Ecova Experts
Chris Calwell
Senior Research Fellow
As Ecova’s Research & Policy Solutions Senior Research Fellow, Chris explores new research opportunities for Ecova, and travels internationally to speak publicly about sufficiency and progressive efficiency as they relate to changing society’s course of consumption and stabilizing the global climate.
Chris co-founded Ecos (later Ecova) in 1997 after serving seven years in the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Energy Program. Internationally recognized for his ability to successfully make the technical, economic and political arguments for setting stringent product efficiency specifications for voluntary programs and mandatory government standards, Chris’s areas of expertise include external and internal AC-DC power supplies, battery chargers, computers, servers, televisions, set-top boxes, monitors, residential lighting (fluorescent and general-service incandescent), ceiling fans, swimming pools, heat pump water heaters and automotive tires.
Along with three peers, Chris was honored by ACEEE as a Champion of Energy Efficiency for his pioneering research and policy efforts in external power supply efficiency. He has served on the editorial board of OnEarth since 1995 and on Home Energy’s board from 1995 to 2006. In addition, he is a founding member of the Southwest Colorado Renewable Energy Society.
Chris holds a B.A. in environmental studies from Trinity University and an M.S. from the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California at Berkeley.
RECENT CONTRIBUTIONS
Presenter: “Plug Load Opportunities: Results from a Commercial Office Field Monitoring Study,” at the 2012 ASHRAE High Performance Buildings Conference.
Presenter: "Super Efficient Dryer Initiative," at the 2011 ENERGY STAR® Products Partner Meeting.
Dan Olson
Director of Product Management, Sustainability Solutions
As the Director of Product Management in charge of Sustainability Solutions, Dan provides strategic and tactical guidance to the ongoing development and delivery of Ecova’s client-facing sustainability services, positioning clients to remain profitable in an increasingly resource-constrained world.
Dan oversees multiple service lines including Strategy and Engagement, Carbon Management, Waste Management, and Water Management. Dan’s internal leadership has been a driving force behind the development of Ecova’s waste consulting services, building on existing waste expense and data management services to provide a full suite of contract management and waste optimization programs. Additionally, Dan has managed major upgrades to the company’s web-based greenhouse gas accounting tools to ensure Ecova’s competitiveness in the quickly evolving energy and carbon management software marketplace. Finally, Dan is closely involved with guiding the continued development of Ecova’s Strategy & Engagement services. Clients served through this portfolio of sustainability offerings include many of the country’s Fortune 1000 businesses.
Dan earned his B.A. in philosophy from Colgate University, Hamilton, N.Y., with additional coursework focus in the natural sciences including ecology, conservation biology and geology.
RECENT CONTRIBUTIONS
Blog Post: Reducing Energy Consumption in the Retail Sector
Whitepaper: A Big Data Look at Energy Trends
Blog Post: What Big Data Means to Energy Managers
Blog Post: Carbon Disclosure: Corporate Reporting Requirement or Marketing “Nice to Have”?
Video: Ecova Carbon Accounting
Erik Makinson
Senior Manager, Waste Solutions
Erik Makinson leads Ecova’s Waste Solutions group. Since 2009, he has worked diligently to build and enhance Ecova’s waste consulting capabilities. Erik has directly assisted Ecova clients through the design and implementation of multi-site recycling projects, assessment of environmental impacts of packaging changes, and identification of significant waste hauling savings. He has built a team of waste industry subject matter experts that stands ready to assist clients in all of their waste management needs.
Prior to Ecova, Erik spent six years with The Coca-Cola Company, where he supported the company’s Wal-Mart account team through development of a global customer sustainability strategy and participation in Wal-Mart’s Packaging Sustainable Value Network and Packaging Scorecard Steering Committee. Additionally, Erik supported Coca-Cola’s North America Foodservice division through the instigation of a customer sustainability engagement platform and by leading the development of the Ecotainer® compostable cold cup.
Erik holds a B.A. business administration/marketing from Seattle University and is currently pursuing a Sustainable Business Certificate at Bainbridge Graduate Institute and Resource Recovery Manager Certification through the California Resource Recovery Association.
RECENT CONTRIBUTIONS
Whitepaper: There's Money in the Trash
Blog Post: Reduce Waste Expenses by Right Sizing Your Businesses Waste and Recycling Services
Gregg Hardy
Vice President of Research and Policy
As Vice President of Research and Policy, Gregg manages research and program development staff with the goal of providing high quality support for a set of national and international clients. Gregg and his team are dedicated to climate stabilization through the development of energy efficiency codes and standards, product labeling campaigns, and voluntary efficiency programs.
Gregg has 20 years experience in product development, operations and general management in leading organizations including General Electric, the U.S. Air Force, Intel, and ESI, a capital equipment supplier to the computer and consumer electronics industries. He has worked closely with Asian components manufacturers, original design and manufacturing (ODM) partners, OEMs, and other market actors across the global consumer electronics supply chain. He has lead product development teams that have won major performance motherboard awards from PC Magazine, PC World and PC Gamer magazines. He championed development of a media center PC, sold in the US as the Gateway 610 LCD Media Center PC, which received praise from Wall Street Journal’s technology reviewer Walt Mossberg, CNET and the Consumer Electronics Show Innovations award committee.
Gregg holds an MBA in operations from MIT and a B.S.E. in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton University.
