Your Energy Forum

Branko Terzic Global Regulatory Policy Leader, Energy Resources Group, Deloitte Services LP Branko Terzic is currently Global Regulatory Policy Leader in the Energy Resources Group of Deloitte in the USA (Washington, DC). During the past three years he also served as Regional Managing Partner for the Resources, Energy & Infrastructure Practice Group of Deloitte & Touche Central Europe (Prague, Czech Republic). A former Member of the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (1990-1993) and Commissioner on the State of Wisconsin Public Service Commission (1981-1986), Terzic has also been Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the former public utility holding company Yankee Energy Services, Inc. (parent of the distribution gas utility Yankee Gas Services Company and acquired in 1999 by Northeast Utilities, Inc.). In his current position he is an international consultant to corporations, multilateral lending agencies and governments on energy, infrastructure and network industry issues. He holds a Bachelor of Science Engineering degree from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and was honored by UWM in 1999 as University Distinguished Graduate. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Wisconsin. Mr. Terzic served as a Captain (Field Artillery) in the Wisconsin Army National Guard and US Army Reserve.
Paul von Paumgartten Director, Energy & Environmental Affairs, Johnson Controls, Inc. As Director of Energy and Environmental Affairs for the Building Efficiency of Johnson Controls, Paul von Paumgartten develops business opportunities while leveraging the company's energy efficiency and environmental record. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and he is also Board President of the Energy Services Coalition. Through his efforts, he assisted Johnson Controls in earning the ENERGY STAR® 1999 Ally of the Year and 2001 Partner of the Year awards. With the USGBC, he is Co-chairman of the LEED–Steering Committee and the committee for developing LEED for Existing Buildings. Previously, Mr. von Paumgartten served the Building Efficiency, as the National Manager, Lighting Services, and as Director of Performance Contracting. Before joining Johnson Controls, he was in management positions with McGraw Edison Company; and President of his own consulting firm, Productive Environments.
Barbara Haig President, Barbara Haig Communications — a Milwaukee consulting firm specializing in sustainability issues A former radio and television news reporter, producer and anchor for more than a decade in Wisconsin, Barbara also has more than 15 years of experience in public relations, corporate communications and government affairs. She has handled dozens of energy and environmental projects, largely for Johnson Controls, a leading provider of sustainable products and services for buildings. Her work often involves cooperative efforts with the U.S. Department of Energy and EPA, U.S. Green Buildings Council, U.S. Energy Association, National Energy Foundation and others.
Mark P. Chatelain, Ph.D. Senior ESH/Sustainability Advisor for Johnson Controls, Inc. Dr. Chatelain possesses over 25 years experience in environmental and safety. He is involved in various national and international efforts involving a wide array of government, private industry and non-government organizations. He is leading several sustainability related initiatives within and outside the company that is helping Johnson's Controls image and bottom line. He is also involved with finding cost effective ways for improving sustainability in the supply chain and collecting greenhouse gas data. Dr. Chatelain serves as the company liaison to the Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI), the Business Roundtable's Climate Resolve Committee, EPA's Climate Leaders, United Nations Global Compact, The Conference Board's Carbon Constrained Committee and World Business Council for Sustainable Development. He has received the Johnson Controls Chairman Award twice in the last four years, which is the company's highest and most prestigious award that it bestows on its highest achievers.
Gerrit Reinders Director Sustainable Energy Solutions, Controls Group Johnson Controls, Inc. Gerrit Reinders is Director of Sustainable Energy Solutions for the Controls Group of Johnson Controls Inc., a leading supplier of building and security management systems and controls for quality building environments. Gerrit’s responsibilities include all marketing for energy related initiatives including supply and demand side management, performance contracting, financial services, environmental initiatives. His areas of expertise include: Sustainability & the Triple Bottom Line Environmental Issues Green Building Design (LEED) Alternative/ Renewable Energy Communication Information Systems Energy Services & Performance Contracting Utility, Power Management and Energy Deregulation Greenhouse Gas Emissions Management & Reporting Advanced Data Collection/Metering Technologies Gerrit has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Marquette University and an M.B.A. from Keller Graduate School of Management. A native of The Netherlands, he is fluent in English, Dutch and Spanish and is conversant in German, French and Portuguese.
