Energy Summit 2021 - Schedule
Updated May 11, 2021
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Opening Address
Shan Arora - Director, The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design at Georgia Institute of Technology
UNC System Utility Savings
Reid Conway - Senior Energy Specialist, North Carolina Department of Environmental QualityUNC System Recycling
Tara Nattress – NCDEACS Local Government Recycling Specialist, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality11:00am – 12:30pm EST -
Working Group Sessions
Campus-based Energy Efficiency
High Performance Campus Design
Academic Integration
Transportation-oriented Opportunities
Finance, Regulatory and Energy Generation
Zero Waste / Waste Reduction2:00pm – 4:00pm EST -
Keynote Address
Dwayne Patterson – Director, North Carolina State Parks
Keynote Panel DiscussionDwayne Patterson – Director, North Carolina State Parks
Jesse Pope – President and Executive Director Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation Lewis Ledford – Executive Director of the National Association of State Park Directors
Beth Zimmerman Heile – President and Founder of the Friends of the Valdese Rec7:00pm – 8:30pm EST
Click here for session Zoom links!
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Local Governments as Catalysts for Sustainability in the South
Meg Jamison - Network Director, Southeast Sustainability Directors Network
The Southeast Sustainability Directors Network is the place where local government sustainability professionals from across the South come to share best practices, and advance the field of sustainability. Learn about some of the trends that SSDN is seeing throughout the region, how local governments are working together to advance clean energy access, increase resilience, and more.
10:00am – 10:45am EST -
Sustainability Fundraising
Michael Odom – Director of Development, Appalachian State University
A conversation regarding best practices and ideas to secure the funding needed to support sustainable initiatives on your campus
12:00pm – 12:45pm EST -
Exploring the Opportunities of the NC Clean Energy Fund
Jen Weiss - Senior Policy Associate, Nicholas Institute, Duke University
In 2019, as work to finalize a set of recommendations for North Carolina’s Clean Energy Plan wrapped up, stakeholders articulated a need for a new type of financing mechanism that would leverage existing public funds to attract private capital into the market and to fill persistent gaps in the current financing landscape. The non-profit North Carolina Clean Energy Fund was established in 2020 to fill these gaps. This session will explore how the Clean Energy Fund will work to accelerate investment in clean and efficient energy solutions and increase climate resilience in North Carolina, particularly to the benefit of underserved populations.
2:00pm – 2:45pm EST -
Climate Action Planning
Lee Ball - Chief Sustainability Officer, Appalachian State University
Jim Dees - Data and Assessment Specialist, Appalachian State University
This session will describe App State's recent experience with climate action planning. It will cover their approach to the writing process, soliciting campus input, identifying metrics, plan layout, progress dashboards, and more.
4:00pm – 4:45pm EST
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North Carolina is Electrifying, but Not Fast Enough
Stan Cross - Electric Transportation Policy Director, The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
North Carolina has electric vehicle momentum but still lags in EV adoption. Governor Roy Cooper's Executive Order 80 committed N.C. to address climate change and transition to a clean energy economy. State agencies have written electric transportation plans and joined a multi-state truck and bus electrification initiative, Duke Energy is investing $25 million and looking to invest more, and cities and universities are rallying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. How do we harness this momentum to drive effective public policy, attract federal, corporate, and philanthropic investment and accelerate the shift to EVs?
10:00am – 10:45am EST -
Towards Zero Waste
Heather Cashwell - Program Manager, Waste Reduction & Recycling, NC State University. Attend this session to hear about the ways NC State University is approaching a path to Zero Waste, including upstream initiatives aimed at source reduction and reusables, programs going after diversion opportunities like the Zero Waste Workplace Program, and a campus focus on organics diversion and the new NCSU Compost Facility making that happen. We will highlight some of the successes along our pathway and take a look at the challenges that have us reprioritizing our strategies to move more efficiently towards zero waste.
12:00pm – 12:45pm EST -
Food Pantry and Free Store
Jennifer Maxwell - Sustainability Program Director, Appalachian State University
Joe Harvey - Assistant Director for Leadership and Community Engagement, UNC Charlotte
Ashley Rankin – Food Pantry Graduate Student, Appalachian State UniversityThis session will explore means to address food insecurity within a campus community through food hub and pantry development. We will share our efforts here at App State with our Mountaineer Food Hub and Free Store, and hear from our colleagues with the UNC Charlotte Jami Niner Food Pantry.
2:00pm – 2:45pm EST -
Effective Sustainability Outreach During COVID
Rebecca Walton - Sustainability Outreach Director, Appalachian State University
This session is intended to discuss and celebrate the innovations made in sustainability outreach and education during Covid. We'll share examples from App State and invite other attendees to share their successes as well.
4:00pm – 4:45pm EST
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The Cities Initiative
Zach Ambrose – Ambrose Strategy
This session will explore how NC local governments are working to address systemic barriers to GHG reductions in North Carolina. We'll include examples from energy, finance, transportation and energy efficiency.
