SEM Collaborative Articles and Insights

Strengthening Our Working Groups

Kim Crossman — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 19:21:39 GMT

This 2025 evaluation reflects SEMC’s deep commitment to learning, collaboration, and shared leadership. Drawing on feedback from Working Group Leads and participants across five active groups, the report highlights how members come together to explore emerging topics, share best practices, and build meaningful professional relationships. Participants consistently named topic relevance, peer connection, and collective problem-solving as key benefits, underscoring the power of community-driven work within SEMC.

The findings also offer thoughtful guidance for the future. By examining participation patterns, satisfaction levels, and the reach of Working Group efforts, the report helps strengthen the foundation for continued growth and improvement. These insights support Working Group Leads, inform SEMC leadership, and reinforce a culture of reflection and mutual support that keeps our community responsive, inclusive, and impactful.

To read the full report, click here: 2025 SEMC Working Groups Participation, Satisfaction and Reach
Credit: KIM CROSSMAN, SEMC WORKING GROUPS COMMITTEE

Save the Date: 2026 Quarterly Member Roundtables Announced

SEM Collaborative — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Exclusive member forums for learning, collaboration, and insight.

The Strategic Energy Management Collaborative (SEM Collaborative, or "SEMC") is pleased to announce the dates for our 2026 Quarterly Member Roundtables, a core opportunity for members to connect, learn, and collaborate throughout the year.

Our Quarterly Member Roundtables bring together utilities, implementers, researchers, and partners from across North America for timely, peer-driven conversations on strategic energy management. Each session is designed to share practical insights, highlight emerging trends, and create space for open exchange on the challenges and opportunities shaping SEM programs.

Throughout the year, our QMRs will explore topics such as innovation, program practice, evaluation trends, Summit planning, and year-end peer learning. These sessions also provide a forum for members to engage directly with SEMC leadership, influence program priorities, and strengthen professional networks.

Dates and Topic Themes

Thursday, March 26th | 11AM PST | 2PM EST: Peer Challenges, Risks, and Operational Concerns
Thursday, June 25th | 11AM PST | 2PM EST: Innovation & 2026 Summit Preview
Thursday, September 24th | 11AM PST | 2PM EST: Program Practice, Evaluation Trends, & 2026 Summit Recap
Wednesday, November 18th | 11AM PST | 2PM EST: Year-End Peer Exchange

We encourage all members and partners to save these dates and plan to join us for meaningful, collaborative discussions that support continuous improvement and shared impact.

Additional details, agendas, and registration information will be shared soon!

Want to attend?

These webinars are limited to members of the SEM Collaborative. To learn more about the Collaborative, or to become a member, visit: https://semhub.com/nasemc

Contact

For more information, we encourage you to sign up for our monthly Newsletter or email our Executive Director, Krystal Marx.

Krystal Marx Named Executive Director of SEM Collaborative

SEM Collaborative — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 21:00:00 GMT

Collaborative to Benefit from Proven Nonprofit Leader with Extensive Experience in Volunteer Engagement and Building Strategic Partnerships

The Strategic Energy Management (SEM) Collaborative (SEMC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Krystal Marx as Executive Director. Marx brings extensive nonprofit leadership experience, with a proven track record of transforming organizations through strategic growth, stakeholder engagement, and innovative coalition building.

About Krystal Marx

LinkedIn | Krystal Marx is a dynamic, results-oriented leader dedicated to community empowerment and mission-driven organizational excellence. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated an exceptional ability to build coalitions, foster collaborative relationships across diverse stakeholder groups, and guide organizations through periods of significant transformation.

Most recently, Marx served as Executive Director at Real Change Homelessness Empowerment Project in Seattle, where she led comprehensive program alignment, championed anti-oppression initiatives, and secured $190,000 in rapid funding within three weeks during a critical fiscal period.

Prior to Real Change, Marx served as the inaugural Executive Director of Seattle Pride from October 2019 to November 2022, where she transformed a volunteer-run organization into a professionally staffed operation with sustainable infrastructure.

Marx's additional experience includes serving as Vice President of Business Operations for the Seattle Seawolves and Director of Operations for the Washington State Democrats. She also served as City Councilmember and Deputy Mayor for the City of Burien from 2018 to 2021, where she provided strategic leadership on policy development, budget management, and community engagement initiatives.

Marx is particularly drawn to the strategic energy management (SEM) field because she sees the critical need for large corporate sectors to be involved in energy management and environmental sustainability. While new to the SEM industry specifically, her extensive experience in nonprofit leadership, coalition building, and member engagement positions her to effectively serve SEMC's diverse community and membership base across the energy efficiency sector.

