Congratulations to the 2022 Leadership in Energy Efficiency Award Winners!

On December 5, 2022, the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) hosted its eighth annual Leadership in Energy Efficiency Awards ceremony.

A panel of presenters lead the celebration for attendees. They were:

• Susan Stratton, NEEA Executive Director
• Cory Scott, NEEA Board Chair and Vice President of Customer and Community Solutions for Pacific Power
• Gilbert Archuleta, NEEA Board Member and Director of Customer Energy Management for Puget Sound Energy
• Kyle Roadman, NEEA Board Member and General Manager for Emerald People’s Utility District

The event kicked off with Stratton, who provided an overview of the alliance’s milestones from the last year and a look forward to the year ahead as 2023 brings dynamic opportunities for both the economy and the energy sector.

The Chairperson’s Award

The Chairperson’s Award is decided by NEEA’s Board chair and executive director annually and recognizes individual dedication and commitment to advancing the alliance’s work. The 2022 recipient of the Chairperson’s award was Deb Young, of NorthWestern Energy, who served the NEEA Board from 1997 until her retirement from in September 2022.

Over the last two plus decades, Young has been an advocate of ensuring that rural markets and Montana realize the value of Market Transformation initiatives. While at NorthWestern Energy, she was actively engaged in the consideration, development, implementation, and evaluation of energy efficiency, renewable energy, low income, and electric and natural gas marketing initiatives.

She recognized and championed the strength of working together as an alliance, and always included her perspectives and expertise related to market transformation in rural, cold climate, and lagging markets in the Northwest.

Young served as a guiding light for NEEA’s early days and with her perseverance and tenacity she played an important, influential role in supporting NEEA.

Congratulations to Deb Young!

2022 Rising Star Award

New to the awards this year was the Rising Star category. Presented by Archuleta, this new award recognized an emerging leader in energy efficiency whose record reflects ongoing and exceptional growth in contribution to the industry. The inaugural winner of the Leadership in Energy Efficiency Rising Star Award was Reilly Loveland Falvey of the New Buildings Institute.

As a Senior Project Manager at New Buildings Institute, also known as NBI, Falvey’s dedication to making buildings better for occupants spans all sectors. She has facilitated tremendous efforts to transform educational facilities across California, Oregon, and Washington into healthy, energy-efficient spaces. Her enthusiasm for healthy, energy-efficient schools--and the people in them--has driven her career.

Congratulations to Reilly Loveland Falvey on receiving the 2022 Leadership in Energy Efficiency Rising Star Award!

2022 Innovative Collaboration Award

The winner of the Leadership in Energy Efficiency Innovative Collaboration award was then announced by Roadman – the Bridger View Market Research Project Team. The collaborative partnership included NorthWestern Energy; the City of Bozeman, Montana; Navigate, LLC and NEEA and was recognized for collaborating on a research project to maximize learnings from a high efficiency residential development in Bozeman, Montana.

Bridger View is an innovative housing development in Bozeman, Montana that models how high efficiency residential development can benefit entire communities and serve as a blueprint for future developments. It boasts 62 highly efficient homes, shared greenspaces, and pathways that improve walkability to downtown, offered at below market pricing making it accessible to Bozeman residents. This observational research has provided valuable insights into both the construction practices and the knowledge and attitudes of the crews during installation. Research will continue into 2023 to survey occupants to learn how the homes’ efficient features factor into occupants everyday living and decision-making.

Congratulations to the Bridger View team!

2022 Tom Eckman Lifetime Achievement Award

For the prestigious Tom Eckman Lifetime Achievement Award, Scott had the honor of presenting the 2022 winner – Don Jones, Jr. of PacifiCorp.

For nearly three decades at PacifiCorp, Jones honed an expertise that his utility depended on, his customers benefited from, and his many regional stakeholders trusted. At PacifiCorp, his work spanned from energy efficiency program delivery, planning, demand response, managing the Washington DSM Advisory Group, several rounds of I-937 filings, contributions to multiple Integrated Resource Plans, coordination with the other Washington IOUs including on a wood smoke study, coordination with Energy Trust of Oregon, managing a team of commercial/industrial project managers, and much more.

Don’s sincerity, common sense, and willingness to address the elephants in the room with solutions, not barriers, earned him the respect and trust of his peers.

Congratulations to Don Jones, Jr. for receiving this well-deserved award!

Wrap up

Finally, the ceremony closed with Stratton receiving a Chairperson’s Award for her commitment to the alliance as its executive director. Stratton is retiring this month after leading the organization for the past eleven years.

During her tenure at NEEA, Stratton has had a tremendous impact on advancing Market Transformation as a discipline to further energy efficiency. She has led the alliance through two five-year funding cycles to secure close to $400 million in funding for regional market transformation programs. She is recognized as an innovator and seasoned collaborator who steered the introduction of natural gas market transformation programs to NEEA in 2015.

