Build It Forward

NESEA just turned 50. And according to Florence McGregor, that's not a moment to celebrate and coast. It's a moment to ask what's next.

In this conversation on Build It Forward, recorded at NESEA BuildingEnergy Boston 2026, Nick Falkoff sits down with Flo, Executive Director of NESEA, in the middle of the conference floor for a wide-ranging conversation about what the organization has become, where it still needs to go, and what it means to build a community that can hold both technical excellence and genuine human vulnerability at the same time.

They get into NESEA's incoming strategic plan and the priorities Flo hopes carry forward, including the organization's commitment to becoming more just, more sustainable, and actively anti-racist. The conversation also covers what this year's record student attendance means for the future of the industry, why the skills you can only learn in a room with other people matter as much as anything in a technical session, and how the Dumpster Fire Patriarchy workshop changed the way Nick thinks about his role as a builder and a leader.

The conversation ends a little abruptly -- conference duties called -- but not before covering a lot of ground worth watching.

For resources on ICE preparedness and know your rights guidance, visit:
studiohpdc.org/more/know-your-rights-immigration-enforcement-preparedness

00:42 Construction as a patriarchal industry
01:26 What patriarchy costs the people who practice it
02:40 Sharing mistakes and the NESEA culture of vulnerability
03:24 NESEA's next five year strategic plan
04:16 Climate justice, anti-racism, and the technical work
05:00 Welcoming a record number of students this year
06:02 What the keynote opened up
07:20 The skills you can only learn in a room
08:20 Orienting students to a professional community
10:33 NESEA as an incubator -- growing your team

Connect with Florence McGregor and NESEA:
nesea.org | IG: @neseaorg

Work with Auburndale Builders on your high-performance build:
vision@auburndalebuilders.com

Music:
Welcome to the Johnsons from the album Bird Mode by E*Lightning aka Jon Erickson, CPHB
elightning.bandcamp.com

Made with @PRMEABL

#BuildItForward #AuburndaleBuilders #PassiveHouse #HighPerformanceBuilding #BuildingScience #GreenBuilding #NetZero #NESEA #BuildingCommunity #BuildingCulture #ClimateJustice

What is Build It Forward?

Build It Forward is about the people, ideas, and decisions shaping the future of high-performance residential construction. Hosted by Nick Falkoff, GM of Auburndale Builders, and produced by PRMEABL_, the name is a play on “pay it forward.”

Conversations range from technical decisions and process to people, culture, history, and collaboration — exploring what’s working, what isn’t, and what might be interesting to try next.

These conversations are worth having, and worth sharing, because the best buildings come from communities that share what they know and build forward together.