Washington DC’s District Government Energy Management Plan

We invite you to learn more about the DC Government’s Energy Management Plan (EMP) through brief presentations followed by a moderated question and answer session. Jen Croft, who works at DGS, will present alongside consultant Coral Pais of DLR Group. They will share a wealth of information about the inception of the EMP, some of its key findings, and how the program will be implemented. Stephen Kitterman, who has worked with DC Public Schools to modernize their facilities over the past 15 years, will share additional insights as to how this program can be used to further enhance modernization efforts.

More about the EMP: The data-driven roadmap, developed by the Department of General Services’ (DGS) Sustainability and Energy Management Division, outlines in detail how DGS, in collaboration with its client agencies, will aggressively cut energy use of more than 25.7 million square feet of District government buildings, while improving local air quality, resilience and comfort, within these public buildings. The EMP serves as a powerful and robust blueprint for cities, states, and the private sector on how to bring their building portfolios into compliance with building performance standards that are being increasingly adopted across the United States. The full report can be read here.

For the past eight years, Jen has worked in sustainability implementation at the District of Columbia Government’s Department of General Services (DGS). As the Deputy Associate Director of the DGS Sustainability and Energy Management Division, she works to advance programs and policies that decarbonize the energy used in public buildings, while optimizing efficiency to save taxpayer money. Over the last two and a half years, Jen and her colleagues have met with Coral Pais from DLR Group, and Roger Chang twice a week to develop the District’s first Energy Management Plan for public buildings. The plan is a data-driven roadmap for how to bring DC Government buildings into compliance with one of the country’s most aggressive climate change policies, the DC Building Energy Performance Standards.

Coral joined DLR Group in 2014 after completing her Masters thesis on Indoor Environmental Quality in Schools. Since then she has worked on a range of project types including Higher Education, Cultural, Federal, and Healthcare. As a building systems engineer with a research background focused on optimizing thermal comfort for building occupants, she applies evidence-based data to elevate the design experience for users. Her areas of expertise include energy modeling, high performance design, and various sustainability certification programs including LEED, WELL, LBC, Green Globes. As a Building Energy Modeling Professional and a member of the firm’s High Performance Design Team, Coral uses building performance simulation to help designers not only quantify energy savings but make decisions that are integrated, holistic and mindful of the triple bottom line.  A champion for integrated design, Coral recognizes that her work is most impactful when the whole team speaks the same language of sustainability.

Stephen is a senior project manager with Brailsford & Dunlavey in Washington, DC. With nearly 30 years of experience in the design and construction industry, he is recognized as a subject matter expert in several disciplines, including HVAC systems, building science, and preservation. Stephen has spent almost 15 years working on the District of Columbia Public Schools modernization program, where he has been involved in all aspects of school planning, budgeting, procurement, construction, maintenance, and sustainability. He is currently focused on the $85m annual budget small capital projects program with over 85 concurrent projects across 120 school buildings.

A structural engineer, he practiced with a top firm gaining experience working on a wide variety of public and private projects. Wishing to be involved in all aspects of the projects he works on, he transitioned to construction and program management. If you happen to be at an event at Minute Maid Park in Houston, home of the Astros, look up at the three long-span steel retractable roofs; Stephen spent a year designing those.