This may have been my best Greenbuild ever! Maybe it was the inspirational speech by Al Gore, followed by scintillating music by Sheryl Crow. Maybe it was the reconnection with colleagues from the past, and the touching life celebration of Greg Franta and Gail Lindsay that I attended. Maybe it was how much I learned and all the new connections I made, in particular with researchers from the EPA Center for Environmental Research who are modeling community health impacts of urban areas. Maybe it was the Ray Anderson lunch presentation during the annual USGBC leadership luncheon I attended. Maybe it was just the fact that my book, Building an Emerald City, was released and I got to see it in the bookstore! Greenbuild rewarded on so many levels this year: professional, social, and spiritual. It both informed and inspired me. Kudos to the organizers, who have figured out how to handle crowds of over 25,000 people with grace. No small feat! Greenbuild will be in Chicago again next year, so mark your calendars now for Nov. 10-12. You won’t want to miss it. Soon, you will be able to see many of the recorded keynote presentations at www.greenbuild365.org