Over the past eight years CERTs staff have had the honor of working with Bill Mittlefehldt as our Northeast Clean Energy Resource Team (NE CERT) Coordinator. Bill has been instrumental to increasing our network across the Northeast region, in advancing the GreenStep Cities program, in supporting community energy efforts throughout the region, and in cultivating the next generation of clean energy champions.
When Bill was first hired his primary task was to build CERTs’ community connections to reach across the entire Northeast CERT region. He took this challenge seriously and began in earnest building relationships with over 50 clean energy partners from Ely and International Falls to Pine City and Barnum. Bill has never been afraid to reach out to someone new or to simply stop in somewhere to make a new connection.
Over the past four years Bill has taken a similarly earnest and dedicated approach to expanding the GreenStep Cities program’s impact across the Northeast region. The numbers are impressive: He has cultivated 14 new city participants in the GreenStep Cities program. Also, he has worked with 11 University of Minnesota Duluth interns to support the GreenStep Cities Program, including one who catalyzed the GreenStep Tribal Nations pilot effort. Bill also led development of the GreenStep Cities Intern Manual, a tool that can now be utilized by any city, intern, or campus to spur utilization of the GreenStep Cities framework.
Bill has many passions and is a wonderful champion for clean energy efforts. He has a long background of working with youth, and has been instrumental in expanding the presence of YES! (the Youth Energy Summit) across the region. He loves capturing stories and has an uncanny knack for getting Minnesotans to tell their stories through video.
Bill has been a great asset to CERTs’ work. We expect no less from his future endeavors.
