New Buildings Institute (NBI) is thrilled to be adding to the dynamic team of professionals who oversee our corporate structure and those doing the on-the-ground work of the organization. We welcome a new Associate Director of Codes and Policy to our staff, Kimberly Cheslak, who is a building energy codes leader and content matter expert. Also new at NBI, Project Manager, Maria Ellingson will be working on zero energy and zero carbon leadership and coalition building. The Board of Directors has added two new members, Mona Chandra, principal analyst from National Grid and Michael Colgrove, executive director of Energy Trust of Oregon. These professionals bring deep knowledge of energy efficiency programs and regional expertise to our organization.

Kimberly Cheslak comes to NBI from the Institute of Market Transformation. She has been guiding the future of building energy codes throughout the United States and assisting leading jurisdictions to improve their use of advanced energy codes. Maria Ellingson comes to us from the Alliance to Save Energy. For over 20 years she has been improving energy efficiency in buildings through a variety of initiatives covering code development and adoption, education and training, as well as state-wide coalition building and marketing efforts. As NBI continues its leadership in zero-based carbon codes and energy policies, Maria’s and Kimberly’s expertise will be instrumental in the development of what is needed to combat the climate crisis.

Mona Chandra is a principal analyst at National Grid, one of the largest electric and gas utilities in the Northeast. She currently works on Commercial and Industrial Strategy in Rhode Island. In previous roles with National Grid, she oversaw the Energy Efficiency Innovation Portfolio in New England. She also led the launch of residential and commercial demand response programs in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York.

Michael joined Energy Trust of Oregon as executive director in 2016, after 15 years with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) where he was both the director of the New York City office and director of Multifamily Programs. He has extensive experience in designing, developing, and implementing energy-efficiency programs that help to accelerate broad market adoption of clean energy solutions.

We welcome these thought leaders to the team!