Ken Smith

Senior Advisor to the Board

Ken Smith, PE, MBA, is the senior advisor to the board at District Energy St. Paul. Recognized globally for his leadership in community and campus scale energy systems, Ken is actively engaged in industry, policy, and academic forums addressing the transformation of our energy system and is a frequent speaker nationally and internationally.

Ken worked globally in the engineering and construction industry for over 20 years, planning, designing and implementing highly reliable energy projects, including central plants, microgrids, datacenters, and other mission critical facilities for advanced tech industry, campuses, international airports, and US Department of Defense. Ken has served as board chair for the International District Energy Association (IDEA), the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, the Midwest Renewable Energy Tracking System (M-RETS), and the electric vehicle startup company, Zeus Electric Chassis. He also served on the board of directors for the Corporate Council for Metropolitan State University. He currently serves on the board of directors for St. Paul Downtown Alliance and on the board of trustees of the Science Museum of Minnesota as vice chair. He has also been a fellow of the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment since 2016. Since 2012, Ken has participated in the energy policy exchange between Germany and the State of Minnesota and is cofounder of the highly successful Climate Smart Municipalities exchange with Germany. In 2022, Ken was awarded the Norman R. Taylor Award by IDEA for his leadership and lifelong commitment to energy efficiency and sustainable energy solutions.

Leadership

Luke Gaalswyk

President, Chief Executive Officer

Andrew Kasid

Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

Michael Auger

Senior Vice President, Chief Business Officer

Mike Burns

Operations

Pam Sarne

Accounting

Steve Rambeck

Director of Business Development

Jenae Batt

Director of Marketing and Public Relations

Tom Thomalla, Jr.

Information Systems

Board of Directors

Heidi Conrad

Heidi Conrad

Chairperson
Ken Peterson

Ken Peterson

VICE-CHAIRPERSON
Beverly Jones Heydinger

Beverly Jones Heydinger

Heide Kempf-Schwarze

Eric Krause

Kelly Lange

Tony Poole

Pat Wolf

Pat Wolf

Ken Smith

Senior Advisor to the Board

Bill Buth

Bill Buth

Director Emeritus
George Fremder

George Fremder

Director Emeritus
Former Mayor, George Latimer

George Latimer

Director Emeritus
Robert Lowe

Robert Lowe

Director Emeritus
Barbara Lukermann

Barbara Lukermann

Director Emerita
Susan Sands

Susan Sands

Director Emerita
Bernard St. Peter

Bernard St. Peter

Director Emeritus
John Taylor

John Taylor

DIRECTOR EMERITUS