Well-Designed Equitable Home Energy Upgrades: Best Practices and Strategies
Residential Retrofits for Energy Equity (R2E2) teamed up with the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program for this second workshop in the Advancing Equitable Home Upgrades with ENERGY STAR and R2E2 workshop series.
Using R2E2’s Playbook – which was created to help local energy upgrade program administrators, government officials, community-based organizations, and other stakeholders design best-practice, high-impact, equitable energy upgrade programs serving low- and moderate-income housing – this August 2024 workshop explores specific best practices for program design.
Speakers
Ian Becker, ACEEE
Ian Becker serves on the R2E2 team, where he conducts research and manages projects, provides technical assistance related to federal funding opportunities available to states and localities, and otherwise helps local governments and private-sector stakeholders develop programs to improve the energy efficiency of affordable housing.
Jasmine Mah, ACEEE
Jasmine is a member of ACEEE's behavior, health, and human dimensions research team. She studies policies, programs, and funding sources that simultaneously improve human health and energy efficiency. She also cooperates with researchers across different programs, including the utilities, buildings, state policy, and local policy teams. She has a Master of Science in environment and development from the University of Leeds, and a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts from UC Davis.
Diana Morales, ACEEE
Diana Morales leads research on equitable energy efficiency policies and programs. She also provides technical assistance to local governments and community-based organizations seeking to advance energy efficiency in their cities. Diana joined ACEEE in 2021. Before joining ACEEE, Diana worked at the U.S. Green Building Council. Diana holds a master of sustainability with a focus on urban and energy systems from Chatham.
Practitioners
The following practitioners carry out program activities highlighted as best practices in the R2E2 Playbook. During the workshop, they participated in a Q&A with participants and facilitated breakout discussions.
Abigail Corso, Elevate
Abigail Corso is the Chief Strategy Officer at Elevate and she is located in Madison, Wisconsin. She oversees Elevate’s strategy for developing and implementing new programs focused on affordable housing and related to efficiency, solar, energy financing, and electrification.
Jenna Franklin, Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development
Jenna Franklin is the Equitable Development Initiative (EDI) Division Director for the City of Seattle’s Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD). She has nearly 25 years of experience in strategic planning, community visioning, and improving public agency programs, services, and practices through inclusive community engagement and co-creation efforts.
Bill Lazar, St. Johns Housing Partnership
Bill Lazar is the Executive Director of St. Johns Partnership in Florida and is a licensed residential contractor. He’s worked with affordable housing programs for 36 years. St Johns Partnership provides housing services including home repairs and new construction for renters and first-time homebuyers.
Emily Lucas, Philadelphia Energy Authority
Emily Lucas is the Director of Residential Programs at the Philadelphia Energy Authority, where she oversees programs that connect Philadelphia residents with home repair and solar services. She previously worked at Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia, where she founded its Home Repair Program.
Kristen Simmons, Boston Mayor’s Office of Housing
Kristen Simmons leads the residential decarbonization efforts at the Boston’s Mayor's Office of Housing. Kristen develops and implements energy retrofit programs for both deed-restricted and naturally occurring affordable housing in Boston, which requires deep energy retrofits and decarbonization for nearly 80% of Boston's buildings.