Please join us in congratulating Dr. Vera Cole, lead faculty for the Energy and Sustainability Policy programs, in receiving the Epstein Lifetime Achievement Award at Energypath 2017!
Here is a copy of the full press release:
ALLENTOWN, PA., July 27, 2017 – Sustainable Energy Fund is honoring Vera Cole with the Epstein Lifetime Achievement Award at Energypath 2017 on July 27 at DeSales University. The Epstein Award is presented to a deserving individual each year for a lifetime of work in moving society towards a sustainable energy future.
The Award’s namesake, Eric Epstein, is well known in Pennsylvania for a lifetime of work as a government reform activist, a nuclear watchdog and sustainable energy advocate. Mr. Epstein was a driving force behind the establishment and growth of the Sustainable Energy Fund. He was a founding member of the Board of Directors and served as a Director from 1999 to 2011. Past winners of the Epstein Award include solar energy expert Ron Celentano, Maureen Mulligan of Sustainable Futures Communications, and Nora Mead Brownell of Epsy Energy Solutions, LLC.
“We are thrilled to award Vera Cole with the Epstein Award” said John Costlow, president and CEO of Sustainable Energy Fund. “She has greatly impacted the sustainable energy community throughout her career.”
Vera Cole, Ph.D. is Program Officer for the Energy and Sustainability Policy programs at Penn State University since 2009, where she manages curriculum and teaches courses related to energy sources, implications, and policy. She is President of the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Association (MAREA) since 2012.
With a broad professional background and wide repertoire of interests, Dr. Cole influences the sustainable energy community in many ways. She authored the book “Pennsylvania Homeowner’s Guide to Solar” and developed its online companion tool “SunnyMoney,” to evaluate environmental benefits and sizing and financial options for solar installations. Working with Bill Hennessy, she has co-developed and co-instructed innovative hands-on solar training workshops touching hundreds of individuals from all walks of life, at locations such as ASES conference, university and community college campuses, and our own Energypath camps. In 2012, she won PA DEP vs. Cole in Commonwealth Court over access to solar rebate records, cited as the 5th most important right-to-know case of the year. Dr. Cole has made multiple guest appearances on NPR and ran for PA State House of Representatives in 2016, all in support of sustainable energy policy and public understanding.
About Sustainable Energy Fund
Sustainable Energy Fund (SEF), a nonprofit organization, assists energy users in overcoming financial, educational and regulatory barriers to a sustainable energy future. SEF provides a variety of services including financing energy conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy projects; educating the leaders of today and tomorrow to create a passion for sustainable energy; and representing the interests of energy conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy in proceedings before the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. Visit www.thesef.org.