Presenter Information

Alice Alipour, Professor of Civil Engineering, Iowa State University

Dr. Alipour is the Olson Professor of Civil Engineering at Iowa State University. Her research focuses on the risk and resilience assessment of power utilities and other critical infrastructure systems under extreme weather events and natural hazards.

Abbie Christophersen, Director, Iowa Clean Cities and Communities Coalition

Abbie Christophersen has been the Iowa Clean Cities and Communities coalition director since April of 2026. She focuses on leading strategic initiatives to increase coalition impact such as supporting the national network of coalitions, planning new projects and organizing local outreach events. Before coming into this role, she worked at the Iowa Economic Development Authority for four years as director of Iowa Clean Cities, liquid fuels energy security lead, and state energy program management. During that time, she also served as the North Central Regional Council Representative.

Sydney Gilliam, Practice Lead for Energy, Policy, and Program Development Directing Long-Term Resilience Operations, IEM   

Sydney advises organizations on the design, funding, implementation, and long-term sustainability of energy, resilience, and other initiatives. Drawing from experience supporting programs and projects across multiple states, territories, and other entities - both public and private - she helps stakeholders translate complex policy objectives and funding opportunities into practical solutions that improve affordability, strengthen resilience, and deliver measurable public benefits. 

Her work spans the intersection of energy affordability, infrastructure investment, resilience and mitigation activities, project development, and program implementation. She specializes in helping organizations maximize the impact of public investments by aligning funding strategies, leveraging existing delivery infrastructure, navigating regulatory and compliance requirements, and developing sustainable pathways that support long-term reliability, resilience, and economic value. 

Throughout her career, Ms. Gilliam has supported initiatives ranging from energy efficiency and electrification programs to disaster recovery, housing stability, resilience, and other large-scale public investment efforts. Through her work with IEM, she collaborates with federal agencies, energy offices, utilities, regulators, program administrators, and community partners to develop practical strategies that balance affordability, accountability, compliance requirements, and long-term outcomes. She is a frequent speaker on energy policy, program strategy, public funding, resilience, and innovative approaches to delivering lasting impact for customers and communities.

Kait Kelsey, Business Development Manager, Siemens

Kait Kelsey is a Business Development Manager for Energy Services at Siemens Smart Infrastructure. Bringing a strong technical foundation to her role, Kait previously served as an Energy Engineer, where she partnered with clients in healthcare, higher education, K-12, and commercial real estate to identify and implement high-impact energy efficiency projects. Her unique perspective—combining engineering rigor with strategic development—allows her to design scopes of work that are both technically sound and financially optimized. At this year’s Iowa Energy Summit, Kait leverages this expertise to demonstrate how advanced controls can unlock significant savings in industrial and commercial facilities. Connect with Kait on LinkedIn to discuss the future of smart building technology. 

Keith Cronin, Senior Consultant, VEIC

Keith Cronin is a Senior Consultant at VEIC with expertise in energy efficiency program design, administration, and evaluation. Keith provides technical assistance and subject matter expertise to clients nationwide, designs and reviews energy efficiency programs and policies, and facilitates annual updates for Technical Reference Manuals in Iowa and Illinois. Prior to joining VEIC, Keith was a Strategic Initiatives Manager for APTIM helping to administer the Focus on Energy program in Wisconsin.

Christian Deuel, Senior Manager of Commercial Energy, ICF

Christian is a Senior Manager of Commercial Energy at ICF and a nationally recognized subject matter expert in Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), community action, and residential energy efficiency program delivery. With nearly 25 years of experience working directly in and alongside Weatherization and Community Action programs, Christian brings a practitioner’s perspective grounded in lived experience and deep respect for community and equity. Christian began his career as a Weatherization contractor crew member, progressing through roles as crew lead, auditor, housing inspector, Community Services Program Director, and Program Development Coordinator. Christian's work at ICF focuses on equitable program design, workforce development, market transformation, and aligning utility and public sector resources to better serve households and communities. He frequently serves as a trusted advisor to local, state, and national partners, helping translate community based knowledge into scalable energy and housing solutions. He ia a passionate advocate for energy equity, often reminding partners that “you cannot develop the community without the community.”

