Unsung Hero 2012 Awards: Winners Advance Energy Efficiency in the U.S. and Abroad

Congratulations to 2012 ‘Unsung Hero’ Award Winners

After a full day of high-level discussions at the Great Energy Efficiency Day – Part I (GEED I) on May 16, 2012, the Alliance honored those who work behind the scenes on energy efficiency. The Unsung Hero Awards are bestowed on those who go “above and beyond” on a daily basis to further energy efficiency, but who have not received recognized commensurate to their contributions.

“So many of us have watched and worked with this year’s Unsung Hero Award recipients and seen the passion that they bring to the cause of energy efficiency,” Alliance President Kateri Callahan told the crowd of policymakers, Alliance Board members, Alliance Associate members and energy professionals.  

Sponsored by Johns Manville, the Unsung Hero Awards honored:

• Trent Bauserman, Associate Director for Legislative Affairs, White House Council on Environmental Quality; and Stephen Kittredge, Legislative Assistant – Energy, Office of Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio)
• Keith Curtis, Senior Energy Advisor, U.S. Department of Commerce
• Roland Risser, Building Technologies Program Manager, U.S. Department of Energy

Unfortunately, Roland Risser was unable to be present for the reception but will receive his award at GEED II on October 3, 2012.

Trent Bauserman & Stephen Kittredge: Advancing a National Energy Efficiency Strategy

Bauserman and Kittredge were honored for their work on the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act (S.1000) as introduced by Portman and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). Their efforts were critical in drafting the bill, achieving its bipartisan introduction, and mobilizing the strong support needed to advance the bill through the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Prior to his position at the White House, Bauserman served for three years as the energy policy advisor for Shaheen.  In Kittredge’s current role as legislative assistant for Portman, he is continuing to focus his outreach at the state level to ensure strong support for the legislation from a broad group of stakeholders.

At the ceremony, Shaheen marveled at how the pair rallied support across the country for the bill. “Energy efficiency is not the most ‘sexy’ energy source, but it's the one that makes such a huge difference,” Shaheen said. “Trent and Steve kept things going on S.1000 when a lot of us were getting discouraged… They built a coalition – from 50 to 150 – of businesses and other groups to back the bill, and with that support we can really get this over the finish line.”

Keith Curtis: Helping U.S. Embassies Go Green

The Unsung Hero Award was granted to Curtis for his work with the League of Green Embassies (LoGE).  His efforts were critical in creating the program and achieving its extensive success, particularly with the “Energy Efficiency Sweep” of Europe.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Sweden Michael Wood commended Curtis for attracting nearly 90 U.S. embassies to sign onto the LoGE program and commit to energy efficiency in their buildings.
 “Keith took this idea, which was just a kernel, and he made it big – far beyond what I could ever have imagined with this initiative,” Wood said.

As the senior advisor on energy efficiency and renewable energy in the U.S. Foreign Service, Curtis manages energy strategy worldwide for the Commercial Service.  He also works as the vice president for the American Foreign Service Association, representing the Foreign Commercial Service.

More on the Alliance to Save Energy’s Unsung Hero Awards

In 2004, “The Energy Efficiency Hall of Fame” was created to honor individuals who have contributed significantly, through hard work and dedication, to advancing the cause of energy efficiency. Each year up to three individuals are inducted into the Hall of Fame, which now includes 27 Unsung Hero award winners .

• 2011 Unsung Heroes
  • Neil Brown, senior professional staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Kevin Kampschroer, director of the General Services Administration’s Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; and Sam Ricketts, executive director of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition.
• 2010 Unsung Heroes
  • Al Stayman, staffer of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee; Dub Taylor, director of the Texas State Energy Conservation Office; and Terry Tyborowski, staff assistant of the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee.
• 2009 Unsung Heroes
  • David Greene, corporate fellow of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Alexandra Teitz, senior counsel for Environment and Energy for the House Energy and Commerce Committee.