Upcoming Events • NESEA News • Jobs Board • Community News • Featured Benefit

Deadline: Friday, July 11, 2025

Each year, the NESEA Membership elects individuals to serve on our Board of Directors. If you are interested in being considered as a candidate, you can complete the application here (you must log in to view the form). The deadline to apply is July 11.

Current members of the Board’s Nominating Committee will review and vet applications to develop a slate of candidates for the ballot. The NESEA Membership will be invited to cast their votes this fall, and the new Board term will start on January 1, 2026. Prior to applying, we recommend viewing the Board Member job description.

We're looking for people who love NESEA and feel a call to serve its mission and vision. We encourage applications from individuals who identify as women, people of color, or LGBTQ+, and other groups traditionally underrepresented in our industry. We also recognize that serving on a Board of Directors and attending in-person meetings may be prohibitively expensive and have made funds available to support board members for whom participation would be a financial hardship.

Questions? Contact us at nominating@nesea.org.

Event Date: Friday, August 1, 2025
Time: 1pm-5pm
Location: Hanover, NH 03755
CEU Information: AIA (pending)
Cost: $35 Members/$45 Non-Members

Join us for a Pro Tour of a high performance, 55,000 square foot building on the Dartmouth College campus that combined a major addition with targeted renovation to house the newly created Irving Institute for Energy and Society. Completed in 2022, this retrofit fulfilled the client’s vision to marry aspirational architecture with energy efficiency and sustainable design elements for a building that is best-in-class for its time.

Our event hosts, vanZelm Engineers, will be leading our event and are eager to share their work with the NESEA community. The tour will begin with an opening workshop where the team will discuss the history, goals, and design and construction strategies. We’ll also learn about the actual vs modeled building performance with data from its earliest stages of occupancy to date. Attendees will then break into small groups to tour the facility while hearing more from the interdisciplinary team of experts who made the building possible. After the tour, we’ll regroup for a reception and Q&A, giving attendees the opportunity to chat with the day’s speakers and each other. Join us!

Event Date: Friday, August 15, 2025
Time: 1pm-5pm
Location: Manchester, CT 06042
CEU Information: AIA (pending)
Cost: $35 Members/$45 Non-Members

This August, NESEA will head to Connecticut to offer a tour of a renovated and expanded 1940s elementary school that has been transformed into a modern, net-zero facility, complete with a 66-well geothermal HVAC system, to serve 400 students.

Originally built in 1949, this project highlights the practical implementation of cutting-edge sustainable design principles in a real-world setting, while also showing the challenges and opportunities of transforming outdated school infrastructure into modern, net zero energy facilities. From its geothermal HVAC system and rooftop solar array to its interdisciplinary STEAM spaces and improved circulation design, the project offers a comprehensive look at innovative solutions that align with both environmental and educational goals.

Our event will begin with an opening workshop where the team will discuss the history, goals, and design and construction strategies. Attendees will then break into small groups to tour the school while hearing more from the interdisciplinary team of experts who made the building possible. After the tour, we’ll regroup for a reception and Q&A, giving attendees the opportunity to chat with the day’s speakers and each other.

2025 is NESEA’s 50th year! As part of our celebration of this milestone, the next issue of BuildingEnergy magazine will focus on our history and on the impact that NESEA has had in the lives and work of our community members. Submissions can be as short as a few sentences to as long as a few pages.

We want to hear from you: who is your NESEA hero, what’s your favorite NESEA memory, and how has your engagement with NESEA changed your life or work? During this time of reflection, is there anything you would like to share about how NESEA has shaped your career, your friendships, or your life?

We'll share your stories over the next several months, culminating in the magazine release. There are three ways you can get involved with BuildingEnergy magazine:

• Propose Content: Submit your ideas for the inclusion in the magazine or our digital platforms. The Request for Proposals closes on Friday, August 15. Find the link to the proposal form here (you must log in to access the form).
  
