Our Team

Gretchen Schimelpfenig is the executive director of the Greenhouse Lighting and Systems Engineering (GLASE) consortium and a senior engineer at Energy Resources Integration (ERI). Gretchen earned a M.S. in Civil Engineering from Stanford University in 2014 and a B.S. in Architectural Engineering from the University of Wyoming in 2012. She is a licensed Civil Professional Engineer in California and Vermont. At GLASE, Gretchen works with academics and industry stakeholders to reduce the environmental impact of the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry through pioneering and commercializing emerging greenhouse technology and systems. At ERI, Gretchen helps greenhouse growers and indoor farmers identify and implement efficiency strategies through cost-effective energy management. Gretchen is the former Technical Director of Resource Innovation Institute (RII) and author of RII’s Lighting, HVAC, and Facility Design & Construction Best Practices Guides for CEA in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“I believe in a carbon-neutral and climate-smart future for controlled environment agriculture. High-performance systems are key to increasing greenhouse energy productivity.” – Gretchen Schimelpfenig, PE