EP127 Energizing Change: Advocates Power Up Policy at the RESNET Policy Forum With Robert Pegues and Carl Chidlow
RESTalk
"Advocacy is the mirror reflecting the voices of the community into the corridors of power." - Unknown In today’s podcast we cover the topic of advocacy and public policy in the context of the residential energy sector learning from our guests Robert Pegues, General Manager of Technical Delivery at US Ecologic, and RESNET board member, and Carl Chidlow, a lobbyist representing RESNET. Robert shares his background in the sector, highlighting his experience at last year’s policy forum and his involvement with regional and national energy councils. Carl provides insights into RESNET's efforts...
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EP126 From Audits to Advocacy: Trailblazing Women in Energy Efficiency with Sharla Riead and Emelie Cuppernell-Glitch
RESTalk
"I never dreamed about success. I worked for it." - Estée Lauder We welcome Sharla Riead, Lead Instructor at Energy Smart Institute and Emelie Cuppernell Glitch, VP Programs at Performance Systems Development to focusing on the recognition of women in the HERS (Home Energy Rating System) rating industry. Sharla shares her extensive background, beginning with founding an energy auditing company in 1979, which evolved into a HERS rating company, and subsequently into roles in quality assurance and training within the industry. She emphasizes her company's impact and the shift she has...
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EP125 QA in Your Pocket How a Mobile App is Empowering RESNET HERS Ratings with Cassandra Wright, Leo Jansen and Billy Giblin
RESTalk
The best way to predict your future is to create it. - Abraham Lincoln Data is king, they say. How can the RESNET Quality Assurance (QA) app's data insights revolutionize how we rate energy-efficient homes? Imagine a world where getting your home energy rating was made easier by using a smartphone app. Is that the future the RESNET QA app promises? Our trio of guests, Quality Assurance Designees (QADs) Cassandra Wright from Strand Systems and Leo Jansen from Energy Efficient Homes Midwest, and RESNET Quality Assurance Field Specialist Billy Giblin, help us to...
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EP124 RESNET’s audacious goal for 2028 and supporting initiatives with Steve Baden and Mark Johnson
RESTalk
Time is neutral and does not change things. With courage and initiative, leaders change things. - Jesse Jackson The advent of a new year naturally brings broader thinking, more introspection, and the creation of future goals. What future goal has RESNET’s board recently adopted? What near-term initiatives create the path to that goal? How confident is RESNET in meeting that goal? What is “embodied passion index?” In 2024’s inaugural episode of RESTALK, Steve Baden and Mark Johnson discuss RESNET’s ambitious goal of achieving one million ratings by the end of 2028. This...
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EP123 The Best of RESTalk 2023 with Bill Spohn
RESTalk
That’s the funny thing about time. It is only in looking back that it’s easy to connect the dots. To see exactly why everything needed to happen the way that it did. - Rebecca Serle 11 episodes, 11 topics, 17 different guests and over 5 hours of RES-Talking in 2023! We covered a lot of ground in the RESTalk podcast in 2023, now going into our 6th year of episodes. We hope we stimulated your thinking and moved you into action in this ever-evolving world of home energy ratings and peripheral topics. Listen in to this fast-paced recap of the year in RESTalk, maybe you missed a...
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EP122 Best Practices in Construction Technology Education with Michael Lee, Texarkana College
RESTalk
Whatever good things we build end up building us. -Jim Rohn In today’s episode we chat with Michael Lee coordinator of the Construction Technology Program at Texarkana College in Texarkana, TX. We learn of his back story which led him to this role. He thoughtfully describes the approach he has taken to build the construction technology department at Texarkana College. Michael describes the students that come through the program, where they come from, what they’re taught, and where they end up working. He spends extra effort in enriching his instruction by...
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EP121 Back Together and Stronger, the RESNET 2023 Conference with Clara Hedrick & Emma Bennett
RESTalk
Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress; working together is success. -Edward Everett Hale On today’s podcast we welcome Clara Hedrick and Emma Bennett to give us up to date and inside information about the Upcoming RESNET conference: Nov 15-17, 2023 in San Diego, CA. Since the last face to face conference was in 2020, and after virtual conferences in 2021 and 2022, Emma shares what will be the same and what will be different as compared to past conferences. We also over a few of the specific events that attendees can look forward to as well as recommend...
