Staff | Home Performance Coalition

Keith Aldridge

Chief Executive Officer

Keith Aldridge is the interim President and CEO at HPC. His role is to lead HPC through the current period of transition and consolidation. With over 40 years of experience in the residential energy efficiency industry, Keith is known for bringing diverse people and organizations together to produce innovative, high-impact programs and initiatives. As Team Leader of the Applied Building Science Team at Advanced Energy he oversaw the development of the NC “duct school”, one of the nation’s earliest whole-house diagnostic training programs, helped lead a multi-organizational team that developed and ran Environments for Living, a national industry-based high performance new home program, co-led the team that developed the Standardized Work Specifications for the Low Income Weatherization program (responsible for the group processes at six week-long standards development events, involving over 100 contractors and other experts) and has conducted dozens of facilitated meetings and board retreats for groups including local non-profits, Affordable Comfort, EEBA, HPC, and Efficiency First. Keith served two stints on the board of Affordable Comfort, and as board chair helped lead the merger with the National Home Performance Council to form HPC. Keith has an undergraduate degree from the University of Mississippi and a graduate degree from the University of North Carolina.
Nate Natale

Vice President of Education and Events

Nate Natale is the Vice President of Education and Events at HPC. In this role, he oversees all aspects of the coalition’s conference and education work- including site selection, program development, logistics, fundraising and communications. Nate also convenes, manages, and facilitates stakeholder groups and represents HPC through participation in a variety of external industry groups. He worked in education, both in the classroom and behind the scenes, for a number of years before transitioning to association management. Prior to joining HPC in 2010, Nate spent four years managing many aspects of the conference and continuing education programs of The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society. He earned a B.S. in Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Professional Writing degree from Chatham University.
Kara Saul-Rinaldi

Vice President of Government Affairs & Policy

Kara Saul-Rinaldi is the Vice President of Government Affairs and Policy at HPC. She leads the organization’s public policy and government affairs initiatives and represents HPC’s mission to policymakers and stakeholders through her firm, the AnnDyl Policy Group. With over 20 years of experience in policy and communications strategy and legislative and regulatory experience, Kara has worked for members of Congress, testified before congressional committees and appeared in a variety of media outlets as a leading energy and climate policy expert. Kara has a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, San Diego. Kara continues to author articles on energy policy for trade publications and provide keynote and panel presentations on energy and climate policy.
Julie Caracino

Director of Research & Standards

Julie Caracino is the Director of Research and Standards for the Home Performance Coalition. In this position, Julie directs and implements the organization's research initiatives, including the advancement of data standardization in home performance industry. Julie has been instrumental in establishing the open data standard, HPXML, as the common software language for the industry’s transactions. She also works closely with the real estate and appraisal industries to create a capital market for energy efficiency through the valuation of homes. Prior to joining HPC, Julie was a project manager on the home performance team at NYSERDA, where she led several new initiatives under the state’s new energy policy, Reforming the Energy Vision.
Joe Cullen

Director of Policy & State Outreach

Joe Cullen is the Director of Policy and State Outreach for HPC, engaging state governments and public utility commissions to reform regulatory models and modernize state and local economic development programs to create jobs through energy efficiency initiatives. Cullen is currently leading HPC’s efforts on the National Efficiency Screening Project which is developing a National Standard Practice Manual to provide comprehensive guidance on cost effectiveness screening tests for state and local energy efficiency programs. Cullen previously served as a policy and budget director at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in the Clinton administration and as the Governor’s Policy Director in Pennsylvania under Governor Robert P. Casey. Cullen is a Yale University (Cum Laude 1980) and Georgetown University Law Center (1986) graduate and served in the Jesuit Volunteer Corp. in Piura, Peru from 1980-1982. On April 18, 2016, Cullen completed the 120th Boston Marathon in 3 hours and 53 minutes.
Bethany Dittmar

Director of Conference Education

Bethany Dittmar is the Director of Conference Education at HPC, where she has worked since 2011. She is responsible for the coordination and development of conference agendas, presenter communication, continuing education accreditation, and on-site volunteer activities. Prior to HPC, Bethany worked in real estate, land conservation, sustainability research, and event planning. She has a B.A. in German from Bowdoin College and received a post-graduate Fulbright grant to teach English in northern Germany. She later earned her MBA in Sustainability from Duquesne University where she became passionate about reducing company and building energy uses and improving energy efficiency.
Chris Docchio

