Bonnie Reese, a graduate student in the University of Vermont Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, has received UVM's 2017-2018 Thomas J. Votta Fund for the Environment Award.
A PhD student in natural resources, Bonnie first worked with Dr. Jennie Stephens (now at Northeastern University) and currently works with Rubenstein School Professor Jon Erickson to explore ways to use entrepreneurship and innovation to help the U.S. energy system transition to sustainable sources of electric power. She is also earning a Certificate in Complex Systems as a trainee with the UVM Integrative Graduate Education and Training (IGERT) program funded by the National Science Foundation in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories.
“By engaging with an interdisciplinary team of faculty and students I am learning about the complex role that innovation plays in the energy industry,” said Bonnie, whose extensive background in business, psychology and entrepreneurship provides a unique contribution to the development of environmental best practices. “Ultimately, I hope to drive change in the power industry, encouraging new technological innovation to solve some of the world’s most important problems.”
Originally from Concord, Massachusetts, Bonnie received her BS in psychology from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut and took a job as a field relationship associate with Citigroup Private Bank in San Francisco, where she advanced to a level of vice president in 2007. She then earned her MBA from Babson College’s Olin School of Business in Wellesley, Massachusetts in 2011. While at Babson, she co-founded Radius Tracking Systems and used RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) technology to track linen loss for the largest laundry service in New England.
After moving to Vermont in 2013, Bonnie worked with businesses and organizations in the Burlington area, including Logic Supply, IrisVR, GameTheory, and the Vermont Center for Emerging Technology. She applied her background in business development and entrepreneurship to help companies introduce new technologies, grow product lines, and manage funding and partnerships.
After a decade in the business world, Bonnie returned to school to increase the impact of her career and to address the catastrophic environmental changes she was witnessing. She chose to focus her research on the energy industry because energy generation is the largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. Inspired by former Rubenstein School professor Jennie Stephens and her work to facilitate a transition from fossil fuel-based energy to renewable energy, Bonnnie applied to UVM's Graduate College.
She is investigating how to involve residential customers in programs to lower energy consumption during times of peak demand, a key step in transitioning to renewable energy. She plans to leverage engagement strategies from the video gaming industry to spur participation and community involvement in energy curtailment programs. Her research will compare the effectiveness of price-based demand response programs to “gamified-demand” response programs.
“Upon completion of my degree program, I plan to engage in hands-on work with renewable energy entrepreneurs and investors and take a targeted, focused approach to improving environmental best practice,” she said.
Like Bonnie, Thomas Votta (UVM ’89) held interests closely tied to practical environmental problem solving. He advanced environmental best practices to drive sustainable action among a wide range of companies, institutions, and agencies. Following Mr. Votta’s death, the fund was established by Charles Walker (Thomas' life partner), family, and friends to provide graduate students the opportunity to make a difference in solving environmental problems using environmental best practices as driving forces to meet this goal.
Each year, the Thomas J. Votta Award is given to a UVM graduate student from either the Grossman School of Business, the College of Engineering and Mathematics, or the Rubenstein School. Past Rubenstein School recipients of the award include Courtney Hammond Wagner (PhD ‘16), Sam Parker (PhD ‘17), Julie Nash (PhD '15), Chester Harvey (MS '14), and Laura Yayac (MS '14).