D. Ryan Miller, founder and executive director of the North Carolina Building Performance Association, was honored as the Best in Green Young Professional of the Year: One to Watch by the National Association of Home Builders as part of the association's Best in Green Awards during the NAHB International Builders' Show in Orlando, Fla.

A nonprofit trade association, the North Carolina Building Performance Association serves the state's contractors and consumers with education, member services and industry advocacy. It promotes practices that can help make buildings in North Carolina healthy, safe, durable, cost-effective and environmentally friendly.

Miller entered the sustainable building specialty in 2012 as a project manager for the nonprofit Advanced Energy in Raleigh, N.C., supporting its work training builders and contractors on energy-efficient construction practices.

After two and a half years in that role, Ryan saw the need for a trade association for North Carolina builders and contractors who work on new and existing high-performance homes. He took the lead in establishing NCBPA and has recruited homebuilders and other industry professionals from across the state to serve on the association's board.

Under Miller's leadership, NCBPA has rolled out initiatives to advocate on state building and energy codes, improve the value of high-performance buildings, and advance education on the importance of energy efficiency and green building.

Five months into NCBPA's existence, Miller launched a website to educate consumers about green and energy efficient homes. Since then, he has spearheaded workforce development efforts to increase skilled labor for high performance homebuilders and facilitated the creation of building performance associations in Georgia, South Carolina and Maryland. He is the lead lobbyist and policy advocate for green building activity in North Carolina.

"Ryan has made a significant mark by creating and leading this key resource for North Carolina's green building industry," said NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald, a homebuilder and developer from Kerrville, Texas. "He shows great promise to remain 'one to watch' as he grows NCBPA and helps its reach expand into other states."