  
• Advertise: Promote your company and its association with NESEA by purchasing an ad in the magazine. Contact Ryan Dovenmuehler at ryand@emsconsultinginc.com to learn more. Business Members receive 15% off. 
  
  
• Serve on the Editorial Committee: This committee of NESEA Members will work with staff to select content to feature. Please indicate your interest by Friday, August 1. To serve on the Editorial Committee or if you have questions, please contact Florence MacGregor at fmacgregor@nesea.org.

You can read past issues of BuildingEnergy magazine here.

BuildingEnergy Access is a NESEA initiative to support the work of WMBEs (women and minority-owned business enterprises) by connecting them with the resources of the NESEA community. Each month, we'll introduce a participating company to the wider NESEA community through a spotlight interview.

We recently sat down with Edward Bartholomew of Bartholomew Lighting, an award-winning, Black-owned Architectural Lighting Design and Consulting firm in Boston, MA. Read our interview...

Afro-American Workforce Development Group Inc. – Springfield, MA

Holdfast Communications - Buxton, ME

Phillips Academy Andover - Andover, MA

See all member organizations on NESEA's Business Member Directory. Learn more about business, academic, and non-profit/government membership on our website.

"When I was haphazardly building my company, South Mountain, in the 1970s, I was lucky to find and attend conferences produced by a small organization called the New England Solar Energy Association. Little did I know, at the time, that NESEA would play an outsized role in shaping my career and the work of the company, or that it would become the source of a slew of lifetime friendships." Read more...

On June 10, the NESEA Board of Directors hosted an in-person meet-up for people working in industries connected to NESEA who have identities that are traditionally underrepresented in the field. We hosted this get together in response to requests from people in our community who have asked us to create more opportunities to foster connections, share experiences, and build support and community in a relaxed, social setting. 

A similar event is planned for Boston in September. You can read a recent Open Letter from the Board of Directors here, which addresses the current rhetoric-at-large across the country and how it relates to our strategic plan and NESEA's work.

Last month, we held a fascinating Pro Tour of an under construction passive house in Bethany, CT, the first in the area with an integrated PV roof. We have compiled a gallery of photos from the day.

Our thanks go out to the sponsors, hosts, and attendees who made this event so successful and memorable!

On June 18, we held our BuildingEnergy Boston Open Planning Meeting, which began the process of planning sessions for the 2026 conference.

This annual meeting brings together members of our community who want to help shape the next year's conference -- from those who have been coming to the conference for years to those thinking about attending for the first time. Additionally, it helps to ensure that conference sessions are directly relevant to our community and their work. The meeting was fun, lively, and most importantly, very informative.

Our BuildingEnergy Boston Conference Chairs will use what they learned from the meeting to shape the conference theme and call for proposals, which will open in the fall (in fact, it's not too early to start thinking about proposing a session).

If you missed the meeting, you can still share your ideas with us. We are also now accepting applications for the BuildingEnergy Boston 2026 Content Committee.

The ability to post on NESEA's Jobs Board is a benefit of NESEA Business, Academic, and Non-Profit Membership. Here are a few of this month's featured jobs:

Boston, MA: West Work is a design collaborative pursuing architectural beauty in the context of human well-being, efficient resource use, and carbon reduction. We are seeking candidates for a Senior Architect role at our growing company. Read more...

Vermont: 475 is a rapidly growing Brooklyn-based company that imports, distributes, and advises on high-performance green building components throughout North America. The Product Consultant works with architects,
engineers, builders, and project owners to optimize high performance solutions for energy-efficient buildings. The Product Consultant is motivated, ambitious, and confident about the opportunity to grow the use of high-performance building practices in their region, while enthusiastic about helping 475 grow our company, brand, and influence. Read more...

