West Sound STEM Network, a regional network with over 50 members from a cross-sector of industry, education, government, and nonprofit sectors dedicated to ensuring that area youth have access to career pathways that lead to family-wage, high-demand careers, recently presented four “Outstanding Partnership” awards at the West Sound STEM Network Career Connect Washington Summit. Two of the awards were presented to Smart Buildings Center Education Program (SBC EP) Board members Perry England, MacDonald-Miller, and Robb Andrade, Siemens.

MacDonald-Miller and Siemens are industry members of West Sound STEM and a driving force in developing the controls programmer and associate controls specialist apprenticeships. MacDonald-Miller and Siemens provide outstanding leadership on the Senior Leadership Team and on the Implementation Team and regularly interact with and support education and industry within the West Sound STEM Network region. MacDonald-Miller has led STEM Cafes for teachers with a focus on engineering design, and Siemens works with educators and schools in the region to bring real-world applications into the classroom. These efforts provide real-world training opportunities for teachers and students to increase their own STEM knowledge, connect with industry, and engage in activities that they can take back to their classroom. The professional development links real-world application to classroom instruction in a way that is engaging and understandable to both teachers and students. MacDonald-Miller and Siemens have also hosted teacher externships and worksite learning tours for students. Thank you to MacDonald-Miller and Siemens for providing these deep and meaningful connections for educators and students which are critical to support developing the workforce of today and tomorrow.

Passive House 2020 – Choose Your Future
New York City, June 11-12, 2020

Through January 24th, the North American Passive House Network (NAPHN) 2020 Conference Call for Papers is open for both workshops and the main conference sessions.

“Choose Your Future” is a call to action in these uncertain times, to empower individuals and teams, to mitigate risks and ensure positive outcomes. In addition to the expected spectrum of in-depth presentations and workshops, there will be a particular emphasis on engaging building developers and owners of all stripes, in a peer-to-peer dialogue.

For more information, please visit https://naphnetwork.org/conference/

The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) recently recognized the winners of the 2019 Leadership in Energy Efficiency Awards.

These awards recognize individuals and teams for their outstanding collaboration, innovative solutions and significant contributions to advancing energy efficiency in the Northwest. A panel of Northwest energy and utility leaders selected the winners from more than 30 nominations submitted by the regional energy efficiency community.

The City of Seattle Office of Sustainability team led by Nicole Ballinger and Sandra Mallory, the Seattle City Light team led by Joe Fernandi, Ted Brown and Rose Palomo, along with technical support from the University of Washington Integrated Design Lab team led by Chris Meek, the Smart Buildings Center team led by Brittany Quigley, and Srinivas Katipamula and Nora Wang with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, envisioned and implemented the Tune-up Accelerator program.

More information on the other award winners can be found here.

The Smart Buildings Center (SBC) and Building Operator Certification (BOC) program are proud to announce our first annual BOC Operator of the Year, Stephanie Carlisle, Compliance Coordinator for the Town of Medway, MA!

Earlier this year, BOC requested nominations for people working to improve the energy efficiency of their work environment using skills they learned in the BOC program. We received many impressive nominations detailing how methods learned in BOC classes are helping people make improvements in their work environments, but Stephanie’s story stood out among the rest.

Stephanie was nominated by her co-worker, Bobby McGee, who completed the BOC training with her and wanted her to be recognized for her hard work “making the world a little greener” and being known as Medway’s “Green Community Coordinator.”

In her role as the Compliance Coordinator for the Town of Medway, Stephanie is responsible for all energy savings projects. BOC training equipped her with the necessary skills to analyze the energy usage of all building equipment, produce reports, and implement changes and repairs as needed. She tracks and records natural gas, electricity, heating oil and propane consumption and analyzes data to identify energy and cost savings opportunities. Stephanie then works with consultants on the cost and energy savings metrics and submits grant applications to obtain funding for the energy savings projects.

A few projects Stephanie has helped receive funding include:

• Blown-in insulation for the Senior Center roof/attic space
  • Cost: approximately $70,000
• Building envelope weatherization repair and weather stripping to save energy and money on heating/cooling costs for Fire Station, Town Hall and Senior Center
  • Cost: approximately $20,000
• Installation of the Town’s first EV charging stations
  • Worked with Eversource on the Make Ready Program for no cost “behind-the-meter” installation, and with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council on reduced cost of the station equipment
• Purchase of the first electric vehicle for the Town’s fleet
  • Obtained two electric vehicles to date
• Replacement of boilers, AHUs, and condensers at the Police Station
  • Cost: approximately $200,000

The SBC and BOC program applaud Stephanie on her efforts to improve the energy efficiency of the Town of Medway’s operations, and congratulate her on being named as 2019 BOC Operator of the Year!

Know someone who deserves recognition for their work in the industry? Nominations will open for the 2020 BOC Operator of the Year award in May, so stay tuned!