Hepinstall of AEA receives ACI's 2014 Leadership Award

David Hepinstall, executive director of the Bronx-based Association for Energy Affordability, Inc. (AEA), was awarded the Linda Wigington ACI Leadership Award at the plenary session of the ACI National Home Performance Conference. In a field of innovators and experts, Hepinstall has been recognized not only for the programmatic and technical leadership he has brought to AEA and the industry nationally, but for his dedication to the twin missions of energy efficiency and energy affordability, and his drive to make things happen. The ACI Leadership Award celebrates visionary leaders doing extraordinary work to strengthen the home performance industry. This award showcases individual excellence in leadership as demonstrated by outstanding initiative, impact of work, and inspiration to others. This national award was renamed this year in honor of Linda Wigington for her longstanding contributions to Affordable Comfort Inc. and the conference series and the community of home performance professionals it has fostered. Hepinstall has worked in collaboration with many government and industry partners for more than two decades to advance and strengthen energy efficiency programs, technology, policy, training, standards, and credentialing, in N.Y. and across the U.S. He is best known for his work advancing multifamily energy efficiency, engaging in efforts to develop and strengthen training and educational opportunities in the industry and to implement and improve energy efficiency programs, and to develop or pilot new ones. Since 2011, Hepinstall has been instrumental in bringing multifamily expertise to the U.S. Department of Energy's ambitious project to develop Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals (including Job Task Analyses, Stand Work Specifications and Technical Guidelines), whose purpose is to help establish a national residential energy upgrade industry and a skilled and credentialed workforce. AEA has become a leading Training Center for energy efficiency, a highly regarded technical services provider for residential properties of all kinds, and a major implementer of government and utility efficiency programs in New York and California. The organization has recently launched operations in Illinois. Under Hepinstall's leadership, AEA developed the Energy Management Training Center and Installer Training Lab in New York City, created a Distance Learning network of national Weatherization Training Centers, and has opened offices in California and Illinois to enhance its capacity to provide training and advanced technical support services to energy professionals, building managers, and efficiency programs in those states. AEA training leads to key industry certifications from the Building Performance Institute (BPI), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Air Barrier Association of America (ABAA), and internationally recognized certifications from Germany's Passive House Institute. Students are contractors, energy auditors, project managers, quality control inspectors and program staff of energy efficiency programs seeking to improve their skills, qualify to participate in energy efficiency programs, or manage them effectively. AEA also trains building operators to manage their properties more efficiently, and offers entry level worker training in energy efficiency for jobseekers. AEA's support and advocacy have contributed to the development and impact of energy efficiency programs that have served millions of residents in our country for whom upgrades to the energy efficiency, health and safety, comfort and durability of their building have made life-changing improvements in their quality of life and housing security. Hepinstall has been at once a force for change and a relentless advocate to maintain and build upon existing expertise and infrastructure of the Weatherization Assistance Program. Under Hepinstall's direction, AEA has served as the Implementation Contractor of numerous utility energy efficiency programs for Con Edison, National Grid (and KeySpan) in New York and as multifamily technical lead on the teams of major utility programs in California. In New York, he has led AEA to be a leading partner to NYSERDA, implementing and guiding projects to meet the requirements of programs for both small homes and multifamily buildings. Making energy affordable is the cornerstone of AEA's mission, and the organization has focused many of its resources on extending the many health, safety and comfort benefits of energy efficiency to those who could not otherwise afford them through programs that serve affordable housing properties and other buildings where low-income households reside. Hepinstall has played key roles in the formation and development of the Building Performance Institute (BPI), providing the extensive expert resources of AEA to task forces and standards development processes, and personally serving on the BPI board of directors for over ten years. As the immediate past chair of BPI, Hepinstall consults with the board on key issues. The Association for Energy Affordability was one of the first BPI affiliates and has offered courses leading to nearly every existing BPI certification. AEA is a BPI Test Center and accredited contractor. AEA's Multifamily Buildings conference series has been a launch pad for new program initiatives and collaboration among energy efficiency professionals serving multifamily buildings. About the Association for Energy Affordability, Inc. (AEA) The Association for Energy Affordability, Inc. is dedicated to achieving energy efficiency in new and existing buildings in order to foster and maintain affordable and healthy housing and communities, especially those of low-income. AEA representatives engage in a broad range of educational, technical and construction management activities and services to promote this mission and develop the industry that advances and sustains it. Learn more at: http://aea.us.org