The Federal Energy Management Program's (FEMP) annual FEDS Spotlight recognition program was presented at the 2018 Energy Exchange.
The 2018 honorees are being recognized by agency leaders and peers as federal champions who are working hard to implement exceptional projects and programs that help agencies achieve missions and meet energy, water, and fleet management goals.
The FEDS Spotlight recognition ceremony to celebrate the achievements of these federal energy champions was held at the Energy Exchange 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio, on the evening of Wednesday, August 22, 2018.
2018 FEDS Spotlight Honorees
Read about the 2018 FEDS Spotlight honorees by agency.
Kevin McCue
Johnson Space CenterFacing numerous obstacles and challenges throughout the project, Johnson Space Center’s (JSC) Energy Manager Kevin McCue led a large team of utilities, contractors, and government employees to successfully implement the high-pressure natural gas procurement contract that now serves JSC’s new 11.9 MW combined heat and power plant.
Renee Jewell
Forest ServiceFor Forest Service Region 5, Renee Jewell has played a key role in managing several large-scale renewable project contracts, working through the unique challenges of the multiagency Federal Aggregated Solar Procurement Pilot, implementing the region’s first two ESPC ENABLE projects with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program, and establishing processes for employee electric vehicle charging.
John Bollinger
National Institute of Standards and TechnologyJohn Bollinger is a champion of energy and water conservation and innovation and a leader in creating collaborative teams to develop and implement successful projects at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Most recently, John led the challenging effort to award an ESPC ENABLE contract for 5 MW of solar photovoltaics at the NIST Gaithersburg campus.
Thomas Sherman
Raymond Gaddie
Bureau of the CensusSupporting all U.S. Department of Commerce energy savings performance contracts, Thomas Sherman and Raymond Gaddie most recently assisted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s award of its first ESPC ENABLE project, covering four geographically isolated locations in Hawaii, Texas, Florida, and Massachusetts—also setting precedent as the first ESPC ENABLE contract in the federal government to cover multiple states.
John Baxter
John Baxter actively worked with U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) installations to gather information about the challenges they face in implementing energy resilience, helping to create a process that gets installations the information they need. He also assisted in meeting DoD’s resilience goal and made sure it was feasible for the more than 500 DoD installations to implement to improve energy resilience.
Walter Ludwig
Commander Wally Ludwig implemented a process to inform internal stakeholders, other federal agencies, and industry about the need for their action and support to improve DoD mission readiness by actively engaging and educating these groups about the challenges DoD faces and working to build solutions through improved communication and partnerships.
Laura Montoya
Laura Montoya worked closely with DoD installations to create processes that drive water-management and resilience improvements throughout DoD, helping to make sure that all DoD installations are not only improving mission readiness but are also able to show real, measured results of their efforts.
Christopher Swihart
U.S. Army National GuardAs the energy program manager for the Army National Guard, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Christopher Swihart deployed to Puerto Rico immediately after Hurricane Irma to help get backup power generation running for mission-critical facilities, assist with a damage assessment of the energy infrastructure, and develop damage estimates for hurricane relief.
Audrey Oxendine
Fort BraggAudrey Oxendine’s energy resilience, consumption, and cost awareness program at Fort Bragg stands out through unique events such as the “Turn Down the Watt” campaign, where spin bicycles at several facilities capture pedaling energy and covert it to electricity, helping to develop energy conscious values across Fort Bragg, and sharing these ideas with other Army installations.
Leslie Gioja
Engineering Research and Development Center
Directorate of Public WorksLeslie Gioja led an overhaul of the central hot water plant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) at the University of Illinois. The combined results of improved boiler load matching, combustion efficiency, and controls sequences resulted in a reduction of CERL’s annual natural gas costs by 50%—from about $130,000 to $65,000 per year. These savings represent a life cycle cost-efficient approach to modernizing the campus’ facilities systems, with a 10-year payback of the $700,000 project cost.
Mick Wasco
Marine Corps Air Station MiramarMick Wasco used a combination of appropriations, performance contracts, and research and development programs to help transform Marine Corps Air Station Miramar into a showcase for energy technology. Most notable is the development of a microgrid that will power 100% of the flight line and more than 100 support facilities in the event of a commercial grid outage.
Jackie Hanscome
Portsmouth Naval ShipyardJackie Hanscome helped form and is the chair of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Energy Task Force, a group that works to improve energy culture awareness and implement best management practices in the installation populace and focuses on everyday energy behaviors and promotion of energy-and water-reduction strategies.
Erin Quimby
Naval Facilities Engineering Command AtlanticErin Quimby recently coordinated with the Navy installation, Facilities Engineering Command, headquarters, and SunPower in support of pre-award, award, and post-award phases of the Joint Base Anacostia Bolling power purchase agreement for ground-mounted and carport installation systems of more than 7.5 MW of photovoltaic power in Washington, D.C.
Chris Taylor
Naval Air Station Whidbey IslandChris Taylor helped reduce energy consumption at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island by engaging with direct digital control system technicians, facility occupants, and construction managers to improve the process for building commissioning and turnover to increase awareness and minimize energy waste—a process that is now built into the construction management program.
Aaron Altwies
Kenneth McKuen
Eric ZarybniskyAs members of the Mission Thread Analysis team, Colonel Aaron Altwies, Kenneth McKuen, and Lieutenant Colonel Eric Zarybnisky were instrumental in successfully implementing workshops at their respective bases, which included a collaborative mission-owner discussion of a mission thread with a strategic look at internal and external risks, in support of the Air Force’s energy assurance mission.