Stratton truly exemplifies the values of these awards – innovation, collaboration, and leadership. Her commitment to collaborative leadership enabled her to build alliances and create solutions that have had significant regional and national impact.

Congratulations to Susan Stratton on retirement and receiving the Chairperson’s Award!

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend the event. If you missed the event or need a refresh, we encourage you to check out the live recording below or view the photos from the event on NEEA's Flickr:

And, the alliance would like to express one more congratulations to all the 2022 nominees:

Leadership in Energy Efficiency Rising Star Award:

• Nate Baker, Cadeo Group
• Amy Burke, Bonneville Power Administration
• Charlie DeSalvo, Columbia REA
• Reilly Loveland Falvey, New Buildings Institute
• Tyrone Henry, Energy Trust of Oregon
• Rebecca Hovey, Cadeo Group

Leadership in Energy Efficiency Innovative Collaboration Award:

• Andrea Axel, Spark Northwest
• Kirk Anderson, Nidec
• Advanced Water Heating Initiative: Paul Campbell, ICF; Owen Howlett, Sacramento Municipal Utility District; Amruta Khanolkar and Joseph Wachunas, New Buildings Institute; Keshmira McVey, Bonneville Power Administration; Geoff Wickes, NEEA
• Appliance Standards Awareness Project Team: Emily Chang, Andrew DeLaski, Jeremy Dunklin, Brian Fadie, Rachel Margolis, Joanna Mauer, Madeline Parker and Kanchan Swaroop
• Bridger View Market Research Project: Shawn Fredrickson, Whitney Jurenic, Tucker Kramer, Danie Williams and Deb Young, NorthWestern Energy; Natalie Meyer, City of Bozeman; BJ Moghadam, Emily Rosenbloom, Anu Teja and Amy Webb, NEEA; Jeff Mitchell, Resource Innovations (formerly NEEA staff)
• End Use Load Research Steering Committee: Richard Arneson and Ray Johnson, Tacoma Power; David Clement (NEEA); Michael Colgrove (chairperson), Energy Trust of Oregon; Debbie DePetris, Clark PUD; Andy Eiden, Portland General Electric; Ryan Finesilver, Avista; Suzanne Frew, Snohomish PUD; Mark Lenssen, Puget Sound Energy; David Moody, Bonneville Power Administration; David Nemtzow, U.S. Dept of Energy – Building Technology Office; Peter Schaffer, PacifiCorp; Kevin Smit, Northwest Power and Conservation Council; Craig Smith, Seattle City Light
• Energy Trust Program Marketing Team: Ashley Bartels, Lenora Deslandes, Mana Haeri, Susan Jowaiszas, Juliette Poff
• Suzanne Foster Porter, Kannah Consulting
• Nancy Goddard, Pacific Power
• HVAC Sales Data Team: Suzi Asmus, Ryan Brown, Debbie Driscoll, Mike Psaris, NEEA; Joan Wang, and Bonnie Watson, Bonneville Power Administration
• Morgan Hood and Richard Donnelly, Vermont Gas
• Keshmira McVey and Robert Weber, Bonneville Power Administration; Geoff Wickes, NEEA
• David Moody, Bonneville Power Administration
• NEEA Coordinating Committees Continuous Improvement Project Team: Matt Babbitts, Clark PUD; Anne Curran and Beth Littlehales, NEEA; Mattias Jarvegren, Clallam County PUD; Emma Johnson, Seattle City Light; Michael Lane, Puget Sound Energy; Shelley Martin, Idaho Power; Josh Mitchell, Chelan PUD; Lis Saunders, Tacoma Power
• NEEA LLLC Installation Team: Mary Matteson Bryan (contractor), Jessica Collier, Michael Poplawski and Ruth Taylor, Pacific Northwest National Lab; Chris Wolgamott, NEEA
• Partnership for Advanced Window Solutions Leadership Team: Katie Cort, PNNL Homes / Residential Buildings Research; Grace Diller and Isaac Smith, MN CEE; Rick Dunn, Jesse Largent and Elaine Miller, NEEA; Deepti Dutt and David Lis, Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership; Robert Hart, Berkeley Lab; Marc LaFrance, U.S. Department of Energy Building Technologies Office; Jeff Mitchell, Resource Innovations for Nicor Gas; Maziar Shirakh, California Energy Commission Center for Energy and the Environment; Walter Zalis, Energetics
• Robert Weber, Bonneville Power Administration

Tom Eckman Leadership in Energy Efficiency Lifetime Achievement Award:

• Jim Jerozal, Nicor Gas
• Don Jones, Jr., PacifiCorp
• Teri Ottens, Idaho Association of Building Officials
• Kevin Watier, Snohomish PUD
• Deb Young, NorthWestern Energy