GEO is pleased to maintain a list of expert and talented speakers in the Renew Ohio! Speakers Bureau. The speakers avaialble to present at your upcoming meeting along with a biography are below. To formally request a speaker, please download the "Speaker Request Form" and send the completed copy to GEO by mail or fax. Feel free to indicate your preferred speaker with the date and location of your meeting.

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Speakers in the Renew Ohio! Speakers Bureau program (listed alphabetically)

		Barry Adler, GEO Operations Coordinator and RainFresh Harvests Owner Barry works part-time in the GEO office to manage finances, budget and administrative tasks for the organization.  He oversees the computer data base and office systems and responds to consumer inquiries.  He is also well-equipped to answer questions about renewable energy, since he is the owner/operator of RainFresh Harvests, LLC near Plain City where he growing specialty crops and culinary herbs on family farm.  His farm operates an off-the-grid renewable energy greenhouse/barn called the RainFresh Bio-Integrated Greenhouse. It integrates a hybrid system featuring active solar PV (2.1 kW), a wind turbine (1.0 kW), and a solar thermal drain down system (3 Sun Earth collectors) with radiant
floor heating. The RainFresh Green Bioshelter is designed to maximize passive solar thermal storage, with a cement slab floor, reflective walls with soybean based rigid foam insulation, and a thermal curtain system to retain heat in winter months. Barry has a MS in Horticulture from Virginia Tech and BS in Agriculture from Berea College. He previously worked for over 20 years in the management and research at The Scotts Company in Marysville, Ohio.

		Jill Baltes, GEO Education Coordinator New to the GEO staff, Jill is employed part-time as education coordinator, and is responsible for developing program guidelines and training materials for the Renew Ohio! Speakers Bureau program.   She serves as primary contact for individuals and organizations interested in becoming a speaker or scheduling a Renew Ohio! presentation. With over 12 years experience in marketing and public relations, Jill has worked for credit unions, state agencies and nonprofits in the Columbus area. Jill is also a former legislative intern
and aide for the Ohio House of Representatives. She received a bachelor's degree in organizational communication from Ohio University, and two master's degrees in journalism and landscape horticulture from The Ohio State University.

		Christina Panoska, Northeast Ohio Program Manager Christina serves as the Northeast Ohio Program Manager. She works to advance the use of clean energy in the region, including the National Solar Conference scheduled in Cleveland from July 7-12, 2007. Previously, Christina served as the statewide Program Manager, designing many of the organization's programs since 2001. Her work ranges from the coordination of the 2002 and 2004 Ohio Wind Power Conferences, development of the statewide Ohio Solar Tour for the past 3 years, creation of the 84-page Ohio Solar Tour magazine, and author of numerous publications and articles, including a technical paper presented at the 2004 National Solar Conference. In 2003, she participated in a 5-day solar (PV) installer training
where a 2.7 kW PV system was installed at the Austin Youth Hostel by an all-female crew, and co-authored the article, "Workshop of Her Own," based on the experience in the 2004 March/April edition of Solar Today.  In Spring 2002, she became a John Glenn Fellow of the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy Washington Academic Program, where she had the opportunity to work at the Sierra Club Legislative Office on the Global Warming and Energy team in DC. Christina holds a B.S. in Natural Resources and a minor in Environmental Economics from the Ohio State University.

		Joe Perlaky, GEO Board Member Joe is currently the manager of the Northwest Ohio Greenhouse Nurseries Project and program director of the Alternative Energy System Grant funded by the National Science Foundation. He promotes the greenhouse cluster initiative by working with the Advisory Board, university and USDA-ARS researchers, regional economic development agencies and consultants. He also coordinates alternative energy activities with University of Toledo, Bowling Green State University, Owens Community College and regional economic development agencies. He supports faculty entrepreneurs for UT commercialization firms, oversees special research, economic development and
community outreach projects, and promotes university technology resources and inter-organizational collaborations critical to increased community awareness & commercialization opportunities. He recently worked as the Technology & Commercialization Specialist and Business Development Specialist with the Regional Growth Partnership from 2000 – 2002. His former work includes owner of Drycleaning Operations, Inc for 9 years, Commissioner of Economic Development of the City of Toledo, and Executive Director of City of Oregon, a non-profit development foundation. He holds BA in education and MBA from the University of Toledo.

		Bill Spratley, GEO Executive Director Bill has led GEO since 2001 and is based in Columbus.  Bill lends a wealth of experience and knowledge in the utility and energy sector, having served as Ohio's first Consumer's Counsel and as a national utility consultant.  His vast national and statewide network of contacts, including the US Department of Energy, Ohio Dept. of Development, the Energy Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Green Power Board continue to gain new credibility and visibility for GEO.  Working closely with the Board, he has substantially raised the caliber and scope of GEO's programs, helped to attract new Board members, and established contacts with new funding sources.  Bill, an attorney since 1973, served on advisory boards of the U.S. Department of Energy under Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.  In 2004, Bill was selected by the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) to be the Chairman of
the National Organizing Committee for the 2007 National Solar Conference in Cleveland.  In his 20 years of service to the State of Ohio, Bill was Assistant Legislative Liaison for Ohio Governor John J. Gilligan and Legislative Liaison for the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio before his appointment as Ohio Consumers' Counsel in February 1977.  As Consumers' Counsel, he was the founding President of the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA) and Board Member of Consumer Federation of America.  In his consulting business from 1993 to 2004, Bill testified before 15 state legislatures and published a national bi-monthly journal on state electric deregulation in addition to heading the National Consumer Photovoltaic (NCP) program as part of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC).

		Steve Watts, GEO Wind Assessment Coordinator Since Fall 2004, Steve has served as staff researcher on the Ohio Tall Towers Program, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy and the State of Ohio Department of Development's Office of Energy Efficiency. He works to identify suitable locations, install wind monitoring equipment on existing communication towers, and analyze the wind resource at several sites across the state at 100 meters. He also provides wind power educational information to cities, municipal utilities, farmers, landowners, schools and businesses interested in monitoring wind for wind turbine deployment.
In 2006, Steve will also be working with a GEO advisory committee to implement the Monitoring Ohio Wind program, the Anemometer Loan Program, the Coastal Tall Towers Project.  A skilled technical sales professional with a record of success in telecom and broadcast markets, Steve managed strategic sales efforts to major telecommunications firms for several small telecom firms.  Steve received a BS in mechanical engineering from Ohio State University.

 Want to Become a Speaker in the Renew Ohio! Program? If you're interested, click here.

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