A lot has happened since I wrote my last column.   The biggest and most exciting news from my perspective has been NABCEP's hiring of Think Energy (Think) to serve as our management services team. After an exhaustive search for an Executive Director, we learned that our organization needed more than a single person could offer. At this point we began considering hiring a company who could bring a team approach to the job.

Think Energy came to our attention because of the excellent work it did for NYSERDA in drafting a Business Plan for NABCEP.  Think Energy's team gives NABCEP an Executive Director - Rebecca Eaton - who will assist the organization grow its revenue base along with expanding its programs. Mark Crowdis, Think Energy's CEO, will act as Director of Business Development for NABCEP.  His primary focus will be on increasing our revenue.

The first job on Think's agenda was the coordination and facilitation of a Strategic Planning meeting. This focus of this meeting, attended by thirteen of NABCEP's Board Members or Alternates,  was to "brainstorm" on the future direction(s) of NABCEP and to prioritize some specific targets for growth and development. The outcome of the meeting produced a series of recommendations developed for Board approval.

A couple of highlights were recommendations; that a Board and Technical Committee sub-committee re-examine and re-state the scope of the PV Installer Certification. In tandem is a parallel recommendation to consider developing a Professional Certification for solar professionals who are not involved in the actual installation but whose professionalism is equally critical to the success of the project as the installer.

There was considerable discussion of the ongoing development of a Certification for Small Wind Installers; a source of funding for taking the next steps was identified. The subject of Corporate support or sponsorship was discussed.  All agreed it was a good idea, and merits further consideration.

Some of the new funding priorities identified were State Energy Offices and Public Benefits Funds administrators. Many of these offices and programs are using NABCEP Certification as criteria to assess professionalism. This indicated to us that our Certification offers value to them, and as such they could be reasonably expected to contribute to the costs of running NABCEP.

The subject of Board makeup and Board member involvement was discussed at length. It is clear that the organization is evolving to include a wider group of stakeholders as NABCEP moves from a start-up status Board of Directors to an operational one. The most clearly identified need was for active Board members with strong fund raising skills.

I'll close by welcoming Rebecca and Mark to NABCEP.  The work they've done for us in the past - Draft Business Plan and facilitating the Strategic Planning Meeting - has been excellent, so I look forward to a great future working with them.  There is a short conversation with Rebecca in this newsletter (under 'Special NABCEP Feature), but look for a longer, in-depth conversation in a subsequent issue. 

Lastly, I want to express a very special thanks and the Board's appreciation to Karen Christopher who has consistently worked beyond the call of duty as our Operations Manager for the past year. She's a real star and we've been fortunate to have someone with her level of commitment in our Malta office.  Thank you, Karen. 

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