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Join us in celebrating Giving Tuesday!

November 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Join us in celebrating Giving Tuesday!
“Black Friday” is coming – the day after Thanksgiving when the masses flock to the stores in droves for holiday gift shopping. True to our roots, NESEA is embracing a more sustainable approach. This year, we are celebrating “Giving Tuesday.”

November 27, 2012 is the first ever #GivingTuesday. Launched to inspire charitable giving and conscious consumerism throughout the giving season. #GivingTuesday™ is a campaign to create a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season. It celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support nonprofit organizations.

Let’s bring sustainability to this holiday season
NESEA is participating in this new Thanksgiving tradition: GIVING TUESDAY. On Tuesday, November 27th, we urge you to make a small but heartfelt contribution, to give something back.

We are hoping to raise $16,000 by midnight on Giving Tuesday, which will bring us halfway to our $32,000 year end goal. We already have a great head start, thanks to a group of your peers who have pledged $13,000 in matching donations. Please help us raise an additional $3,000 on Giving Tuesday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

NESEA is the region’s leading membership organization promoting sustainable energy practices in the built environment. Our work is vital. And you are vital to our success. When you support NESEA:

you help do the future right

you support the people in the trenches

you fight greenwashing

you help raise awareness

p.s. – Your donation makes a big difference in our ability to advance the adoption of sustainable energy practices in the built environment. Please give as generously as you can. We are profoundly grateful for your investment in our community and in our mutual success!

Filed Under: Communications, Member Announcements, NESEA Members Tagged With: , ,

BuildingEnergy online is becoming a reality

November 14, 2012 By 1 Comment

I’m excited to share what’s happening with the BuildingEnergy Masters Series (BEMS).

Following a very successful “soft launch” in October, with almost 60 students registered in two courses, I’m convening a working group of 6-8 NESEA members to step back – to help me set policies for how we run the program and how we integrate it with the rest of what NESEA does. Our first meeting is scheduled for December 7th.

Helping us fulfill the promise of BuildingEnergy . . . online, year-round

I view this committee as a natural extension of the BE planning committee, or as a curriculum committee, of sorts. The committee will help advise me on issues such as:

  1. What criteria we should use for choosing the subject matter for BEMS offerings and for selecting instructors
  2. What criteria we should use to ensure that instructors’ content does not unduly overlap with that of other instructors
  3. Whether we should implement incentives, above and beyond a standard revenue share, for instructors who go above and beyond in marketing, and whose efforts bring a significant number of students into the course who would not otherwise have enrolled
  4. What criteria we should establish for manufacturers/vendors who wish to offer courses on the platform, and whether/how we might brand such offerings differently than BEMS courses
  5. What the course schedule should be and how to prioritize which instructors to approach to develop course content
  6. Who we might approach as potential partners and/or for cross promotional opportunities
  7. How can we best integrate this program into others NESEA offers – paying particular attention to integration with our crown jewel, the BuildingEnergy Conference.

Initially, the BuildingEnergy Masters Series was conceived as a way for NESEA to offer BuildingEnergy Conference-quality content year-round to practitioners within our community, irrespective of their locations – and to help NESEA diversify its revenues so that we are not relying exclusively on the success of our annual conference to float the rest of the organization. Based on the post-conference surveys we’ve done in recent years, we knew that many within our community crave the opportunity to learn from, and network with, each other year round. BEMS was conceived as one way to help fulfill that need.

We made a good start . . . now it’s time to incorporate what we’ve learned

When we launched our two courses this fall, we relied upon instructors who routinely draw large crowds at our BuildingEnergy Conference. We knew we could rely on them to deliver high quality content. And we knew that they were excellent teachers who would take the time commitment to develop top-notch educational content seriously. We had hoped to attract 8-10 students for each of the courses we offer in 2012 and 2013, but  Marc Rosenbaum’s Zero Net Energy Homes, and Paul Eldrenkamp and Mike Duclos’ Passive House:  The Future of Building in the US?, far exceeded our expectations. We attracted almost 60 students between the two courses – in large part thanks to Marc Rosenbaum’s extra marketing efforts!

We’re thrilled that the courses and the format seem to appeal to so many. And we’re looking forward to incorporating more opportunities for members to drive the direction of this program, just as they do the BuildingEnergy Conference and Trade Show. If you have feedback you’d like to share about this program or process, feel free to email me at jmarrapese@nesea.org or call me at 413.774.6051, ext. 23. Otherwise, I’ll keep you updated on the working group’s recommendations and the roll out of this new initiative.

