Jeff Knowles, LEED-AP joined the Pennsylvania Environmental Council in 2009 and serves as a project manager in the Southeast Office.  

Trained as a city planner, Jeff is directly involved in the planning and development of the Pennsylvania segments of the East Coast Greenway, a 3,000 mile multi-use, off-road trail that will connect Maine to Florida and 25 urban areas along the way. Jeff was part of the PEC team that compiled a federal TIGER stimulus grant that brought $23 million to Philadelphia and Camden for the construction of ten pedestrian and bicycle trail segments. Jeff also helped lead the community-driven design of the 58th Street Greenway in Southwest Philadelphia—one of the beneficiaries of the TIGER grant that will be constructed in 2011. In addition to greenway development, Jeff works with PEC staff on projects that seek to restore freshwater tidal wetlands along the Delaware River shoreline as well as promote recreational opportunities in the River.

Prior to joining the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Jeff served as a Policy Fellow in the Office of Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds-Brown where he worked on the City of Philadelphia’s first Green Building law, which requires that public buildings achieve LEED Silver certification. Jeff currently chairs the Policy Subcommittee of the Delaware Valley Green Building Council, helping public officials and lawmakers develop strong Green Building policy in Southeast Pennsylvania.

 Jeff earned a Masters of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania, where he concentrated in land use and environmental planning.