Where are they now? Touching Base with Phil Kelsven
Posted on February 2, 2012 by Andrea Crosby
Tags, History of CUB and General CUB News
CUB has had a strong history of offering educational opportunities to students and young professionals interested in working in the energy sector and for the public interest. Our Schaich internship has been a great asset to CUB and we think it’s important to highlight some of the individuals who spent their time with us as interns, volunteers and board members throughout the years.
Phil Kelsven interned at CUB in 2005-2006 when he was completing his master’s degree in Economics from Portland State University. Phil is originally from Fargo, North Dakota, and after he received his undergraduate degree, he wanted to move west. His brother was living in Portland, so he ended up here. When I asked him about his memories at CUB, Phil said his most memorable experiences were “lunches with the crew and listening to Bob and Jason tell sordid stories about the world of utility regulation.”
Phil is currently a Program Analyst at Conservation Services Group (CSG), an energy efficiency company that is headquartered in Portland. Phil does market and demographic research, statistical analysis, GIS mapping, and program evaluation for CSG’s energy efficiency programs nationwide.
According to Phil, CUB greatly influenced his career path. “CUB gave me experience in the world of energy, and was a big reason I got my first job out of grad school at Energy Trust of Oregon (ETO).” Phil also was part of the original group that started Future of Energy (now the Association of Energy Service Professionals (AESP) Northwest), a networking group for young energy efficiency professionals. The group first met at Rogue Pub in 2007, with the old timers and youngsters talking energy over beer and food. The group’s first big event featured Fred Gordon from the Energy Trust of Oregon and Tom Eckman from the Northwest Power Planning Council at the Fez Ballroom with a DJ. Future of Energy grew slowly. According to Phil, “we had a speaking series on climate change and energy at Aura and got a few sponsors. We mixed dense topics with a hint of hipness over happy hour; I guess it worked.” At first the group found it difficult to keep the momentum going, so they formalized the group and created a board in 2008 with Phil as the President. He’s still the AESP Northwest Treasurer.
Phil married his wife, Jennifer, in 2009. They recently welcomed a new addition to the family, baby Kaden, born on May 27, 2011.
When I asked Phil if there was anything more he’d like to say about CUB, he said that “CUB is doing great work that is really needed by the people of Oregon. It is rarer than you think to have ratepayer advocates that are as progressive and effective as CUB is in Oregon. A real blessing, indeed!” We’re honored to receive such a great compliment from one of our past interns.
Thanks for sharing, Phil! Good luck presenting your papers on residential energy consumption variability at the 2012 ACI Home Performance Conference in Baltimore and on data mining for energy efficiency marketing at the 2012 ACEEE Summer Study Conference.
If you are interested in utility regulation, energy efficiency policy, renewable energy efforts, or consumer protection, an internship with CUB might be right for you.
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03/28/17 | 0 Comments | Where are they now? Touching Base with Phil Kelsven