Filed Under: NESEA Members, Whole Systems Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Building an Infrastructure for Collaboration – How are we doing?

June 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

How do NESEA members propose new programs they’d like to be involved in launching?
How does NESEA engage members in projects that align both with their passions and their skill sets?
How do we build the capacity of our members to be effective leaders and collaborators for the projects we take on?
Who decides which NESEA programs get launched and which ones don’t?
How do we reinvent legacy programs so that they align with NESEA’s mission and its brand?
What’s the mechanism for welcoming new members into our community?

These are just a few of the questions we’re attempting to answer in our “Infrastructure for Collaboration” (IFC) working group. The IFC group launched in May 2012, after NESEA held two charrettes during which the members present requested that we develop better processes for engaging current and new members and for deciding which programs and initiatives to undertake.

The underlying premise of these two charrettes was that NESEA is at its best when its programs are primarily member-driven and staff supported. (The BuildingEnergy Planning Committee’s process, although by no means perfect, is the best current example of this.) Thus, the IFC group has been attempting to take what’s good about the BE planning process and adapt it for re-use in other areas.

We’ve made some progress, and IFC group chair Jamie Wolf and I thought it would be a great time to bring you all up to date.

What we’ve done so far

So far, the IFC group has developed a workgroup template. This template is intended to walk a NESEA member, step-by-step, through the process of proposing a new program/initiative. In the template, the member is asked to:

  • Give a brief description of the project/program/initiative
  • Articulate the purpose of the program (and how it fits in with NESEA’s mission)
  • Specify the objectives of the program
  • Articulate the process by which the group/program will accomplish these objectives
  • Propose a timeline for the program
  • Specify what type of support is needed to launch the program (including staffing resources, equipment, money, etc.) and what plans are in place to secure that support
  • Address how the group will communicate, both internally and externally
  • Specify who will lead the group and who will be members (or how members will be selected, what their roles will be and how they will be held accountable
  • Articulate what the end product will be, if any, from the project/program (how will success be measured)

Once this template is completed, the appropriate NESEA staff representative (typically me in my role as executive director) completes a companion template to provide feedback/a reality check on the proposal. In this template, staff answers questions about:

  • Whether we support the proposed initiative
  • Whether we believe the project can be accomplished with the resources projected, and what other resources might be available
  • Whether/how the project will likely fit in with other, potentially competing priorities, and the conditions that must be met in order for staff to support the project optimally
  • Who on staff will be the primary staff person on the project
  • What authority the group will have to act on its own

We’ve also developed a member survey that will help us start to catalog our members’ skill sets and their interests, so we can do a better job of filling the gaps in various NESEA projects and committees.

What we’re learning

Developing these templates felt a bit abstract to many of us in the IFC group. So we decided to try them out – first to apply the process to the Communities of Practice that Robert Leaver is heading up, and then to our own work within the IFC group.

What we’re learning is that it takes discipline to remember to follow the process. As a staff person who focuses primarily on member support, my inclination is often to jump into projects when they are proposed – and especially when they are proposed by members I have worked with, and those I know have the horsepower and the follow through to get the projects done. But I’m recognizing that this process may have value in encouraging those who are new to the community or inclined to be less vocal to propose ideas that otherwise might never reach the surface.

We’re also learning that it’s hard to foresee every possible variable that we should ask for in a proposal. We want the bar to be set sufficiently high so that we’re not getting new requests for new, big, resource-intensive programs every day. But we don’t want to set the bar so high that somebody with a fantastic idea can’t figure out how to get it to us, or gives up trying.

What’s next?

We’ll continue to experiment with these templates just a bit longer, and try to vet them sufficiently so they’re ready for you to use. We’ll keep you updated on our progress!

– Jennifer Marrapese, Executive Director, NESEA, and Jamie Wolf, IFC group chair

Filed Under: Communications, NESEA, NESEA Members Tagged With: , , , , ,

Invitation to join NESEA’s Communities of Practice

June 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment

NESEA is piloting communities of practice (COP) for its members in which people can learn and problem solve together about a topic or practice they are passionate about. COPs are encouraged to meet online as well as in person.