Craig Zurawski Executive Administrator, Alliance for Sustainable Built Environments Principal, Braun & Zurawski, Inc. As Executive Administrator of the Alliance for Sustainable Built Environments, Zurawski serves as the coordinator of programs and initiatives developed through the collaboration of member firms. In this capacity, he has been responsible for negotiating strategic partnerships and sponsorship of workshops and special events with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the World Green Building Council (WGBC), as well as for the creation of educational programs that engage industry professional organizations, college faculty, researchers, private industry leaders and key members of the building trade media. Zurawski's experience in environmental and energy programs spans more than 20 years, working with a variety of clients such as JohnsonDiversey, Fiberstars, KONE and Johnson Controls to help develop their sustainability messaging, sustainable business approaches and product development opportunities that rise above the pervasive "green wash" to deliver positive corporate-wide impact. As principal in Braun & Zurawski (B&Z), a marketing communications agency, Zurawski helped create a marketing plan and materials for the USGBC in 2000. The following year he and B&Z worked with Johnson Controls to develop the Buildings for a Livable Future seminar series. He also helped the company develop its groundbreaking sustainability education program for building occupants, SEEC, as well as the building industry's most comprehensive green building assessment and project management software, Green Compass. Prior to starting his own agency, Zurawski spent eight years directing the marketing, advertising and public relations for Robert W. Baird, one of the largest investment banking firms headquartered outside of New York.
Don Albinger Vice President, Renewable Energy, Johnson Controls, Inc. At Johnson Controls, Don Albinger heads up a team of energy experts focused on developing and deploying the technologies and expertise surrounding a variety of renewable sources - wind, solar, landfill gas, biomass, and photovoltaic. The team also supports projects with customer education programs and grant-writing assistance that take advantage of funding opportunities for emerging technologies. Since joining Johnson Controls in 1984, Albinger has worked on the technical development of building automation systems and the advancement of environmental control methods for buildings and programming technologies. Within Johnson Controls he has held management positions to help direct the global distribution of security and fire systems, as well as the development of strategic alliances that enhanced the technical ability of Johnson Controls' building systems to perform critical building functions around safety and security. Albinger is a member of the American Council of Renewable Energy and the Product Development Management Association. He obtained his bachelor's degree in education from the University of Wisconsin - Platteville, a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering and a master's degree in engineering management from the Milwaukee School of Engineering.
Clay Nesler Vice President, Global Energy and Sustainability, Johnson Controls, Inc. In his role as vice president of global energy and sustainability for Johnson Controls, Nesler leads a worldwide team responsible for coordinating marketing, legislative affairs, resource management, product/service innovation and energy program management. Nesler's responsibilities also include leading a professional services organization that develops collaborative planning tools and provides consulting services to Johnson Controls customers and third-party clients on a global basis. Since joining Johnson Controls in 1983, Nesler has held a variety of leadership positions in technology, new product development and marketing in both the United States and Europe. Nesler received his bachelor's of science and master's of science degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, and is listed as a co–inventor on 10 patents.
Michael Arny President, Leonardo Academy Michael Arny is the president of Leonardo Academy (www.leonardoacademy.org), a charitable (510c3) nonprofit organization he founded in 1997 to promote environmental improvement and sustainability. From the beginning Leonardo Academy has sought to develop ways to put the immense power of the competitive market to work on improving the environment. Arny leads the Leonardo Academy's work helping companies and organizations implement sustainable practices and green procurement programs; helping manufacturers, suppliers and service providers improve the sustainability of their products and services and their green marketing messaging; and helping companies and organizations implement the U. S. Green Building Council's LEED® rating system in their buildings and prepare certification applications. Arny also leads the Leonardo Academy's work on the development of ANSI standards for emissions inventories, reductions credits and offsets, sustainable vehicles and sustainable organizations From 1999 to 2003 Arny was also executive director of the Energy Services Coalition, a nonprofit organization of representatives from state energy offices, performance contracting companies and others interested in increasing the delivery of building performance improvements through performance contracting. Performance contracting allows building owners to pay for building improvement with guaranteed streams of savings. Under Arny's leadership the coalition grew from a regional to a national organization. Piror to that, from 1994 to 1998, Arny was a chair of the state of Wisconsin's inter departmental committee that developed the state's greenhouse gas emissions inventory, emission reduction cost analysis and the economic benefits analysis for emission reductions. Arny earned a bachelor's of science and a master's of science degrees in mechanical engineering and a bachelor's degree in psychology and Russian language at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His master's degree thesis addressed solar water heating. Arny is a registered professional engineer in the State of Wisconsin and a LEED accredited professional.
