Margie Gardner
Executive Director
Ms. Gardner joined the California Efficiency + Demand Management Council in 2012 after three decades developing energy efficiency and clean energy alternatives in the Pacific Northwest. She was most recently CEO of the entrepreneurial nonprofit Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) leading efforts in renewable energy, climate change, and watershed restoration. Prior to BEF, she founded and led for over a decade the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), an award-winning, multi-state organization that transforms markets for energy-efficiency. Before NEEA, she developed and promoted energy-efficiency initiatives in the Pacific Northwest at the Northwest Power Planning & Conservation Council. Ms. Gardner began her career at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in California.
Ms. Gardner has served on numerous boards including the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, the Northwest Energy Coalition, Renewables Northwest Project, and the Climate Trust.
Melanie Gillette
Senior Policy Director
Melanie Gillette was on the Board of the California Efficiency + Demand Management Council in 2015-2016. Before joining the Council, Melanie was the Director of Western Regulatory Affairs for EnerNOC and focused on energy efficiency, demand response and demand side resource integration issues in California and the Northwest. Prior to EnerNOC, Melanie was Director of Regulatory Affairs for Duke Energy North America.
Melanie began her career at Navigant Consulting and has over 20 years of experience in the California energy industry. She has actively participated in proceedings at the California Public Utilities Commission, California Energy Commission, California Independent System Operator and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission with a focus on advocating for market designs and regulatory processes that increase opportunities for both existing demand side resources and emerging technologies.
Kira Kimick
Marketing and Member Services Manager
Kira joined the California Efficiency + Demand Management Council in 2015 and brings over a decade of marketing experience to the position. Her goal is to ensure Council services are valuable to members. She has experience in conference and trade show management, social media, website management, and graphic design.
She began her career in marketing in 2003 and has worked in the data analysis, real estate and wine industries.
Michelle Vigen
Senior Policy Manager
Michelle Vigen is the Senior Policy Manager with the California Efficiency and Demand Management Council.
Prior to joining the Council, Vigen led energy policy and regulatory affairs for Montgomery County, MD, including advocacy for the state energy efficiency standards, implementing their commercial benchmarking law, commercial PACE financing, and launching the Montgomery County Green Bank. Vigen has also conducted research at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), and led programming with the University of Minnesota Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships Clean Energy Resource Teams. She is a Senior Fellow with the Environmental Leadership Program, and is a regular speaker on behavior change, policy, and financing topics, including a regular lecturer with the Columbia University Earth Institute Sustainability Practicum Series.
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.
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