Suncommon People

Duane Peterson, Co-President

Duane is responsible for SunCommon’s marketing, internal business operations (finances, legal, IT, HR – that’s Happiness Resources, culture) and investor relations.  He’s a social entrepreneur with an eclectic 35-year career in socially responsible business, campaign management, government service and community involvement.  He moved his family from California in 1996 to Vermont where he worked as Chief of Stuff at Ben & Jerry’s for 12 years getting to execute Ben Cohen’s creative vision.  Committed to advancing values-led business models, he’s a member of the national Social Venture Network, Vermont Venture Network and Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility.  And he serves as a Director on the Boards of the HowardCenter, VPIRG and USAction. Duane lives in Essex with his wife of 22 years and their two teenaged sons, getting by on little sleep.

Jessica Edgerly Walsh, Lead Solar Community Organizer

Jessica has spent the last six years organizing on behalf of the environment and the public interest. Jessica graduated from Bates College with a degree in Biology and promptly moved to Montpelier where she worked as the State Director for Toxics Action Center, a nonprofit that works side-by-side with residents to prevent and clean up pollution. Jessica’s passion for community action led her to spend a number of summers running large door-to-door citizen outreach campaigns, building support in Vermont and Pennsylvania for clean energy and clean water programs. She continues to live in Montpelier with her husband Ben and their puppy Nico. Read more about Jessica on our Blog!

Dan Conant, Solar Community Organizer

Dan’s an organizer by trade. Before helping launch SunCommon, Dan worked at the hugely successful VPIRG Energy, where he spread the good news of solar across Vermont. He’s excited to be back in Vermont, after having led a national outreach campaign out of DC that organized family forest owners to help pass legislation strengthening rural communities. He is a budding social entrepreneur, having previously founded and directed the Solar Raisers program in Arlington, Virginia, which brought families and volunteers together to install solar as a community, barn-raising style. At night, Dan is completing his graduate work, and in his spare time, he loves skiing and making, tasting, and philosophizing about all things maple sugar. He currently lives in Winooski with his wife, Laura, and their cat, Cabot. Read more about Dan on our Blog!

Jacob Flanigan, Lead Solar Designer

Jacob dedicated his college years to studying electrical engineering and participating in environmental and local foods movements. Jacob started working in construction and farming (Intervale Community Farm) but pursued continuing education in photovoltaic design and installation. Later he worked for Alteris Renewables first as their Residential Electrical Engineer then as their Commercial Electrical Engineer. In his free time Jacob has been pursuing his love of music. He preforms with Burlington’s Brazilian street band, Sambatucada, and sings with Burlington’s Shape Note community. He can also be seen at local contra dances (Queen City Contra, Mad Robins Callers, Montpelier Grange), stretching he’s legs on the green mountains, and biking around his hometown of Burlington. Read more about Jacob on our Blog! 

Chris Heine, Solar Designer

Chris has been working in the solar industry for four years, installing PV and thermal systems around the state. After studying at Norwich university he gained a well rounded design education in the architecture and construction fields. Originally from Northern Virginia, Chris now lives in Montpelier. He enjoys spending time with his daughters, playing sports – rugby in particular, and being outdoors.

Chris Houck, Solar Designer

Chris sampled a few technical concentrations at UVM including Engineering and Architecture before settling on Environmental Studies with a focus on Green Building Design –specializing in solar and sustainable building systems. When his head wasn’t buried in the books, Chris was active with Power Shift – the nations’ youth movement to reverse climate change. He’s worked in the solar field with experience in solar installations, site visits and design. Chris grew up in New Jersey and enjoyed playing sports like baseball,soccer, and (no doubt his favorite) sprint kart racing. He’s quite mechanical with a huge love of cars and dreams of one day solar powering his pick up truck.

Kristi Gorton, Solar Sales Manager

Kristi hails from the Green Mountain State — born, raised, and educated in Vermont. She is a Champlain College graduate who made her mark on the business world over the past 10 years as a Relationship Manager at Keybank. Additionally she served as Brand Ambassador with Ski Vermont helping them nearly double participation in their youth based ski/ride program. Kristi is a mom of three adventurous children, and an outdoor enthusiast who is passionate about preserving the world we live in. Read more about Kristi on our Blog!
 

Chris McLernon, Solar Evaluator

Chris grew up in the Green Mountain state enjoying all it has to offer and developed a love for the outdoors and the great seasonal activities that go with it. He earned a BA from UVM in Biology and joined the Coast Guard to get a taste for life on the open sea. He worked as an electrician and diver while making a few trips to the wilds of Antarctica. Chris found his way back to Vermont and nurtured his growing interest in renewable energy, earning an electrical engineering degree from Vermont Technical College, and now finding himself happily designing solar systems with SunCommon for the people of Vermont. He lives in Montpelier with his wife Joey, daughter Lila, and dog Blue. Read more about Chris on our Blog!

