Staff Directory

Emerson previously worked at a nonprofit in Houston rebuilding homes affected by disasters. They also traveled to Louisiana and Florida for active disaster responses doing debris removals, gutting, and mold suppression. 

Emerson received a BSE in civil engineering from the University of Iowa. They also got a minor in studio art as a part of their focus area in architecture.

Sophia manages CEE’s Community Codes Support Program through the MN Advanced Energy Codes Partnership. Additionally, she supports commercial energy code compliance through resource and curriculum development and training for construction professionals and code officials. She also serves as the tribal nations' liaison for the MN Advanced Energy Codes Partnership, working alongside Minnesota's tribal nations to provide technical assistance for implementing energy code improvements for new and existing buildings.

Prior to joining CEE, Sophia worked in the construction industry, completing technical drawings for high-performance architecture projects. She also worked as a Plan Reviewer for the City of Duluth, where she reviewed building plans for code compliance. 

Passionate about combining her background in sustainability with the built environment, she joined CEE in 2024.

Sophia holds dual bachelor’s degrees in anthropology and environmental studies with an individualized concentration in health from Luther College. 

LeAnne joined the Neighborhood Energy Connection as a loan manager in 2004, before the organization merged with CEE in 2017. For nine years prior, she was the loan manager for another local nonprofit. She has over 30 years of experience helping lend tens of millions of dollars to Minnesota homeowners for home improvement projects.

Shayna works alongside energy auditors in homes to educate and support homeowners on energy- and water-saving options. She is also the co-founder of an Asian night market in the Fargo-Moorhead area and has experience working at Modern Times Café as a dishwasher. In addition, Shayna is a No Data About Us Without Us fellow with the Twin Cities Innovation Alliance, where she has conducted community interviews on the integration of vape detection technologies in Minnesota schools. She has also contributed as a member of the STEM Restorative Justice Collective with the Minnesota Science Museum.

Beyond her work at CEE, Shayna is involved in food systems and sovereignty as an executive assistant at Friendly Hmong Farms and serves on the Council of Asian Pacific Minnesotans, representing Malaysian American Minnesotans and youth. She studied architecture at North Dakota State University. In her free time, Shayna enjoys playing rugby, cooking for friends and loved ones, and attending AAPI night markets across Minnesota and the Twin Cities. She also loves exploring the neighborhoods of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, discovering new shops and cafés.

Based in Chicago, Rashaan is responsible for the implementation and delivery of CEE's programs and pilots in Illinois. As a member of the Program Development team, he also supports new business development opportunities in the state.

Prior to joining CEE in 2023, Rashaan spent a decade conducting in-person and remote energy assessments of commercial, industrial, and municipal buildings throughout New England as a licensed professional engineer. He most recently worked in the City of Boston's Environment Department as a Carbon Neutrality Project Manager focused on the decarbonization of Boston's small residential and commercial buildings.

Cindy serves as the main point of contact for the One-Stop Efficiency Shop lighting, HVAC and refrigeration programs. She implements department policies and practices when qualifying properties for these programs. Her responsibilities include managing information and communication among One-Stop staff, contractors, and customers.

She is also responsible for assigning projects to the lighting consultants, ensuring a project moves forward as accurately and efficiently through the system as possible and maintaining detailed and up to date records for all qualified properties.

Cindy started with CEE in 2008 working with the Sound Mitigation Program before she joined the One-Stop Lighting team as a project assistant in 2012. Cindy graduated from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin with a BA in English. 

As a research analyst, Benjamin focuses on field monitoring and data analysis for several energy efficiency research projects. 

Benjamin was a summer research intern at CEE prior to joining as a research analyst. He graduated from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology with a BS in mechanical engineering and a minor in sustainability.

As quality assurance manager, Maddy is responsible for overseeing all aspects of quality assurance inspections for CEE's residential department. She is a BPI Building Analyst Proctor and uses it to get Home Energy Squad field staff certified as Building Analyst Technicians and Professionals.

Maddy took on this role after 5 years with the Home Energy Squad, and prior to this, she worked as a Green Iowa AmeriCorps member conducting energy audits and facilitating outreach events. She has a BA in Anthropology from Luther College. 

As a systems coordinator with the One-Stop Efficiency Shop lighting department, Drew works with contractors to create proposals and invoices for small to midsize businesses that are interested in upgrading their lighting.

Before CEE, Drew worked as an order picker for Staples, where he fulfilled online orders for regional businesses. Drew attended college at Bemidji State University where he obtained a BS in environmental studies. Certifications NALMCO-certified Appentice Lighitng Technician

As an energy auditor, Lucy Kuempel works as part of a team to install energy-saving measures such as bulbs, door weatherstripping, and more during Home Energy Squad visits and helps educate homeowners on habits and upgrades that can improve their home’s efficiency.

