ABOUT E2
E2’s Midwest Chapter is growing! Founded in the fall of 2013, our chapter has members in Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. Our members are working to advance strong state policies that are good for environment and good for our economy – from clean water in Michigan to clean energy in Illinois.
Chapter Leadership
Greg Smith
Greg Smith
E2 Chapter Director
David Kolsrud
David Kolsrud
E2 Chapter Director
Milt Pinsky
Milt Pinsky
E2 Chapter Director
Milton Pinsky is the Chairman of Banner Real Estate Group, LLC and affiliates, which he founded in 1990. Milt received his JD and MBA from the University of Chicago. Today, Banner is an owner of and manages over 6,000 apartments and is an owner of a portfolio of self-storage and senior housing properties. Banner currently has approximately 250 employees. Banner’s stabilized portfolio is worth over $700 million, its development pipeline has a projected stabilized value of over $700 million and it has operations in 15 states.
Emily Rice
Emily Rice
E2 Chapter Director
Mark Stenftenagel
Mark Stenftenagel
E2 Chapter Director
Annette Beitel
Annette Beitel
E2 Chapter Director
Annette has over 20 years of experience providing legal, regulatory, procurement, and management support to energy efficiency and renewable energy programs in California, the Midwest, and internationally. Her company, Future Energy Enterprises, develops and supports programs to ensure program administrators achieve their goals with cost-effective and clean energy resources, including energy efficiency, conservation, demand response, and renewable energy.
Annette leads the Illinois Income Qualified Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee in Illinois. Before that, she served as the lead facilitator for the successful, long-standing Illinois Stakeholder Advisory Group for 10 years, a forum authorized by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) to build consensus and make recommendations to the ICC the on State energy efficiency policies, portfolio and program design, administration, implementation, and evaluation. She also facilitates the California Technical Forum (Cal TF).
Annette has been an E2 member for 15 years and a Chapter Director since 2019.
Vanessa Perkins
Vanessa Perkins
E2 Chapter Director
Vanessa Perkins originally hails from California and moved to Chicago in 2017 to pursue work in the energy efficiency and clean energy space. She is a passionate environmental scientist who understands how a healthy environment and science-based policy can support a healthy economy and create jobs - after all, she is one of many "clean jobs" in Illinois. Vanessa is committed to scaling sustainable climate solutions by making clean energy and energy efficiency affordable and accessible to all. Through her work at Resource Innovations and Franklin Energy, she has influenced and led energy efficiency projects across the commercial and industrial sector.
Vanessa was a 2018-19 E2 fellow and researched the opportunity and need for expanded, affordable EV charging in Chicago neighborhoods. Since her fellowship, she has founded Community Charging, an Illinois not-for-profit, to fund and build smart and affordable charging options in urban residential communities that lack public charging options.
Vanessa's educational background and scientific interest is in ecology and marine conservation. She loves music, driving electric and diving. Vanessa became an E2 Chapter Director in January of 2021.
Our Issues
- Accelerating the clean energy transition
- Modernizing and electrifying our transportation system
- Securing funding for water infrastructure and establishing limits on harmful water contaminants like PFAS.
Our Work
- Every year with our partners at Clean Energy Trust, E2 releases Clean Jobs Midwest, a survey of clean energy jobs throughout the Midwest region. At the end of 2019 there were over 744,000 clean energy jobs in the Midwest.
- E2 is advocating for strong state policies in Ohio, Michigan and Illinois that fight climate change and grow the clean energy industry
- We launch a Businesses for Clean Water campaign to elevate business voices and advance clean water policies in Michigan
Recent Success
- In Illinois, E2 led business efforts to help pass the Future Energy Jobs Act at the end of 2016, which directs the state to get 25 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2025 and expands the state’s energy efficiency standards
- In Michigan, E2 advocated for Governor Whitmer to set a limit on how much certain harmful chemicals – called PFAS – can be present in our drinking water. In July of 2020, a groundbreaking rule went into effect and made Michigan a national leader tackling PFAS contamination. The new rule will help deliver the promise of safe, reliable, and affordable drinking water that businesses need to locate and thrive in Michigan.
- E2 members throughout the Midwest helped to protect and increase funding for clean energy R&D at DOE and EPA through congressional advocacy in Washington D.C.
GET INVOLVED
Interested in learning more? Want to help us advance our clean energy goals from Chicago to Springfield, to Capitol Hill?
Reach out to Midwest Advocate Micaela Preskill to start receiving updates on supporting E2’s policy efforts in your area – including attending upcoming events, participating in advocacy campaigns, receiving our email newsletters, and more!
