Laurel & Associates

Deborah Laurel

Deborah Laurel has more than 25 years of experience designing specialized energy educational programs and training the trainers who provide energy education on a local, regional and national level.



In collaboration with subject matter experts, Deborah designed the curriculum, participant materials, facilitator guides, job aids and audiovisuals; and trained the trainers for the following programs:

  • Compressed Air Challenge Fundamentals
  • Compressed Air Challenge Advanced Training

The fact that the National Compressed Air Challenge is one of the highest rated training programs for the U.S. Department of Energy has also been attributed to Deborah Laurel’s curriculum design and train-the trainer expertise:

“In May 2004, the US Department of Energy and Xenergy Inc. completed a rigorous assessment of the actual impact of the CAC Fundamentals and Advanced technical training programs. Extensive interviews of 200 industrial end-users and compressed air professionals confirmed clear energy efficiency, reliability and commercial benefits of both the Fundamentals and Advanced CAC workshops.

Key findings of the USDOE Evaluation include the following:

  • Training attendees found the CAC sessions to be both useful and of high quality. High percentages of both end-users and compressed air professionals reported a strong positive impression of the training sessions. According to the study, the CAC training has been very effective in providing high quality technical information to plant managers and technical staff as well as by targeted constituencies on the supply side of the market, which consists of compressed air system equipment distributors and consulting engineers. Moreover, the training sessions were positively rated by the substantial number of government officials, engineering faculty, and utility energy efficiency program operators who attended the CAC trainings.
  • A very high portion of end-users reported using materials directly from the training in making efficiency improvements to their compressed air systems.
  • End-users who implemented compressed air system efficiency measures achieved high levels of energy savings.
  • The CAC training is highly cost-effective for businesses and attendees. At current national industrial electricity rates, the average value of savings achieved by program participants who implemented measures was $7,428. With a typical “Fundamentals” tuition of $299, this results in a simple payback of less than a month.
  • CAC Training materials are highly useful to compressed air professionals. The majority (85%) of vendor participants have used CAC training workshop materials or information when they evaluate customer compressed air systems. Among this group, 18% of respondents used them in ‘all’ evaluations, and 40% used them in ‘many’ evaluations. A similarly high percentage of vendors (64%) claimed that they have used the CAC workshop materials in diagnosing their customers’ compressed air system operating problems.”
  • Fan System Optimization and Fan System Qualified Specialist for the U.S. Department of Energy.


  • Fan System Optimization End User Training (both 1 and 2 day programs), Fan System Equipment Vendor Training, and Fan System Optimization Expert Training (6 days) for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.


  • Superior Energy Performance for the U.S. Department of Energy and Georgia Tech Research Corporation

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  • Ventilation Basics, Drainage Basics, Practical Energy Management, and Integrating High Performance for the Energy Center of Wisconsin and Focus on Energy.


  • Energy Awareness Program for Arcelor Mittal.


  • Steel: An Energy-Intensive Business for Purdue University.


  • Pump System Energy Efficiency and Fan System Energy Efficiency for Portland General Electric.


  • Pump Systems and Fan and Pump Optimization for Xcel Energy.



For two years, I worked with Southern California Edison to provide train-the-trainer programs and to audit and recommend revisions to their key training programs in their Customer Technology Application Center and Agricultural Technology Application Center to incorporate adult learning principles to ensure a quality learning experience for their customers. 



Train the trainer programs to help subject matter experts facilitate the skill-building learning activities for the National Compressed Air Challenge and for the Superior Energy Performance training programs.

  • 

Technical Trainer’s Toolbox (3- day) for Edison Electric, Madison Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison, and Gogebic Community College.

  • Wisconsin Energy Star Homes Training Consultant training (8- day) for Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corps.
  • Training Analysis and Design for Midwest Independent System Operators.


  • Presentation and Facilitation Techniques for Pump Systems Matter and for the Energy Center of Wisconsin.


  • Best Practices in Adult Energy Education for KEMA, Inc.
testimonials