Online / Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Region: The Senior Manager is responsible for the management of a portfolio of research, tools, and stakeholder engagement in NEEP's Technology Market Transformation team. The role offers an exciting opportunity to drive the growth of heat pump solutions in a region with ambition, investment, partners and momentum. If you also have a deep interest in nonprofit work and the passion to champion mission-driven vision and values, we'd love to hear from you. You will thrive in NEEP's collaborative and fast-paced work environment and will respect and uphold our commitment to our mission and our core values. Read more...

We like to help spread the word about upcoming member events and news items. Members can submit news items via this form or post events to our community events calendar, and we’ll try to include them in the next NESEA Monthly.

The TimberHP team is proud to announce that our company has officially and successfully emerged from Chapter 11 restructuring – and we have done so from a position of renewed strength and momentum.

As the sole manufacturer of wood fiber insulation in North America, we are committed to making TimberBoard, TimberBatt, and TimberFill the go-to insulation solutions for residential, light commercial, and multifamily building projects. This next chapter begins with a clear mission for our business: to accelerate growth, ramp up production, and continue to deliver on our promise of providing wood fiber insulation that is high-performance and healthy for the planet and for people. Read more...

We’re accepting applicants for the Fall 2025 season! Whether you’re interested in our Registered Carpentry Apprenticeship or our Registered Sustainable Prefabricated Construction Apprenticeship, you’ll gain hands-on experience working alongside our expert master builders.

From learning cutting-edge techniques in our climate-controlled production facilities to gaining real-world experience on active job sites, our programs are designed to equip you with the skills you need to build a strong foundation for your career.

Visit our website to explore both apprenticeship tracks and submit your application today. Don’t miss your chance to join us this fall! Read more...

Portland, ME — June 19, 2025 — Kaplan Thompson Architects, a leader of sustainable design based in Portland, Maine, is pleased to announce recent accomplishments of three employees. 

• Cara Bionde has completed the path to licensure through the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards and is now a Maine licensed architect.
• Katie Braddock La Rose recently achieved NCIDQ Interior Design Certification.
• Paige Bechtle has achieved NCIDQ Interior Design Certification.

Read more...

Hosting Organization: Built Environment +
Location: Joyce Cummings Center | Tufts University
Address: 177 College Avenue, Medford, MA
Date: July 17th, 2025,
Time: 5:00pm – 9:30pm

If you haven't already secured tickets to the BE+ 2025 Building Tech Forum, now is the time! For only $50, connect with industry leaders and keep your finger on the pulse of the cutting-edge of industry transformation towards a sustainable built environment. Register here.

Hosting Organization: BuildGreenCT
Date: July 17, 2025
Time: 4:00pm
Tickets: $15 Members, $30 Non-Members
CEUS: 1 HSW/LU AIA Credit Available

The Massachusetts Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA MA) conducted a survey of its members to see what the industry needed to implement the new energy codes effectively. Built Environment Plus collaborated with AIA MA and Mass Save Partners to offer this series for over 200 professionals in the Fall of 2024. Read more...

Diversity, equity, and concern for the environment are alive and well in Springfield, Massachusetts. Our non-profit, the Afro-American Workforce Development Group has received a generous planning grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to evaluate and improve HERS-related training programs. We want to understand how well current HERS training meets real-world needs—and how it can be made even more valuable for the professionals who rely on it.

We’re conducting brief Zoom-style interviews (30–40 minutes) with HERS users and would love to hear from you. As a thank-you, we’ll make a donation to a cause of your choice on your behalf. If you’re interested in sharing your experience—or know someone who might be—please reach out to alex@afroamwork.org. Interviews begin this week. Let’s make this training better, together.

The NESEA Business Member Directory is the premier referral resource for consumers and professionals looking for high-performance building and renewable energy professionals in the Northeast.

The directory includes all organizations that are NESEA Business, Academic, and Non-Profit/Government Members. The directory is published online and in print (BuildingEnergy magazine, circulation 3500). If you would like to be included in the directory, join NESEA today at one of our organization membership levels. Learn more...