A COP “is a group of people who share a craft and/or a profession. It can unfold naturally because of the members’ common interest in a particular domain or area, or it can be created with a specific goal of gaining defined knowledge. It is through the process of sharing information and experience with the group that members learn from each other, and have the opportunity to develop themselves personally and professionally.[1]”

COPs create an experience of mutual learning and collaboration where every participant is both teacher and learner. In an effective COP representatives of a whole system are present to get the work done.   

At the close of BE12, 5 COPs formed.  Of the 5, we will conduct pilots with the topics of whole systems and next economy. We will begin online the week of July 18, 2012 in BaseCamp. John Abrams is developing the first next economy post to get the conversation going in BaseCamp. I am asking Jamie to do something similar for whole systems.

Save the date #1: To really accelerate COP participation, there will be an in-person workshop for NESEA members only. We will convene both the whole systems and next economy groups in the Pawtucket studio of New Commons on July 19th, 11 am to 2:30 pm. The agenda will feature both topical conversations on our two topics as well as collaborative conversation across the two topics. You can either bring a lunch or we will figure out how to make sandwiches available for people to buy — lunch and registration details will follow.

Save the date #2: The NESEA Annual Meeting will be held in September 15, 2012 in Portland Maine. On either 9/14 or 9/15 we will hold a second COP workshop.  Stay tune for the final date.

Before July 19th, Robert Leaver will develop and post a draft “COP Guide” based on the contributions posted so far, online, by the COP work group. It will define what a COP is; describe the facilitator’s role and so on. I will also revise “the compact” of purposes and roles between members and staff for the COP work group.

We have to begin working together online in BaseCamp as it will take some time to get BuddyPress designed and ready for our use. The collaborative infrastructure group will be organizing with staff and members a work group to work on the design and use of BuddyPress.

I look forward to seeing you on the 19th of July –11 am to 2:30 pm in the New Commons studio in Pawtucket.

Robert Leaver
New Commons

(Robert Leaver served as the BE12 Conference Chair and the BE11 Vice Chair)

[1] Communities of Practice as defined in Wikipedia based on the concept of Etienne Wegner.

Filed Under: Communications, Emerging Professionals, NESEA, NESEA Members, Whole Systems Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Refurbished Membership Levels – May 2012

April 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

(A follow up/reiteration of our recent 4/12/12 email to the membership):

NESEA has some changes afoot –

  • The first is our new website, to be launched in May.
    The new website, and new database to match, will help improve the way in which members can communicate and connect with one another.
  • Second, after gathering member survey feedback and some serious consideration, we are refurbishing our membership levels, which will be launched with the website in May.

Here is what you can expect:

Individual Levels:
Student / Retiree – $25
Individual / Emerging Professional – $55
ASES / NESEA Individual – $94
Lifetime Individual – $1500

Business Levels (suggested by number of employees):
Small Business / Entrepreneur (1-10) – $250
Local Leader (11-25) – $500
Industry Leader (26+) – $1000

You may notice the new levels are more or less equivalent to our current structure. So, why the change?

  • We needed to simplify.
    Before we had six individual levels of membership and five business levels. Now we offer a total of seven levels. We think this is much more straightforward. It’s also easier for us to track, which means we can spend less time on administration, and more time serving you!
  • We serve a diverse community of members who range in age, career phase, discipline and business size. We needed a membership structure to match.
    Now, new and renewing members can identify their niche more easily and not just based on the quantitative benefits associated with each level. We are asking members to identify themselves in each member level, rather than to choose only based on the price, or the discounts. According to our recent member surveys, the discounts, while definitely a perk, are not really why you join NESEA. (The discounts aren’t going away, though, never fear!)
  • We want to reflect our continued clarity of vision on who our members are and what matters to you.
    We are working hard to continue to improve and deliver on what you have said matters most to you – the peer to peer learning, the community, and the opportunities to connect professionally. De-emphasizing the discounts as reasons to join, coupled with a membership structure that more clearly reflects different career phases, business sizes, and foci, we will be better positioned to do so.

Because most of the current levels have a direct equivalent, your current level of membership should translate seamlessly into our new database. No action is required on your part.

For example, if you are a current Basic $55 Member, you will translate to Individual/Emerging Professional $55 level membership in the new structure. With the exception of the levels we are no longer offering (explained below), very little will noticeably change for you, but we think the semantics are important.

