Michael Myers

Michael Myers is a nationally known speaker on energy efficiency, green building and sustainable development. Mr. Myers serves as the Manager for the Texas Energy Partnership and oversees the U.S. DOE Building Technologies project assisting local communities and building associations establish green building/high performance home initiatives. Mr. Myers was previously the Program Manager for Affordable Housing & Existing Building Energy Research for the U.S. DOE and served as DOE’s liaison to the President’s Partnership for Housing. Mr. Myers was also the Manager of Energy Services for the City of Austin where he co-created the nationally acclaimed Austin Green Building Program. He has worked for both New York City and the City of San Antonio. He has served as a governor appointee to the State of Texas Weatherization Policy Advisory Council and as a technical advisor to HGTV’s Dream Builders Earth Day Special.  Mr. Myers has a M.S. Degree in Environmental Management/Urban Studies from the University of Texas in San Antonio.

Subrato Chandra, Ph.D. is a Program Director in the Buildings Research Division of the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) of the University of Central Florida (UCF).  His work has been featured in Better Homes and Gardens, Professional Builder, the ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals and the State of Florida Energy Code.
He currently directs the Building America Industrialized Housing Partnership project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy which has provided technical assistance to factory and site builders that has resulted in over one hundred thousand energy efficient and durable homes. In addition he teaches at UCF and served as a member of the board of the American Lung Association of Central Florida.

W. Laurence Doxsey serves as the Region VI Energy Coordinator with responsibilities to support implementation of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Energy Action Plan throughout a 5 state region. He additionally serves as Field Environmental Officer insuring compliance with Federal environmental laws and regulations.  Laurence brings a strong background in environmental issues particularly in the areas associated with building technologies, energy use, and sustainable development. Prior to joining HUD in 1999, Mr. Doxsey served as Sustainability Officer of the Sustainable Communities Initiative for the city of Austin, Texas. This initiative initiated multiple strategies to develop long term viability for the community including smart growth policies, renewable energy programs, sustainability educational programs, and balanced approaches to environmental, economic and social equity concerns in capital improvement programs.  He also played a lead role in developing the Austin Green Building Program. The Austin, TX Green Building Program has served as the model for many subsequent green building initiatives and Mr. Doxsey has spoken extensively on this in many national and international forums

Calvin Finch has been Water Resources Director at the San Antonio Water System since October of 2005. As Director, he is responsible for obtaining the water resources that the fast growing City requires to meet it‘s future needs. SAWS has an aggressive 50 year water plan. The SAWS palette of water resources includes groundwater, recycled water, aquifer storage, surface water, and desalination of brackish groundwater. Water Conservation has been and is an important part of meeting water supply needs. Dr. Finch received a Ph.D. degree in Horticulture from Texas A & M University and used his horticultural knowledge as County Extension Agent for Horticulture in Bexar County (San Antonio) and County Extension Director in Travis County (Austin). During that 10-year period, Dr. Finch received numerous awards for community development, environmental programming, volunteer organization, and youth education. He is well known in the South Texas area for the work he did and still does on TV, radio, in the newspaper, and as a public speaker on water conservation and horticulture issues. 

Before assuming the job of Water Resources Director, Dr Finch was SAWS Conservation Director. The  SAWS Conservation program has been very successful at achieving the primary goal of reducing per capita water use through a diverse mix of incentives, education, and enforcement. As the San Antonio Water System’s Conservation Director, Dr. Calvin Finch presided over new partnerships with neighborhoods, the Green Industry, the apartment industry, new home builders, and volunteer groups that have expanded the San Antonio Conservation Team across the community. The partnerships and innovative programming attracted the attention of Texas and national groups such as the American Water Works Association, American Water Resources Association, Texas Turfgrass Producers, Texas Nurserymen and Landscapers Association, American Forests, Water Reuse Association, and resulted in numerous speaking opportunities and several awards. In 2003 he was asked to represent water purveyors on the Environmental Protection Agency-sponsored Lawns and Environment work group to produce national guidelines for an environmentally responsible landscape. Dr Finch also served on the Texas Water Conservation Task Force, charged with the responsibility of providing a recommendation to the Texas Legislature on how the State’s water conservation effort should proceed. 

The conservation methods developed under Dr Finch’s leadership have allowed SAWS to assemble a program mix that gives every part of the diverse community an opportunity to contribute to water conservation goals. SAWS methods for outcome measures, cost benefit analysis, and measuring impact of water conservation programs serve as tools for decisions by San Antonio officials and models for other cities. In 2004, the program was awarded the President’s Award for the nation’s most outstanding environmental program by the National Association of Environmental Professionals.

Rich Herweck serves as Executive Director of the Texas Combined Heat & Power Initiative and was a founding board member. TXCHPI is working with the CHP Research Application Center at HARC (Houston Advanced Research Center) toward the Department of Energy’s goal to double the amount of CHP by 2010.The Initiative has two major objectives:

As TXCHPI executive director, Herweck has lead the CHP industry group in organizing the Initiative and setting strategic direction. Along with other members Herweck has developed a legislative agenda at the Texas Legislature. The Initiative is working to pass legislation that will level the playing field for combined heat and power to reach its potential in providing energy adequacy for the state. One piece of legislation is a CHP Resource Portfolio Standard that was designed based on the Renewable RPS. TXCHPI plans to spend time and effort before the 81st Legislative Session developing the relationships necessary to make more of an impact for CHP in the future.

Rich is a founding-principal of Texas local gas distribution companies SíEnergy (near Houston) and CoServ Gas (DFW Metroplex). CoServ Gas ranks number 101 on Pipeline & Gas Journal’s 26th annual 500 Leading Gas Distribution Utilities with 50,000 customers by year-end 2006. Herweck established CleanEnergy,LC to develop potential clean energy prospects across Texas. The company has become champion for CHP.

Bill is the Executive Director of Solar San Antonio, a non-profit organization advocating renewable energy sources and more efficient use of energy.  After serving on the board of the organization since 2003, he became the Executive Director at the beginning of 2007.   

Bill has a bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s degree in urban affairs.  As a consultant, he has helped public and private clients in seven states, Canada and Mexico working on energy and transportation issues.  His federal clients have included the U.S. Departments of Energy and Transportation as well as the Agency for International Development.  Other clients have included the Houston Advanced Research Center, Environmental Defense and the Gas Research Institute.