Who's Who
The Windustry Staff:
Lisa Daniels
Lisa has been providing wind energy information and technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, elected officials, rural utilities and other interested groups since 1995. Lisa has been a contractor/consultant with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and is currently a partner on the Wind Powering America initiative with the U.S. Department of Energy. Lisa serves on the National Wind Coordinating Committee's Steering Committee and Economic Development Workgroup. She has authored and edited several publications on wind energy and its application, and is frequently asked to speak at agriculture and energy forums, training courses and conferences. She was recognized by the U.S. DOE Wind Powering America (WPA) program in 2004 with a Regional Wind Advocacy Award for regional leadership, creativity, and commitment to wind energy development and again in 2005 with an Outstanding Partnership Award for participation on the WPA agriculture outreach team, leadership in community wind development, and outreach on the USDA Farm Bill initiative.
From 1991 to 1995, Lisa worked as one of two staff to help launch Minnesotans for an Energy Efficient Economy. Lisa's background includes more than twelve years designing, developing and delivering methods to provide technical assistance for computers in corporate and community education settings, in the San Francisco Bay Area and in the Twin Cities. She came to the energy/environment work in the early 1980s volunteering to help create Econet with the Farrallones Institute, in Berkeley California. Lisa received a B.S. in Business Management from Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Read Lisa's interview with Wind Powering America.
David Tidball
Expansion of the number and scope of projects led Windustry to hire David in June of 2005 on a half-time basis to provide administrative support. David comes to Windustry with an eclectic background that includes eight years as a member of the ARC Retreat Community (a spiritual retreat center near Cambridge, MN) where he also served as board treasurer, volunteer experience with the Arsenal Clean-up and Conversion Project (a non-profit which worked on community-based re-use plans for the TCAAP facility of the Twin Cities northern suburbs in the late 90's), a life-time of full and part-time work as a church musician and a commitment to sustainable living practices that began with recycling and food co-ops (back when you had to hunt for places to take your recycling) and continues with a shift to a vegetarian diet in 1995 and deep interest in community investment and micro-finance.
Erin Dietrich
Erin Dietrich came to Windustry because of her passion for the environment and interest in sustainable energy systems. Prior to joining Windustry Erin worked as a Policy Analyst for the Wisconsin Legislature where she assessed state agency statutory compliance. Erin holds a Masters of Pubic Policy from the Hubert. H. Humphrey Institute, completing her thesis on the economical and technical feasibility of harvesting Switchgrass for biomass. Erin also holds a Bachelors of Science in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies from the University of Minnesota.
Louise Nemmers Mageli
Louise joined Windustry as the first dedicated staff person for the Women of Wind Energy program. Louise has a number of years experience in the nonprofit world, having worked for an economic development organization in Minneapolis and the Twin Cities American Red Cross. She also has spent over 16 years in the financial services industry helping to market everything from personal bank accounts to institutional pension and retirement plans. Louise is an active volunteer at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and is delighted to be working just a few blocks away from there. Originally from Iowa, Louise received her B.A. from Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa and had done graduate work at the University of Minnesota.
Marin Byrne
Marin Byrne has a B.A. in geology from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and is finishing a master’s degree in natural resources science and management at the University of Minnesota, where her work has focused on agricultural hydrology. Prior to joining Windustry, she spent time researching energy issues and climate change at Fresh Energy, and also previously worked as a program assistant at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.
Melissa Peterson
At Windustry, Melissa works with communities and individuals interested in putting together a community owned wind project and on outreach and education materials and programs. Prior to joining Windustry, Melissa worked on wind energy and avian interaction issues at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in Albany, New York. She has also been a part of Minnesota non-profit community, through her work with Great River Greening and the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness. Melissa has a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Science from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and a M.S. in Conservation Biology and Environmental Policy from the University of Albany and the Rockefeller School of Public Policy in New York, where she wrote her thesis on avian biodiversity.
