FY24 A.I. New Building Stretch Codes

Joanne Bissetta is the Director of the Green Communities Division at the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources. She started at DOER in 2009 as a Regional Coordinator, working directly with municipal officials and volunteers on Green Communities Designation and clean energy projects, and was named Director in 2022. She possesses over two decades of local and state government experience, having worked at MassDEP, the Town of Concord, and City of Cambridge. Joanne earned a BS in communications at Emerson College and a MA in Urban and Environmental Policy at Tufts University. When not working, you can find her in the garden, on her bike, or tending to her backyard chickens.

Ken Wertz is the Executive Director for the National School Plant Management Association (NSPMA). Through the sharing of knowledge and resources, members are able to improve the performance and extend the life of our public facilities.  Members take great pride in providing a safe, healthy, and sustainable learning environment for the staff and students who use the buildings that we maintain.

Ken is a nationally recognized presenter while also serves and supports the following groups:

• - Member of the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s (MSBA) Designer Selection Panel
• - Massachusetts Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Reopening Site Support Team
• - MAZE (Massachusetts Achieving Zero Energy)

Prior to coming on board as the E.D. for the NSPMA, Ken served as the Executive Director for the Massachusetts Facilities Administrators Association (MFAA) and Director of Maintenance and Operations for the Sharon Public Schools in Sharon, MA for 18 years.  He has worked in construction and maintenance roles throughout his professional career, in both the private and public sectors as a licensed plumber, licensed construction supervisor, and as the Director of Maintenance.