Staff

Elise Jones is the Executive Director of the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), managing the organization and its impactful work on energy efficiency, electrification, and clean transportation over the six-state Southwest region. She brings to this position more than three decades of public policymaking experience, accumulated from a variety of vantage points: as a local elected official, former chair of the Denver Regional Council of Governments, gubernatorial appointment to the Air Quality Control Commission and Regional Air Quality Council, Congressional legislative staff person, and a conservation advocacy nonprofit leader.

Background

Elise served as a county commissioner for Boulder County from 2013-21, where she focused on climate action, sustainability, equity, and multimodal transportation issues. Prior to running for public office, for 13 years she directed a statewide conservation organization, Colorado Environmental Coalition (now called Conservation Colorado), advocating for policy change on climate, energy, wilderness, land use, transportation, and a host of other environmental issues. Elise has also worked as a regional director for the League of Conservation Voters, a senior legislative staff person for Oregon congresswoman Elizabeth Furse, and a policy advocate for the National Wildlife Federation.

Education

MS in Resource Policy, Planning, & Administration, University of Michigan
BS in Natural Resources, Cornell University

Favorite Movies

Hidden Figures (So inspiring to watch strong, smart, resilient women break barriers!)
The Birdcage (Triggers belly laughs every time you watch it!)
Cool Hand Luke (Paul Newman is one of the greatest!)

Location
Boulder, CO

Ramón DC Alatorre is Utility Program Senior Program Manager at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), where he supports work at public utilities commissions around the Southwest advocating for stronger energy efficiency, demand management, rate design, and beneficial electrification. Ramón works collaboratively with utilities and policymakers to implement best practice programs across the region, and is involved in much of SWEEP’s work around the gas transition and decarbonization of gas utilities.

Background

Prior to SWEEP, Ramón led an initiative that supported communities and local governments to expand understanding, imagination and acceptance of the emerging portfolio of legacy carbon dioxide removal solutions through engagement, coalition building and by helping communities actualize locally initiated projects. Before that he served three years as a climate analyst in city government, where he managed programs related to energy efficiency, clean energy, electrification and led projects that supported transportation electrification and legacy carbon dioxide removal. Ramón also coordinated the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program at Northern Arizona University.

Education

MS, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
BS, Florida International University

Favorite Movies

The Emperor’s New Groove
WALL-E

Location
Flagstaff, AZ

Christy Bolognani is a Senior Building Associate with the Buildings Program at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), where she advances energy efficiency policy across the Southwest in collaboration with utilities, state energy offices, advocacy groups, and other stakeholders. Her work includes leveraging building efficiency policies and tools such as the energy codes, benchmarking and building performance standards, building electrification, low-income housing tax credits, and other programs to reduce energy waste, climate emissions, and consumer utility bills.

Background

Prior to joining SWEEP, Christy served as Marketing Manager for a commercial general contractor specializing in green building projects where she managed sales, marketing, and business development activities for the company’s vertical construction, civil/utility, renewable energy, and real estate development divisions. She is also a licensed realtor.

Education

MBA, Northern Arizona University
BA in Environmental Studies, Prescott College

Favorite Movies

Happy Gilmore
Spaceballs
It’s A Wonderful Life

Location

Flagstaff, AZ

Christine Brinker is a Senior Buildings Policy Manager for the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project’s (SWEEP) Buildings Program, where she specializes in state and local policies such as energy codes, benchmarking and building performance standards, appliance standards, incentive programs, beneficial electrification, climate action planning, and net zero planning. Her work at SWEEP involves helping state and local governments plan or improve energy efficiency policies and programs for the built environment, writing state legislation, serving as an expert witness for bills or dockets, designing and expanding beneficial electrification strategies, facilitating networks of local officials and industry stakeholders, designing outreach materials and strategies, and delving into new and innovative energy efficiency tactics.

Background

Christine has been with SWEEP since 2007, and before that worked at E Source, advising utilities on clean energy technologies and distributed energy strategy. She also spent two years living and working in Niger, West Africa, teaching environmental science in French and Zarma. In her spare time, she renovated her 1920s home to be all-electric and net zero.

Education

BA in Economics and Environmental Studies (specialization in clean energy), University of Colorado Boulder

Favorite Movies

Shaun The Sheep
Whale Rider
The Martian

Location

Denver, CO

Kevin Emerson is Building Efficiency & Decarbonization Director at Utah Clean Energy. In this role, he serves as the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project’s primary Utah representative — leading building and utility efficiency and decarbonization advocacy efforts. Kevin also supports all transportation electrification efforts in Utah.

