Jimmie Sparks

Jimmie Sparks has over 35 years of experience working in the home construction industry, where he filled various roles, framing carpenter, Community Action insulation crewmember, owner and operator of a weatherization and insulation company, energy auditor and energy program manager at the Neighborhood Energy Connection. He has a carpenter diploma from Pine City Technical College. Jimmie believes energy conservation is the most important first step for environmental sustainability. He has attended HERS rater training for ENERGY STAR Homes, LEED certification training and MNGREEN STAR certification training, as well as solar PV and wind energy technologies training. He is an active member in RESNET and MBPA. He has taught classes in energy auditing and weatherization locally and for the Red Lake Indian Tribe.

E-mail: jimmies@thenec.org

Loren Abraham

As architect, author, industrial designer, educator, and researcher, Loren Abraham has over 30 years experience in the building and construction industry, and since 1990, he has focused on designing environments that promote ecological and human health. He has helped develop "green" building standards, guidelines and design tools such as LEED, the Whole Building Design Guide, and Energy 10 software. Loren has been a renewable energy workshop instructor since 1990 for organizations such as the Department of Energy and the American Institute of Architects. He recently developed a series of continuing education workshops on renewable energy in commercial buildings for architects and engineers. Loren was a founding member of the U.S. Green Building Council, past chairman of the Sustainable Buildings Industries Council. He has worked with the White House, and he is currently a board member of the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society. He has worked with leading design firms such as William McDonough + Partners and Cesar Pelli Associates. His work has received numerous awards and has been featured in many publications. In 2003, Glass Magazine selected his Design firm, Abraham + Associates, as one of the top architectural firms in the country. Loren is a practicing architect, certified Industrial Designer and an adjunct assistant professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Minnesota, College of Design. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society.

E-mail: lorena@mnRenewables.org

Mario Monesterio

A RE designer, solar installer, Energy 10 instructor, and consultant, Mario Monesterio has been involved in the renewable energy field since 1979. Mario studied industrial energy engineering at St. Cloud State University, solar thermal systems at the Red Wing Energy Center, and is a certified Industrial/Commercial energy auditor. His experience ranges from installer training to system troubleshooting and component manufacturing, including monitoring and analysis. His knowledge and field work with HVAC equipment, plumbing, electrical, and construction work provides a solid foundation for integrating solar systems. He is active in national efforts to set standards in the renewable energy industry and as owner of Best Power Intl. LLC, is developing a "whole building approach" to help clients find the best mix of conventional and new technologies to meet their energy requirements.

E-mail: mario@bestpowersolar.net

Ralph Jacobson

Ralph Jacobson is the founder and CEO of Innovative Power Systems. He employs ten people in his business in solar and wind energy installation, which he began in 1991. Ralph has spent three decades developing his career. The solar installation business has been an emerging but small and difficult market sector, and he has persevered in hopes of a stronger solar energy market. Ralph started his career in solar with a one-year solar installer certificate (1979), earned an engineering degree (Material Science, University of Minnesota, 1989), and has received the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) certification in both solar photovoltaic and solar thermal installation. Ralph has taught continuing education courses on solar energy for realtors, plumbing code officials, builders, and legislators. He continues to enjoy a zeal for helping others to understand anything about solar energy: from the theory, the best applications, the economics, to the business aspects — as it were, a lens on the universe. Ralph is currently involved in helping to format a strategy for growing the solar industry in Minnesota, including developing training programs for the trades. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society.

E-mail: ralphj@mnRenewables.org

Stacy Miller

Stacy Miller has been developing her career in renewable energy since she began studying solar photovoltaics in 1995 at the University of Toledo, one of the leading thin film research institutions in the nation. She is a State Programs Administrator for the Minnesota Office of Energy Security and holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Arizona State University. Stacy is pursuing a Master of Science in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. At the Minnesota Office of Energy Security, she offers solar policy support, administers the Solar Electric Rebate Program, and manages two biofuels grant programs for the State.

E-mail: stacy.miller@state.mn.us