Synergistic Building Technologies is owned by five of its founders, who, along with members of its board of directors, are each active in the operations of the company. The paragraphs below give brief professional backgrounds of each member of the team. This is followed by backgrounds of members of the Corporate Advisory Committee.

Brad Begin is a Director with Synergistic Building Technologies where his advice on business matters is invaluable. He is also the National Sales Manager for Windows for Serious Materials, the Califormia-based green corporaion that purchased the Alpen Energy Group in 2008.  Brad is the former CEO of Alpen Energy Group, LLC, a Boulder-based fast-growing manufacturer of highly-energy efficient window systems marketed throughout the US. In addition, Brad serves as Managing Director of the Rubicon Company, a regional buyout and investment firm focused on Rocky Mountain-based businesses in the energy efficiency area that show strong growth potential. Prior to co-founding The Rubicon Company, Brad was President of Metalwest, a metal service center engaged primarily in the processing and distribution of flat-rolled metal products in the Western half of the United States. During Brad’s tenure at Metalwest, the company expanded from two to fourteen divisions, primarily through greenfield expansion, growing into one of the premier flat rolled specialists in the country. Brad joined Metalwest in 1994, and following the sale of the company to O'Neal Steel in 1997, continued to run the company as a separate division of O'Neal Steel. Prior to joining Metalwest, Brad practiced law in Dallas, Texas, from 1985 to 1994. (Email BradB@SynergisticBT.com)

Gerald (Gary) Cler is a mechanical engineer who is Vice President of Engineering of Synergistic Building Technologies and is a member of the Board of Directors where he serves as Corporate Secretary. He specializes in energy efficiency, fenestration systems, daylighting, renewable energy, and combined heat and power (CHP) applications. He received an MS in mechanical engineering from Colorado State University and a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois. In addition to his services at SBT, Gary does engineering work on a consulting basis for the Synertech Systems Corporation and for Sunflower Corporation. Gary also served as a mechanical engineer with Encorp, Inc. where he managed the Advanced Technology Group. Prior to that, Gary worked at E Source for five years, where he specialized in distributed generation and CHP technologies and applications, as well as high-efficiency residential and commercial heating and cooling technologies. Gary worked for seven years as a machinist, welder, and fabricator, designing and manufacturing many components for the chemical, agriculture, automotive, mining, and food and beverage industries. Additionally, he worked for his father’s plumbing and heating company for a number of years installing new and retrofit residential heating and cooling systems, as well as installing plumbing and natural gas systems. Gary is a co-inventor of SBT's 146 claim pending US Patent, "System and Method for an Electrical Insulating Shutter System."  (Email GaryC@SynergisticBT.com)

Wyncia Clute is the Chief Administrative Officer and a research fellow with Synergistic Building Technologies. Wyncia holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Kirkland College, a Juris Doctor from the Syracuse University College of Law where she graduated Magna Cum Laude, and a Master’s degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University. A skilled writer and dedicated environmentalist, Wyncia has worked on a variety of energy-efficiency projects and is a co-author of several publications on evaluating appliance efficiency and performing detailed energy audits of a variety of residential and institutional buildings in Indian Country and other locations. In addition, she recently worked to expand the scope of a wind energy project sponsored by Xcel Energy for the Center for Resource Conservation in Boulder. (Email WynciaC@SynergisticBT.com)

Wyncia also owns and operates Wyncia's, a cottage business through which she designs and produces unique bags from remnants, treasured scraps, and found textiles.

John Hutson is a professional in both marketing and electronics design, and serves the Synergistic Building Technologies team as Director of Engineering. He is also a member of the Board of Directors. John holds a BSEE from the University of Rochester and an MBA from Yale. He spent 14 years in electronics design including control and servo systems for high-performance video tape recorders, video signal processing, and GPS receivers. Designs involved board-level work as well as the development of custom ICs. Companies include Ampex, Accom, and Trimble Navigation. All designs were for mass-produced commercial products aimed at both professional and OEM markets. After obtaining an MBA at Yale, he spent the next four years as the product manager for high-end server platforms at Network Appliance. While at Network Appliance he researched, defined, and justified new features and drove their implementation into the product line.

Larry Kinney is the President of Synergistic Building Technologies. He did undergraduate work in Physics and Philosophy at Davidson and Rhodes colleges and holds a PhD in Philosophy from Syracuse University, where his research included Bertrand Russell’s work in developing the foundations of mathematics and logic. Larry has conceived and directed dozens of energy-related energy research, development, and demonstration projects. Active in energy conservation research for over 30 years, he has broad experience in fenestration systems, lighting and daylighting technologies, air handling and conditioning systems, and controls. Larry has authored over 200 publications and reports to clients and is the co-holder of two patents in the daylighting area. He co-founded SBT to help bring sound innovative energy-saving technologies to market. Larry is the principal inventor of SBT's 146 claim pending US Patent, "System and Method for an Electrical Insulating Shutter System." Full resume downloadable here. (Email LarryK@SynergisticBT.com) 