So, where is the Sustainable Green Pages level?

  • We are retiring it as a membership level.
    The Sustainable Green Pages directory listing will be available to anyone that would like to purchase it (for $100), but those that purchase the listing only will not be considered NESEA members (and so will also not receive the Northeast Sun).
  • The Sustainable Green Pages listing will continue to be a benefit to business members…
    …with the added bonus of a NESEA member logo to signify your commitment to the mission and values of this organization. Or, you can be an Individual level member and also purchase a listing, and be recognized as a member with a member logo in the directory.

Here is a summary of what we mean by ‘retiring’ the SGP Level of membership:

  • The SGP level (as a standalone) will no longer be considered a NESEA membership.
  • The SGP directory listing will still be included as a benefit to business level members, and available for purchase separately from (or in addition to Individual) membership for $100.
  • NESEA members who purchase a listing in addition to their membership, or have a listing as a business membership benefit, will be designated as NESEA members in the directory with a NESEA member logo.
  • We will phase out this level as current SGP level memberships lapse.
    That is, current (joined or renewed before May, after our new website launches) SGP level members will continue to be considered full members until it comes time to renew.

If you are a current SGP member and you are interested in renewing your NESEA membership, these are your options:

  • Renew at a Business level
    That way, you get the Sustainable Green Pages listing and the full benefits of NESEA business membership. (Click here to see level options and benefits).
  • Renew at the Individual ($55) level
    If you renew at this level (click here to see benefits), you can additionally purchase a Sustainable Green Pages listing for $100, and still be designated as a NESEA member in the directory. This arrangement does not come with the other perks that come with the business levels (one reason why we would encourage you to give a business level a try), but the combination would then include a $20 discount on a BuildingEnergy Conference registration, which our current SGP level does NOT offer.

Even if you decide not to purchase a listing, or try a business level, as an Individual / Emerging Professional member, you will have access to the members only directory (being listed is optional), which will help you connect to your fellow members (and help them connect to you).

We hope you will stay a member, but if the listing is all you really want, we won’t twist your arm! You will still be able to get one for $100, but you will not receive any of the benefits of being a member of our amazing community.

What about the Supporting and Sustaining individual levels?

To those that have joined at higher priced individual levels (Supporting, Sustaining) – we are retiring them as membership levels because although you gave us more (thank you!!), you did not get much more in return.

We truly appreciate your giving, which is why we would encourage you to contribute as a donation de-coupled from your member dues. That way, because we are a registered 501(c)3, you can get a tax deduction. To clarify that: membership dues are unfortunately NOT tax deductible, only donations are. By donating separately from your membership, we are more clearly able to count, and recognize you (if you wish) among our donors.

If you are a current holder of a supporting or sustaining membership, you will continue to be at that level until it is time for you to renew, and then you will have the opportunity to choose another level.

As always, we are here to support you – to connect you with other professionals, to help you learn from each other, and to continue to promote the adoption of sustainable energy practices in the built environment.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns – 413-774-6051 ext. 20, rheldt@nesea.org.

Thank you for being a part of our community!

Filed Under: Communications, NESEA, NESEA Members Tagged With: , ,

Exciting New Collaboration Opportunity with Siemens

January 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I wanted to let you know about a partnership opportunity that has recently come our way.

Siemens has just approached us to explore whether we are interested in working with them to present Solar Exchange, a one-day conference intended primarily to educate practitioners about the latest happenings in the solar industry. Participants will include photovoltaic researchers, utility representatives, manufacturers, developers, OEMs, integrators and others. Siemens will take responsibility for identifying and paying for the venue, and underwriting the cost of attendance for all attendees so that it can be offered as a free event. They have asked NESEA to help with the planning and promotion of Solar Exchange – i.e., providing our content for the event. They are planning to host the event in May at Rutgers University.

Siemens has recently hosted other Solar Exchange events in Arizona (approximately 80 attendees), Los Angeles, and most recently in Raleigh, NC, where they partnered with another ASES affiliate, the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association, which attracted 300 attendees. All were very well received, and I have learned from my counterparts in NC that Siemens was great to work with.

