CERTs 2009 | Feb. 11 Morning Plenary

Session Audio

Janet Streff, Director of the State Energy Office & Manger at the Minnesota Office of Energy Security – Welcome
As director of the State Energy Office Janet has had the opportunity to work with policymakers in the state and other energy professionals across the nation to increase the use of energy efficiency and renewable energy. Janet has been working for 13 years in the energy industry and has been working another 15 in the commercial construction industry. This experience has helped her understand the importance of building efficient and durable buildings.

Lissa Pawlisch, CERTs Coordinator, U of M Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships – The Clean Energy Resource Teams: Helping Minnesota Determine its Energy Future
Melissa Pawlisch is the Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) coordinator for the University of Minnesota’s Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships program. Melissa has spent over 10 years working on energy-related issues. Prior to coming to the University she spent several years working as an environmental consultant with a focus on environmental investigations at large scale power plant facilities. In 2002 she began work with community organizations looking for alternatives to centralized power production. For the past five years Melissa has staffed five of the greater Minnesota CERTs and worked to stimulate clean energy project development by connecting team members with the resources and technical assistance they need to implement community energy projects. She has a Masters degree in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy.

Minnesota State Representative Jeremy Kalin – Green Jobs: Where Clean Energy and Economic Recovery Converge
State Representative Jeremy Kalin has anything but a typical political background. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Minnesota, with a ceramics emphasis. Before attending architecture school at the University of New Mexico, Kalin made his living selling his one-of-a-kind functional pottery and teaching high school and college. Most recently before serving in the Minnesota House, Rep. Kalin worked as a designer and draftsman for Natural Spaces Domes, a local, family-owned company specializing in energy-efficient geodesic dome homes. Kalin’s real world experience led to chief-authoring in his first term the nation’s strongest Energy Efficiency and Conservation standard – the cornerstone of the historic Next Generation Energy Act of 2007. For his work on the Energy Committee, Rep. Kalin was named a 2007 Legislative All Star by Fresh Energy Minnesota. Rep. Kalin serves as co-chair of the Green Jobs Task Force. He also serves on the Energy Finance and Policy, Local Government, Government Operations, Reform, Technology and Elections, and State Government Finance committees.

Annette Bair, SW CERT Coordinator and Physical Development Director, Southwest Regional Development Commission – Introducing Randy Udall
Annette Bair is Physical Development Director of the Southwest Regional Development Commission. She grew up in Nebraska, attending high school in Lincoln. She has an Undergraduate degree in Geography with a special emphasis in urban studies, and a Master’s Degree in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Following her college education, she began to work for the Southwest Regional Development Commission as a planner in September 1986. The Physical Development Planning position has included work in assisting local units of government in Transportation, Land Use, Solid Waste Management Planning, Environmental, and Energy planning. Currently, her work focuses on Transportation and Renewable Energy planning issues.

Randy Udall, Former director of the Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE) in western Colorado – America’s Energy Challenge: From Fossil Fuels to Energy Flows
Randy, former director of the Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE), is one of the nation’s leading activists in promoting energy sustainability. CORE’s partnerships with electric utilities and local governments have led to remarkable accomplishments, including Colorado’s first solar energy incentive program, the world’s first Renewable Energy Mitigation Program which has raised $7 million, and some of the most progressive green power purchasing programs in the country. Udall is co-founder of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil-USA and has keynoted annual conferences for the Rocky Mountain Electric League, American Solar Energy Society, and American Wind Energy Association. In recent months he has addressed the Nebraska Municipal Power Pool, Colorado Rural Electric Association, Colorado Association of Municipal Utilities, Utah Association of Municipal Utilities, and the ASPO-USA Peak Oil Conference. He was also recently featured in a CNBC documentary The Hunt for Black Gold.

Dan Thiede, Clean Energy Program Coordinator, The Minnesota Project
Dan has been with TMP since May of 2007. Dan is the CERTs Webmaster, and coordinates the biennial CERTs statewide conference. Dan also manages CERTs communications tools such as fact sheets, display materials, and project case studies, among others. Dan has a solid knowledge base in a range of environmental issues, as well as significant experience in writing, web and print publishing, speaking, event planning, and collaborative project development. Dan has undergraduate degrees from the University of St. Thomas in geography and English writing, as well as a minor in Environmental Studies. When not in the office, he is likely on his bicycle—rain, snow, sleet, or shine—or digging in the garden.