What’s on my desk

Mark E. Hanson, Director of Sustainable Services for Appleton-based Hoffman LLC, likes to push boundaries.  Since he was recruited to the company nine years ago from his role as executive director of the Energy Center of Wisconsin Inc., Madison, Hanson has pushed for higher Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ratings, better materials and affordable prices. He splits his time between a home office in Madison and the company’s headquarters, but when he’s in Appleton,  he’s got plenty of family photos and other mementos to remind him of home.

Hoffman designed and built Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton, the highest-rated LEED-New Construction building in the nation. Hanson keeps a copy of the project’s LEED platinum certificate at his desk as a memento.

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Hanson and his wife of 32 years, Janis, are parents to a son, Carl, and daughter, Anika.

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Hanson and his wife watch their infant granddaughter, Reese, two days a week in the Madison area.

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“The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time” is one of many books Hanson reads to stay current on sustainable trends, he said.

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Hanson’s light meter is a critical tool for working on green projects, he said, as it measures quantity and quality of light. From the early days of green, Hanson said, maximizing use of natural light has been key.

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Hanson worked with Andersen Windows Inc. to design a new type of wood-framed window for Hudson’s River Crest Elementary School, a project designed and built by Hoffman. The manufacturer gave Hanson the first sample of the window, which reduces glare and maximizes daylight, as a souvenir of their collaboration.

Hanson and his family are big on the outdoors, he said, and he has the skiing and hiking pictures at his desk to prove it. The black and white photo hanging just left of center shows Hanson skiing down the notoriously treacherous Corbet’s Couloir in Jackson Hole, Wyo., a “really steep, narrow” run that Hanson tried on a dare many years ago and would not do again, he said. “It took me forever to get enough courage to drop down,” he said. “I remember just free falling for a while.”