City-wide Drive-by Thermal Scans can show which buildings are lacking insulation.

History

HEETlabs and HEET were founded by Audrey Schulman.

Back in 2008, as a new mother, she wanted to protect the future for her children. However she didn’t have a degree in environmental science, nor any funding.

So instead, with a group of neighbors, she started HEET, applying the skills she had as a novelist: creativity, research and dogged revision.

Over 16 years, the HEET team and its impact grew from its innovations. The most recent is a method to remake gas utilities into networked geothermal companies delivering affordable non-combusting heating and cooling. This concept is so successful, inspiring installations and legislation across the country, that the work requires all of HEET’s focus.

Still there are so many other large climate problems. So Schulman spun off HEETlabs to innovate more solutions.

Press

Leadership

  • Audrey Schulman, Executive Director

    • Founded HEET in 2008 and helped lead it for 16 years.

    • Created the first-in-the-nation statewide map of natural gas leaks.

    • Initiated a research study that discovered a method for gas utilities to identify super-emitting gas leaks in order to repair them.

    • Initiated the study that focused the country’s attention on the health impacts of gas stoves.

    • Co-developed HEET’s innovative solution to transition gas utilities from gas to networked geothermal, an approach that is gaining traction nationally.

    • Wrote six novels, which have been translated into 12 languages and reviewed by The New Yorker, The Economist and CNN.

  • Ania Camargo, President

    • Co-founded and was director of Case Associates, a management consulting firm that has provided assistance to nonprofits in Boston since 1999.

    • Has always been actively involved in her community including serving as Chair of the Harvard Business School Community Action Program, President and Chair of the Beacon Hill Civic Association, and co-founder of Downtown Schools for Boston.

    • Is currently a member of WBUR’s Executive Advisory Council.

    • Started the Gas Transition Allies and facilitated it for years.

    • Was one of the Mothers Out Front leaders of the campaign against methane leaks in Massachusetts.

    • Is the Senior Manager for Thermal Energy Networks for Building Decarbonization Coalition.

  • Bill Harkins, Treasurer

    • Worked for over 40 years for governmental agencies at the national, regional and state level.

    • Worked for many years as the U.S. Department of Labor as a Regional Economist and Office Director in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Evaluation and Research.

    • Served in many capacities at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, including as the Division Director for Planning and Program Development, as the Director of Finance and Administration for Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup, and as the Department’s Director of Budgetary and Legislative Affairs.

  • John Reinhardt, Clerk

    • Has over 25 years experience in environmental policy analysis.

    • Served for two decades as Branch Chief for Industrial Wastewater Policy and Regulations for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP).

    • Consulted on environmental policy for USEPA and many other federal agencies on subjects such as industrial wastewater, drinking water, toxic substance control strategy development, and hazardous waste.

    • Has 20 years of experience with nonprofit management through his work as a board president and member of the Mystic River Watershed Association.

    • Is a team leader for HEET’s energy-upgrade work parties.

  • Karen Martin, Board Member

    • Worked for 25 years as an electrical engineer at Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies.

    • Chairs the North Parish of North Andover Climate Justice Task Force

    • Works with the Merrimack Valley Interfaith Group, formed in the aftermath of the gas explosions, working to improve energy efficiency and promote a just transition to renewable energy.

    • Serves on the board of Unitarian Universalist Mass Action, the state social justice advocacy group.

    • Serves as a member of the Massachusetts Sierra Club Plant-based Planet team.

    • Advocates for a response to climate disruption being a priority in the Massachusetts legislature.

    • Has three grown children and three grandchildren, who are front and center in her work for climate justice.

  • David Oliver, Board Member

    • A mechanical engineer who specializes in product architecture, design strategy, and design processes to make the most of the opportunities presented by a design challenge.

    • Worked for twenty years as a Principal at the research and product development firm known as Cusp Development.

    • Founded the company From Concentrate, which commercializes products that are developed in house at Cusp.

    • Interested in helping companies and organizations make well-executed engineering and design a core element of their institutions.

  • Marilyn Ray Smith, Board Member

    • Served for almost 24 years as chief legal counsel for the Child Support Enforcement Division of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, including seven years as deputy commissioner.

    • Has drafted and implemented extensive state and federal legislation, as well as managed major operational and systems changes in state government.

    • Received the Smith College Medal in 2003 for her work as an advocate for children.

    • Works with HEET and the Gas Transition Allies on political advocacy strategies to eliminate gas leaks and create a legislative structure to permit gas companies to distribute non-combusting thermal energy to reduce the Commonwealth’s dependence on natural gas.

  • Jason Taylor, Board Member

    • Hast taught weatherization since 2008, including at the Green Jobs Academy, the ABCD Weatherization Lab in Mattapan, LISC’s Bridge to Green Jobs, and at Roxbury Community College.

    • Trains Mass Save weatherization crew chiefs while working for Byggmeister Associates, a preeminent design-build firm.

    • Has written air-sealing curricula for community colleges, MassCAP, and HEET.

    • Presented at NESEA/Boston, NESEA/New York, the Studio for High Performance Design and Construction and to the Department of Energy.

    • Organizes HEET’s energy upgrade work parties.

  • H.G. Chissell, Advisory Board

    • Founder and CEO of Advanced Energy Group (AEG), a stakeholder mobilization platform for leaders and organizations committed to systemic change on climate, health and equity at the city and regional level.

    • Served as Senior VP of Strategic Accounts for Viridity Energy, a software/service firm focused on virtual power generation and advanced energy optimization.

    • Graduated from Swarthmore College and studied architecture at Drexel University.

    • Serves as Chair of the IEEE Grid Edge StartUp Showcase.

    • Served on the board of NECEC and the Advisory Group for the Puerto Rico 100 Study.

    • Received the President's Award for Excellence in Leadership from the National Society of Black Engineers Boston Professionals.

  • Bruce Biewald, Advisory Board

    • Founded and ran Synapse Energy Economics for 28 years, growing it from 0 to 50 employees. 

    • Established Synapse as a consultancy that provides technical and economic analysis about clean energy, climate, and the public interest. 

    • Serves as Synapse’s Chief Scientist and Board Chair, responsible for the big picture, long-term success of the organization. 

    •Focused on rigorous and innovative analysis, methods and tools, A well made graph can change minds!

    • Provided expert testimony in more than 100 cases, including testimony in 1989 on climate change recommending that utilities consider air pollutant externalities in their system planning.

    • Provides strategic advice to organizations and deploys teams of smart people to focus on some of the biggest challenges of our time. 

    • Graduated from MIT with a BS in art and design.