Director of Partner Relations

Chris Docchio is the Director of Partner Relations at HPC. He builds strategic alliances and corporate partnerships that increase visibility, enhance businesses and foster new collaborations. He develops, administers and directs the largest trade show in the home performance industry and elevates the conference experience with additional promotional and advertising opportunities. With almost two decades of sales experience and a B.S. in Marketing from Robert Morris University, Chris understands how to provide warm customer service and build corporate partnerships that last.
Gypsy Matlak

Accounting Manager

Gypsy Matlak is the Accounting Manager at HPC. She handles accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll and HR responsibilities. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Management. Previously, Gypsy managed companies in the window, door and sunroom industries. She was also the Business Manager for the Baierl Family YMCA, where she gained her non-profit experience.
Jim Gunshinan

Senior Editor, Home Energy Magazine

Jim Gunshinan is Senior Editor at the Home Performance Coalition. Jim became Managing Editor of Home Energy Magazine in 2000. In 2015 he was named Senior Editor. Jim’s primary responsibility is for the quality and appropriateness of the editorial content of the magazine. He recruits and works closely with authors, supervises the production schedule, and writes articles and blog posts, among other duties. Between February 2007 and August 2012 Jim was a blogger for the QUEST science program at the San Francisco Bay Area’s public broadcasting station KQED. He is the editor of the book, No Regrets Remodeling, Second Edition. In 2015, Jim was elected to the Building Performance Institute’s Building Performance Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement in the Home Performance industry.
Jim holds a BS degree in Materials Science from Notre Dame, where he was a fencer on a team that has won ten National Championships. He did research in the Artificial Heart Lab at Penn State and earned an MS degree in Bioengineering at the university. Jim later returned to pursue a life-long interest in spirituality at Notre Dame, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree. He is a published poet.
Robyn Hall

Customer Service Manager

Robyn Hall is the Customer Service Manager at HPC. She manages HPC’s conference registrations, continuing education credits, and scholarships, and additionally serves as a support to conference education. Robyn previously worked in marketing, public relations, and media advertising sales. She graduated from West Virginia University with a degree in Journalism with a specialty in Advertising. Robyn joined the HPC team in 2010 and has held several roles within the organization.
Maggie Forti

Director of Advertising, Home Energy Magazine

Maggie Forti is the Director of Advertising for Home Energy Magazine at HPC. She welcomes companies involved in residential conservation whose products and services have proven efficiency performance to join a select group and advertise in Home Energy Magazine. With over 18 years experience in print and online publications and networking throughout the country, Maggie has fostered relationships with scores of home performance industry professionals and advertisers. With every collaboration, she promotes each product’s optimum visibility while facilitating each client’s unique advertising goals. Maggie has a passion for people, organizations, and innovations that advance residential energy efficiency and comfort, ensuring a more sustainable future. She has a B.A. in Professional Music from Berklee College of Music and is an accomplished vocalist, songwriter, performing musician, teacher, and recording artist.
Leslie Jackson

Associate Editor and Office Manager, Home Energy Magazine

Leslie Jackson is the Associate Editor and Office Manager for Home Energy Magazine. With over 20 years' experience in writing, editing, and book design, Leslie is passionate about publishing, and has just added a podcast producing to her skill set. Having cut her teeth at Whole Earth Review magazine in the mid-1990s Leslie has worked with the founders of WIRED magazine, and currently helps authors publish their work.
In 2005, she co-authored and self-published the popular manual for building an efficient wood burning stove with its inventor, Ianto Evans. Now in its Third Edition, Rocket Mass Heaters has been translated into six foreign languages and Leslie travels around the world teaching workshops. Leslie has a love for Natural Building, and has covered such topics as the relief efforts after the 2007 earthquake in Haiti, and rebuilding efforts post-Katrina in Home Energy magazine and her personal blog.
Leslie performed the first half of her undergraduate studies in Rhetoric at UC Berkeley. She graduated with a BA from New College of California, as Valedictorian, in 2004.