Rick has 30 years of leadership experience in the non-profit and academic sectors working on environmental quality, sustainability, and responsible business issues. Before MI-MAUI, Rick was executive director of the Southeast Michigan Regional Energy Office, a coalition of 25 municipalities working together to identify, finance and implement municipal clean energy projects. From 2008-2013, he was managing director of the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan. He has also held senior executive or program roles at the Bainbridge Graduate Institute, the Aspen Institute, and the World Resources Institute.

As a senior consultant at 5 Lakes Energy, Rick led a team that analyzed pathways for the City of Ann Arbor to achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030, and an MPSC-funded project that developed a toolkit for local governments and stakeholders to analyze and prioritize their best opportunities to reduce use of fossil fuels by electrifying buildings. In addition to serving as an expert witness in MPSC rate cases for MI-MAUI, Rick has provided expert testimony for the Michigan Attorney General, Citizens Utility Board of Michigan and Michigan Environmental Council on a wide range of topics.

Rick is chair of the Ann Arbor Township Planning Commission. He also serves as a Board member and Treasurer of The Stewardship Network, an Ann Arbor-based national conservation organization. He holds an MBA with environmental management certificate from University of Washington and a BS in Political Science from Yale University.

Matthew Naud, Board member

Matthew Naud was the first Environmental Coordinator for the city of Ann Arbor. He has 17 years of experience leading and developing innovative programs to further urban sustainability goals in Ann Arbor including climate mitigation and adaptation, energy efficiency, renewable energy, brownfield redevelopment, recycling, composting, river management, emergency management, and environmental equity. Due to this wide-ranging involvement, he has expertise in building sustainability into the culture of an organization and working with universities to identify policy-relevant data for city planning efforts.

He has played formative and leadership roles in the Urban Sustainability Directors Network and other regional networks of city sustainability staff. Mr. Naud also has 11 years of environment and emergency management experience with federal and state clients. He is a senior consultant with adapt.city and Resource Recycling Systems.

Beau Taylor, Board member

Beau Taylor is Executive Director of the Public Lighting Authority of Detroit starting in August of 2017. He previously  served as director of the Detroit’s Public Lighting Department from 2013-16, aiding in the creation of the authority. He had been with the department since 2011. He also worked as an assistant to the city’s chief operating officer.

Consultants

Douglas Jester, Expert witness

Doug also served in various capacities at the Michigan Departments of Natural Resources (DNR) and Environmental Quality (DEQ) including chief information and technology officer at the DEQ and director of strategic planning at the DNR. He is also a former mayor of the City of East Lansing.