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EP120 Energy Efficient Homebuilding at Scale with Robert Broad of AMH Development
RESTalk
Sustainability is no longer about doing less harm. It’s about doing more good. -Jochen Zeitz In this episode of the RESTalk podcast we are joined by Robert Broad, Senior Vice President of Development at AMH (NYSE: AMH), where he oversees new home and community development operations - including land acquisition, land development, purchasing, product development, and construction. Robert shares with us AMH’s focus on a desire to create more energy efficient homes using scalable techniques and measurable goals. During this conversation we learn of some new and...
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EP119 RESNET appoints a new ESG Advisory Group with Matthew Cooper, PEG
RESTalk
Sustainable development is the pathway to the future we want for all. It is a framework to generate economic growth, achieve social justice, exercise environmental stewardship and strengthen governance. -Ban Ki-moon ESG has become an integral factor in the financial world. The Structured Finance Association estimates that $11.6 trillion, or $1 of every $4 invested in the United States, was invested under ESG investment strategies. RESNET® HERS® Ratings are increasingly becoming the metric for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting on the energy performance...
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EP118 Santa Fe's Habitat for Humanity Homes achieve HERS-ZERO scores with Rob Lochner and David Best
RESTalk
“Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.” -Albert Schweitzer Habitat for Humanity’s mission is to help families build and improve places to call home. In the process developing strong and stable communities with affordable housing. Often household utility costs make affordability a challenge. What factors need to fall into place to address this challenge of affordability? How are cozy, comfortable, attractive homes that use no net energy being built in the Habit for Humanity model? Join us as Rob Lochner, Construction Director at Habit for...
info_outline“I hope to continue to inspire our nation’s youth to pursue careers in science, technology engineering, and math so they, too, may reach for the stars.“
-Ellen Ochoa (American engineer, former astronaut, and former director of the Johnson Space Center)
The percentage of women in the construction industry grew from 9.9 percent in 2018, to 10.9 percent in 2020 marking a recent steady increase in women's employment. Women now take on more roles in the industry that range from work in the trades to project management.
In honor of Women's History Month, we asked: "So what’s it like to be a woman working in the HERS industry? What inspires women to take this career path?"
In today’s podcast, we hear from Elizabeth Sanfelippo of Brayn Consulting, and Beth Ainsworth of Performance Point about their career journeys leading to roles in the HERS world.
They share their stories both coming from aspects of the fields of art and design. We learn of some of the challenges, large and small, as well as how they manage self-doubt and bias.
Elizabeth attended Middlebury College in Vermont where she received her BA with a major in studio art. While attending Samford University for a Masters in Environmental Management, she homed in on her passion for residential energy efficiency and home performance. She became a HERS Rater in 2016 (not really knowing much about HERS) and now works as a senior engineering associate for Brayn Consulting where she focuses on the 45L tax credit for energy-efficient new construction homes. She was a 2019 RESNET ELC Fellow and recently received the Jo-Ann Golden Humanitarian Award in 2021 from the National Association of Women in Construction Southeast Region.
Beth attended Appalachian State University, where she obtained a master’s degree in building science. After being immersed in the sustainable environment of Boone, NC for 10 years, she decided to follow her passion and pursue a career in green building design. She began working for Performance Point in 2010 and has been in the industry as a HERS rater for almost 15 years. She specializes in the modeling and design of custom housing and assists in the plan review phase and design for multifamily projects with her NGBS Verifier certification. In recent years, she has become a Quality Assurance Designee.
We wrap up the conversation by sharing thoughts on how the concept of women in the trades needs to be made “normal” in society’s thinking.
You can also hear more perspectives on this topic by listening to RESTalk Episode 85: “The House that She built.”
You can get in touch with our guests here:
Elizabeth Sanfelippo: [email protected]
Beth Ainsworth: [email protected]
RESTalk: To the RESNET community, we hear you and want to engage.
Learn more at www.RESNET.us
Or for more info on this topic contact RESNET at [email protected]