Overview
This page on the LIEEAC website includes information about the IQ-N LT, the IQ-N LT formation activities to date, upcoming IQ-N LT activities and a link to a membership application for any organizations who have not previously submitted a membership application through this LIEEAC website. To be a member of the IQ-N Committee, an organization MUST have submitted a membership application through this LIEEAC website.
2023 LIEEAC IQ North (IQ-N) Leadership Team
The 2023 IQ-N Committee Leadership Team was selected by the CBO/CAA Committee members through a CEJA-compliant voting process. The Leadership Team includes five leaders from the IQ-N Committee Service Territory (ComEd). The Leadership Team is CEJA-compliant, meaning they meet the following criteria:
- Members who are representative of BIPOC and Environmental Justice Communities
- Equitable representation from BIPOC communities
- Committee members who are selected from the Committee
2023 IQ-N Leadership Team
Naomi Davis
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (312) 852-2742
City: Chicago, Illinois 60637
Bio: Naomi is dedicated to self-sustaining Black communities everywhere. Her strategy begins with her aim to reinvent her childhood “sustainable-square-mile” here in the Age of Climate Crisis. She is the founder & CEO of Blacks in Green (BIG™), an urban theorist, attorney, activist, and proud granddaughter of Mississippi sharecroppers. Her heritage forms the foundation for BIG’s course in Grannynomics™, The 8 Principles of Green-Village-Building™ and The Sustainable Square Mile™ which Naomi authored and teaches nationally in community lectures and workshops and at universities. Naomi serves as a bridge and catalyst among communities and their stakeholders in the design and development of green, self-sustaining, mixed-income, walkable-villages within black neighborhoods – so that every household can ultimately walk-to-work, walk-to-shop, walk-to-learn, walk-to-play – and neighbor dollars can circulate locally to help limit greenhouse gasses associated with transportation and manufacturing pollution. She conveys the risks of global warming; the health/wealth opportunities of the new green economy; the power of neighbors to lead in their city’s enviro-economic policy and practice; and the primacy of land ownership.
Blacks in Green: www.blacksingreen.org
Edith Makra
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (630) 327-4193
City: Chicago, Illinois 60607
Bio: Edith Makra directs sustainability initiatives for the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, a coalition of 275 mayors in the greater Chicago region. Makra developed the Greenest Region Compact, a consensus sustainability pledge now adopted by 156 Chicago-area communities, forming the largest regional municipal sustainability collaborative in the US. She has led the creation of the first climate action plan for the Chicago region and is now supports municipalities to engage residents in energy efficiency, community solar, active transportation and is working to prepare local governments for transportation electrification.
Edith worked with public sector energy efficiency programs for 6 years to pass-though $12 million in incentives to more than 180 local governments in the ComEd territory. For the past 3 years, Makra developed pathways to optimize municipal engagement with income-qualified and market rate residential energy efficiency programs with support from the Illinois Science and Innovation Foundation. She also leads the Community Solar Clearinghouse Solutions Program (CS2) bringing community solar benefits to 1400 residents in 24 communities.
The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus represents every environmental justice community in the 7-county metropolitan region plus Rockford and DeKalb. US EPA’s EJ Screen Tool identifies 113 municipalities in this region as having one or more “disadvantaged” census tracts.
Makra previously served as the first environmental advisor to Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and has directed state-wide and regional environmental programs in Illinois and Massachusetts.
She has a B.S. in Forestry from the University of Illinois; an Executive Sustainability Certificate from Harvard University; and is an International Society of Sustainability Professionals –Sustainability Excellence Professional; and is a Climate Change Professional, Certified by the Association of Climate Change Officers.
