Green Financing Registration

Rich is currently the Community Energy Coordinator on the Arlington Initiative to Rethink Energy (AIRE) team in Arlington County’s Office of Sustainability and Environmental Management.   Rich is currently developing a program for Arlington County on a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing program for Commercial properties.  He also serves on the Arlington Chamber of Commerce’s Green Business Committee.

He holds two Masters Degrees in Public Affairs (MPA) and Environmental Science (MSES) from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs.  He previously worked at the NAHB Research Center as a Green Building and Land Use Specialist and at SAIC as an Environmental Management Systems Specialist. Rich lives in Arlington with his wife and two daughters. He appreciates the opportunity to have a job that allows him to bike to the office and work on projects that impact the community in which he lives.

Bill Updike is the Chief of the Urban Sustainability Administration’s Green Building and Climate Branch in the District of Columbia’s Department of Energy and Environment, where he is responsible for policies and programs related to green building, climate change, and other built environment sustainability planning for the city government. Prior to joining the department, Bill worked as a project manager for a renewable energy company, as a green building construction manager for a design/build firm, and as an outside sales representative for a green building supply company. In the early part of his career, Bill worked as an environmental journalist for two national magazines. Bill received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree from the University of Arizona.

Michelle Vigen is the Senior Energy Planner with the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection. In this role, she manages the planning, development, and implementation of clean energy policy and development in the county. Initiatives include: Commercial Energy Benchmarking and Transparency Law; Commercial PACE (Property-Assessed Clean Energy) Financing; Montgomery County Green Bank; policy and programs for residential and commercial sector energy efficiency and renewable energy development.  Vigen serves as chair for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government’s Built Environment and Energy Advisory Committee (BEEAC) and Regional PACE Working Group.

Prior to joining the Montgomery County, Vigen worked for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy as a Research Analyst on behavior and human dimensions research, and the University of Minnesota Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships as the Clean Energy Resource Team’s Campaigns Coordinator where she led statewide energy efficiency campaigns resulting in measurable results. As a recipient of the Archibald Bush Leadership Fellowship, Vigen has presented, conducted training, and counseled over 400 practitioners, utility representatives, local government officials, non-profits, businesses, and students on community-based social marketing for sustainable behavior change. Vigen earned a Masters of Public Policy from the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Policy specializing in energy policy and community development. She holds a B.A. from Saint Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota.