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Lisa Frantzis, CMC Board Member

Can you tell us a little bit about your professional background?
When I was eleven, I visited some relatives in a remote mountain village in Crete, Greece and saw that they had no electricity and was shocked by their living conditions. That trip must have stuck with me as an issue that needed to be addressed, because I originally went to Wesleyan University planning to be a music major. However, a visionary professor who worked with Buckminster Fuller got me excited about clean energy technologies and holistic energy planning back in the late 70’s and I was hooked! Renewable energy technologies and passive solar design along with energy efficiency seemed like such a reasonable, natural solution.

I received a two-month fellowship at the United Nations right out of college helping with alternative energy in developing country markets. I then landed a job at Arthur D. Little consulting in clean energy and have been consulting in the sector ever since, at Navigant Consulting leading their renewable and distributed energy segment and now at Guidehouse as a partner leading decarbonization strategies.

I decided to shake things up about 10 years ago when I went to work as a senior managing director at Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), a national business association focusing on transforming public policy to ensure a clean, secure and affordable energy future. Since February, I went back to consulting four days a week. I love the pace of consulting and being on the cutting edge, but my time at AEE provided insights into the importance of policy and energy regulations. In the early 80’s most people in the renewable energy field were considered “tree huggers/environmentalists,” but finally it is now mainstream. It is exciting to see the clean energy transformation unfolding … I just wish it hadn’t taken so long!

How did you learn about CMC Energy Services?
I have been on the board of the Northeast Clean Energy Council for almost 10 years. Steve Cowell and Tina Bennett are both on the board with me and I learned about the excellent work of CMC Energy Services through both of them, and through my work.

What interests you the most about CMC and its vision and values?
For many years the focus on clean energy and energy efficiency has been mainly about cost savings and technology cost reductions, which are critical, but there was little focus on how to target disadvantaged communities. Doris Ikle was ahead of her time in the late 70’s establishing a mission of: “energy savings to America’s neediest families” and I am passionate about helping to fulfill this critical mission.

I have also respected Tina’s work in energy efficiency and am excited by the opportunity to work with her, as well as Mimi, Eileen, and others on the board along with the CMC staff to grow the company for even greater impact toward Ms. Ikle’s mission. I believe in the core CMC values such as “You Before I”, “Bringing the Energy (Creating a Joyful Workplace)”, “Nurturing Our Planet” that built a critical foundation for growth, impact and a healthy work environment. My career has likewise focused on the vision set by CMC e.g., to create a more livable and sustainable planet for all.

 

Lisa, Ophelia and Luke in Greece.

What do you do in your free time?
I like to be with friends and family enjoying the outdoors. I started a family late in life with my partner of 23 years who founded an organization called Partners In Health (a non-profit that delivers healthcare to the world’s poorest places). We have a 15-year-old who loves to row and during COVID we got a rescue pup, so a lot of my non-work time is spent with my partner, our son, and our dog Coco, as well as my mother who is 88 and lives two hours away in Connecticut and extended family in the surrounding area.

 

Do you have any hidden talents you’d like to share?
I played the piano for many years when I was younger, but recently have started taking guitar lessons. I love music and dance, and I am also on the board of a music group called Rumbarroco (Latin-Baroque Fusion) and La Donna Musicale (Early Music by women composers). I don’t play in the group but live vicariously through their performances.

As a sports crazy company, what teams do you support?
I love playing sports, but don’t really track sports until the Super Bowl or World Series. I am a New England Patriots fan and then outside of that often root for the underdog to win.

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