Naomi facilitated the program design process and was the principal author of the Residential and Commercial Program Designs in the 2019-2021 Massachusetts Three-Year Gas and Electric Energy Efficiency Plan. The planning process resulted in multiple program enhancements and innovations helping to ensure the Program Administrator’s continued national leadership in securing energy efficiency benefits. Naomi advised the Residential and Commercial and Industrial management committees throughout Plan development, and in developing responses to the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council resolutions and inquiries from the Department of Public Utilities.
Massachusetts Weatherization Contractors Best Practices Work Group
Naomi facilitated a Strategyzer’s Value Proposition Canvas® workshop for Mass Save® weatherization contractors. The workshop engaged the front line weatherization contracting community directly in identifying areas for improvement in delivering weatherization services to energy consumers in Massachusetts. Naomi guided the contractors through exercises to critically examine the current customer experience and participation path. The session resulted in contractors providing consensus recommendations to the Program Administrators and helped invest them in the creation of the 2019-2021 Energy Efficiency Plan. Key findings from this session informed program delivery enhancements described in the 2019-2021 Massachusetts Three Year Energy Efficiency Plan.
Massachusetts Affordable Housing Energy Efficiency Working Group
Naomi coordinated the collaboration and discussion between the state affordable housing agencies and utilities in Massachusetts to identify opportunities to maximize potential energy efficiency savings during refinance. The 2016-2018 Massachusetts Joint Statewide Three Year Energy Efficiency and Gas Efficiency Plan included a commitment for the Program Administrators to work with Massachusetts’ housing finance agencies to leverage multi-family refinance events to maximize whole building energy efficiency. Naomi facilitated the kick-off charrette to guide the ten partner agencies and organizations in identifying common objectives for the engagement. Naomi supported the partners in carrying out the document exchange, research, and analysis necessary to clarify the areas for opportunity. The engagement came to a close through a workshop facilitated by Naomi where the partners came to a consensus on a set of recommendations and actions that best leveraged the opportunities for energy efficiency implementation during refinance.
Compass Five Year Strategic Plans and Annual Board Retreats
Naomi has provided support in two iterations of Compass’ five year strategic plans and facilitated an annual strategic retreat with the organization’s board. Compass is an organization that provides pro bono strategic business consulting services to nonprofits. The organization launched in Washington, D.C. and has since expanded to provide services in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With Naomi’s strategic guidance, Compass has successfully implemented organizational growth strategies that tap into the strengths of their staff and programs. The long term nature of this working relationship has provided Naomi with institutional knowledge that helps tailor strategy methods to the needs of the client.
Better Buildings Challenge Super Tech Training
Naomi was the independent evaluator of the first Better Buildings Challenge Super Tech Training for Affordable Multifamily properties for Sparhawk Group and TDA, Inc. in March 2016. Naomi assisted the team in developing clear learning objectives for the training series with her expertise on adult learning theory. After the trainings were administered, Naomi completed a full independent review of the final delivered curriculum, the four training modules, materials distributed and the four participant evaluation surveys. Naomi’s evaluation found that the trainings were well designed, well executed, and impactful, with great demand for more trainings that encouraged peer to peer engagement and hands-on learning experiences.
EPA Workshop on Innovative Use of Clean Water State Revolving Funds
Naomi facilitated a workshop for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on strategies to leverage Clean Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs) as a finance tool to support residential energy efficiency and renewable energy programs in February 2016. EPA’s purpose in hosting the meeting was to focus on the intersection of SRFs and financial markets for residential clean energy — energy efficiency and renewable energy (EE/RE) — and to identify new opportunities to use SRFs to expand EE/RE. Naomi worked closely with the EPA to develop an agenda for the day long workshop that highlighted peer innovations to spur productive large group discussions and small group workshops. This format allowed participants to identify and prioritize the opportunities they saw as most viable within the context of their expertise.
Home Energy Services Contractor Training Manual
Naomi and her team created a training manual for Eversource Connecticut to use to train new HES vendors on using their Conservation and Load Management Tracking System for HES projects from lead to completion. The training was developed in anticipation of an influx of new vendors coming into the program due a requirement that the RFQ be open to all eligible vendors. The manual was designed for ease of implementation by the trainers and used step-by-step instructions to ensure that all participants walked away with a thorough understanding of how to effectively implement the HES program.
Massachusetts Three Year Energy Efficiency Program Plan
Naomi was the principal author and facilitator of the Residential Management Committee Program Design Team for the Massachusetts Program Administrators (IOU) Three Year (2016-2018) Energy Efficiency Program Plan (Residential Sections). The 2016-2018 Plan included several innovative program design improvements to the delivery of residential energy efficiency, such as the development of a renter initiative and moderate income offer. Naomi advised the Residential Management Committee throughout the Plan development process and in developing responses to the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council resolutions and the inquiries from the Department of Public Utilities.
Affordable Housing Innovation Partnership Kick-Off
Naomi facilitated a kick-off meeting for a collaborative partnership between the Healthy Building Network, Enterprise Community Partners, International Living Future Institute, and key philanthropic partners in August 2015. Naomi developed an agenda and facilitated a day long discussion to help the partners reach an understanding of each other’s critical capabilities, identify shared goals and outcomes of the joint collaboration, and outline a preliminary structure for continued partner engagement.
Healthy Landscapes of Affordable Housing
Naomi convened a workshop on Healthy Landscapes of Affordable Housing, bringing together tenants of public housing, state housing officials, city housing, community gardening, slow food, green housing, walkability, and transportation policy experts to look at ways to make urban affordable housing sites truly centers of community life and health, while also addressing the priorities of climate change action.
Boston One Touch
Naomi worked with the City of Boston, Community Development Corporations and Community Advocacy groups on increasing the integration of green and healthy measures in Boston’s housing stock, a three-year program called Boston One Touch, helping to identify key municipal and community resources. Naomi and partners were able to identify significant policy and operations changes and leverage energy efficiency and water savings to support healthier and greener housing. The identification of these opportunities for significant energy efficiency savings supported the creation of a network of affordable housing providers who have since effectively worked with the Massachusetts efficiency programs to develop a target program to capture savings from the multi-family affordable housing market.
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