Tarunkumar Jotwani, Energy Specialist, Willdan

Tarunkumar Vinod Jotwani, PE, LEED® AP BD+C, Energy Specialist at Willdan, provides energy design assistance consulting for new construction and renovation projects, leveraging tools such as NEO (Net Energy Optimizer) to perform energy simulation analysis. He advises clients and colleagues on technical systems to guide teams towards energy conservation and decarbonization decisions. He is a member of ASHRAE. He received his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University and Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering from Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology.

Mark Helm, Energy Consultant, Willdan

Marc got his start in commercial construction in the US Army, initially trained as a “combat plumber” who could install toilets, landmines, and barbed-wire fences. Over his 20-year career, he managed construction projects for the Army in exotic locations like Afghanistan, El Salvadore, and Nebraska. Marc joined Willdan in 2023 and consults with design teams to improve energy savings in their buildings.

Frank Molander, Senior Specialist, ICF

Frank has over 25 years of experience designing and implementing residential, commercial and agriculture utility funded energy efficiency and demand management programs. He was instrumental in establishing incentive programs with national retailers for residential ENERGY STAR products that helped transform markets for CFLs, LEDs, clothes washers, refrigerators, dishwashers and smart thermostats. In his current role he is focused on developing new Commercial & Industrial markets with a focus on Agriculture, Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) and Small Business Programs. As a member of the Strategic Enablement & Emerging Solutions (SEES) team he helps lead the design and development of innovative Agriculture and Small Business programs that work in concert with ICF’s traditional program approaches. 

Jeremy Neumann, Program Manager, CLEAResult

Jeremy Neumann is a customer-focused professional with over a decade of experience in account management, sales, project management, and program delivery. Jeremy began his career in inside sales and customer relations, managing a large portfolio of small business accounts and consistently exceeding sales targets. He went on to lead a team of account managers and auditors serving a roster of hospitality clients, then moved into a sales strategy and vendor management role with a regional industrial distributor. Jeremy joined CLEAResult as part of the outreach team, building relationships with trade allies and property owners in the multifamily sector. He has since advanced to Program Manager, overseeing day-to-day operations, budget and performance tracking, client relationship management, and results reporting for energy efficiency programs within the Midwest. Through this work, Jeremy has seen firsthand how utility programs, contractor networks, and funding design shape whether energy efficiency upgrades are actually accessible to the households that need them most.

Jeff Ralston, Owner & Founder, Ralston Eco Homes

Jeff established Ralston Eco Homes to build high efficiency, comfortable, healthy, durable, and resilient homes in the Cedar Rapids Metro Area. Ralston Eco Homes is committed to meeting or exceeding DOE Zero Energy Ready Home performance levels. Our most recent build was recognized as having the lowest HERS rating in The Greater Iowa City Area Home Builders Association 2026 spring parade of homes.

Abby Steffens, Grant Program Manager, Clean Energy Districts of Iowa

Abby is an Eastern Iowa native, she works with Clean Energy Districts of Iowa on their Dept. of Energy EECBG award as program manager. She holds a Bachelor of Science focused on human health and psychology with a master's in sustainability from the University of South Dakota where she was the first campus recycling coordinator. She also worked with incentive programs in California and energy assessments as a past Green Iowa AmeriCorps fellow with the City of Dubuque. Serving local government entities such as schools, cities and counties, CEDI's EECBG program offers design assistance for energy-related building improvements. 

Kathryn Thomsen, Senior Consultant, CLEAResult

Kathryn is a senior consultant and program manager with nearly 20 years’ experience evaluating and implementing programs in energy efficiency, conservation and decarbonization for utilities, corporations and state governments. She provides technical advising, training and project management in collaboration with stakeholders, trade partners and cross-functional teams. With a focus on continuous improvements, Kathryn strives to build team and business capacities to develop innovative solutions for energy conservation, market transformation and sustainability.