Background

Kevin has worked in the field of building and utility energy efficiency advocacy for nearly two decades, with a focus on local and state government policy and utility regulation. His experience includes policy analysis and development, policymaker education, service on Utah’s Uniform Building Code Commission, and currently serving on the board of The Association of Energy Engineers, Utah Chapter.

Education

MS in Environmental Sustainability, University of Edinburgh
BS in Environmental Studies, University of Utah

Favorite Movies

The Mission
Baraka
Raya And The Last Dragon

Location

Salt Lake City, UT

Alex Eubanks is the New Mexico State Representative for the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP). In this role, Alex leads the organization’s efforts in energy efficiency and clean transportation within New Mexico, spearheads legislative initiatives, and represents SWEEP in various coalitions across the state.

Background

Alex has an extensive background in New Mexico politics and government roles, engaging in campaign management and legislative support. His experience includes significant contributions to policy development and community engagement in Senator Martin Heinrich’s office and a strategic role in a leading campaign consulting firm, where he focused on campaign strategies and outreach.

Education

BA in Political Science, University of New Mexico

Favorite Movies

Paris, Texas
Tree Of Life
Wild At Heart
Rumble Fish

Location

Albuquerque, NM

Courtney Fieldman is Utility Program Director at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), where she leads regulatory strategy and utility engagement across the Southwest to advance energy efficiency, demand-side management, and the integration of distributed energy resources. Her work focuses on modernizing utility programs and regulatory frameworks to enable more intelligent, flexible, and cost-effective energy systems. Courtney works closely with public utilities commissions, utilities, and regional stakeholders to scale best practices in beneficial electrification, rate design, and grid-edge innovation.

Background

Prior to joining SWEEP, Courtney was Founder & Head of Energy Innovation at SPARK, where she developed AI-powered energy infrastructure to unify building operations, grid signals, and distributed energy resources. Previously, she served as Head of American Affairs for the COP28 Presidency, leading U.S. and Latin American diplomacy and securing international agreements under the UAE Consensus. Her past roles include SIDS Breakthrough Lead with the UN Climate Champions, Building Electrification Associate at RMI, and Clean Energy Advisor to Christiana Figueres through Mission 2020. Across these positions, Courtney has bridged multilateral climate diplomacy, U.S. utility policy, and clean energy innovation to drive systems-level decarbonization.

Education

MA in Climate Change Law & Policy, University of Eastern Finland
BA in International Relations & Environmental Policy, Princeton University
Certificate in Disruptive Strategy & Innovation, Harvard Business School

Matt Frommer is Transportation & Land Use Policy Manager at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) and works to advance policies that cut transportation pollution, accelerate vehicle electrification, and build more healthy, walkable, and equitable communities. He works closely with policymakers and transportation planners to increase funding for multimodal transportation options like transit, biking, and walking, and support more efficient, compact land use. Matt’s goal is to make our communities less car-dependent and in the process, improve access to opportunity, lower emissions, and save people money on housing and transportation.

Background

Prior to working on climate and transportation policy, Matt was an architect working on mixed-use and residential development in New York City and Abu Dhabi. Throughout his work in architecture, he gravitated toward projects that support sustainability and affordability, sparking an interest in climate, transportation, and land use that eventually brought him to SWEEP.

Education

MS in Environmental Science in Sustainable Planning and Management, University of Colorado Boulder
BS in Architecture, University of Michigan

Favorite Movie

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

Location

Denver, CO

Kirsten Frysinger is the Operations Director at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), where she oversees and strengthens the organization’s daily operations. Her portfolio includes organizational policy, process development, grant administration, financial reporting, and human resources. With a focus on collaboration across SWEEP’s six-state region, Kirsten plays a key role in supporting cross-functional teams, streamlining internal processes, and addressing operational challenges with agility and precision.

Background

Prior to joining SWEEP in 2017, Kirsten managed operations for a HERS rating company in Boulder. She also owned and operated a videography company for four years and was a technical writer for magazines.

Education

BA in Environmental Studies (specialization in sustainable development), University of Colorado Boulder

Favorite Movies

My Octopus Teacher
The Big Chill
Finding Nemo
Rear Window
Forrest Gump

Location

Superior, CO

Caitlin Gatchalian is the Nevada State Representative for the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP). She leads the organization’s work on buildings and transportation efficiency, serves as lead on all legislative work, and represents SWEEP in coalitions throughout the state.