Joel Makower Co-founder/executive editor, Greener World Media, Inc. For nearly 20 years, Joel Makower has been a well-respected voice on business, the environment, and the bottom line. As a writer, speaker, and strategist on corporate environmental practices, clean technology, and green marketing, he has helped a wide range of companies align environmental responsibility with business success. Makower is co-founder and executive editor of Greener World Media, Inc., which produces GreenBiz.com and its sister sites, ClimateBiz.com and GreenerBuildings.com. He also is a co-founder and principal of Clean Edge Inc., a research and publishing firm focusing on building markets for clean energy technologies, and serves as a senior consultant to GreenOrder, a sustainability strategy firm that works with such companies as Dupont, General Electric, and General Motors. From 1991 to 2005, Makower was editor and publisher of The Green Business Letter, an award-winning monthly newsletter he founded on corporate environmental strategy. Makower has been appointed a Batten Fellow at the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia, where he is compiling and editing a book of business case studies tentatively titled "The Case for Sustainability," intended for use in both business schools and companies. A former nationally syndicated columnist, Makower is author or co-author of more than a dozen books, including "Beyond the Bottom Line: Putting Social Responsibility to Work for Your Business and the World," about socially responsible business practices; "The E-Factor: The Bottom-Line Approach to Environmentally Responsible Business," on how companies are responding to environmental challenges in positive and profitable ways, and "The Green Consumer," a best-selling guide to the environmental marketplace. Makower has been a featured commentator on environmental topics for public radio's "Marketplace" and appears frequently in both broadcast and print media.
Steve Thomas Manager of Global Energy and Sustainability Communication, Johnson Controls Steve Thomas is manager of global energy and sustainability communication for Johnson Controls. He has been responsible for product and service communication efforts at the company for more than 20 years, most recently heading up communications for the Johnson Controls Solutions markets. Steve developed some of the first communication efforts aimed at promoting energy saving performance contracts in the 1980s, he helped launch the first Energy Efficiency Forum, co-sponsored by the US Energy Association since 1990, and he spearheaded the worldwide launch of the company's flagship Metasys building management system. Steve has been active in efforts to communicate the value of integrated, intelligent automation in buildings and helped advocate for the inclusion of Integrated Automation and Commissioning categories in the Construction Specification Institute's Master Format 04. Steve is a life-long member of the Nature Conservancy, belongs to the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, The Theodore Roosevelt Association, and the American Institute of Architects (associate). He has a bachelor's degree in communications and music from Carroll College in Waukesha, Wis. and a master's degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin - Madison.
Mark Wagner Vice President, Government Relations, Johnson Controls, Inc. Mark Wagner is vice president of Government Relations for Johnson Controls, Inc., a global leader in building automation systems, and automotive interiors and batteries. In his position he develops potential business opportunities with the federal government in the area of energy efficiency, building controls and security solutions. Mark also promotes Johnson Controls' strategic position and objectives with federal agencies and Congress. Mark's areas of expertise include energy policy, federal sites that showcase energy efficiency, renewable energy, and electronic security systems, as well as advanced battery technology for hybrid electric vehicles. During his nearly 10 years with Johnson Controls, Mark has been instrumental in developing programs with the federal government, including Energy Savings Performance Contracting and other public-private partnerships. Mark is a member of the Johnson Controls-U.S. Energy Association Energy Efficiency Forum Executive Council, planning the nation's foremost symposium on energy efficiency. He serves on the Planning Committee for Energy 2006 and is chairman of the Privatization Task Force of the Professional Services Council. Before he joined Johnson Controls, Mark served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Economic Security, working on defense policy matters involving base closings, industrial issues, competitive sourcing, and privatization Mark received his bachelor of arts degree in political science from Indiana University in 1975 and his law degree from the Indiana University School of Law at Bloomington in 1983.