Spotlight: National Engineers Week
February 21-27 is National Engineers Week!
Founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers 70 years ago, the week is “dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers.”
Here at the Oregon Department of Energy, we love STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) careers – and there are plenty of engineering career opportunities in the energy sector, from energy efficiency design in buildings to work with energy utilities to operations and maintenance of energy generation equipment.
Meet ODOE’s stellar engineers, who serve as members of our Planning & Innovation Division:
Stephanie Kruse
Stephanie is a Facilities Engineer whose work focuses on energy efficiency and conservation in buildings and facilities of all types. Stephanie is a Professional Civil Engineer in both Alaska and Oregon. She attended the University of Alaska, Fairbanks for her undergraduate degree. Before coming to Oregon, Stephanie worked as a Project Engineer and Project Manager for the Statewide Public Facilities group at the State of Alaska, and prior to that, worked for an environmental consulting firm as an energy auditor for public facilities in Alaska.
Blake Shelide
Blake is also a Facilities Engineer, providing technical support for several ODOE programs. Blake is a licensed mechanical engineer in Oregon, and his career has included work as a design engineer and consultant as well as serving as a corporate energy manager for a large industrial manufacturer, which involved engineering and implementing energy efficiency projects, tracking energy consumption, and performing energy audits. At ODOE, Blake is the lead for the agency’s role with commercial energy codes and standards and serves on the Construction Industry Energy Board. Blake also works with state agencies and schools to assist with energy efficiency for new facility design and retrofits and to track and reduce energy consumption. Blake has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame.
Engineering degrees can lead to a variety of interesting careers and positions.
At ODOE, several of our other team members also earned engineering degrees before joining our agency:
Ruchi Sadhir, our Associate Director of Strategic Engagement, has a degree in computer science engineering
Wally Adams, an Operations and Policy Analyst on our Energy Facility Siting team, has a degree in chemical engineering
Jason Sierman, a Senior Energy Policy Analyst in our Planning & Innovation Division, has a degree in civil engineering, with a specialization in environmental engineering
Maya Buchanan, our Senior Climate Policy Analyst in our Planning & Innovation Division, has a master’s degree in environmental and water resources engineering
Rob Del Mar, a Senior Policy Analyst in our Planning & Innovation Division, has a degree in architectural engineering
We hope you’ll join us in celebrating Oregon’s engineers!
Cover image: ODOE Facilities Engineer Blake Shelide shows off a potato-powered clock during an Earth Day event (pre-2020).