We Are a 501(c)(3) that believes...
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All people have the right to live in safe, affordable, healthy, resilient, energy-efficient, homes
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The resources needed to realize this vision are readily available
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And that an expanded Pay As You Save® system for clean energy programs is the best way to “liberate” all Americans wherever they live by 2040
Meet The Team
Stephen Bickel
Co-founder
Stephen co-founded LibertyHomes so that all families, regardless of income, live in homes and communities that are resilient, safe, healthy, affordable, and energy independent. Stephen brings two decades of experience building residential energy efficiency and product rating and certification programs, with particular attention to crafting solutions informed by behavioral science. Prior to founding LibertyHomes, Stephen was co-owner and Executive Vice President at D+R International.
Jill Ferguson
Co-founder
Jill cofounded LibertyHomes to make home decarbonization accessible to all, even folks in rural communities like the one she grew up in. Jill is concurrently pursing her PhD at Stanford University as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar. Prior to joining LibertyHomes, Jill was a Truman Fellow at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy where she lead the Rural Research Initiative. She has worked at the US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy as a solar technology fellow and as a photovoltaic cell researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Jill holds a bachelor of science in material science engineering from the University of Virginia.
Tule Horton
Tule is a senior from San Francisco, California. She is majoring in International Relations with specializations in Earth, Energy, and Natural Resources, as well as International History & Culture. Her primary academic research interests are in land management, ecosystem services, carbon drawdown, and indigenous land stewardship.
Yeh-Tang Huang
Yeh-Tang is currently a student in the Sustainability Science and Practice MA Program at Stanford University, from which he recently graduated with a BA in Comparative Literature. He has been involved in environmental education primarily in his home country, Taiwan, and he currently serves as the Taiwan Coordinator for the International Center for Environmental Education and Community Development (ICENECDEV). Having learned about the PAYS system in a class at Stanford, he initiated a project that aims to implement a PAYS program in Taiwan, and he is thrilled to continue working on this project under the guidance of LibertyHomes.
Majid Ahmadi
Majid is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He also holds a Bachelor's of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master's of Science degree in Industrial Engineering. His work mainly focuses on energy policy and energy innovation. He has also worked for private companies and NGOs including The Greenlink Group and The Urban Labs at the University of Chicago. He has published several publications in journals including IEEE and WIRES Energy & Environment. He is excited to bring his skills to improve diffusion of innovate energy technologies through the lens of behavioral economics.
Alicia Brown
Alicia graduated from Mississippi State University in May of 2020 with a BS in chemical engineering and a minor in political science. As a 2019 Truman Scholar, she is passionate about evidence-based energy policy, and she hopes to leverage her technical background to facilitate communication between policymakers and the scientific community. Her interest in the intersection of engineering and policy led her to intern with the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association and to co-found the Mississippi State chapter of the Climate Reality Project. Following a summer with LibertyHomes, Alicia will begin a Solar Innovation Fellowship with the Mississippi Public Service Commission, where she hopes to contribute to efforts to increase renewable energy development in the state.
Cydnie Golson
Cydnie is a Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Virginia in the graduating class of 2021. She is passionate about addressing the climate crisis in a way that is not only equitable but also harmoniously encompasses the wide variety of cultures, societies, and ecosystems the earth provides for. Clean energy technologies have been Cydnie's primary focus in the past, though her interest has transitioned to the policy and financing frameworks that strongly influence the adoption of these technologies and their ultimate ability to benefit the environment. A technical internship in 2019 with a public utility in Austin, her hometown, made Cydnie realize the key importance of these factors to truly make strides towards decarbonization.
Caroline Boone
Caroline is an MIT student, class of 2021, majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a focus in renewable energy development. Through the MIT Terrascope and D-lab programs, Caroline has gained experience working on both climate change adaptation and resilient energy infrastructure in developing and underserved areas. She also is particularly interested in understanding and mitigating the justice issues that arise in the implementation of environmental programs, and hopes to work with LibertyHomes to make sure that every American has access to safe, healthy, and sustainable homes.
Olivia Ercilla Antrobus
Olivia is an Oberlin College graduate, Class of 2019, with a major in Environmental Studies major and minor in Economics. An internship with Zapotec Energy Inc. cemented Olivia’s aspirations to work in the renewable energy field. Olivia has also interned with a start-up eco-magazine and at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Energy and urban planning are her primary fields of interest. She is particularly excited by the potential applications which combine the two. To that end, she is thrilled to be working as a fellow with LibertyHomes.
Brian James
Brian is a 2019 graduate of Oberlin College where he studied Environmental Studies and Biology. After studying sustainable cities abroad, he became more interested in creating sustainable and energy efficient communities, as well as educating people about these topics. He is excited to bring his skills to tackle sustainability issues within the United States and hopes to help communities understand the value of renewable energy retrofits with the goal of creating 100% renewable communities.
