Chris O'Brien, Director of Higher Education Programs, Altenex

Chris came to Altenex from American University where he was Director of Sustainability from 2009 to 2015. He was responsible for all sustainability functions, including the university's commitment to achieving climate-neutrality by the year 2020. Chris continues to teach about energy, climate, carbon markets and sustainable purchasing in the Sustainability Management program at AU's Kogod School of Business. While heading AU's sustainability office, Chris executed three power purchase agreements (PPAs), including a megawatt of onsite solar PV and solar thermal, and a 52 megawatt offsite solar PV project, which was the largest non-utility PPA in higher education at the time. At Altenex, Chris is the Director of Higher Education Programs, sharing what he learned at AU with other colleges and universities across North America, helping the higher education sector catalyze the transformation of America's electricity supply to clean and renewable sources. He is also a founding board director of the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council, and serves on the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education's (AASHE) STARS Steering Committee. In 2006, Chris authored the award-winning book Fermenting Revolution: How to Drink Beer and Save the World (New Society Publishers).