From my perspective, this opportunity is a no-brainer. Last year, the NESEA Board approved a strategic direction that contemplates offering more programming in the southern part of the NESEA territory — NY, NJ, PA and DE. We are hoping, over time, to develop some sort of “BE South” offering. This event could be a great first step. It could allow us to develop a stronger toe-hold in NJ, and to obtain up to 300 qualified leads for new members in the area with whom we might be able to engage, year round. The only cost to NESEA will be the staff time associated with helping to find content for the event and helping to promote it. And we intend to work closely with BuildingEnergy Renewables track chair Bill Stillinger to do so – borrowing heavily from the content and the presenters we are using in the Renewables track at BE12. Siemens has indicated they are open to using different learning formats – more interactive modes of learning than just a traditional panel of 3 with PowerPoints. They are interested in making the event a quality learning and networking event, not just a sales pitch for their own products.

I’ll be glad to keep you all updated on this collaboration as it progresses. Thanks!

Jennifer

Filed Under: energy policy, Green Building, Industry, NESEA, Renewable Energy, Solar Tagged With: , , , ,

2/16/12 – Pregame for BE12

January 30, 2012 By 1 Comment

Can’t wait for BuildingEnergy12? Neither could we.

Thankfully, one of our BE12 Gold Sponsors and NESEA Members, Renewable Sales, has volunteered to host a BE-caliber session at their showroom in Holliston, MA, February 16, 2012, starting at 5:30pm. RSVP here.

An evening of networking and expert information …
and it’s free! (And there will be food!)

The evening will feature a discussion “Understanding Risks and Rewards: A Conversation on Community Solar,” facilitated by The Cadmus Group, featuring a case study from the Town of Natick and from the City of Medford.  MA Department of Energy Resources will speak to its solar programs (e.g., SolarizeMass with MassCEC, SunShot Program grant), as well as support that it can and has provided to Massachusetts municipalities.

[hide-this-part morelink="Click here to read more about the speakers..."]

Erin Sweet, The Cadmus Group
Erin SweetErin Sweet leads The Cadmus Group’s efforts to support local communities with their renewable energy projects. Since 2010, Ms. Sweet has provided owner’s agent technical assistance services to eight Massachusetts cities and towns on behalf of the state Department of Energy Resources. She has assembled lessons learned from Cadmus’ owner’s agent work into a blog for communities interested in renewable energy. Ms. Sweet has evaluated the costs and benefits of water utility renewable energy projects for the U.S. EPA, and created a roadmap to drive renewables development in South Carolina’s Central Midlands region. Ms. Sweet holds an M.A. in urban and environmental policy and planning from Tufts University, and degrees in microbiology and English from the University of Florida.

Meg Lusardi, MA Department of Energy Resources,
Green Communities Division
Meg is the Director for the Green Communities Division, the organization within the MA Department of Energy Resources that serves as the hub for all municipalities on all matters related to energy.  Meg was tasked in August 2008 to launch the development and implementation of the Green Communities Designation and Grant Program, the landmark program for the Division, that has led to 86 municipalities in MA being designated Green Communities. Meg joined DOER in July 2005 and previously worked with the Renewable Energy team on all matters related to renewables development in MA. She previously served as the Chief of Operations for Project Hope, a non-profit in Dorchester, and as a Project Manager at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Bob Bois, Environmental Compliance Officer, Town of NatickBob Bois
Bob has worked in the environmental field on the public side for over 35 years. Presently, Bob is the Environmental Compliance Officer (ECO) for the Town of Natick – a position he’s held for the past 10 years. As the ECO for Natick, Bob is responsible for coordinating Town-wide compliance with all applicable federal and state environmental laws applicable to Town operations and plays a key role in implementing environmental stewardship and pollution prevention projects Town-wide. As Natick’s ECO, Bob has helped the Town achieve ISO 14001 certification for the environmental management system at its water treatment plant in 2007, secured designation from the state DOER as Green Community in May 2010, and helped negotiate two Power Purchase Agreements to install a 1.08 MW solar array system on the roof of six town buildings by the spring of 2012. Prior to working for Natick, Bob worked 25 years with the state DEP in various positions including the Acting Director for the Office of Enforcement. Bob has a BS in biology form Merrimack College and a MS in Engineering from Tufts University.