Larry Weingarten is a Design Engineer with Synergistic Building Technologies and is a member of the Board of Directors where he serves as Corporate Treasurer. He has been involved in hot water and energy related work since 1978, primarily through his Monterey, California based company, Elemental Enterprises. Larry has developed a variety of tools and methods for maintaining water heaters and has co-authored a book on the topic. He has also co-authored articles on hot water, energy, and plumbing, and frequently conducts workshops on these subjects. Larry lives in a highly-efficient off-grid solar home he designed and built whose radiantly-heated wall systems and daylighting fenestration techniques represent the state of the art in near-zero energy homes. (Email LarryW@synergisticBT.com)

Advisory Committee

In addition to its core staff, Synergistic Building Technologies enjoys sound advice from a growing group of experienced, dedicated professionals in the energy efficiency field. Brief backgrounds of six key members of the advisory committee follow:

Todd Bergeson is the President and principal designer of XCEL Outsourcing, a Boulder-based integrated product development and manufacturing company that supplies mechanical and electrical design services as well as prototyping and manufacturing services. He did undergraduate work in physics and mathematics at the University of Minnesota and graduate studies in solid state physics at the University of California at Davis. Todd’s interests center on the practical application of science and engineering leading to hi-tech product development. After nearly 20 years of engineering and management experience, half at Fortune 500 companies, Todd has been responsible for developing over 40 products of which millions exemplars have been sold. Through XCEL Outsourcing, Todd enjoys helping small and medium size businesses take their ideas from concept to shipping products. XCEL Outsourcing’s products cover a broad spectrum from high-end encryption and security products to smart traffic signals that ease congestion. Xcel is helping SBT in developing automated energy saving shutters. Todd is a co-inventor of SBT's 146 claim pending US Patent, "System and Method for an Electrical Insulating Shutter System." (Email ToddB@xceloutsourcing.com)

Bryan Bowen is the owner and principal architect with Bryan Bowen Architects, P.C., a Boulder-based firm specializing in green building design, both new and retrofit. He received his architecture degree from Carnegie Mellon and is licensed in Colorado, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and Utah. He has been extensively involved in the design of homes and community centers in co-housing projects from Alaska to Missouri, many of which are net-zero consuming buildings. Bryan lived in a passive solar home in his youth, presently lives in a co-housing community in the Boulder area he helped to design, and has published in the area sustainable communities. He teaches the Green Building Course in the Environmental Studies Department at Naropa University. (Email Bryan@bryanbowenarchitects.com)

Eric Doub is the founder and president of Ecofutures Building, Inc, a Boulder-based firm specializing in green building construction and rehabilitation. After graduating from Stanford University with a combined major in Engineering and Political Science in 1988, Eric returned to Boulder to become active in the Boulder building community. With over 15 years experience in homebuilding, Eric helped formulate the City of Boulder's Green Points Remodeling Program and is a founding member of the Boulder Green Building Guild. Widely acknowledged as an expert in all areas of green building, Eric is a regular contributor to numerous leading green building publications, conferences, and advisory committees. Ecofutures is the leading construction firm in the state in the construction and rehabilitation of genuinely net zero energy consuming homes. (Email ericdoub@ecofuturesbuilding.com)

George Marinakis is a practicing patent attorney (a member of the Massachusetts bar) who has broad intellectual interests in mathematics and philosophy along with a PhD in Biology from the University of New Mexico. In addition to his patent work, his professional experience includes 4½ years in aerospace (operations and system engineering), 1½ years in Information Technology, 7½ years in scientific research, and 3 years in civil litigation. He has recently worked quite creatively with two members of SBT’s core team to forge a strong patent application for an active solar lighting system; he proved to be a fast study, excellent researcher, who produces very fine work. George is also the President of Research and Design, Incorporated, an organization that treats design problems systematically with a strong focus on ecological viability. He edits and contributes to the Journal of Sustainability, a quarterly available at www.radi.ws.  George served as he patent attorney in developing SBT's 146 claim pending US Patent, "System and Method for an Electrical Insulating Shutter System." (Email george@radi.ws)




Ross McCluney recently retired as a  principal research scientist at the Florida Solar Energy Center, a research institute of the University of Central Florida. Ross specializes in window energy performance and daylighting systems, both optical design and performance evaluation. He holds BA, MS, and PhD degrees in physics and has worked in the fields of optics, daylighting, and fenestration systems for over three decades. He chaired the fenestration technical committee of ASHRAE and has served as a technical consultant for the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) for many years. Ross has worked on a number of projects with Larry Kinney and other members of the team over the last 25 years. He is the author of over 60 technical papers on a variety of subjects (click for references). His textbook, Introduction to Radiometry and Photometry, is widely used in graduate courses in optics. He is also author and editor, respectively, of two textbooks, Humanity’s Environmental Future, and Getting to the Source, the latter being an anthology of essays by prominent environmental writers on environmental values. (Email rossm@synertechsystemscorp.com)

Ed Sanders is the founding partner of both Sanders International and Eco Tourism International. Sanders International specializes in preparing economic analyses, feasibility studies, business plans, and investment proposals for a variety of sustainable development, environmental, clean energy, and ecosystem services market development ventures. Eco Tourism International provides similar services to developers of ecotourism projects. Ed did the business planning for and is a partner in a world-class, 13,000-acre conservation and ecotourism project in Belize and is a frequent speaker and writer on ecotourism issues. He is the former President and COO of Sears World Trade’s international consulting subsidiary. Ed also served as Associate Director of the President’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Staff Director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Yale University and attended the Advanced Management Program of the Harvard Business School. (Email ed_sanders@comcast.net)