Metropolitan Mayors Caucus: mayorscaucus.org
Briana Moore
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (815) 774-7893
City: Joliet, Illinois 60432
Bio: Briana Moore is an Energy and Conservation Specialist for the Resource Recovery and Energy Division of the Will County Land Use Department. She improves energy and water efficiency through the design and implementation of Will County’s 2021 Energy and Conservation Plan—benchmarking energy consumption and costs, collaborating with facilities staff to execute County-wide efficiency projects, and coordinating clean energy programs for residents and businesses. Through webinars, in-person events, monthly newsletters, and direct conversations, she promotes accessible solar opportunities and energy efficiency practices with people in and around Will County. She is also a Board Member of Accelerate Climate Solutions, a nonprofit focused on improving local access to clean energy and waste reduction resources.
Prior to these roles, Briana completed the first study of energy consumption and conservation strategies in the campus laboratories of the University of Chicago, where she also advanced other sustainability initiatives and earned her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science in 2020.
Will County: willcounty.gov
Lionel Valencia
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (708) 932-0195
City: Lansing, Illinois 60438
Bio: Trustee Lionel (Leo) Valencia brings a strong combination of professional experience and civic involvement to the IQ-N EE Committee. A Lansing resident since 2001, he and his wife Maria have 5 children. A bilingual speaker, Trustee Valencia served as the Chairperson of the Lansing Human Relations Commission from its inception in 2018 to his appointment to the Village Board in August 2020. He was then elected to a full four-year term in April 2021. He has been instrumental in the implementation of the Solar Solstice and CEDA bill payment programs. Leo has also served as past president of both the Lansing Association of Community Events (LACE) and the Lions Club. He has previously volunteered in other leadership roles in the areas of school band programs, Little League Baseball, and the Boy Scouts. His professional experience includes administrative and director responsibilities in multiple manufacturing environments. Trustee Valencia is the Chair of the Building Department and Public Works Committee and the Co-Chair of the Finance and Insurance Committee.
Village of Lansing: villageoflansing.org
Chester D. Kolodziej
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (815) 621-8004
City: Rockford, Illinois 61104
Bio: Chester Kolodziej, a Co-founder of Sustain Rockford, and leader of the Sustain Rockford Energy committee, would be interested in becoming part of the LEEAC IQ-North Leadership Team. He is a very experienced Energy Implementation leader, and trained by Elevate Energy in what became the Implementation of FEJA. Also, he was the trainer of Sustain Rockford’s Grass Roots Educator in the first year of that program. He is very well known both in the Community and outside for his leadership and in-depth knowledge of the technical and human aspects of current Federal, and State Energy Policies.
He has a combined 20+ Years of Senior Not for Profit Management, with a clear understanding of the value of Governance, Community Support, and Communication.
To be clear, Sustain Rockford wants to be engaged in the Income Qualified EE Working group as our region is not well informed and has little voice though much of its population is Income Qualified. We welcome the opportunity to engage in the working group activities. We have some thoughts in both additional formal and informal community engagement.
Sustain Rockford: sustainrockford.org
IQ-N LT Formation Activities to Date
The IQ-N LT has developed and approved the following formation documents, which are contained in the link below:
Upcoming IQ-N LT Formation Activities
The IQ-N LT is close to finalizing the following formation document:
- Education and Outreach Plan
The IQ-N LT will then complete the following formation activities:
- Finalize 2023 Annual Plan for the remainder of the year
- Establish IQ-N Committee meeting dates for the remainder of the fall
- Review and approve all Education and Outreach grants that IQ-N committee members previously submitted
Membership Application for NEW IQ-N Committee Members
All IQ-N Committee members MUST submit a Membership Application through this LIEEAC website if they have not already done so to be considered an IQ-N Committee member. If your organization is interested in becoming an IQ-N Member, please complete the application in the attached link, and an IQ-N LT Member will reach out to you to confirm you application is complete, and that you have been added to the IQ-N Committee Membership list.
Please note that there are two IQ-N Committee Member applications, one for “Stipend Eligible” and one for “Stipend Ineligible Members.” For further information on whether your organization is “Stipend Eligible” or not, please click here.