Building Science: Volume 3, Issue 12

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Building Science: Volume 3, Issue 12

SEON’s Sustainable Energy Outreach Network Newsletter

 

Dear SEON Community,

As the year draws to a close and we gather with family and friends, it’s common to hear someone say, “You can’t choose your family.” And while that may be true in one sense, there’s another truth we all come to learn: over time, we do choose our family.

SEON is built on that idea. We have chosen this community—builders, designers, educators, advocates, and partners who believe deeply in craftsmanship, learning, and building a better future. As we reflect on 2025, I am filled with gratitude for what we have accomplished together.

2025 was a year of building momentum.

Despite policy uncertainty and real challenges surrounding Vermont’s decarbonization efforts, SEON stayed focused on what we do best: strengthening the building workforce, advancing high-performance building knowledge, and fostering leadership across our industry.

Here’s what we built together this year:

Expanding Training & Workforce Development

Demand for SEON’s training reached new heights in 2025. Our Basics of High Performance Building courses filled quickly—several selling out entirely—and many participants continued into advanced hands-on offerings such as Continuous Control Layers. Our Crew Leadership Development program supported builders in strengthening mentorship, retention, and jobsite culture, reinforcing that leadership is just as critical as technical skill.

Laying the Foundation for Registered Apprenticeships

One of our most significant accomplishments this year was the development of Registered Apprenticeship Standards for Carpenters and High-Performance Builders. A dedicated group of SEON members collaborated to design comprehensive work processes and related instruction, bringing us closer to launching our first cohort in 2026 and creating a durable, statewide talent pipeline for our industry.

Growing Partnerships Across Vermont

In 2025, SEON deepened partnerships aligned with our mission. We welcomed Vermont’s Office of Economic Opportunity and its statewide Weatherization Assistance agencies into the SEON community, expanding access to building science and leadership training across Vermont. We also began exploring new partnerships focused on financial literacy and organizational resilience, recognizing that strong businesses are essential to a strong workforce.

Strengthening Governance & Leadership

This year, SEON strengthened its Board of Directors with the addition of three outstanding leaders:

• Nathan Davidson, an Economic Developer with the Vermont Department of Economic Development, who contributes expertise in affordable housing, smart growth, and sustainable economic development.
• Anthony Girard, who brings decades of hands-on experience in high-performance homebuilding in Vermont and invaluable practical insight to SEON’s strategic direction.
• David Justice, Associate Director at Vermont Adult Learning, who brings extensive experience in workforce development, clean energy training, and community engagement.

Honoring Our Longstanding Members

We also want to pause and acknowledge our long-time members—some of whom have been with SEON since the very beginning, when we first formed in 2012 in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. Your commitment helped shape SEON’s foundation and carried us through uncertain early years. You believed in this work before it had momentum and before the urgency of high-performance building was widely understood. You can’t ask for better members than that, and we cherish you deeply.

Welcoming New Members

Our community continued to grow in 2025, and we were proud to welcome Black Mountain Builders, Bull Creek Builders, Geoff Wilcox, and Graphite Studio to SEON. Each brings valuable expertise and a shared commitment to high-performance building, workforce development, and a more sustainable Vermont.

What This All Adds Up To

At its core, SEON exists to help builders be the best at what they do—and to ensure Vermont has the skilled workforce needed to meet today’s housing, energy, and climate challenges. This year showed us what’s possible when people invest not only in training, but in each other.

As we look toward 2026, the work continues: launching apprenticeships, expanding access to training, strengthening partnerships, and deepening the community that makes all of this possible. With members like you—new and longtime alike—we are confident the year ahead will be an amazing one.

Thank you for choosing to be part of this community. Your participation, your ideas, your stories, and your support are what make SEON strong. We are deeply grateful—and excited for what we’ll build next.

Happy New Years Eve!
Guy Payne
Executive Director

Thank you, Members

• 475 High Performance Building Supply – Nationwide
• All Seasons Construction Corp – Springfield, VT
• Andrew Dey (individual owner) – Walpole, NH
• Apple Tree Builders – Marlboro, VT

• Black Mountain Builders VT – Brattleboro, VT

• Bluetime Collaborative – Brattleboro, VT
• Bob Rueter Foundation  (individual owner) – Turners Falls, MA

• Bull Creek Builders – Newfane, VT

• Building-Wright – Durham, NH
• Delta Energy Works (DEW) – Heat Pump Systems – Brattleboro, VT
• Duane Case (individual owner) – Bellows Falls, VT
• Earthshare Construction – Lebanon, NH
• EastRise – Montpelier
• Efficiency Vermont – Winooski, VT
• Farnum Insulators – Dummerston, VT
• Friends of the Sun – Brattleboro, VT
• Geoff Wilcox – Weatherization Program Director

• GPI Construction – Brattleboro, VT

• Graphite Studios – Amherst, MA
• HELM Construction Solutions – Brattleboro and Montpelier, VT
• HempStone, LLC – Hatfield, MA
• Integrated Solar Applications Corporation (“ISA”) – Brattleboro, VT
• JA Saccoccio Workshop, PLLC – Brattleboro, VT
• Junio Anthes-Moody (individual owner) – Brattleboro, VT
• Mathes Hulme Builders – Brattleboro, VT
• Mindel & Morse Builders – Brattleboro, VT
• Nate Gusakov (individual owner) – Vermont
• Northshire Living – Manchester Ctr, VT
• Owl’s Head Builders – Guilford, VT
• SEED Design / Build – West Townshend, VT
• Shelterwood – Waitsfield, VT
• Sierra Pacific Windows – Nationwide
• Snowdog Construction – Norwich, VT
• Steve Sebastian (individual owner) – Chesterfield, NH
• Sustainable Design – Dorset, VT
• Tim Lillis Builder – Westminster, VT
• Tom McLoughlin (individual owner) – Brattleboro, VT
• Unity Homes – Walpole, NH
• Vermont’s Office of Economic Opportunity (O.E.O.) – Waterbury, VT
• Wadsworth Design | Build – Jamaica, VT
• Windham Regional Career Center – Brattleboro, VT
• Wright Builders – Northampton, MA
• WW Building Supply – Newfane, VT