Tackling poverty with community energy efforts

Joel Haskard is the Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) Co-Director for the University of Minnesota’s Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships and Extension. Joel has over twenty years experience coordinating and managing community clean energy activities and has worked with CERTs since 2004. A jack of all trades, Joel works across CERTs programming. His current focus areas include MN Energy Stories, electric vehicles (EVs), and helping Minnesotans reduce their energy burden to below 5% of their monthly income.

My objective is to apply my skills, knowledge, and heart to building resilient communities. I am inspired by the people I work with, the people I meet, and the reality that I can truly make a difference. Over my career, I’ve seen the impact of the right conversation, the dedicated person, a group working together, a common vision, and standing up for the future you want. Being able to “work” at creating the world I want to see with amazing pug-loving, syrup-making, pizza-eating, rabble-rousing colleagues inspires me every day.

I'm a researcher who collects, analyzes, and creates visualizations of sustainability data to inform policy and decision making at the local level.

I have more than two years of experience helping local governments in Minnesota to do smarter energy efficiency planning. I make climate mitigation/adaptation planning at the city level more accessible by creating tools to track and make better use of sustainability data.

I engage diverse stakeholders from the government, non-profit, energy utilities, academia, and private sectors in order to advance Minnesota energy and climate goals.

I'm skilled in data science and web development. I'm Proficient in programming languages such as Python, R, SQL, and JavaScript. I work with tools such as the Django Web Framework, AngularJS, JQuery, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, NodeJS and more to create data visualization and analysis tools that are engaging to non-technical audiences.

I'm passionate about sustainability, climate action, and environmental justice. In my free time, I enjoy volunteering for environmental progress. I love learning about how science and technology have the potential to solve some of the world's biggest challenges.

Jacob Mans is an architect living in Minneapolis, recently back in his home territory. His work focuses on the influence of large-scaled environmental systems on small-scaled building performance. He is currently researching social behaviors attached to habits of consumption and conservation with a design focus on the mediums of wood and fire.