Eric Sharp, Solar Evaluator

Born and raised in the Green Mountain State, Eric is a Vermonter through and through. When he’s not enthusiastically helping folks figure out how they can go solar, you’ll find him either in hills going up or coming down on his teleskis, or in the summer on the lake in his kayak or hiking the Green Mountains. With a degree in Industrial Design and experience in residential construction, Eric has developed a bad habit of redesigning and full renovating his homes (2 thus far) or building random “things”. In his free time, he volunteers as a Board Member for the non-profit Rebuilding Together Greater Burlington or other various volunteer projects like cleaning out homes in New Orleans with ACORN after Hurricane Katrina. Eric lives in Winooski with his wife, several chickens and an Ecuadorian dog.

Kristin Cadwalader, Solar Evaluator

Kristin is a sociologist with a young career in community empowerment. She has represented an Indian NGO at a collaborative conference in Thailand, directed school-age programming for the YMCA, consulted with adult leaders of Vermont’s Girl Scouts, and most recently sowed the spirit of sustainable agriculture at the National Gardening Association. An avid skier, hiker, localvore and outdoors-woman, Kristin is committed to environmental stewardship and energy sustainability. Kristin moved to Vermont in 2010 with her partner and their dog because, well, where else would anyone want to live? Read more about Kristin on our Blog!

John Knox, Solar Evaluator

John was born and raised in the Green Mountain State. He graduated from Castleton State College and has spent the last fifteen years working in the banking industry, mostly making loans to Vermonters so they could pursue their dreams. His strong desire to see the country less dependent on fossil fuels has led him to a career in solar. When he’s not helping homeowners go solar, he enjoys spending time with his wife and six year old son….and golfing whenever he can.

Otie Filkorn, Solar Orchestra Conductor

From the land of traffic and sunshine, Otie Filkorn returned home to New England in the late 90′s after spending more than a decade wrangling starlets, grips and teamsters as an assistant director in Hollywood. In Vermont, she has helped bring products to market for good guys like Autumn Harp and the Vermont Coffee Company. An early adopter of solar thermal and co-owner of the only wind turbine in Richmond, solar electricity is a natural addition to her personal and professional portfolio. In her spare time, she keeps up with her rock and roll husband and two young children as they ski at alarming speeds and ponder their collective renewable energy potential. Read more about Otie on our Blog!

Laurie Felder, Solar Guide

Laurie’s varied professional background includes a long run in advertising and customer service. Most recently, she ran weatherization training programs at Central Vermont Community Action Council, helping Vermont homeowners reduce their homes’ energy usage. Before that, she worked at The Journal of Light Construction (so knows a thing or two about bolting stuff on roofs) and several years managing the busy Rumney School office in Middlesex (she told us there are no more demanding “customers” than parents of students!). Laurie grew up in Underhill, graduated from UVM and is a big fan of the Vermont traditions of community and self-reliance—so central to energy independence. In 1994, she and her husband, Shaun, built their Middlesex home and which is well- weatherized and heats its water from the sun. When she’s not keeping up with two teenaged sons, Laurie enjoys gardening, skiing, hiking with her border collie, and walks on just about any beach.

Charity Carbine-March, Solar Goddess

Charity is a steadfast environmentalist who is grounded in the belief that change only comes when people demand it. To this end, Charity has been actively raising muck for the last ten years, mobilizing students and community members, and advocating for stronger environmental protections. Most recently, Charity was the environmental health advocate for VPIRG where she led efforts to increase recycling in the state and protect Vermonters from toxic chemicals. Charity lives in Wolcott with her wife, Amber, and her 2 year-old son, Finn. Read more about Charity on our Blog!

Rose Fierman, Office Coordinator

Rose grew up in northeastern Pennsylvania spending time on rivers and lakes and learning about the dangers of fossil fuel dependence from the coal mining industry in her hometown. A recent graduate of the University of Vermont, Rose received her Bachelor of Science in Community Entrepreneurship and Green Building from the department of Community Development and Applied Economics. Her interest in energy and green design brought her to Copenhagen, Denmark, where she studied abroad and didn’t learn any Danish. Here in Vermont, Rose has gotten to explore her interests in clean energy and local food while enjoying the mountains and vibrant food culture of our great state.

In the winter months you can find Rose looking for stashes of snow on her board or hosting potlucks. On warmer days, Rose can be found swimming in Lake Champlain or biking around Burlington, where she currently lives.