2025 Annual Update for Certified Energy Managers (CEM®) Training Program | Virtual

Dr. Eric Woodroof has trained thousands of professionals, who are now saving billions in avoided energy expenses and global pollution. He continually learns from working with these professionals, and he brings this collective knowledge back to his clients and students during his seminars and keynotes.

Dr. Woodroof has over 100 publications and also serves as Chairman of the Energy Management Professional Council. He has received Department of Energy Awards and is the youngest member ever inducted into two separate Hall of Fames related to Energy Engineering.

Mr. Puskar is a licensed professional engineer practicing in the energy world for over 40 years. He is a nationally recognized industrial energy expert. Mr. Puskar’s experiences in the industrial world have focused on fuels and combustion equipment. His knowledge and experiences include essential topics for the United States and its energy future, including being part of standards committees for LNG (liquified natural gas), fuel gas codes, boilers, industrial ovens and furnaces, and wastewater treatment plants. Mr. Puskar has performed over 200 energy audits in facilities ranging from refineries and chemical plants to steel plants, paper mills, and auto manufacturing facilities.

Mr. Puskar’s global experiences have provided a unique perspective of the role of energy in more than 20 countries. Mr. Puskar has authored natural gas policy documents for the State of Israel. Mr. Puskar has conducted energy and resource audits in Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, Spain, and many others. He was invited to speak on energy-related topics at the 6th China Process Safety Symposium in Qingdao, China.

Mr. Puskar is an energy innovator. He has a patent for making ammonia process plants more efficient. His designs and projects, including replacing industrial coal plants with decentralized natural gas systems, have won numerous awards. The Association of Energy Engineers provided Mr. Puskar with their “Legends in Energy Award” in 2019 to recognize his lifetime of energy achievements. In 2014 the American Society of Mechanical Engineers provided him with their national Uzgiris-Barnett Award Medal for his lifetime of safety innovations in the energy world.

Mr. Puskar is an energy educator. He has developed the AEE (Association for Energy Engineers) and CIEP (Certified Industrial Energy Practitioner) certification courses. He has often delivered this course to iconic American companies and their staff, such as Goodyear. Mr. Puskar has trained thousands in energy conservation practices throughout the United States and other countries.

Mr. Puskar holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio, and a master's degree in business from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. In addition to these, Mr. Puskar is a Certified Energy Manager and a Certified Industrial Energy Practitioner. Mr. Puskar is also a licensed professional engineer in 6 states. Mr. Puskar has other energy-related credentials, such as being a certified infrared thermographer, demand-side management expert, and certified cogeneration professional.

Mr. Puskar's company he started and later sold after 30 years, “CEC Combustion Services,” provided industrial combustion systems retrofits throughout every significant industry operated in the modern world. He has been in and out of over 300 industrial facilities in 20 countries for this work. He holds contractor trade licenses for electrical, mechanical, refrigeration, hydronics, plumbing, boiler installation, and fire protection installation and servicing. Mr. Puskar can uniquely identify what is and is not practical in the “real world” of industry and manufacturing. Although a skilled engineer, Mr. Puskar's perspectives are not based on theory. Instead, his perspectives are also based on real-world projects, technology implementation, and execution, where he was directly accountable for results.

Mr. Puskar is a prolific author in the energy world. Wiley and Sons published his FUELS AND COMBUSTION EQUIPMENT SAFETY book in 2014. In addition to this, has authored more than 100 journal and magazine articles and has presented at more than 100 conferences and training workshops over the past 40 years. Mr. Puskar’s work has been published in many peer-reviewed publications and journals, including for ASME, NFPA, AEE, ASPE, and AIChE. Mr. Puskar shares his knowledge freely for the betterment of humanity and the engineering profession.