A representative from the City of Medford (to be confirmed)

With introductions from:

Kevin Price, CEO, Renewable Sales
Kevin Price is CEO of Renewable Sales of Holliston Massachusetts. Mr. Price bring 30 years of construction sector experience to his position, predominantly in the role of wholesale distributor of mechanical  equipment. In 2008, he opened a small warehouse to service the fledgling solar market in the MetroWest region of Massachusetts.  Since then, he has grown the company to keep pace with the fast expanding market. Renewable Sales now has 3 divisions; the original distribution company that recently expanded operations to a 20,000SF facility in Holliston, as well as two manufacturing divisions.  In Dallas, Texas the company manufactures its American Choice PV modules. The third division, Constellation Solar Mounts, manufactures solar racking for commercial and utility scale projects.

Mr. Price is a native of Massachusetts and enjoys New England’s diverse cultural and seasonal offerings. Mr. Price supports a number of charitable organizations on a local and regional basis.

…and our own Jennifer Marrapese, Executive Director, Northeast Sustainable Energy Association[/hide-this-part]

Here is the essential information:

What: NESEA invites you to “Understanding Risks and Rewards: A Conversation on Community Solar” presented by The Cadmus Group, and hosted by Renewable Sales
Where: Renewable Sales, 35 Jeffrey Avenue, Holliston, MA 01746
When: Thursday, February 16th, 2012; 5:30 – 8:30pm
RSVP: http://goo.gl/iKWtB – maximum 60 attendees – so do not delay! (and please let us know if you need to cancel)

We hope to see you there!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me: rheldt@nesea.org or 413-774-6051 ext. 20

Filed Under: Events, Industry, NESEA, NESEA Members, Renewable Energy, Solar Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Housekeeping and Introductions

July 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

We’ve been doing some belated spring cleaning at NESEA, to prepare for bringing new staff on board, and to reconfigure the office so that those of us who need quiet can have it, and those of us who work together most often can be in close proximity to each other. One of the things we have done is to donate the NESEA library to the Energy Efficiency/Renewable Energy program at Greenfield Community College.

As a book lover, it was hard to part with these treasures. But it was a good lesson in letting go to make space for something new. We’ve created beautiful new work space. And the truth is, by housing the books at GCC, we’ve made them more publicly accessible than they were here at NESEA. They can serve our community, and the community at large, better at a public institution than here in our building, which doesn’t really host regular meetings or gatherings. We’re grateful to our friends at GCC, and to Christine Copeland, in particular, for arranging to house our collection.

On another note – you’ve probably gathered by now that one of our priorities for the coming year is to find new and better ways to engage NESEA members and to provide them with valuable tools to grow their business using social media. As one step in that process, I’d like to introduce you to Roger Sorkin, of Sorkin Productions. Roger is a really talented video producer and, as a sponsor of BuildingEnergy11, he captured wonderful footage of longtime and new NESEA members talking about what NESEA means to them, and the value of the BuildingEnergy Conference. We’ll be working with Roger within the next few months to turn that footage into one or more promotional videos that NESEA can use on its site, on YouTube, and elsewhere to tell our story.

So, as you might imagine, Roger is very savvy at using video online to help organizations tell their stories. He also has a passion for the work that NESEA and its members do. Filming at BE was a real opportunity for him to “drink the Kool Aid,” and he’s hooked. We’re now referring to him as our first ever “sponsoring member” (which may soon appear as a new membership category for NESEA, who knows?). In fact, he’s in the process of completing a deep energy retrofit on his own home, and is just starting a project to document the US Military’s response to climate change.

Roger has offered to serve as a resource to NESEA members – to share his insights on how they might use video to effectively tell their stories and grow their businesses, and to share with the community, using video, his experience with the deep energy retrofit process so that NESEA’s practitioners might learn how to make the process easier from the perspective of one of their customers. Check back for his posts and enjoy!

Filed Under: Communications, NESEA Tagged With: , , , , ,

Welcome to Travis and Rayna

July 15, 2011 By 2 Comments

Things have been quiet on the NESEA blog lately. That’s not an indication that we haven’t been busy (yes, mom, I know that’s a double negative!) To the contrary, I have felt so swamped that it’s been hard to catch my breath and update the community. I’m going to try my best to do so with a series of short blog posts over the next few weeks about what the staff and I have been up to.

At the top of my list is to introduce you to two new members of our staff, Rayna Heldt, our membership services coordinator, and Travis Niles, our communications and development coordinator. We have brought them both on board as part of our 2011 strategic plan to help us increase NESEA’s reach into new communities and to help us serve our current membership better.