11:00am – 11:45am EST -
Updates on the last year of activity in the Center for Energy Research and Technology (CERT) at NCA
Greg Monty - Director, Center for Energy Research and Technology
With educational outreach activities on hold due to COVID19, the focus in CERT turned to research. It was a banner year for funding in areas like COVID temperature testing; energy efficiency projects for LMI households; establishing apprenticeship programs in energy efficiency and solar; and building pathways for students into National Labs.
1:00pm – 1:45pm EST -
Campus Gardens to Promote Pollinator Conservation and Environmental Stewardship in Communities
Kaitlin Campbell - Assistant Professor, Biology, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Rita Hagevik - Professor and Program Director for Graduate Programs in Science Education, Biology, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
This session will discuss the utility and versatility of campus gardens as outdoor classrooms to promote authentic science experiences centered around conservation, sustainability, to promote environmental stewardship in people of diverse ages and backgrounds. Specific examples of impactful programming used by the UNC-Pembroke's Campus Garden and Apiary and Kids in the Garden program will be demonstrated in this interactive virtual workshop.
3:00pm – 3:45pm EST -
Sustainability in Boone
George Santucci – Sustainability and Special Projects Manager, Town of Boone, NC
This session will discuss Boone’s Sustainability goals, actions towards those goals, and future plans.
5:00pm – 5:45pm EST
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The South’s 220% Net-Positive Energy Building: energy and facilities lessons learned
Marlon Ellis – Area Six Maintenance Manager, Georgia Institute of Technology
Greg Spiro – Senior Mechanical Engineer, Georgia Institute of Technology
11:00am – 11:45am EST -
BAS Controls Report – Building Tune-Up Strategies
Jonathan Pierson – Energy Manager, Appalachian State University
David King – Energy Manager & Building Automation Systems, Western Carolina University
An open table discussion on existing opportunities to reduce usage by up to 30%.
1:00pm – 1:45pm EST -
Expedition Known, Finding Buried Treasure
Reid Conway – Senior Energy Specialist, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
This session will look at ways to find and locate buried treasure/free money that exists on every campus, you just need to know where to look. You will learn how and where to find the treasure.
3:00pm – 3:45pm EST -
Executive Order 80 & the Built Environment - A Pathway to Success
Mike Kapp – Architect, NC State University
This presentation investigates proven steps that should be taken to honor North Carolina’s commitment to address climate change. Observations of successful measures taken by other states clear a pathway that is cost-optimized and socially equitable for North Carolina to become one of the leaders in carbon neutral architecture while saving billions in tax dollars statewide.
5:00pm – 5:45pm EST
Appalachian Energy Student Summit
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Social Justice and Sustainability
Zoie Moore – Maye Corps
Several Atlanta based students engaged in energy equity advocacy work will share their perspectives on how their college or university supported their ability to become leaders in energy equity, and what further opportunities colleges and universities could provide to effectively support this key aspect of sustainability education. These students lead MAYE Corps, a Metro Atlanta-based, youth-led team committed to implementing energy equity programs that center youth leadership, racial and social justice, and local collaboration.
11:00am – 12:30pm EST -
Successes and Challenges with Sustainability Clubs
Rachel Sampey – AppState Enactus
Claire Funderburk – Appalachian State Renewable Energy Initiative
While student clubs offer huge potential for change and positive impact on campus, they don’t operate without their challenges. Student representatives from App State student clubs Enactus and the Renewable Energy Initiative will discuss the evolution of their clubs, challenges and achievements, what empowers them to make lasting change on campus, and some exciting projects they’re working on.
11:00am – 12:30pm EST
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Student Summit Leadership Lunch
Sean Riordan – Communications Coordinator, Team Sunergy Solar Vehicle Team
Claire Funderburk – Vice Chair, Appalachian State Renewable Energy Initiative
12:30pm – 1:30pm EST
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Peer to Peer Zero Waste Education
Sydney Crisanti – NC State University Zero Waste Wolves
The Zero Waste Wolves from NC State will be discussing their zero waste projects on NC State’s campus and the huge impact their club has had in just a few short years. They will be highlighting a few innovative projects that they hope other campuses in the UNC System can also adopt.
1:30pm – 3:00pm EST -
Sustainability on Campus: Endless Ways to Make an Impact
Jordan Pilcher – Sustainability Peer Educator, UNC Wilmington
Learn about the many ways to make a sustainable impact during your time on campus. Whether your interest is campus gardens, renewable energy, climate action planning, or social justice, there are countless ways you can use your passions to make a difference. Listen to UNCW Sustainability Peer Ambassador Jordan Pilcher discuss her experience using her multiple passions to make a difference on UNCW’s campus and learn from fellow participants during the discussion portion of the session.
1:30pm – 3:00pm EST
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Student Summit Career Panel
Emily Willard – Sr. Inspections Coordinator, Tesla Energy (Baltimore MD)
Kelly Harer – Assistant Director of Sustainability for Education and Outreach, Elon University
Tomiwa Olufolabi – Superintendent, Turner Construction
Sarah Hooper – Senior Coordinator, Sustainable Services, Holder Construction Company
Kaley Cross – Founder, Rooted ReUse
4:00pm – 5:00pm EST -
Career and Academic Networking Session
5:00pm – 6:00pm EST
