Join the Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin for a virtual discussion unpacking actions you can take to use less energy at home. The session will provide an overview of the current rate cases that CUB is working on, and we will talk about how Wisconsin citizens can get involved. Speakers will also touch on no-cost or low-cost resources available from Focus on Energy that both homeowners and renters are able to access to help them on their energy-saving journey. The session will also showcase a Latino community project which helped to empower women to take action within their homes to address climate change. This program occurred in Madison last summer as a partnership between Sustain Dane, and the Latino Academy which was managed by Wisconsin EcoLatinos. Our panelists will provide real-world examples of actions, and projects that can be taken by Wisconsin residents to reduce their energy burden.

This is a conversation you don't want to miss!

Thomas Content, Executive Director - Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin

Chad Laibly, SW Regional Manager - Focus on Energy

Speakers

Heather Goetsch, Associate Director - U.S. Green Building Council and CUB's Board of   Directors 

Heather finds purpose as an advocate for a sustainable future and has applied this by working in the nonprofit sector for over ten years. She has worked in several aspects of sustainability, including food systems, transportation, and green building.

Heather's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heathergoetsch/

Thomas Content, Executive Director - Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin

Tom joined the Citizens Utility Board in 2017 after working for more than 30 years as a journalist. He became interested in energy and what it costs households while sitting in the back seat, waiting for what seemed like forever, during the gas lines of the ‘70s.  After graduating from Boston University’s College of Communication Tom worked at newspapers in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania before moving to Wisconsin. He reported on utilities and worked as business editor at the Green Bay-Press Gazette in the 1990s and then moved to Milwaukee, where he covered energy, utilities and sustainable business for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. His reporting on energy and climate change won the National Press Club’s Stokes Award for Energy Writing in 2007. Tom and his family live in Glendale.

Tom's Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomascontent/

Cristina Carvajal, Executive Director  - Wisconsin EcoLatinos

Cristina Carvajal is the funder and Executive director of Wisconsin EcoLatinos, a non-profit organization working to help the Latino community in Wisconsin take action against environmental hazards and advocate for an equitable and sustainable environment. Cristina currently serves on the Sustainable Madison Committee, the Lake Monona Waterfront Ad-hoc Committee, and the Wisconsin Environmental Equity Tool Advisory Committee.

Cristina's  Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristina-carvajal-2b7579182/

Chad Laibly, SW Regional Manager -  Focus on Energy

Chad Laibly is one of three regional managers servicing participating contractors (called Trade Allies) in utilizing the state-run energy efficiency program, Focus on Energy. In 2008, he became BPI and Solar certified and for the next three years managed a team of solar installers and BPI auditors in the greater Washington D.C. area. He was the first contractor to become BPI Accredited in VA while participating in the DOE’s Home Performance with Energy Star Pilot program. 11 years ago, he returned to Wisconsin and joined Accurate Airtight Exteriors, an insulation Trade Ally based out of Waupaca, helping them to become the second company in WI to achieve BPI Accreditation. During this time, Chad completed commercial-level energy audits in Wisconsin and the surrounding states. Chad spent three years with Rockweiler Insulation heading up their Focus on Energy program and providing hundreds of clients with home energy assessments. During this time, Chad managed just about every kind of insulation project imaginable, from flooded crawlspaces, to sprawling multi-family attics, and 150-year-old farmhouses with endless opportunities for improvement. For the past 8 years, Chad has managed his territory in the Focus on Energy Trade Ally Solutions program. Chad holds a B. Sci. in Geology and Museum Exhibit Design from the University of Iowa, has worked in the dinosaur prep lab “fishbowl” at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. In his spare time, Chad has been a field investigator for the Mutual UFO Network, a black belt instructor in Shotokan Karate, and currently creates hand-routed old-world style signs for local businesses.

Chad's  Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/environinja/

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