Cate Berard
Office of Sustainable Environmental StewardshipOver the past six years, Cate Berard has led the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) green practices to improve the energy performance of its computers and other electronic assets. Her efforts contributed to impressive savings of more than 202 billion Btu in fiscal year (FY) 2017. Cate is also helping to implement a DOE program to close at least 25 non-tiered data centers by the end of FY 2018.
Robert High
Program Support CenterRobert High collaborated with the stakeholders for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ 5600 Fishers Lane Building renovation to incorporate additional energy projects and enhanced facility operations. Robert’s efforts made an already energy-efficient building even more energy efficient—bringing its ENERGY STAR rating score from 96 to 99 and achieving LEED Platinum certification.
Kurt Petersen
Indian Health ServiceKurt Petersen investigated and implemented changes to optimize the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning control sequences at various facilities in the Great Plains area, using this low-cost measure to increase energy efficiency, lower operating and maintenance costs, improve indoor air quality and occupant comfort, and save energy and water costs.
Vito Pietanza
Indian Health ServiceVito Pietanza developed a user-friendly procurement form that allows acquisition personnel to evaluate and consider energy-efficient, water-saving, and environmentally friendly purchasing alternatives. He also bridged Federal Acquisition Regulation clauses to be used in purchase orders to instill a clearer understanding of energy-efficient and green-procurement purchasing guidelines.
Valerie Benson
Ashley Haines
Dennis Wolfe
Federal Emergency Management AgencyThe facilities management team of Valerie Benson, Ashley Haines, and Dennis Wolfe worked collaboratively with the Maryland State Historic Preservation Office to implement several innovative, cost-effective projects at the National Emergency Training Center, successfully instituting modern energy improvements while preserving the facilities' historic characteristics.
James Grisham
Office of Facilities and Administrative ServicesJames Grisham oversaw the development and execution of the main Interior building’s energy savings performance contract (ESPC) from initial solicitation to project acceptance, working closely with his Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) federal project executive to secure the proper training and monitoring of the energy service company’s day-to-day construction activities to ensure project success.
Kyle Sato
U.S. Geological SurveyKyle Sato built upon his own project successes and knowledge with assistance from FEMP to implement award-winning water-conservation efforts at the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Western Fisheries Research Center. More recently, Kyle assisted with a multisite ESPC for USGS followed by a utility energy service contract award at the Western Fisheries Research Center.
Mary Tidlow
National Park ServiceMary Tidlow helped guide the development of an energy module that captures cost and consumption information for 22,000 National Park Service building properties and distributes the usage to the individual building level. Her team also developed a dashboard that provides critical data from 16 different systems back to field staff to facilitate improved energy and water management.
Jonathan Belivakici
Bureau of PrisonsJonathan Belivakici successfully planned and implemented five energy savings performance contracts for the Bureau of Prisons that have a total value of $132 million and include more than 40 energy conservation measures that will reduce energy consumption by more than 354 billion Btu and water consumption by more than 270 million gallons through the life of the contracts.
Catherine Foley
Federal Bureau of InvestigationReplicating the success of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Energy Conservation Investment Program, Catherine Foley recently launched the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Energy and Water Conservation Investment Program to fund small projects. Catherine teamed with numerous stakeholders to develop guidance and project-tracking tools and worked with facilities to submit and select projects for funding. Thirteen projects selected this year will save about $689,000 annually and $12.5 million over the life of the projects.
Michael Sandler
Drug Enforcement AdministrationWorking with numerous Drug Enforcement Administration stakeholders from contracting, facilities, and finance offices, Michael Sandler leveraged a Federal Energy Management Program AFFECT grant to provide 2 MWs of solar electricity, along with energy-efficient lighting and water-efficient fixtures, to an El Paso, Texas, facility using the first ESPC ENABLE contract.
David Hamma
Federal Aviation AdministrationDavid Hamma successfully managed the implementation of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s largest energy savings performance contract to date, which is estimated to save $16.2 million over the life of the contract and spans 21 air traffic control facilities across nine states. He is also leading an effort at the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Air Traffic Organization to integrate performance-based contracts into planning processes for mission-critical infrastructure projects.
Mitchell Otey
Federal Aviation AdministrationMitchell Otey launched the FAA’s first ESPC ENABLE project at the Corpus Christi Air Traffic Control Tower, establishing a new model for smaller FAA facilities that face challenges securing conventional funding for their infrastructure needs. He is working to replicate his project success to help others achieve their energy-management goals.
David Jackson
VA Energy Management ProgramSince becoming acting fleet manager last fall, David Jackson led the development of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Federal Automotive Statistical Tool report in its new asset-level data format and helped standardize VA’s ordering process and adapt to the General Services Administration’s new online ordering module. He also developed and provided on-site fleet manager training at VA facilities around the country and created a new fleet management online learning series.
Hadi Janbakhshzadeh
VA Northern and Central California Healthcare Systems and San Francisco VA Medical CenterHadi Janbakhshzadeh managed the first-ever utility energy service contract (UESC) in the Veterans Health Administration and continues to manage his region’s UESC program, including three successful awards and others planned for fiscal years 2018 and 2019. He also improved the energy systems at 11 health-care facilities by solving serious aging equipment, compliance, and capacity issues.
Sam Smith
Durham VA Medical CenterSam Smith worked with internal and external stakeholders to facilitate project scope discussions for a $74 million energy savings performance contract in VA’s Region 6, which includes seven medical center campuses across three states. His efforts allowed the project to share savings across the facilities, maximizing benefits and incorporating measures that would not have been otherwise economically feasible.
Download higher resolution photos of the honorees.