Background

Caitlin has worked in politics since she was 14 years old, starting as a fellow for the Alliance for Climate Education. She has ran campaigns, worked as a grassroots organizer, and in her most recent role, she was the Government Relations Director for the American Heart Association.

Education

BA in Political Science, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Favorite Movies

13 Going on 30
Turning Red

Location

Las Vegas, NV

Howard Geller is Founder and former Executive Director of the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), who led the organization from 2001-21. He currently holds a seat on the SWEEP Board of Directors and acts as a Senior Policy Advisor, assisting SWEEP on legislation as well as utility policy and program design.

Background

Howard served as the first employee and then Executive Director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy in Washington, D.C., from 1981-2001. He then moved to Colorado in 2001 to launch SWEEP. Howard has also worked on energy efficiency issues in Brazil, including helping the nation start a national electricity conservation program.

Education

PhD, University of São Paulo
MS, Princeton University
BA, Clark University

Favorite Movies

Casablanca
The Night Of The Iguana
Rear Window
(All classics!)

Location

Boulder, CO

Kelbe Goupil is a Senior Associate in Electrification at Utah Clean Energy. In this role, she serves as one of the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project’s Utah representatives, leading efforts to electrify the transportation system by accelerating the transition to zero emission medium-heavy-duty vehicles and expanding access to electric vehicle charging. Kelbe also supports building efficiency and decarbonization efforts. Kelbe is passionate about working with a diverse set of partners to ensure electrification policies and programs are developed to be equitable and inclusive for Utah consumers and communities.

Background

With a background in public health and policy, Kelbe has previously worked locally to advance alternative fuel solutions as well as in consulting where she focused on federal and local policy issues and provided research and expertise related to the social determinants of health. Her experience includes policy analysis, advocacy, and program and project management.

Education

Master of Public Policy and Master of Public Health, University of Utah
BS in Sociology (emphasis on Social Justice), University of Utah

Favorite Movies

Princess Bride
Little Women
The Lord Of The Rings trilogy

Location

Salt Lake City, UT

Will Greene is Arizona Representative for the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP).

Background

Will served as Land Use Policy Advisor to Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs covering a range of natural resource issues including state land, agriculture, wildlife, forestry, and fire management, real estate, mining, and more. He was previously Arizona Corporation Commissioner Sandra Kennedy’s Policy Advisor, helping her pass measures related to solar energy, energy storage, energy efficiency, electric vehicles, and water conservation. Will has professional experience in renewable energy, real estate project development, and volunteer organizing. He holds a Masters in Real Estate Development from Arizona State University and an undergraduate degree in Business and Sustainability from ASU

Education

Master in Real Estate Development, Arizona State University
BS in Business & Sustainability, Arizona State University

Location

Phoenix, AZ

Neil Kolwey is Industrial Program Director & Building Electrification Specialist for the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), where he leads programs to advance energy efficiency in the industrial sector and to decarbonize buildings and industry through beneficial electrification. In partnership with the SWEEP Buildings team, Neil works to promote beneficial electrification in buildings through use of efficient and cost-effective heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, and other electric appliances. In addition, since June 2020, Neil has been co-leader of the Beneficial Electrification League of Colorado.

Background

Before joining SWEEP in 2010, Neil worked for E Source for nine years, focusing on greenhouse gas consulting and writing reports on utility programs for large customers, climate change business strategies, and other topics.

Education

MS in Environmental Management and Policy, Lund University
BS in Mechanical Engineering, University of Iowa

Favorite Movies

Bull Durham
Shrek
The Naked Gun

Location

Boulder, CO

Travis Madsen is Transportation Program Director at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) and directs the clean transportation program — driving the organization’s overall work to reduce transportation energy use, save money, prevent pollution, and increase equitable access to convenient, clean, and affordable mobility options. He works with elected leaders, nonprofit partners, and private sector stakeholders to accelerate vehicle electrification, increase investment in multimodal transportation infrastructure, advance shared mobility strategies, and promote location-efficient land use.

Background

Travis joined SWEEP in 2019, after spending five years overseeing state-level climate advocacy work at Environment America, and more than a decade providing thought leadership and policy analysis at Frontier Group, a nonprofit multi-issue think tank. He began his career working on a successful campaign to win adoption of the Advanced Clean Cars program in New Jersey in the early 2000s.

