EP151 Emerging Leaders, Real Talk: The Future of HERS® Starts Here (March 2026)
Release Date: 04/13/2026
EP151 Emerging Leaders, Real Talk: The Future of HERS® Starts Here (March 2026)
RESTalk
QUOTES from the episode: “You can’t fix what you didn’t catch early. Thoroughness upfront saves everything downstream.” “It’s a young industry. That’s what makes it exciting, we’re still shaping what it becomes.” “If you don’t have a reason for being in this work, it’s going to be hard to stay in it.” In this episode of RESTalk, Bill sits down with 2026 Emerging Leader Fellows Courtney Holland and Hayden Cantoni fresh off their experience at the RESNET® Conference. Both guests share how they found their way into the HERS® and building performance industry, often...
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EP150 Women Building the Future: Voices from the RESNET® Community (March 2026)
RESTalk
QUOTES from the episode: “You absolutely belong here. There are many paths into this industry, and there’s room for everyone to thrive.” - Cindy Zeis “Patience, facts, and science always win the day.” - Sharla Riead “The future of women in building science is unlimited.” - Nancy St. Hilaire In this milestone 150th episode of RESTalk, host Bill Spohn marks Women’s History Month by highlighting the voices of women from across the RESNET® community. Through a series of short conversations, industry leaders share how they entered the world of building...
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EP149 Inside the 2026 RESNET® Conference: The Next Era of HERS® (January 2026)
RESTalk
QUOTES from the episode: “The RESNET® Conference is where experience meets fresh perspective, and that’s where the real progress happens.” “This isn’t just another conference. It’s about shaping the next era of the HERS© industry.” “If you want to understand where the industry is headed, this is where the conversations are happening.” In this episode of RESTalk, Bill Spohn sits down with Noah Kibbe from RESNET® to preview the 2026 RESNET® Conference coming to San Antonio’s Riverwalk. Noah shares what goes into planning the event, from selecting the location and shaping...
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EP148 A New Chapter for RESNET: A Conversation with Executive Director Shelby Gatlin (January 2026)
RESTalk
QUOTES from the episode: “What raters do makes the difference. Supporting them protects the credibility of the entire ecosystem.” “Energy and water performance are not abstract. They are measurable, verifiable, and they matter to families.” “My role is to protect what works, listen carefully, and help RESNET adapt without losing what makes it special.” In the first RESTalk episode of 2026, Bill Spohn welcomes Shelby Gatlin, the new Executive Director of RESNET©, for a thoughtful conversation about leadership, credibility, and the future of home energy ratings. Shelby shares her...
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EP147 Best of 2025: The Year RESNET® Hit Another Gear (December 2025)
RESTalk
In this special “Best of RESTALK 2025” episode, host Bill Spohn looks back at the ideas and conversations that defined the year across the RESNET® ecosystem. Rather than a simple highlight reel, this episode weaves four major themes that kept surfacing—from sweeping QA modernization efforts to the market forces accelerating HERS adoption to the emerging leaders reshaping the industry to the on-the-ground projects proving that high performance and affordability can coexist. Across conversations with QA directors, software leaders, conference fellows, builders, lenders, and...
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EP146 Beyond the Score: Market Signals, QA, and the Future of RESNET® with Steve Baden (October 2025)
RESTalk
QUOTES FROM STEVE: “The challenge isn’t how far we can push efficiency—but how affordable we can make it.” “Give builders a clear target and the market will respond.” “It’s been a hell of a ride—thanks for the memories. Now it’s your turn to take it to the next level.” Steve Baden tells the story of RESNET®’s early days—from Alaska’s energy-code back-and-forth to a market-based framework that encouraged builders with targets rather than rules. That experiment birthed home energy ratings, a national standard, and eventually RESNET® itself—formed with the Mortgage...
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EP145 Turning Efficiency into Equity: Inside the C-PACE Model with PACE Equity with Tricia Baker and Karl Peer (October 2025)
RESTalk
QUOTES: “We created the CIRRUS Low Carbon program to speak to developers’ pocketbooks — build a better building, and you get a better rate.” — Tricia Baker “Early design is peace of mind — it saves you a buck or two and a lot of headaches later.” — Karl Peer In this episode of RESTalk, host Bill Spohn is joined by Tricia Baker, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Impact at PACE Equity, and Karl Peer, an in-house engineer with deep experience in HERS ratings and energy modeling. Together, they unpack the power of C-PACE (Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy) financing...
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EP144 From Checklists to Real-Time Data: The QA Evolution at RESNET🄬 With Laurel Elam and Scott Doyle (September 2025)
RESTalk
EP144 From Checklists to Real-Time Data: The QA Evolution at RESNET🄬 With Scott Doyle and Laurel Elam (September 2025) “If you’re a professional and the rules of your profession change, you can’t afford not to keep up.” — Scott Doyle In this episode of the RESTalk podcast, host Bill Spohn sits down with two long-time leaders at RESNET🄬: Laurel Elam, Senior Director of Business and Standards Development, and Scott Doyle, Managing Director of Quality Assurance. Together, they unpack the evolution of quality assurance within RESNET🄬, culminating in the...
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EP143 Sweat Equity Meets Smart Energy: Inside a Habitat Zero Energy Ready Build with Kevin L. Smith (July 2025)
RESTalk
“When you're in construction, you're just building sticks and bricks—until you understand how a house actually performs.” – Kevin Smith In this episode of RESTalk, Bill sits down with Kevin L. Smith, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County, to explore a groundbreaking project: the Bennett Point Phase 1 homes, which earned both ENERGY STAR and DOE Zero Energy Ready Home certifications. Kevin shares how his team collaborated with Energize Delaware and New Ecology to build high-performance, all-electric townhomes aimed at long-term affordability and health for...
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EP142 Home Efficiency by the Numbers: Highlights from the 2025 RESNET® Report with Ryan Meres (June 2025)
RESTalk
“RESNET members are now touching about a third of all new single-family homes. That’s a big number — and it’s only growing.” -Ryan Meres In this episode of RESTalk, host Bill Spohn welcomes back Ryan Meres, Programs Director at RESNET®, to explore the key insights from the 2025 HERS® Rated Homes Data Trends Report. This sixth annual edition reveals both expected and surprising patterns in how homebuilders, energy raters, and policymakers are driving efficiency across the U.S. housing market. With over 436,000 homes HERS rated in the past year, the report reflects RESNET®’s...
info_outlineQUOTES from the episode:
“You can’t fix what you didn’t catch early. Thoroughness upfront saves everything downstream.”
“It’s a young industry. That’s what makes it exciting, we’re still shaping what it becomes.”
“If you don’t have a reason for being in this work, it’s going to be hard to stay in it.”
In this episode of RESTalk, Bill sits down with 2026 Emerging Leader Fellows Courtney Holland and Hayden Cantoni fresh off their experience at the RESNET® Conference. Both guests share how they found their way into the HERS® and building performance industry, often unexpectedly, and what has kept them engaged ever since. From fieldwork to modeling, their stories highlight a career path that blends purpose, technical skill, and variety.
Courtney and Hayden reflect on what accelerates learning in the field, the importance of mentorship, and the real-world challenges of tasks such as ventilation verification and HVAC grading. They also offer honest insights into early mistakes, emphasizing the importance of thorough inspections, documentation, and speaking up when something is off. Their perspectives reveal a maturing industry that still has room to improve in training pathways and awareness.
Looking ahead, both see a future where HERS® ratings become standard practice in homebuilding, not a premium add-on. They make a compelling case for why new talent is critical to that future, bringing fresh ideas and energy to a still-evolving field. Whether motivated by sustainability, health, or hands-on work, their message is clear: this is an industry worth paying attention to.
Hayden’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haydencantoni/
Courtney’s bio: https://southern-energy.com/celebrating-women-in-construction/#courtney-foulis
RESNET’s® announcement: 2026 Emerging Leaders Fellow: https://www.resnet.us/articles/resnet-announces-the-2026-emerging-leader-fellows/
To the RESNET® community, we hear you and want to engage with you. Learn more at www.RESNET.us. For more info on this topic, contact RESNET at INFO@RESNET.US