Ritika works at CEE as an energy analyst. She assists with market research, data analysis, and streamlining logistical/operational duties to discover and deploy the most effective strategies and efficient technologies to reduce energy and carbon emissions. This will help accelerate the development and adoption of emerging energy efficiency technologies, bringing efficiency and electrification technologies and practices more rapidly to scale.

Prior to CEE, she worked at 3R Sustainability as a sustainability practitioner where she helped build out supplier engagement and decarbonization service offerings as one of the many projects she had. Before that, she worked for a green bank called Philadelphia Green Capital Corp. (PGCC) as a green finance and sustainability research intern where she helped the team across various green financing projects and collated resources/tools for nonprofits and local commercial buildings to transition to clean energy and undertake green building transformations.

As the loan servicing manager, Marco developed and launched the Lending Center’s in-house loan servicing department to respond to the organization's current and future needs in the lending area.

Marco came to CEE with nearly 12 years of experience in the mortgage industry, working for two of the top 20 loan servicing companies nationwide at the time, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and Ditech Financial; He has extensive experience in several areas of Loan Servicing including Escrow, Customer Service, Collections, Loan Transfers and Payment Processing.

As the engineering manager, Russ oversees the engineering team’s work on energy efficiency and decarbonization of commercial buildings and industrial facilities. The team’s work includes reviews of new construction projects against commercial energy code and above code program requirements, as well as energy assessments and implementation assistance for existing buildings. The engineering team also provides technical support for other CEE departments’ efforts including field research, commercial energy code education, technology evaluations, and program development. 

Prior to leading the engineering team, Russ played various roles in projects that contribute to cost-effective energy savings in buildings. These roles have included recommissioning existing buildings, providing support for utility efficiency programs, conducting building energy simulations, leading reviews of building plans and simulation submittals for compliance with energy code and above code program, energy code and above-code program development, and serving as principal investigator for field research, technology, and market studies. 

Russ began working as an engineering intern at CEE before he received his BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1990. Since that time, his work in optimizing the energy use of existing buildings has included specialty focus areas of multifamily buildings, ice arenas, grocery refrigeration, and space-heating boiler control optimization. Since 2005, Russ has been increasingly involved in new construction to provide plan review, whole-building energy simulation, and other technical support to design teams and to organizations charged with project oversight and verification. 

Russ’s expertise has been recognized through his previous service as president of the Minnesota Chapter of ASHRAE and his appointment to the State of Minnesota’s Construction Codes Advisory Council since 2023.

As the office services supervisor, Carina provides support to all CEE departments. She is also responsible for the management of CEE's downtown Minneapolis location.

Prior to joining CEE in 2022, Carina worked for a nonprofit treatment facility that helped people with substance-use disorders achieve sobriety.

Katie supports the Market Transformation team to expand and increase residences who are installing energy efficiency upgrades and new technologies. She also oversees residential marketing for CEE’s market transformation initiatives which includes the MN ASHP Collaborative and High-Performance Windows. 

She previously worked at marketing and communications consulting firms that focused on market transformation through advocacy, policy, and legislative efforts across the US. When not researching market trends and audience profiles, you can find her in her garden or hiking a mountain with her husband and pup, Loretta.

Katie obtained her BS from Murray State University in soil ecology. While there, she was an award-winning McNair Scholar, ultimately supporting her curiosity and research efforts while continuing her education at the University of Montana where she obtained her MS in environmental sciences. At the U of M, she focused on the role of communications and marketing in spurring market transformation within the agriculture sector.

William is responsible for closing loan deals within the Loan Services department. He has previously worked at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage for over 10 years.

As assistant program manager, Jessica works with vendors, customers, and One-Stop staff to qualify property addresses, calculate rebates, and process invoices.

Jessica has been with CEE since 2007. She has a bachelor's degree in community development from St. Cloud State University.

Lih works at CEE as an energy auditor where he assesses water heater, heating systems, insulation levels in attic and walls (if accessible.) Previously, he worked as a home theater assistant at Best Buy and helped setup and install TVs and speakers at customers' homes.

Lizzie has worked in payroll since 2015, and in began dabbling in accounting in 2020. Her favorite thing about working in payroll and finance is using her problem solving abilities for the various "puzzles" the job can bring.

As the loan services manager, Cristina supports the CEE lending department by managing the loan closing department, disbursing loan funds, making payments to contractors, and coordinating closing documents and monthly reporting to program partners and agencies.

Cristina, a native of Quito, Ecuador, has been with CEE since 2007.

Cristina habla español, para cualquier información acerca de préstamos por favor comunicarse con ella.