Koben Calhoun
Rocky Mountain Institute
Koben Calhoun is an associate in the Electricity and Buildings Practices at the Rocky Mountain Institute. He brings to RMI a background in collaborative stakeholder engagement, statistical and quantitative analysis and researching urban sustainability and energy policy. Koben is interested in researching the opportunities for innovation between building energy demand and electricity generation. In particular, he is excited to work on system resiliency, demand side solutions and new business model development. Koben joined RMI in May 2013.
Koben's previous experience includes non-profit management, energy and environmental research, statistical analysis, and collaborative engagement. While managing the Center for Sustainable Infrastructure Systems, Koben's work focused on driving collaboration among 40 researchers nationwide in researching and implementing city sustainability measures. As program manager for Built Green, Koben was responsible for engaging public and private stakeholders in working to implement green building practices. His work with Built Green included managing a study of financial premiums for green certified housing in Seattle, working as a technical advisor on a residential zero energy demonstration project, and overseeing the certification of and data management for over 3,000 certified projects.
As a graduate student in the Urban and Regional Planning and Public Policy programs at the University of Michigan, Koben focused on energy policy anlaysis and preparing for the impacts of climate change within the built environment. He took coursework in quantitative program evaluation, economic development, urban design, and energy policy. As a graduate research assistant, Koben was a co-author of the USGBC funded and published report: "Green Building and Climate Resilience: Understanding impacts and preparing for changing conditions". In addition, Koben and his team members were finalists in the 2011 Urban Land Institute's Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition.