Jacob works in the RMI Buildings Practice, beginning as a Manager in Sept. 2015 with a focus on transforming the residential energy upgrade market through the Residential Energy+ program. He also led the creation of The Carbon-Free City Handbook. He has worked in sustainable community development for 20 years with a focus on sustainability innovation, program design, community-based solutions, and collaboration building.
Jacob was previously the Executive Director of EcoWorks, a nonprofit in Detroit that creates opportunities to learn and practice the sustainable use of energy and other natural resources through education, consulting, social business, job training and advocacy. While energy was our main focus, we also worked on water conservation, deconstruction of homes, an amazing youth program and a broad set of sustainable efforts. While EcoWorks provides thought leadership, it has a hard focus on implementing projects on the ground at the home, business, city and state level. Jacob’s work at EcoWorks included many innovations from low-income behavioral changes to launching Eco-D, a national model for ecodistrict development.
Jacob was also the Co-Founder and President of the Southeast Michigan Regional Energy Office, an innovative collaboration of 26 local governments tackling energy improvements in their communities. Jacob was also a co-founder and regional manager of the BetterBuildings for Michigan program, one of the largest and most successful of the DOE’s BetterBuildings programs.
Jacob was also a pioneer in the ecovillage movement, actually enjoys public speaking, was an adjunct professor teaching sustainable design at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture, and does work in facilitation and conflict resolution.
University of Michigan, Environmental Mediation Seminar
Dispute Resolution Center, State of Michigan Mediation Training
B.A., Kalamazoo College, Sociology and Anthropology, with unofficial concentrations in Mathematics, Art and Women’s Studies
Boulder, CO
@JCorvidae
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker (R) is leading a new effort that could benefit Massachusetts’ homeowners and the US real estate sector as a whole. Yesterday, he introduced An Act Relative to Consumer Access to Residential Energy Information, which has the potential to simultaneously improve the quality and energy performance…
Last week, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced it will stop insuring new mortgages on homes with property assessed clean energy (PACE) loans. As to what motivated its decision—according to its letter to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development—the FHA is “concerned with the lack of consumer…
This has been an exciting week, with Syria announcing that it will join the Paris agreement. Now every nation in the world is part of this historical global effort. Even though the U.S. has declared its intent to withdraw at the national level, non-federal actors—including states and cities—have announced…
An mpg-like rating for homes is here. For the first time in history, people can find out the expected energy use of any home in the U.S. This single piece of information conveys helpful insights including the expected cost of maintaining a home, the environmental impact of…
Have you ever wanted x-ray vision, or to see the hidden features of your home? The City of Vancouver has launched a new effort to make energy use more visible to its residents, complete with rainbow-colored images of their homes that show details invisible to the naked eye. Using…
What makes solar power contagious, and can home energy upgrades spread the same way? Solar is spreading like a reinvented fire. See the dropping prices, technology improvements, and rapid growth curve in residential solar installations over recent years. Witness the rapid expansion of our work with major companies across…