Federal Utility Partnership Working Group Seminar Session 2  

Lara (Gast) Spader works at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) within the Energy Management Program Service. She is the Program Manager for VA's nationwide Energy Performance Contracting Program which includes both ESPCs and UESCs. Ms. Spader joined VA in 2011 as a Presidential Management Fellow working in the Enhanced-Use Leasing Program, then at the White House Council on Environmental Quality within the Office of Federal Sustainability (previously the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive). Ms. Spader is a Certified Energy Manager and received her Master of Business Administration from the George Washington University and a Bachelor of Science in Management from Boston University.

Walter Ludwig currently serves as the director of energy performance at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Sustainment, where he manages several programs, including Installation Energy Planning, the Energy Resilience and Conservation Investment Program (ERCIP), DoD third-party financing, Utilities Privatization, and Metering. He holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Master of Business Administration from the Naval Postgraduate School. He is a registered professional engineer in Georgia and a member of the Defense Acquisition Corps.

Randy Smidt is the ESPC/UESC program manager in the Army Headquarters, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management and has overseen the execution of over $1 billion in third-party investment in the last five years, winning the FEMP Director's award in 2016 for the efforts of the Army ESPC/UESC team. Randy has 30 years of experience in energy engineering, working as a consultant to utilities, ESCOs, commercial and federal clients, before becoming the energy manager at Fort Belvoir and later moving to Army Headquarters. Randy also serves on the Federal Council of the Federal Utility Partnership Working Group as well as the Federal ESPC Steering Committee.

Wayne Thalasinos is one of two NASA Headquarters engineers jointly responsible for coordinating the agency's energy program. From the Facilities and Real Estate Division, he supports Field Center implementation efforts to minimize energy risk to mission and comply with federal energy requirements. Prior to his current role, Wayne served as the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) energy manager from August 1996 through February 2005. In this role, he led KSC's energy efficiency and cost reduction program. Wayne began his NASA career participating in high school and college student programs. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer engineering and a Master of Science degree in engineering management from the University of Central Florida. He became a Certified Energy Manager in 2001 and maintains membership in the Association of Energy Engineers.

Mark Correll is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Environment, Safety, and Infrastructure. In that role, he provides executive leadership regarding the formulation, review and execution of plans, policies, programs and budgets for Air Force energy, built and natural infrastructure, environmental, safety and occupational health programs. These include facility management, military construction, family housing, as well as acquisition, operation, maintenance, repair and disposal of real property, environmental compliance and restoration, ground safety and workplace health. Mark was commissioned in the Air Force in 1981 as a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, earning a degree in civil engineering. He commanded two civil engineer squadrons, a mission support group, and an air base wing. He retired in 2010 in the rank of colonel.

Phil is a technical advisor to the Federal Energy Management Program’s energy savings performance contracting (ESPC) program, focusing particularly on utility rates and measurement and verification of savings. Also, in support of FEMP, he spearheads an effort to educate federal facilities on energy project incentives, demand response, and time-variable pricing. Internationally, Phil has worked with the governments of Mexico, India, Chile, and Jordan on developing public sector energy conservation programs. He received a Master of Science in energy management and policy from the University of Pennsylvania in 1994 and also holds the Association of Energy Engineers’ Certified Energy Manager (CEM) and Certified Measurement and Verification Professional (CMVP) designations..

Jim Libertini is a product manager for BGE's commercial and industrial energy conservation programs. In this role, he oversees the Combined Heat and Power Program as well as the Custom and Prescriptive programs to help customers improve their overall energy efficiency. Jim has over 30 years' experience in HVAC systems and building automation controls implementing energy control strategies for commercial, industrial and institutional facilities. He specialized in; application design, installations, start up and building commissioning. He holds a BS in environmental planning from Towson University.

Bruce Hedman, managing director of Entropy Research, LLC, has more than 35 years of experience in combined heat and power (CHP) and distributed generation technologies, markets and policies. He has worked extensively with public and private clients to analyze the opportunity for distributed generation technologies and identify regulatory and institutional hurdles to market development. He has provided technical support and strategic guidance to the U.S. Department of Energy's CHP Technology Partnership program and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Combined Heat and Power Partnership. Bruce has also worked with a variety of states analyzing the opportunities for and barriers to CHP and distributed generation.