack Obama honored Tulane architecture professorWilliam Bradshaw along with two alumni, Carleton Dufrechou and BethGalante, this summer.

As president and co-founder of Green Coast Enterprises, Bradshawredevelops neighborhoods and makes energy-efficient homes andbusinesses. Beth Galante, director of new orleans and gulf coastinitiatives for Global Green USA, works on building sustainablehomes in the Lower 9th Ward.

“I believe that Will Bradshaw in particular will cause Tulaneundergraduate students from all disciplines to look at our Masterof Sustainable Real Estate Development program as a one-yearcapstone option immediately following their completion of abachelor’s degree,” School of Architecture Dean Kenneth Schwartzsaid.

The ceremony was part of President Obama’s “Champions of Change”program. This program recognizes people for outstandingcontributions to their communities. Obama recognized Bradshaw forhis efforts in strengthening the economy by creating jobs andhelping the Gulf Coast recover from the 2010 oil spill.

“We could not be more pleased to be recognized by the WhiteHouse and thank President Obama, his administration and ourcolleagues at the Clean Economy Development Center for theirinterest in our work to build a more energy efficient andsustainable Gulf Coast,” Bradshaw said. “It is an honor to standwith the people of New Orleans and this region as we rebuild fromthe levee failures of Hurricane Katrina and the levee failures andthe Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.”

Bradshaw founded Green Coast Enterprises in 2007 and has helpedbuild more than 101 homes in the Gentilly neighborhood for peoplewho lost their homes during Katrina. GCE’s efforts have hadpositive effects on New Orleans by being energy efficient,bolstering the local economy and restoring hope in the hearts ofits citizens.

“There is no other program with the same title in the UnitedStates, and we are using it as a way to train young women and mento be skillful and innovative players in rebuilding our citiesthrough creative and regenerative real estate development,”Schwartz said. “Mr. Dufrechou and Ms. Galante are impressive andaccomplished in their own right, and I believe that all Tulaniansshould be proud of their recognition as well.”

Junior Melissa Longano said that she thinks it is important thatthe president is honoring the accomplishments of those who aremaking New Orleans a model for increasing the United States’ carbonfootprint.

“Other cities are looking to New Orleans for ways to improvetheir communities, and Obama’s recognition of these threeindividuals encourages their efforts,” Longano said. “Theiraffiliation with Tulane confirms the university’s dedication to thepartnership between the school and the city.”

GCE has become the largest Building America partner in the stateof Louisiana. Building America, a U.S. Department of Energyprogram, aspires to make the average production-built home energyneutral by the year 2020. GCE homes that have already been builtfollowing this plan are 30-65 percent more efficient than the localenergy code.

“The new program reflects the increasing interest in the socialresponsibility of both the business and urban design worlds,”junior Jack Waterman said. “It is interesting to see the neweconomics of being environmentally conscious.”