Charles Newborn

Charles now serves as the Vice President of Operations overseeing the management of all of SEEL's energy programs. At the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Charles directed all aspects of the State of Minnesota's $54 Million Federal Low-Income Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). In that capacity, he implemented programs on a statewide basis ensuring local compliance with State and Federal legal requirements. He also supervised key Department of Commerce staff in the analysis and evaluation of service providers across the State of Minnesota with a priority on ensuring the proper use of federal taxpayer dollars in order to prevent waste fraud or abuse.

A Six Sigma Yellow Belt, Charles designed and deployed a grantee contract project tracking system to allow for more effective project activity and budget management. He lead an internal program manual development initiative which included creating standard operation procedure guides, job aides, process flow diagrams, and best practice video tutorials. He also developed an integrated program dashboard to monitor key performance indicators and provided leadership summary reports at the program and functional levels.

In his previous role at SEEL, Charles managed a portfolio of energy waste recovery programs and led teams across five states in pursuit of program electric and gas energy-saving goals and net income and customer satisfaction targets. He led building initiatives including the development of customized workforce training resources designed to provide accessible and affordable energy efficiency training and coaching to internal and external resources, as well as supported companywide continuous improvement, continuous optimization, and protocol standardization efforts to enhance team member effectiveness and efficiency.

Holding a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies, Charles is a Building Performance Institute Building Analyst Professional, a Building Performance Institute Certification Proctor, RESNET HERS Rater, and an Association of Energy Engineers Certified Energy Auditor.