So you’ve done some research and are ready to make some personal clean energy upgrades—where do you begin? For those seeking to decarbonize their lifestyles, making decisions about what to prioritize both from a personal-finance and an environmental-impact perspective can be daunting. This is especially true for major purchases like automobiles or home heating systems, where the urgent need for a replacement and available cash flow can often constrain options. While many programs exist to help reduce costs, the path to a personal energy transition still involves many short-term and long-term financial decisions. Join us for a discussion featuring experts on personal finance and life-cycle assessment as we explore how to approach saving and spending decisions that can help households of any financial situation plan for a more sustainable energy footprint.
Join us on Tuesday, Feb 25th at 4:30 p.m. CT online via Zoom Webinar. Registration is required for online attendance.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is a barrier free campus and is committed to providing equal opportunity for participation in all programs, services, and activities. If you need an accommodation for this event please let us know by emailing outreach@energy.wisc.edu or calling 608-890-0946. Requests made with less than 3 weeks’ notice will be honored when possible.
Moderator
Corey Singletary
Director, Regulatory Affairs, Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin
Corey Singletary currently serves as Director, Regulatory Affairs for CUB. In addition to leading CUB’s regulatory efforts, Corey is also an expert in utility cost allocation and rate design, having testified in over 80 cases before the Wisconsin Public Service Commission. Prior to joining CUB in 2017, Corey was employed by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin as an energy policy advisor and utility rate analyst. During his time with the PSCW, his work focused on electric and natural gas utility rate design and cost-of-service, as well as a number of policy issues such as smart grid technology, innovative rate design, rate-based energy efficiency, conservation, and demand response programs, and distributed energy resources. Corey holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and a Bachelor of Arts degree in international studies from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He also holds a Master’s Degree in international public affairs and a Graduate Certificate in energy analysis and policy from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Panelists
Kevin Kane
Chief Economist and co-founder, Green Homeowners United
Kevin is the Chief Economist and co-founder of Green Homeowners United. Kevin works with lenders, realtors and homeowners to navigate and understand the benefits of green homes, and green mortgages specifically. Kevin calculates the carbon impact, costs and economic returns of energy efficiency improvements, and financial calculations of green lending. He worked for over a decade as a community organizer and policy advocate, has helped found cooperative organizations. Additionally, Kevin is a BPI-certified energy assessor and has a Masters in Applied Economics from Marquette University.
Kathy Kuntz
Director, Dane County Office of Energy & Climate Change
As the Director of the Office of Energy & Climate Change, Kathy aims to make it easy for everyone in Dane County (especially you) to make choices that help achieve our ambitious climate goals. Kathy has almost 30 years of experience helping businesses and residents adopt sustainable practices. Prior to joining Dane County, Kathy led Cool Choices where she worked with local governments and private businesses on sustainability efforts for about ten years. Before that she led Focus on Energy, Wisconsin’s statewide energy efficiency and renewable energy program. Kathy has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota, a Master’s from UW-Madison, and a reputation for getting results.
Julie Sinistore
Senior Vice President, WSP
As a Senior Vice President, Julie Sinistore brings multiple skills to WSP’s sustainability, energy and climate change team. Her expertise includes Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and carbon and water footprinting of products and services, in addition to sustainability strategy in the electronics/IT/ general compute and AI data centers, including alternative cooling technologies, fossil and bio-based fuels and chemicals, textiles, agriculture/food, and building and construction sectors. She holds a PhD in Biological Systems Engineering and a M.Sc. in Agroecology from UW-Madison, and a BS in Natural Resource Management from Cook College of Rutgers University. Her research work and publications focus on LCA methodology, application of AI in LCA and the application of LCA to AI data centers, and LCA of bio-based fuels, energy policy analysis, and sustainability assessment methodology.
Julie’s sustainability strategy experience to implement and expand sustainability throughout organizations spans a wide range of clients in the public and private sectors, including universities and Fortune 50 companies. Julie has taught courses and given guest lectures on topics including Life Cycle Thinking, Sustainable Product Design and Renewable Energy at UC-Berkeley, UW-Madison and other institutions. She is a certified individual Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) verifier with The International EPD® system (IES) and is a member of IES’ technical advisory committee. Julie also serves on the ISO/TC Technical Committee (TC) 207 on Environmental Management which overseas developments of and revisions to new and existing ISO standards on LCA. In 2024, Julie was one of only 30 selected from a pool of close to 2,000 applicants globally to serve on the GHG Protocol Scope 3 Technical Working Group tasked with the first update to the GHG Protocol’s Scope 3 guidance in over a decade.
Nancy Wong
Kohl's Chair in Retail Innovation | Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs | Professor of Consumer Science, UW-Madison
Prof. Wong is a consumer psychologist who explores how cultural values influence consumption decisions, how people respond emotionally in different situations, and how materialistic values influence the way we consume. She is particularly interested in understanding how consumers make choices that could impact their health and financial well-being and promote environmental sustainability.