Andrea Asken Dunn has been off-grid for 30 of the 40 years she and her husband have been building their house, and has spent her adult life trying to learn how to live in harmony with nature. In 2022, after retiring from teaching, she started a group called Resilient Harrison Maine. They administered a survey, and 80% of respondents said they were concerned about climate change, and she found her townspeople respond best to focusing on saving money through resiliency. Our heat pump bulk buy was very successful because we were able to make this money-saving and climate-friendly action easy for people. Email Andrea.
J. Cressica Brazier is a civil engineer and community planning researcher. She studies the relationship among the built environment, everyday activities, and energy use, as well as the contributions of information technologies to local climate action and climate change mitigation. She is a member of the Islesboro Energy Committee and currently facilities Islesboro's participation in the U.S. Department of Energy's Energizing Rural Communities Prize program. Email Cressica.
Dick deGrasse, a resident of Islesboro, is both a registered electrical engineer and an electric power consulting engineer. He served as Deputy Commissioner of the Vermont Public Service Board, was Director of the Vermont Public Power Supply Authority, Manager of the Stowe,Vermont Electric Department, and was founder and former president of Control Electric Corporation. Email Dick.
Kathy Kerr, first a summer and now a year-round resident of Islesboro since 2011, has had a long-standing interest in energy conservation and reduced use of fossil fuels. For the second time she is serving as the general contractor on a home building project. Having been thwarted in previous attempts to use renewable energy, she is thrilled to be building a net zero home for herself and her beloved husband Mike for their “sunset years." The house is designed for passive and active solar. Next spring after a winter in the new house, they will decide whether to add solar panels. Email Kathy.
Toby Martin lives in Islesboro, where he works locally and statewide to strengthen Maine's clean energy sustainability. A founding member of the Islesboro Energy Team and the Islesboro Energy Committee, he also coordinates the Islesboro Energy Conference, and he contributes to Green Energy Times, which appears online and in print throughout Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, as a contributing writer and member of its Maine distribution team. Email Toby.
Troy Moon is the Sustainability Director for the City of Portland. He works to implement the City’s climate action plan, One Climate Future. This involves close collaboration with community members, businesses owners, and City staff in all departments. Current initiatives include deployment of EV charging infrastructure with a focus on neighborhood access, waste reduction and composting, and Electrify Everything!, a community-wide initiative to promote the electrification of buildings and transportation in both the public and private sectors. Troy also serves as the staff liaison to the City Council’s Sustainability and Transportation Committee, which oversees development and implementation of climate action and ordinances related to transportation and the environment. Email Troy.
Colin McCullough is an independent certified energy auditor near Augusta, having previously worked at Efficiency Maine and for 10 years as an energy auditor for the MassSave program. He will be speaking about the importance of air sealing in homes for efficiency, comfort, health and building durability. Colin also works as a building science trainer/proctor for Build Green Maine in Brooks, and supports the DIY efforts of homeowners to improve the comfort, health, and efficiency of their houses. Email Colin.
Janis Petzel is a year-round resident of Islesboro. She served for many years on the municipal Islesboro Energy Committee, and is now an active member of the community Islesboro Energy Team. She is a proud grandmother, a retired physician, speaker, and writer, with a focus on environment and health. Her activism is motivated by wanting to make the world a healthier place for all children, especially her beloved grandchildren. Her work has been published in Islesboro Island News, Green Energy Times, Bangor Daily News, Common Dreams, New Haven Register and with Physicians for Social Responsibility. She and her husband, Dave, who sadly passed away in April, take/took great joy in working to get fossil fuel consumption out of their everyday lives. Email Janis.
Annie Ropeik is an independent climate change journalist in Portland, where she writes stories that seek to empower people and communities to take part in a just transition. Her work appears in Energy News Network, The Maine Monitor and other publications. She is a board member with the Society of Environmental Journalists and was a 2023 journalism fellow with the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative. Annie spent about a decade as an award-winning local public radio reporter, including in New Hampshire, with stories airing regularly on NPR programs. She and her husband Nick, an energy attorney, will soon move into an old house in Camden, where they're excited to take on lots of sustainability projects. Email Annie.
Email Toby to get in touch with other presenters and participants not listed.