SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE ADVISORY TEAM

Scott LaMorte became the first-ever Major Gifts Officer at The Conservation Foundation in 2013.  His focus is on raising the foundation’s fundraising, and ultimately its conservation work, to new levels.  He has over 15 years of non-profit experience, most of it with organizations located in DuPage County.  He is also a past board member of the West Suburban Philanthropic Network and the Elmhurst Economic Development Corporation, a commissioner for both Elmhurst’s Economic Development Commission and the city’s Commission on Youth, and a past member of the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s Ways and Means Committee.

Mike Romanco has 30 years experience in applied energy efficiency, advanced energy saving technologies, and origination/development of Distributed Power generation for commercial and industrial applications, having originated and developed nearly 400 projects resulting in client savings of ~ $250,000,000.  Most recently, Mike has launched a Sustainability and Energy Efficiency consulting practice focused on renewables, energy efficient technology, and Solar PV generation for small to medium size commercial businesses. Innovations include the latest, most energy efficient and sustainable business operation practices, including advanced IoT (‘Internet of Things’) based lighting controls for highly efficient LED lighting, IoT based smart refrigeration and HVAC optimization controls for cost effective efficiency retrofit applications, and novel Demand Response programs that pay businesses money for ability to reduce load on an infrequent basis to help decrease power grid congestion, while lowering peak hourly electric prices.     

Brittany Graham is the Sustainability Coordinator for North Central College. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Geography – Environmental Studies and a Masters of Science in Urban and Regional Planning – Land Use and Environmental Planning from the University of Iowa.

Beth Schwartz has over 32 years of experience in managing environmental risk for clients as an environmental consultant.  She has expertise in environmental regulatory support, permitting and reporting, compliance auditing and assessments, ISO 14001 auditing, and environmental information management. She has conducted and managed compliance/environmental/risk audits and assessments of over 1200 sites. She currently works for Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc. Locally, she serves on the committee as a representative of the Conservation Foundation, she served as a Board Member of Naperville for Clean Energy and Conservation, and volunteers with The Resiliency Institute, and Hesed House.

Bill Dawe has been a resident of Naperville since 1979. Prior to his retirement in 1998, he worked with the West Chicago Prairie restoration and continues in that effort. Since 1998, he has become more active in environmental issues with membership and participation in the Conservation Foundation, NCEC (Naperville for Clean Energy and Conservation), the Green Sanctuary process at his Church and, since its inception, the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce Sustainability Forum.

Edward Kriz is an energySMART program manager at Nicor Gas. In this position, Kriz oversees the resources and rebates available to commercial and industrial customers as well as small business owners to manage their energy use, reduce overhead costs and strengthen their bottom line. Kriz has over 30 years of experience working in the energy, environmental and engineering industries. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois - Chicago. Kriz also earned certification from Illinois Institute of Technology Stuart Graduate School of Business in environmental management, specifically in compliance and pollution prevention.Kriz and his family are over 20-year residents of Naperville.

Amy Emery is a Strategic Projects Supervisor with the City of Naperville.  In this position, Amy serves as the City’s Sustainability Ambassador facilitating partnerships, collaboration and education.   In addition, she is Naperville’s  ADA Coordinator and she supervises the building permit counter.    She has managed a variety of Naperville initiatives, including: the Ogden Avenue Corridor Plan and Grant Program, Downtown2030 Plan, surplus city property sales, State and Federal Legislative Initiatives (serving as the City’s Legislative Liaison from 2012-2015), Water Street redevelopment and TIF administration, and the 5th Avenue Project.  She has over 20 years of experience working for municipalities in Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois.  She has a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in planning (concentration in economic development) and earned a post-graduate certificate in Public Administration.  Amy and her family are over 10-year residents of Naperville.

Andi Dierich is the Environmental Coordinator for DuPage County. Her field of experience stretches from waste and recycling to sustainability and urban forestry. She has worked on several major local projects and initiatives including, Cool DuPage- an initiative to reduce greenhouse gases in DuPage County,  Chicago Region Trees initiative-an effort to promote and invigorate the Chicagoland urban forest, and the Illinois Food Scrap Coalition- which seeks to reduce food waste through composting and reuse. Andi also sits on the board of the Illinois Solid Waste Association of North America.