12:30 AM - 1:30 PM

Location: Narragansett A

Speakers

Steve Smith, Vice President, Federal Business Unit, Energy Systems Group (moderator)

Steve has over 20 years of experience in the energy performance contracting industry and has background expertise in industrial building science, energy management, and project financing. As a Vice President for ESG’s Federal Business Unit (FBU), Steve oversees all business activity for the Federal Business. Steve administers over a team of business development professionals, engineering professionals, construction management professionals, administrative staff, and other personnel. He is also responsible for all of the ESG’s enduring service projects. He and his team of managers supervise the development of energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) and utility energy service contracts (UESCs) in support of the federal government’s energy conservation, electrification, carbon reduction and infrastructure modernization needs. Steve received his MBA from Baldwin Wallace University and his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Dayton.

Rhonda Courtney, Vice President of Business Development, Hemma Lighting Solutions 

Over a 30-year career in lighting and the ESCO industry, Rhonda has secured more than $120 million in ESPC and lighting design projects and led teams to strong national performance. As Vice President of Business Development at Hemma Lighting, she brings deep industry expertise and a proven track record of driving growth. Rhonda has played a key role in advancing the ESCO industry, founding the Tennessee chapter of the Energy Services Coalition, serving 12 years on its Board, and holding multiple leadership roles with NAESCO, including four years on the Executive Committee.

Drew Franyo, Director of Building Envelope Development, Applied Energy Savings Systems

Drew Franyo is the Director of Building Envelope Development at Applied Energy Savings Systems bringing over 16 years of hands-on experience in building performance assessment. A certified building analyst, Drew has evaluated more than 95 million square feet of municipal, federal, and commercial facilities. His work focuses on identifying envelope deficiencies that impact energy performance, durability, and occupant comfort, and translating field data into actionable, performance-driven solutions.

Brandon Miles, Senior Manager of Business Development, Aeroseal

Brandon Miles is the Senior Manager of Business Development at Aeroseal, where he leads strategic growth within the ESCO, ESPC, and energy-as-a-service markets. Over the past five years, Brandon has supported the development and execution of more than 50 commercial duct sealing projects across municipal, university, school, healthcare, federal, and commercial facilities.

His work focuses on positioning Aeroseal duct sealing as a measurable energy conservation measure that helps ESCO partners reduce HVAC energy waste, improve air delivery, enhance comfort, and support long term building performance. Brandon works closely with ESCOs, engineers, facility owners, and implementation teams to identify high value airside opportunities, develop savings narratives, support project qualification, and translate measured leakage reduction into customer-facing value.

With a background in business development, project development, and consultative sales, Brandon specializes in helping ESCO partners integrate duct sealing into ESPC and broader building performance programs. His experience includes supporting opportunity development, technical scope alignment, M&V strategy, and partner education to help advance duct sealing from an emerging measure into a repeatable, scalable solution for commercial energy efficiency projects.

1:30 PM - 2:45 PM

Location: Narragansett A

Speakers

Eric Fournier, Senior Vice President of Business Development, Avi-on Labs (moderator)

Eric has over 25 years of experience in the lighting control industry. Over the years, he has been leading teams of seasoned product managers, brought to market innovative award-winning products. Most recently Eric has helped build the Avi-on brand within the industry and position it as the leader in Bluetooth lighting controls.

Lara Spader, Senior Director, Energy and Sustainability, Facilities and Campus Operations, George Mason University

As the Senior Director of Energy and Sustainability at George Mason University, Lara Spader is responsible for leading coordination of the university’s efforts in sustainability, energy efficiency and utilities management.  In this role, she oversees the Energy & Utilities Management Program, the Central Heating and Cooling Plant, and the Office of Sustainability. Before joining George Mason, Lara served as a Program Manager in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations where she co-led the Industrial Demonstrations Program responsible for managing the execution of $6.3 billion to support large-scale emissions reduction demonstration projects. Previously, Lara worked at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as the Director of the Energy, Environment and Fleet Program Service. Within that role, she oversaw VA’s Department-wide policy and programs for energy and water management, energy performance contracting, fleet management, environmental management, sustainable buildings and climate change adaptation. Prior to that, she was the Program Manager for VA’s nationwide Energy Performance Contracting Program with oversight of over $1 billion of energy efficiency projects at VA medical centers. Lara joined the Federal government as a Presidential Management Fellow, served a detail at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and was a 2020 VA Congressional Fellow at the U.S. House of Representatives. She is a Certified Energy Manager with a Master of Business Administration from the George Washington University and a Bachelor of Science in Management from Boston University.