In October of 2008 Mr. Charles “Russ” Russell was named Vice President of VCA Code Group, in Orange, CA, a building code consulting and engineering firm. Russ is responsible for the operations and management of the firm, which provides building code evaluation and plan checking services for municipal and county building departments across California. 

 

For the past two years Russ has be touring the State providing seminars about CALGreen and has spoken to more than 6000 attendees on it’s implementation. These seminars are in collaboration with the Building Standards Commission (BSC) and State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). The topics of the seminars range from a general introduction of CALGreen, in-depth residential and commercial applications, and preparation for CALGreen inspector and plan examiner certifications. The audiences for these seminars include architects, engineers, government officials, contractors, developers, and consultants.

 

Currently, Russ is a member of the International Code Council (ICC) Los Angeles Basin Chapter and serves on the Green Building Code Committee and the Fire Life Safety Committee. He is responsible in the development of the training program for the Chapter which provides continuing education for its members. Russ also serves on the Executive Board of the ICC Orange Empire Chapter and the Education Committee which provides monthly training for the chapter members. Recently Russ took on the challenge of coordinating a three day training event for both the Los Angeles Basin and Orange Empire Chapters, which assisted many southern California building departments in meeting their training and education requirements. Russ also serves on the California Building Official Organization (CALBO) Green Committee which works with State officials in code development. His current position with VCA allows Russ to share his enthusiasm for the building codes and training with members of ICC and private sector construction professional. Additionally, Russ’s current and past experience as a Building Official permits interaction with other Building Officials and other associates on a common level which is beneficial when solving problems provides a unique insight with CALGreen application that benefits members of the audience.