Rayna has (officially) joined NESEA staff after working for us on an informal basis for about a year. After volunteering at BE10, she arrived at NESEA central to assist planning the 2010 Junior Solar Sprint. Since then, she helped edit last years’ Sustainable Green Pages, and was also BE11′s Registration Coordinator. She has an MSc in Anthropology and Development, a Certificate in Baking Arts, and a BA in Liberal Arts with a concentration in anthropology, poetry and philosophy. She currently lives in Charlemont, MA where she keeps a tremendously over-ambitious vegetable garden and spends most of her free time cooking and listening to public lecture podcasts. She is interested in the connection between people, culture and the environment, and at NESEA, sees the relationship between people and their built environment as a key to securing environmental and economic sustainability. She is thrilled to be the point of contact for membership and will be reaching out to the membership soon for any and all feedback you are willing to share! You can reach Rayna at rheldt@nesea.org or at 413.774.6051, ext. 20.

Travis comes to us from the ACT Volunteer Center. A native of upstate New York, he received his BA in History from Wells College in 2009 and came to Massachusetts to serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA member. He discovered a passion for outreach and networking while directing the volunteer center’s operations and promotional campaigns. Always desiring to be on the cutting edge, he worked to bring ACT and its non-profit partners up to speed by using web tools, social networking platforms and the booming mobile market to supplement under-performing traditional marketing efforts. He firmly believes in applying these same principles for us to “build energy” for all of NESEA’s programs. When he’s not singing with the Pioneer Valley Symphony Choir or searching for the next great local wine, you can find him on our Facebook page or on Twitter @NESEA_org. You can also reach him using more conventional media, at tniles@nesea.org or at 413.774.6051, ext. 21!

You can expect to hear a lot from Travis and Rayna within the next few week, as they start to survey NESEA members and potential members about how we can help you advance the adoption of sustainable energy practices in the built environment. Please join the conversation and provide them with your candid feedback so that we can build an organization that serves your networking and professional development needs.

Filed Under: Communications, NESEA, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

How do we capture the energy of BE? An invitation to dialog.

March 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Dear BE11 attendees and NESEA community,

Re-entry after BuildingEnergy is always hard, and this year was no exception. The energy level at this gathering is so high! It was especially bittersweet to leave the Seaport last week knowing that I may have to wait an entire year to get my “hit” of the passion, the energy, the community that is BE. BE left me wanting more.

That leads to big questions, and I’d like to ask for your input. How do we bottle this stuff? How do we transform BuildingEnergy from a 3-day event each year into an experience that infuses us with ideas, connection and passion throughout the year? And what are the things we would bottle if we could?

Here just two of the many things on my list:

I’d like to find a way to bottle the feeling I had after the “Women of Green” second plenary session, which ended with a spontaneous standing ovation. In my mind, this pecha kucha session was one of the best at BE, and probably one of the best learning sessions I have ever been a part of — largely because of our 8 panelists’ willingness to share very personal stories in the interest of our collective of our learning. Some of the highest praise for the event came from some of our most technically focused members — mostly men. I think that all who attended appreciated the huge contrast between this session and the other, much more cerebral offerings at the conference. And the buzz continued, after the conference, with commitments via email from the panelists to stay in touch, to serve as resources to one another, and to find another opportunity to rekindle the connections that were born at BE. So how do we do this? What is the best way to maintain this energy throughout the year? How do we continue to involve this incredibly accomplished group of sustainable energy professionals, and widen the circle to include more?

I’d like to bottle the sentiments some of our most active NESEA members used to describe NESEA as they were being filmed by our sponsor, Roger Sorkin, for our soon-to-be released promotional video. Their comments about what NESEA is and why it matters left me with chills. We couldn’t have chosen more appropriate words had we hand-picked them — words like “community,” “family,” “mind-expanding,” “caring,” “interconnectedness.” So these words describe human needs — human needs that can’t possibly be fulfilled through just 3 days each year. What should we be doing to foster this community, this mind expansion, this connectedness?

I wonder if any of the rest of you are feeling similarly? What moments of BE magic did you experience last week? Do you have a desire to replicate them at other times throughout the year? Most importantly, do you have ideas on how to do so?

How can NESEA use the energy of BE to connect us to each other and to ideas throughout the whole year? Comment here, or if you’re more comfortable email me directly at jmarrapese@nesea.org.

Jennifer

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