Laura Moorefield, LC
Senior Manager, Research & Policy
Since 2009, Laura has been a featured speaker on lighting and plug loads at several industry conferences, including ENERGY STAR Partner Meeting, ACEEE Summer Study, E Source Forum, MEEA’s Midwest Energy Solutions Conference, and NRECA’s Cooperative Research Network Summit.
Laura is Lighting Certified (LC) by the National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions, and brings years of experience and a thorough knowledge of project management, stakeholder relations, policy analysis, lighting technologies and field data collection to Ecova’s research team. She leads strategizing efforts on next generation lighting research and program opportunities, and field research on plug loads.
Laura earned an M.A. in industrial technology from Appalachian State University with a concentration on landfill gas-to-energy system design, funding, policy and implementation, and a B.A. in sociology/anthropology from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore.
RECENT CONTRIBUTIONS
Blog Post: LED Reflector Lamp Evaluation Published
Blog Post: Next Generation Lighting Programs: What’s All the (Lighting) Fuss About?
Leo Berz
Director, Professional Services Telecom
As Director of Professional Services Telecom, Leo explores ways to continually improve Ecova’s telecom offerings while championing client industry concerns.
With over 35 years in the procurement, design, installations and management of voice and data communications networks, Leo is an expert in the field of Telecom Lifecycle Management (TLM) and utilizes this expertise to collaborate with clients to provide strategic insight into managing their telecom environment. He helps companies reduce costs without sacrificing network performance and creates custom solutions through RFP development and planning, contract negotiations, network design and optimization of existing services.
Recognized as an industry expert, Leo has spoken on numerous occasions concerning telecom procurement and contract negotiations. Additionally, Leo contributed his expertise in the development of Ecova’s offering. Prior to joining Ecova, Leo served as co-founder of TelAssess, Inc., a consultancy focused on telecom sourcing, network design, auditing and the sale of TEM software solutions, which was acquired by Ecova in 2005.
RECENT CONTRIBUTIONS
Blog Post: Guidelines for Eliminating Wasteful Telecom Spend
Blog Post: USF Rates at Historical High: Steps for Managing the Impact to Your Telecom Budget
Blog Post: 3 Proactive Steps to Minimize Your Risk of Pay Phone Fraud
Mike Bailey, P.E. CEM
Director of Engineering Services
Mike Bailey leads Ecova’s Engineering Services team which provides engineering and analytical services to Ecova utility and business efficiency and resource management programs. A licensed professional engineer in Oregon and California, Mike has almost 20 years of engineering and project management experience in a wide range of industries, including agriculture, aerospace, oil production and refining, semiconductors, data centers, food service, commercial construction of owner-occupied facilities, and tenant improvement projects of leased spaces.
As a Certified Energy Manager (CEM) from the Association of Energy Engineers, Mike has extensive experience working with facility systems. In addition to his activities at Ecova, Mike serves as a voting member of the Northwest Regional Technical Forum (RTF) the technical advisory committee to the Northwest Power Council. He also serves on the board of directors of the Oregon Association of Professional Energy Managers (OAPEM), and is an active member of ASHRAE.
Mike holds and MBA from Babson College and a B.S. in mechanical engineering and business administration from Oregon State University.
RECENT CONTRIBUTIONS
Blog Post: Efficiency in the Data Center: Recent Conversations
Paige Kindell
Vice President, Resource Management Solutions
As Vice President, Resource Management Solutions, Paige oversees four areas of Ecova's consulting services: Lease Auditing, Advanced Analysis, Carbon & Sustainability and Expense Optimization. Working closely with the company’s Sales & Marketing divisions, she and her team ensure the company offers attractive solutions that help clients see more, save more and sustain more.
Paige joined Ecova in 2006 and just three years later, as Senior Director, Client Financial Planning and Analysis, she was managing financial services for over 400,000 sites across the country. Prior experience in the energy industry includes her time working for the Minister of Environment, Agriculture and Farming at the National Assembly for Wales, UK, on issues such as sustainability, wind farming and clean energy. Paige is involved in many community activities such as St Joseph’s Orphanage Board of Advisors - Cincinnati, Women helping Women - Finance and Internal Audit committees, Newport Ambassadors, and the Newport Recreation Commission.
Paige earned her MBA, Finance Concentration from Xavier University and a B.A. in both Human Resources and Strategic Management from Ohio University.
RECENT CONTRIBUTIONS
Whitepaper: A Big Data Look at Energy Trends
Blog Post: Joining Forces at Staples Strategic Energy Summit
Ted Schultz
Senior Vice President of Strategy and Innovation
As Senior Vice President of Strategy and Innovation, Ted leads the Ecova Utility Solutions team in strategic business development, cultivating innovative, end-to-end products and solutions for utilities to better serve their customers.
Ted is a seasoned leader in the utility industry with more than 28 years of experience driving “what’s next” with a relentless focus on providing value to customers. Prior to Ecova, Ted spent 13 years at Duke Energy, where he successfully launched a profitable services business, earned consistent top performance rankings in national customer satisfaction benchmark surveys, and pioneered an innovative business model that turned energy efficiency into a profitable investment for utilities while holding advisory board positions for Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the Institute for Electric Efficiency (IEE), EPRI, and the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency. Before joining Duke Energy, Schultz spent 14 years at New York State Electric and Gas in Binghamton, N.Y., mostly managing information technology functions. He was Director of Applications and Advanced Technologies prior to joining Duke Energy.
Ted earned an MBA from Syracuse University, and a B.S. in business administration from the State University of New York at Albany.