Thomas Wenning is a program manager for industrial energy efficiency at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Mr. Wenning manages ORNL’s domestic and international industrial energy efficiency technology assistance and deployment activities. He supports the DOE’s Better Buildings, Better Plants and Better Climate Challenge programs by providing industrial sites with technical assistance activities, energy assessments and training, and energy management guidance. In addition, Mr. Wenning manages is leading the DOE’s effort to modernize their energy-system software tool suite and associated training resources. The chief of these is the open-source MEASUR and VERIFI software suites which is helping industry achieve millions of dollars in energy savings. Finally, Mr. Wenning has led numerous international industrial energy efficiency workshops, trainings, and assessments on behalf of the DOE.

Steve Kromer is an energy efficiency consultant, focusing on energy savings verification (Program Evaluation and M&V) and energy efficiency data management systems. Mr. Kromer holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech. He was a senior engineer at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (where he is currently a guest researcher) and a director at Enron Energy Services.  Mr. Kromer currently consults internationally on M&V implementation and training.

Mr. Kromer’s focus is on the data, tools and processes to quantify the results of energy efficiency investments. Since the inception of the IPMVP, Mr. Kromer has maintained leadership positions within the IPMVP, EVO and AEE/CMVP committees and boards. He is committed to the vision of a world where the tools, resources and skills to perform M&V are standardized and ubiquitous.

Mr. Kromer seeks to fulfill that vision by remaining up to date on the latest developments in M&V and energy modeling. He teaches courses on M&V at all levels and serves on several current EVO committees and other industry working groups (ASHRAE 14, UMP, ANSI).

Mr. Kromer was on the original consulting team that assisted the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) when the state moved energy efficiency evaluation (EM&V) functions to that agency. He continued to consult to the CPUC as an advisor for almost 10 years. In that time Mr. Kromer originated the Engineering Working Group, the Uncertainty Working Group and the data management team that went on the create the current reporting tools.

Mr. Kromer recently contributed to the Department of Energy’s Open Efficiency Initiative where he focused on identifying and addressing barriers to the adoption of advanced energy modeling and analysis tools.  Mr. Kromer applies his skills with energy modeling and data management to numerous other jobs, including a large new construction project on a California university campus, the development of an ESCO in the Middle East (World Bank).

Albert is a freelance independent energy engineer who has instructed over180 training courses on Energy Management, Energy Auditing, Pump-, andCompressed Air -Systems. He has 18 years' experience, has conducted over 220energy audits (incl. 90 compressed air audits), and has travelled and worked inover 40 countries.He has contributing in developing the CEM®, CEA™, CIEP™ (lead developer), and20 other energy training courses. He is a training instructor for the AEE®,UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization), IEPA in Sub-SaharanAfrica, Econoler in Canada, a few organizations in the Middle-East, theBalkans, Denmark, South Asia, and most recently, the World Bank.

Albert is the author of the "Industrial Energy SystemsHandbook", he has won various international energy engineering awards, heholds 4 UNIDO qualifications, 9 AEE® certifications, he serves on the GlobalGuidance Committee of the AEE®, and he is an AEE® lifetime member.

Mr. Costello is the President of Acela Energy Group, an energy consulting group specializing in energy procurement, load management, as well as, energy conservation training, auditing, and on-site wind & solar generation projects. Rich has extensive experience in the fields of load management, utility services, energy conservation, as well as power, natural gas, and tariff related negotiations and agreements. 

Mr. Costello is also President of Acela Thermal Energy (ATE), a Refrigeration and HVAC energy service division of Acela Energy Group specializing in mechanical & thermal energy conservation measures as well as implementation of Ecopilot AI on building HVAC Control Systems. ATE provides energy services to Commercial, Governmental, Retail, Institutional, and Industrial Customers, as well as ESCO’s and Utilities across the country.

Rich is a registered professional engineer and was previously the Power Supply Manager for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, as well as a Senior Engineer in the Load Management Department of Boston Edison (Eversource). He holds a M.S. in Engineering Management from Western New England College and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Northeastern University.  Mr. Costello also conducts the following Energy Certification Courses nationwide for the Association of Energy Engineers: CEM, CEA, BEP, & CEP. Rich was the International President of the Association for the Year 2000 and received the 2003 Energy Professional of the Year Award from the organization.  In 2006, Richard was inducted into the Energy Managers Hall of Fame.