Jack Hébert is the Founder of the Cold Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC). Jack spent his early years in Alaska wintering 60 miles from an Inupiat community in the mountains of the Northwest Arctic and summers in the “old” Denali Park. His mentors and teachers were the people that thrived in these environments, the First Alaskans that lived a traditional life and the next Alaskans, homesteaders and pioneers that brought change to a timeless land. His relationship and commitment to Alaska were born from these deep roots in the “Country.” For the past 36 years, Jack has been designing and building homes as a licensed general contractor in Interior Alaska through his companies Taiga Woodcraft and Hébert Homes LLC. His homes and planned communities have created many high-quality, well-designed, environmentally appropriate, and energy-efficient buildings over a long career.
Jack is a graduate of the University of Washington, a Certified Green Professional, and is trained in LEED standards. He has received numerous honors, including the U.S. Green Building Council Cascadia Fellowship in recognition of his contributions to sustainable building, design and science; the first State of Alaska Governor’s Award for Excellence in Energy Efficient Design; and the Energy Rated Homes of Alaska President’s Award. He has twice been honored as the Alaska State Homebuilder of the Year.
As an active member of National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), Jack has held many leadership roles on local, state, and national levels including the NAHB Executive Board, National Vice Chair for the 5 Northwest States, President of the Alaska State Home Building Association and State Representative for Alaska. He addressed the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Energy on “Sustainability and Energy Efficiency in the Built Environment” and served as host and moderator of the Circumpolar Forum at the Sustainable Northern Shelter 2007. Jack has been an invited speaker at many conferences in North America and most recently in Scandinavia and Greenland. He helped raise five of Alaska’s next generation and look forward to watching their children’s children embrace a healthy, vital and sustainable future for the Circumpolar North.