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Dr. Walz has been a faculty member at Madison Area Technical College since 2003, teaching science, engineering, and renewable energy technology. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin in Environmental Chemistry and Technology, while conducting electrochemical research on lithium-ion batteries with Argonne National Laboratory and Rayovac. Dr. Walz is an alumnus of the Department of Energy Academies Creating Teacher Scientists Program at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and he has also worked as a visiting scientist with the University of Rochester Center for Photo-Induced Charge Transfer.

Dr. Walz is the Director and Principal Investigator for the CREATE Energy Center funded by the National Science Foundation to advance academic programs and provide faculty professional development in energy technology. He is a recipient of the Association of Community College Trustees Faculty Member Award, has been recognized as Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, as Energy Educator of the Year by the Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education, and as Clean Energy Educator of the Year by RENEW Wisconsin.

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Andrew McMahan is the Chair for the Department of Sustainability at Central Carolina Community College in Pittsboro, North Carolina. He has been with CCCC since 2006 serving as a curriculum developer and instructor prior to taking the position as Department Chair. Andrew also served as the Director for the North Carolina Community College System’s Energy Curriculum Improvement Project (Energy CIP) from 2010 to 2012.

Andrew is currently involved in two National Science Foundation funded projects. He serves as the Principle Investigator for a National Science Foundation project focused on training technicians for jobs in High Performance Construction trades. He is also a Co-Principle Investigator for the CREATE (Center for Renewable Energy Advanced Technological Education) Resource Center.

He is also the owner of a small hydroelectric power company located on the Haw River in Chatham County, NC.

Andrew is a graduate of Appalachian State University with a degree in Environmental Policy & Land Use Planning.

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Mrs. Temple is the Project Manager for the National Science Foundation Center for Renewable Energy Advanced Technological Education (CREATE) and the Co-PI on the National Science Foundation Energy Storage Project (ESP) at Madison Area Technical College in Wisconsin. She has spent the last nine years as the Project Manager for the National Science Foundation CREATE Center at College of the Canyons in California, and has more than fifteen years’ experience working on NSF grants. During her time as Project Manager for CREATE, Mrs. Temple coordinated three successful international projects funded through NSF to explore the renewable energy achievements in Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Virgin Islands and Germany. Mrs. Temple started her career in the private sector in accounting and finance before coming to College of the Canyons. Mrs. Temple earned her B.A. in Communications with an emphasis in Public Relations at California State University Bakersfield and a M.A. in Strategic Communications from National University. In addition to her grant administration duties, Mrs. Temple is an Instructor in Communication Studies at College of the Canyons in California.

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Kathleen Alfano has a Ph.D. from UCLA in Higher Education with a cognate in administration and evaluation. Her B.S. is in chemistry and she worked as an analytical chemist in industry before pursuing a career in education. She served as founder and Director of the California Consortium for Engineering Advances in Technological Education (CREATE) based at College of the Canyons from 1996 to 2016. At College of the Canyons she is a Professor Emeritus and also served as Dean of Professional Programs and Academic Computing. She currently acts as an Educational Administrator/co-PI for the CREATE NSF ATE National Energy Center (DUE 2201631) and co-PI of an ATE workshop/mentoring program now in its sixth year (Mentor Up DUE 2032835). Dr. Alfano served as a Program Director at the National Science Foundation and co-lead of the ATE program in 2007-2008 and was the only community college representative on the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Workforce Trends in the U.S. Energy and Mining Industries which released their report in March 2013.

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