Making Energy Work: Building a Sustainable Energy Economy in the Southeast

NCSEA Staff Team

Ivan Urlaub, MEM, MPP, Executive Director, ivan@energync.org 

Ivan Urlaub brings eleven years of state, national and international experience in the energy and water fields to his work as Executive Director of the NC Sustainable Energy Association. He has extensive experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors in policy analysis, governmental affairs, resource economics and integrated resource management, regulatory review, emergency response planning, strategic planning, project management, and organizational/ agency design and change management.

Soon after joining NCSEA as Policy Director in February 2005, Urlaub co-led North Carolina’s 30-month effort to pass the first state Renewable Energy and Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS) law in the Southeastern United States. Regularly quoted in the media, Urlaub has delivered over 160 presentations to local, state, regional and national forums on how to turn NC and Southeast energy challenges into economic opportunities through an integration of public policy, energy information and market development.

Urlaub serves as a commissioner on the NC Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change and as a member of the NC Climate Action Plan Advisory Group. In 2006, he served as Policy Chair on the American Solar Energy Society and as an advisor to the NC Utilities Commission’s study of the costs and benefits of a state Renewable Portfolio Standard.

Urlaub holds a B.A. in Political Science and Environmental Studies with minors in Biology and Philosophy from the George Washington University and a Master of Environmental Management and Master of Public Policy from Duke University, where he focused on energy, economic globalization, and global change sciences.



Rosalie Day, MPP, Policy Director, rosalie@energync.org

Rosalie Day brings over fifteen years of government, private sector and utility sector experience in the energy and environmental fields to the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association. Day’s experience includes but is not limited to public policy, utility regulatory compliance, independent power production, grid management, development of renewable energy certificate management and power scheduling systems, emissions trading markets, education, and extensive government and private sector program management. Day’s experience will be highly valuable to North Carolina where concepts of renewable energy and efficiency are still relatively new to many decision-makers.

Prior to joining NCSEA in September 2007, Day had extensive experience in the electricity sector nationally. She served as Vice President of Wholesale Operations for a start-up retail firm in Texas for five years. She was Vice President of National Product Development at APX leading the Houston office team, with generation and load clients interfacing with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). She led APX to be the selected vendor and developer of the Texas RECS program. Day has provided expert testimony to several state utilities commissions and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and she has served on the Board of Directors and Technical Advisory Committees of several regional transmission organization formation groups as Regulatory Manager for Reliant Energy.

She also worked at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) where she was effective in several roles. She did award winning work as the Comparative Risk/Risk-Based Planning Coordinator in the Chicago (Region 5) office of USEPA. She was Climate Change Coordinator and was involved in International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives projects. Day served as an economist developing emissions trading programs and transportation plans for the Houston-Galveston Area Council, on loan from USEPA. She served as the State Air Grants Manager at the USEPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards in North Carolina. There she was project manager to on an Inter-Agency energy and environment international project.

Day holds a Master of Arts with Honors in Public Policy Studies from the University of Chicago where she focused on economics. She also holds a B.A. in Public Policy Analysis from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.


Van Crandall, Development Director, van@energync.org  

Van Crandall brings over 25 years of technical marketing experience from the information technology industry and most recently within digital media. His career spans positions at Fortune 500 corporations and Silicon Valley startups, along with establishing two firms as an entrepreneur.
 
For more than a decade, Crandall has been engaged in alternative energy advocacy. In 1999 and 2000 he served on the NCSEA Board of Directors. As an energy activist, Crandall has worked with many environmental organizations within the state. An area of personal interest and speculation within alternative energy has been in fuel cell technologies, hydrogen production and its commercialization.

As a major account manager handling volume component supply programs at global computer manufacturers, his project management skills coordinated client engineering, business aspects and logistical resources. Crandall’s technical and marketing skills cross IT applications that include archive storage systems used for medical imaging, finance and broadcast, as well as embedded operating systems, transaction processing and thermal test systems for stressing and measuring semiconductor reliability.
 
Prior to joining NCSEA, Crandall produced marketing and training multimedia, short documentaries and also produced large-format enlargements for photographers, artists and astronomers. In 2006, he produced a short agricultural outreach video to help develop markets and clarify steps to grow, harvest and process Canola oil into biodiesel. In 2005, he launched a non-partisan video Web site for public election forums that educated citizens on candidate positions and resulted in 52,000 hits within 60 days.
 
Along with NCSEA, Crandall has served as a board member for Lions and Rotary clubs and is president of a Triangle-Area photography organization. As a former city planning commissioner, he reviewed projects for industrial, retail and residential development. His wife and two children have resided in North Carolina for 15 years. “Unlocking the vast potential of alternative energy that fosters growth of sustainable businesses and creates good-paying jobs across North Carolina is in everyone’s best interest. I look forward to hearing about your needs and working with you, to help NCSEA focus its resources to deliver success and satisfaction to our members and all our supporters”.


Julie Robinson, Marketing and Communications Director, julie@energync.org

 

Julie Robinson brings more than 12 years of communications, marketing, legislative and public policy experience in Raleigh and Washington, DC to the NC Sustainable Energy Association. Before joining NCSEA, Robinson worked in the Speaker’s office at the NC General Assembly and for U.S.  House Minority Leaders Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Dick Gephardt (D-MO), U.S. Sen. Max Cleland (D-GA) and U.S. Rep. Jim Turner (D-TX). 

 

At NCSEA, Robinson oversees all marketing and communications efforts to ensure a sustainable future by promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency in North Carolina through education, public policy and economic development. She also assists with NCSEA’s annual events, including the NC Green Building & Solar Tour, Green Building Pavilion at the Southern Ideal Home Show, membership meetings, workshops and forums, as well as legislative activities, membership and donor development.  Robinson majored in Journalism (Public Relations) and Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.



Paul Quinlan, MEM, MPP, Director of Economic Research and Development, paul@energync.org

Paul Quinlan brings several years experience to the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association. As NCSEA’s Director of Economic Research and Development, Quinlan leads several of NCSEA’s policy, market development, and fundraising initiatives. Examples of Quinlan’s leadership include his role in the NC Wind Working Group and leading NCSEA’s new workforce development program. Quinlan’s economics research into the problem of energy poverty in North Carolina has increased awareness of the need for greater weatherization and energy efficiency assistance for over 150,000 low-income households across our State. Quinlan has been with NCSEA since 2006. Quinlan holds both a Master of Public Policy and Master of Environmental Management from Duke University.


Kurt J. Olson, JD, Staff Counsel, kurt@energync.org
 
Kurt Olson is a North Carolina licensed attorney with 25 years experience in environmental law, administrative law and various related practices.  He began his career in Washington D.C. working for several prominent law firms but moved to North Carolina in 1995 to be with family joining the area's oldest and most recognized firm, Maupin Taylor, P.A.  He has participated in numerous major rulemakings, including U.S. EPA's lead phase down program, and has litigated cases involving multi-million dollar issues in federal courts.  He now routinely appears at all levels of the state courts in North Carolina.  Kurt is a graduate of the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University in Washington D.C., graduating with the highest grade point average in his class.  

Kurt is a member of the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court Of Appeals for the 4th Circuit (among others) and all federal and state courts in North Carolina, Virginia and the District of Columbia.  He has been selected by his peers to be listed in the Best Lawyers in America and North Carolina's Legal Elite.  Kurt is extremely pleased to be with NCSEA and looks forward to working on the very important and timely issues pursued by the organization. 


Elizabeth Brown, MPP, Senior Technical Analyst, elizabeth@energync.org

Elizabeth Brown brings several years of utility experience to the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association. Before joining NCSEA, Brown worked as a distribution engineer and has experience with designing and implementing reliability and power quality projects and programs. As NCSEA’s Senior Technical Analyst, Brown’s work includes technical analysis of policies related to the electricity grid and energy efficiency programs. Such policies include distributed generation, electric reliability, SmartGrid technologies, and issues related to the measurement and verification of energy efficiency measures. Brown began working with NCSEA part-time in 2007 and came on staff full-time in 2008. Brown holds both a Bachelor of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Spanish from Auburn University and a Master of Public Policy from Duke University.


Nichole Campbell, Office Manager, officemanager@energync.org

 

Nichole Campbell brings over 40 years of office experience to NCSEA. Campbell provides internal administrative support, records management, manages accounting functions, and attends to the association’s day-to-day office needs.

 

Prior to joining in NCSEA in the fall of 2007, Campbell worked as a bookkeeper at various offices and as a junior accountant for American Electric Power. She also has 14 years experience as a claim analyst for re-insurance companies.  In addition to her extensive office experience, Campbell spent 3 years as a Microsoft Office Instructor.

 

Campbell holds an Associate in Business from the College of Staten Island. She also has studied further in accounting and economics. Campbell is also certified in the following areas:  Microsoft Office, Master Gardening, and she completed the Microsoft Certified Engineer Training (MSCE). In her free time Campbell loves to take care of her dog, garden, dance, and spent time with friends and family.
 


Natalie Burlison, Administrative and Member Services
natalie@energync.org

Natalie Burlison is a full-time graduate student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary working on her Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling. She holds a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in Psychology and Religious Studies from Clearwater Christian College. Burlison joined the NCSEA team part-time in November 2007 and assists in administrative tasks and membership services.

Daniel Wood, Assistant Conference Coordinator daniel@energync.org
 
Daniel Wood is a full-time graduate student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary working on his Masters of Divinity in Biblical Counseling.  He holds a B.B.A. in Music Business with a concentration in Marketing from Belmont University in Nashville, TN.  Daniel Joined NCSEA in October of 2008 as a part-time assistant to Paul Quinlan gathering data to promote conferences and economic growth for the sustainable energy industry in the Southeast.
 

Interns

On the NCSEA team, you will develop highly integrated and valuable knowledge of how sustainable energy solutions work for our rural and urban economy, state and local policy, business, electric utilities and membership cooperatives, and the environment.  After years of service with NCSEA, past staff, interns and expert volunteers have gone on to great opportunities such as starting their own renewable energy businesses, utility modeling and forecasting, state and federal energy regulatory agencies, sustainable agriculture and green building, clean tech investing, and energy and environmental consulting.
  
If you're interested in an NCSEA internship and have the experience and passion to help shape one of the world’s hottest economic sectors in the leading Southeast state, please apply today at info@energync.org.