By John Otterbein | Tue, April 29, 14
It happens to the best of us..We've all attended events that brandish flashy titles and pithy tag-lines that turn out to be a few experts taking turns projecting their esoteric insights and aptitudes onto an audience that, in large part, are not in the right frame of mind to effectively accept and/or digest that information. It’s not that what’s being said isn't important or intelligent; it’s just that there seems to be an element missing from the delivery of the information which is absolutely crucial when connecting to the audience more often than every tenth word. Certain amounts of novelty, variability, and excitement are necessary ingredients in order to translate inspired words into inspired listening. The Summit In the case of the 9th annual NEEP Summit, we were itching to add large doses of these quintessential elements into our event's mixture to surprise and stimulate this year's attendees. We want our audience to read fewer slides to make room for listening, listen for shorter bursts of time to hold more of their attention, and cut across more topics to dust off the areas of understanding that connect all of our work together. 
The Summit, in conjunction with our world's hastened need for action, has been reformatted to pack a more inspirational punch. We hope you’re ready for our series of short, impactful PowerTalks which will feature some of the energy efficiency industry’s most dynamic speakers and impart inspirational shock-waves into our work. These talks will range from 8-15 minutes each and will be accompanied by a few focused, digestible slides for your viewing pleasure. The Line-Up
Jim Madej, Senior Vice President & Chief Customer Officer, National Grid |
Bennett Fisher, CEO & Co-Founder, Retroficiency |
Abigail Anthony, Rhode Island Director, Environment Northeast |
Scott Johnstone, Executive Director, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation |
Penni McLean Conner, Senior Vice President & Chief Customer Officer, Northeast Utilities |
Matthias Kurwig, Co-Founder, Enervee |
We've invited leaders from many different corners across the energy efficiency industry to garner all of their diverse perspectives into one conversation. From utilities to energy analytics organizations to advocacy non-profits. The Themes The flip-sided focus of this year's Summit to the PowerTalks is to accelerate the process of blending all of our interdependent work into a cogent, systemic understanding. We've made a point to cover the extensive gamut of topics and challenges that the energy industry currently faces such as:
- How to scale up energy efficiency
- The changing business model of utilities
- Energy reliability and resilience
- Displacing petroleum use in buildings AND transportation
- The need for a modernized grid
Come join us at our most dynamic event yet to help co-create the new mind around how we generate, manage, and use our energy. The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region has risen, year after year, to lead the nation by example and, with your help, we'll continue to carry the torch!