Description

This session will be hosted by Timothy Unruh, Executive Director of NAESCO, and Mary Sotos, Director of the Federal Energy Management Program. Each quarter we will talk with Mary about what FEMP is doing, and some of their current actions. Also, each quarter we will be joined by a guest, and this quarter our guest is Crystall Merlino of the US Department of Homeland Security.

Registration is free. You will receive a separate Zoom invitation with a link to the webinar about a week prior to the event.

Presenters

Dr. Timothy Unruh, Executive Director, National Association of Energy Service Companies (NAESCO)

Dr. Timothy D. Unruh is the Executive Director of the National Association of Energy Service Companies (NAESCO). In this role, he manages the representation of its member Energy Service Companies. NAESCO provides advocacy for the industry at the Federal, State and Local levels, and provides for member company Accreditation.

Dr. Unruh has had previous positions as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Renewable Power at the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Office of the US Department of Energy (DOE), Director of the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) at the DOE EERE, and the Director of Operations for ConEdison Solutions. During his career, Dr. Unruh has performed numerous assessments, project analyses, and energy engineering services for an array of facility types. He is involved in the development of electrical power quality standards with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Power Quality Subcommittee.

Dr. Unruh is a licensed Professional Engineer in multiple states across the U.S. and is a Certified Energy Manager (CEM) as well as a Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP). He has doctorate, master’s, and bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering from Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas.

Mary Sotos, Director of the Federal Energy Management Program, Department of Energy

Mary Sotos is the Director of the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP). She leads a team dedicated to helping federal agencies achieve sustainable facilities and fleets by assisting with federal-wide data collection and aggregation, developing reporting tools and technical assistance, and offering training and project funding.

Sotos previously served as a senior policy advisor with the Connecticut Department of energy and Environmental Protection, where she launched a revamped "Lead By Example" program to create new strategies to track and manage greenhouse gas emissions, waste and water use across all state agencies. She also served as the agency's deputy commissioner for energy, directing the state's energy policies and programs. Sotos also worked at the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Program at the World Resources Institute, an international think tank, where she developed new lobal carbon accounting standards and tools used by thousands of organizations worldwide. Additionally, she partnered with corporate leaders to develop and advance new renewable energy strategies, tools, and policies to decarbonize the grid. 

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from St. Olaf College and completed a Fulbright Fellowship in Brussels, Belgium.

Crystall Merlino, Director for Resilience, Energy and Sustainability, US Department of Homeland Security

As the Director for the Resilience, Energy, and Sustainability, Crystall is responsible for strategy, oversight, and delivery of the program for the Department of Homeland Security.  She is responsible for implementing policy and guidance for the Department on climate change adaptation and mitigation, resilience, sustainability, and energy/water related matters. She led the development of the DHS Resilience Framework in 2018, which provides a roadmap for the Department in operational resilience and readiness and led the development of the Departments’ Climate Action Plan, signed by the Secretary in September 2020. 

Over the past 20 years she has led and supported large-scale government, sustainability, energy, and environmental programs and projects providing leadership, mentorship, contract management, research, and technical support to government and private clients.

Crystall graduated from Arkansas State University, Jonesboro Arkansas with a Bachelor of Science.  She is a LEED Green Associate, a chapter member of the National Capital Region, US Green Building Council, and sat on the board as president (2002) and secretary (2000), she was one of the original founding members and board member for the Building Commissioning Association and a member of the Women’s Council on Energy and Environment (WCEE). She also is very active in her local government and school system, participating on many boards to ‘green’ the schools and graduated from the City of Alexandria, VA Academies on leadership and environmental plans.  She is a City of Alexandria Eco-City Ambassador, which provides opportunity to take actions to make the city more sustainable.