ASHA's new building includes a design that maximizes the amount of daylight into the building to reduce the need for lighting; a system for collecting mechanical condensate water for irrigation; lavatory systems that reduce water usage; and many other "green" features.
The environmental friendliness of the new building, which is up for certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, lent the dedication event its theme as one speaker after another spoke of the importance of being socially responsible and how that can translate into good business practices.
"Our new national office building is a striking example of the good value that ASHA members deserve," ASHA President Catherine Gottfred observed. "Its green features make it more economical to operate and maintain. That plus the size of the building will allow us to better serve our membership."
Other speakers praised ASHA's efforts to be a socially responsible association as well as a good corporate neighbor in Montgomery County. They included the building's architect, Joseph Boggs of Boggs & Partners Architects; Susan Sarfati, President and CEO, The Center for Association Leadership and Executive Vice President, The American Society of Association Executives; and Kathleen Matthews, Executive Vice President of Global Communications and Public Affairs, Marriott International.
Dr. Pradeep Ganguly, Director of Montgomery County Office of Economic Development and Karen McManus of the Office of the Honorable Chris Van Hollen each presented ASHA with certificates of congratulation and appreciation.
Located at 2200 Research Boulevard in the city of Rockville, MD, ASHA's new national office building cost $48 million and is 133,870 square feet. The Association employs 250 people. ASHA's building dedication marked a welcomed new chapter in the story of an organization that has been a Montgomery County workplace of choice for decades and a model association. Last fall, for example, it received the prestigious Summit Award from the American Society of Association Executives for its outstanding work in the area of early infant hearing screening. For years, ASHA has been repeatedly recognized for its work with local charitable organizations, heralded for its model telecommuting program, and often cited as one of the Washington area's "great places to work."
The "neighborliness" for which the organization is known locally is about to take a new form according to ASHA Executive Director Arlene A. Pietranton. "The entire fifth floor of our new building is now available for lease," Pietranton explains, "plus our new location can accommodate a second building
if one is desired at a later time."
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 130,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and dizziness disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders.