Standout Skills for SEMC Leadership

The SEMC Board and hiring task force selected Marx following a comprehensive search process that included multiple interview rounds, reference checks, and thorough background verification. Marx matched our ideal candidate with a score of 86/100 after her first interview alone, and showed particular strength in areas critical to SEMC's success as it moves to a new stage of organizational development and support for the SEM community:

Strategic Thinking and Planning: Marx has consistently demonstrated the ability to assess organizational systems, identify quick wins, and develop realistic growth plans that balance immediate needs with long-term sustainability.

Stakeholder Management and Partnership Building: With experience working across all sides of the political spectrum and managing relationships with diverse community groups, corporate partners, government entities, and volunteers, Marx understands the importance of identifying mutual benefits and communicating results effectively.

Volunteer Management: Marx has extensive experience recruiting, engaging, and retaining volunteers, recognizing that volunteers thrive when their time is respected, their contributions are valued, and they receive both public and private recognition for their efforts.

Change Management: Marx has successfully guided multiple organizations through significant transitions, from building professional infrastructure in grassroots organizations to navigating funding challenges and maintaining mission focus during periods of uncertainty.

Communication and Public Presence: Marx is comfortable serving as the public face of an organization, engaging with media, and representing organizational interests to diverse audiences. She has created comprehensive communication strategies including newsletters reaching over 10,000 community members.

Looking Ahead

In her interviews with the SEMC search committee, Marx articulated a thoughtful approach to her first six months in the role. She emphasized the importance of building strong relationships with board members, volunteers, and SEMC members; assessing current systems for consistency and accessibility; identifying quick wins for member and SEM community engagement; and developing a realistic growth plan informed by those who have been involved with the organization. She understands the importance of maintaining SEMC's collaborative culture and sense of community while supporting the organization's evolution from a grassroots industry collaborative into a mature, professionally managed organization.

About SEMC

The Strategic Energy Management Collaborative (SEMC) is a member-driven organization dedicated to accelerating the adoption of Strategic Energy Management (SEM) by energy efficiency programs and energy end users, while enhancing the effectiveness of SEM offerings across North America. SEMC provides leadership, strategic direction, and resources to advance the implementation of SEM practices that help organizations systematically identify and reduce energy waste through continuous improvement frameworks.

Marx officially began her role as Executive Director on December 9th, 2025.

California SEM M and V Guide

SEM Collaborative — Mon, 18 Aug 2025 16:15:00 GMT

Measurement and Verification, or M&V, is a key piece of strategic energy management. California as a state is leading many initiatives and producing key resources, which can be browsed here.

Released in July 2025, the California SEM M&V Guide Version 4.0 provides the methodology for calculating energy savings at a facility-level.

Get the Guide

This guide is a companion to the California SEM Program 3-Cycle Design Guide first released in June 2022.

An Animated Overview of SEM

SEM Collaborative — Tue, 11 Feb 2025 15:45:00 GMT

Strategic Energy Management (SEM) provides organizations with a comprehensive approach to energy management that will achieve sustainable energy and cost savings over the long-term.

Through continuous business process and energy performance improvements, along with organizational culture change, SEM can help your organization reduce energy use by up to 15 per cent and achieve greater saving from capital projects. We can help implement SEM within your organization, facilitating all the components necessary to develop a complete Strategic Energy Management Plan such as energy mapping, monitoring and reporting, employee training and support for employee engagement activities.

Source: Efficiency Nova Scotia

How to Form an Energy Team

Better Bricks — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 14:45:00 GMT

Understand the benefits of forming an energy team, including diversified knowledge and building enthusiasm. This course will help energy managers learn who should be on the team, their roles, common energy team tasks and resources necessary to be successful.

Source: Better Bricks

How to Write an Energy Policy

Better Bricks — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 22:45:00 GMT

An energy policy is a formal plan that helps your organization pursue a high-performance energy portfolio. This course walks through the process of creating an energy policy and provides examples of proven policies implemented by successful organizations.

Source: Better Bricks

How to Get and Record Energy Data

Better Bricks — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 20:00:00 GMT

This course takes users through the process of finding, understanding and recording energy data from bills and other sources. It provides tips for organizing data, and an introduction to recording energy baselines used to measure progress.

Source: Better Bricks

Step-by-Step Savings: Implementing a Compressed Air Leak Program

Better Bricks — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 13:30:00 GMT

This course presents practical information and tools for applying this operations and maintenance best practice at your facility.

Repairing air leaks and establishing a regular protocol for identifying and repairing new leaks as they occur is an operations and maintenance best practice that can save money on energy and maintenance costs and generate additional benefits such as improved reliability, safety, and return on investment.

Source: Better Bricks

Related resource: Leak Tag Template