Staff and Interns
NCSEA Staff Team
Ivan Urlaub, MEM, MPP, Executive Director, ivan@energync.org
Ivan Urlaub brings ten years of state, national and international experience in the energy and water fields to the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association, including experience in natural resource economics, global climate change science, public policy analysis, regulatory review, governmental affairs, coalition building, project management, and fundraising. Urlaub also brings experience in integrated resource management, utility tariff restructuring, petroleum resource emergency response planning, strategic planning and conflict resolution.
Urlaub strives to be a highly effective collaborative partner in turning North Carolina’s and our region’s sustainable energy challenges into opportunities. Soon after joining NCSEA as Policy Director in 2005, Urlaub was elevated to the role of Executive & Policy Director in January 2006. Under his leadership, NCSEA has grown from one to ten employees, increased membership by over 175%, experienced a seven-fold budget increase, and achieved over 85% of NCSEA’s long-term public policy, education and economic development objectives.
Urlaub co-led North Carolina’s two year effort to pass the first state Renewable Energy and Efficiency Portfolio Standard (RPS) into law in the Southeastern United States. Urlaub has appeared on numerous radio and television shows discussing our State’s energy challenges and opportunities, been published in Solar Today and several newspapers, and has delivered over 150 presentations to government bodies, university courses, and forums spanning political, community, economic development, faith-based and energy interests across North Carolina and the Southeast.
Currently, Urlaub serves as a commissioner on the North Carolina Legislative Commission on Global Climate change and as a member of the North Carolina climate Action Plan Advisory Group. In 2006, Urlaub served as Policy Chair on the American Solar Energy Society’s (ASES) Board of Directors. Also, in 2006 Urlaub served as an advisor to the NC Utilities Commission’s study of the costs and benefits of a state Renewable Portfolio Standard, or RPS.
Urlaub holds a B.A. in Political Science and Environmental Studies with minors in Biology and Philosophy from the George Washington University in Washington, DC. In addition, he holds both a Master of Environmental Management and Master of Public Policy from Duke University, where he focused on Energy, Economic Globalization, and Global Environmental Change Science.
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 has 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.
Prior to her electricity sector experience, she 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
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.
Kurt J. Olson, JD, Staff Counsel, kurt@energync.org
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.
G. Stephen “Steve” Fountain, Program Manager, steve@energync.org
Steve Fountain has over fifteen years experience in Community Economic Development with a focus on asset building through small business development, entrepreneurship and home ownership. Fountain has worked in various capacities for faith-based organizations, historical black colleges and universities, not for profits and for profit corporations. Nationally certified in economic development finance, asset and real estate management, home buyer education and housing counseling. He has provided technical assistance and training in the following areas: housing development, community economic development, home buyer education, home buyer education “Training the Trainer,” home buyer clubs, financial literacy education, IDA/ Individual Development Accounts, communication outreach and organizing, marketing and sales, and small business development.
Paul Quinlan, MEM, MPP, Senior Associate, paul@energync.org
Paul Quinlan brings several years experience to the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association. As NCSEA’s Senior Associate, 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.
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.
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.
Interns
Gary Morris, MEM and MBA Candidate
Gary Morris is the Building Performance Intern with the NCSEA and is currently completing an economic analysis of various green building opportunities including water heaters, HVAC systems, roofing, windows, and insulation. Morris is a full-time graduate student at Duke University working toward both a Master of Environmental Management with a concentration in Energy and Environment and a Master of Business Administration. Prior to enrolling at Duke, Morris worked as a private sector environmental consultant where his primary responsibilities included the oversight and completion of Phase I Environmental Site Assessments and interpreting analytical data to determine the extent and migration patterns of groundwater contamination plumes. Morris hold a B.S. in Environmental Studies with a focus in Science from Elon University.
Charrise Phillips, B.A. Public Policy Candidate
Charrise Phillips is a rising senior at Duke University pursuing a B.A. in Public Policy Studies. She enjoys conducting research on energy policy and is very interested in the legislative process. Throughout her studies, Ms. Phillips has gained experience in economic, social, educational, and international policy. Upon graduation, she aspires to either attend law school or earn a masters degree in a policy-related field. As a summer policy intern at NCSEA, Phillips is working on the 2007 NC Sustainable Energy Legislative Guide and other policy and regulatory issues concerning NCSEA.
Xiaojing Sun, MEM Candidate
Xiaojing Sun is a Master of Environmental Management degree candidate at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment. Her concentration is in Environmental Economics and Policy with a focus on climate change issue and renewable energy. Sun holds a B.A. in Environmental Engineering from Nankai University in China.
During her internship at NCSEA, Sun is working as a member of the policy team conducting research and analysis on electricity rate structures to identify policy and constructs for North Carolina to further facilitate the use of demand side management, energy efficiency and to promote the use of our abundant renewable energy resources.
Abbie Turiansky, MEM and MPP Candidate
Abbie Turiansky is a masters candidate at Duke University studying environmental management and public policy. She is spending the summer designing, implementing, and analyzing a census of the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries in North Carolina in order to quantify the employment and economic benefits of these industries to the state economy. A graduate of Oberlin College, Turiansky worked in Guatemala and Washington, DC in the international human rights field prior to beginning her studies at Duke.
Jason Wynne, MEM Candidate
Jason Wynne is pursuing a Masters in Environmental Management at Duke University with a focus on Energy and the Environment. He graduated from James Madison University with a B.S. in Integrated Science and Technology, with a concentration in Environmental Studies. As a 2008 summer intern with NCSEA Wynne is conducting data analysis regarding the current state of energy in North Carolina and is assisting in the creation of a North Carolina Energy Basics Report for state and local decision makers, business owners, interested citizens and community-networked organizations.