Education

BA (summa cum laude) in Biochemistry and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado Boulder

Favorite Movies

Everything Everywhere All At Once
Sorry To Bother You
Being John Malkovich

Location

Denver, CO

Jim Meyers is Buildings Program Director at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) and directs the building efficiency and electrification program. He leads programs to advance energy efficiency in buildings through building energy codes, benchmarking programs, decarbonizing building codes, and the importance of electrification in the built environment. Working with national, state, and local building coalitions to improve building performance to ultimately reach zero energy buildings. Jim serves on International Code Council committees and leads stakeholder collaboratives in our states to support the building industry to adopt these policies and construct buildings to these new standards.

Background

Jim joined the SWEEP team in 2009 after working in the building trade association industry, the energy performance and auditing industry, and the software industry. He has also worked on the power generation side supporting fuel cells on flight vehicles for the space program.

Education

BS in Aeronautical Engineering, San José State University
LEED Green Associate, U.S. Green Building Council (Certified Green Professional)

Favorite Movies

Star Wars
Empire Of The Sun

Location

Denver, CO

Max Nardo is a Housing & Smart Growth Senior Associate at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), where he works to advance abundant housing and sustainable land use in Colorado. Max works at the state and local levels to implement best practices in land use, zoning, transportation, and public finance to support diverse and affordable housing, sustainable growth, and resilient, equitable communities.

Background

Max joined SWEEP in 2025 after working on campaigns and as a political staffer in environmental policy. His work with the Colorado Senate Democrats included successful legislation on utility regulation, bike and pedestrian infrastructure funding, and promoting vegetable gardening and water-wise landscaping. He works to promote tree planting and native plant landscaping in his west Denver Community and on the board of the High Plains Environmental Center.

Education

MS in Public Policy, University of Denver
BS in Public Health, Portland State University

Favorite Movie

Cool Hand Luke

Location

Denver, CO

Chandler Sanchez is a Transportation Research Fellow at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) and works to build a research base for a range of transportation decarbonization policies that promote climate resilience and transportation equity amongst Southwest communities. As a fellow, Chandler works closely with SWEEP’s Transportation Program and Communications staff to provide accurate and compelling resources that increase convenience, efficiency, and decarbonization throughout the transportation sector.

Background

Prior to joining SWEEP, Chandler served as the External Affairs Chair for SciAll, a science communication and mentorship nonprofit based in Boulder, Colorado. He has previously worked at the local and state level to support sustainable public policy with the Colorado House Majority, climate equity initiatives in the Denver-metro area with Colorado People’s Alliance, and student-led environmental services and opportunities at the University of Colorado’s Environmental Center.

Education

BA in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology & Political Science, University of Colorado Boulder

Favorite Movies

Problemista
Ladybird
The French Dispatch
Alien

Location

Denver, CO

Josh Valentine is Communications Director at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP). He works on all facets of communications and marketing for the organization, including coalition policy and environmental advocacy campaigns, media relations, website development, social media, and original content (reports, blog posts, webinars, publications) in collaboration with all departments.

Background

Prior to joining SWEEP in 2020, Josh worked as Communications Manager for the Clean Coalition, a nonprofit based in Northern California. During that same timeframe, he was also volunteer Digital Communications Director for the Colorado Renewable Energy Society. Josh also ran his own digital marketing firm, Promenade Media, that focused solely on eco-conscious clients interested in people-over-profit. During off-times, he volunteers for a few Colorado animal sanctuaries.

Education

MA in Digital Media Production, Emerson College
BA in English, Wheaton College (Mass)

Favorite Movies

Sideways
Blue Velvet
Goodfellas
Glengarry Glen Ross
Midnight Run
Led Zeppelin: Celebration Day

Location

Longmont, CO

Laura Wickham is Senior Arizona Associate for the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP). She provides support with policy work and programs, transportation electrification, and utility energy efficiency. She brings more than a decade of experience in local government focused on regulatory and legislative work, renewable energy and utility policy development, sustainability, and conservation.

Background

Prior to joining SWEEP, Laura served as an Energy Program Manager for the Nevada Governor’s Office of Energy (GOE) where she advanced renewable energy policy across Nevada and brought stakeholders, industry leaders, utilities, and advocacy groups together. During her time at GOE, Laura successfully stood up statewide programs that furthered conservation efforts and ensured the wise development of the state’s natural resources. Through her work, she was able to assist the state in its mission to lead the nation in renewable energy, conservation, transportation electrification, and energy assurance.

Education

BA in Paralegal Studies, Western Nevada College
LEED AP

Favorite Movies

Inception
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Location

Reno, NV