Presenter Information
Simon Andrew, Executive Director, Housing Fellowship
Simon Andrew serves as Executive Director of the Housing Fellowship, a nonprofit affordable housing provider in Johnson County. Simon serves on the Board of Directors for the Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County and the Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition. Prior experience includes management and budget positions with the City of Iowa City. He is a Housing Credit Certified Professional, Certified Economic Development Professional, and a Certified ADA Coordinator. Volunteer experience includes serving as a mentor with Big Brothers Big sisters, and previous positions with the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation and building homes with Habitat for Humanity in Uganda.
Jacob Boeschen, Energy Services Specialist, Cedar Falls Utilities
Jacob Boeschen ("B-Ocean") is an Energy Services Specialist at Cedar Falls Utilities. He brings eight years of combined experience in utilities and construction. As an Energy Services Specialist, he serves as the Energy Code Official for the City of Cedar Falls, promotes and develops energy efficiency programs, and provides energy auditing/consultation services to the Cedar Falls community.
Anna English, Energy Consultant, Willdan
Anna English has worked as an implementor for utility energy efficiency programs in Iowa and Wisconsin for the past eight years. She has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Iowa. Currently, she is employed at Willdan as an energy consultant.
Sarah J. Gardner, Climate Action Coordinator, City of Iowa City
Sarah J. Gardner is the Climate Action Coordinator for the City of Iowa City. An urban planner by training, Sarah has led projects focused on alternative energy, electric vehicle readiness, transit and active transportation, recycling, and climate preparedness for municipalities and counties in both Iowa and Illinois. She has authored many articles on climate resilience and is a dedicated advocate for creating communities that are healthy, equitable, and engaging places to live.
Del Holland
Member of the Board of Managers that build and sold the first cohousing community in Iowa. Retired public school teacher
Pier LaFarge,CEO & Co-Founder, Sparkfund
Pier is the co-founder and CEO of Sparkfund, a utility services company helping deploy distributed resources at scale to make buildings a valuable extension of the grid. He serves as a Trustee at The Nature Conservancy's Maryland and DC chapter, and as a Next Gen Strategy Committee member supporting the board of Fidelity Charitable. Previously, while at ICF International, he co-founded a service offering focused on energy efficiency finance strategy. In 2010, he founded Race to Replace, a statewide clean energy-focused voter registration campaign in Vermont in partnership with League of Conservation Voters.
Amber Lindh-Porcaro, Program Manager, Franklin Energy
Amber Lindh-Porcaro is a Program Manager at Franklin Energy. For the past 8 years she has built, designed, managed, and consulted on 10 residential retail programs and has dabbled in small commercial, demand response, and trade ally management. In her free time she is attempting to read 40 books before her 40th birthday in November and trying to survive raising a three year old.
GT Karr, Owner, Sueppel's Building & Remodeling
Sueppel’s Building & Remodeling, founded in 1995, is a small, family-owned construction and remodeling company based in Iowa City. Second-generation owner GT Sueppel grew up around the business and now leads it with a passion for both quality craftsmanship and community connection. The third generation is already in the field, learning the ropes and carrying on the family tradition. GT is dedicated to introducing young people to the skilled trades, serving as the general contractor for the Iowa City Community School District’s Student Build program, where students work side by side with construction professionals to gain real-world experience building a house. He also teaches Intro to ACE classes at City High, guiding students as they explore architecture, construction, and engineering while opening doors to future careers in the trades.
Justin Margolies, Associate Principal, Slipstream
Justin specializes in emerging technology research and development of residential heat pump programs and solutions to advance the mission at Slipstream. He supports utilities, states, and local communities to unlock pathways to sustained market change and is passionate about bridging the gap between research and scaled impact in the clean energy transition. Justin is an active member of multiple regional and national working groups and project teams focused on advancing residential heat pumps and brings over ten years of experience in the clean energy industry.
Martha Norbeck, AIA, LEED Fellow, WELL AP, President, C-Wise Design and Consulting LLC
Martha Norbeck, AIA, LEED Fellow, WELL AP, is the president of C-Wise Design and Consulting LLC. C-Wise provides carbon assessment services and LEED consulting services. Ms. Norbeck has collaborated with teams across the Midwest to achieve LEED certification on more than 70 projects, including Prairie Hill Co-Housing.
Kathryn Piacentino, Marketing Manager, Franklin Energy
Kat Piacentino is a Marketing Manager at Franklin Energy, where she leads strategic marketing efforts for energy efficiency programs across multiple utility clients. With a background that spans the nonprofit, CPG, and sustainability sectors, Kat brings a unique blend of creativity and purpose-driven thinking to her work. She has collaborated with global brands, retailers, and mission-based organizations to craft campaigns that resonate and drive impact. Known for her ability to connect insights with innovative ideas, Kat is passionate about using marketing as a tool for positive change. When she’s not developing strategies or storytelling for sustainability, she’s likely training for her next marathon or planning her next travel adventure.
Steve Schmidt, Apex Construction Co.
Dustin Schneider, Principal Engineer at Resource Innovations
Dustin Schneider is a Principal Engineer at Resource Innovations, where he helps large energy users cost-effectively reduce energy impacts and drive long-term performance. Dustin has over 15 years of experience in Strategic Energy Management and optimizing systems including compressed air, industrial refrigeration, process heating and cooling, and building controls. He strives to make energy management more actionable by seeking energy awareness in everyday decisions.
Wesley Whited, Principal Consultant and Director of Program Design, DNV
Wesley Whited is a Principal Consultant and Director of Program Design at DNV. Mr. Whited leads a cross-functional team of engineers & consultants who design utility clean-tech programs around internet-enabled technologies. Mr. Whited is a recognized thought-leader in the field of Networked Lighting and IoT technologies and sits on technical committees for the Design Lights Consortium (DLC), and ANSI. He has published three papers in academic journals and has presented on behalf of DNV at multiple conferences, frequently speaking about integrating customer devices onto the electric grid to build Virtual Power Plants. He holds a BA from West Virginia University (WVU) and an MBA from Capital University. He lives outside Asheville, NC with his wife and two dogs.
Jennie Wunderlich, President/Co-Owner, PSC Distribution and Studio H2O Kitchen & Bath Showroom
Jennie Wunderlich is the president and fourth generation co-owner of PSC Distribution and Studio H2O Kitchen & Bath Showroom in Iowa City. Jennie is an Army Veteran who was humbled to be able to come back to Iowa to learn and lead in her family’s business. She is passionate about leadership and helping her community with a drive to positively impact local businesses and youth to overcome challenges and reach their potential. Jennie is married to her husband, Ben, and they have three children, two teenage daughters and an elementary aged son, two fun dogs, and some 4-H chickens.