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Ever-Green Energy is fortunate to have a talented and highly skilled group of individuals who serve on our Board of Governors. Board members bring with them a wealth of knowledge and vast experience in diverse fields, ensuring our company's continued success.
John Taylor, Chair
 John Taylor was born and raised in the shadows of Ever-Green Energy, District Energy St. Paul and District Cooling St. Paul. Educated at the Cathedral Grade School, Cretin High School and Saint John's University, he spent most of his professional career in the downtown Saint Paul area as chief executive of the Hill Family and First Bank System foundations. A veteran of service to more than 100 boards, commissions, foundations, colleges and cultural organizations, he brings with him a passion for public service, strong organizational planning, creativity and innovation. Today he is an Associate Vice President of Institutional Advancement at his alma mater, Saint John's University. In 1982, he was invited to join the District Energy board by its Chair, former Mayor George Latimer. He served on the District Energy and District Cooling boards for 18 years, including several years as board chair. Taylor joined the Ever-Green Energy board in 2000 and was elected board chair in 2006.
Robert Lowe, Sr., Vice Chair
 Robert Lowe was a founding member of the Developing Committee that established District Energy St. Paul in 1978. He served on the District Energy board for 19 years before being elected Chair of the Ever-Green Energy board in 1998, a position he held until 2006. He currently is Ever-Green Energy's vice chair. Lowe is a retired International Representative for the United Association of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters, where he specialized in arbitration and negotiation. He is a Saint Paul native who started his career as a union pipe fitter in 1957. In 1968 Lowe was appointed Business Manager for UA Pipe Fitters Local Union 455, a position he held for the next 15 years before being appointed to the position of International Representative. He brings to the board many years of experience in the areas of labor relations, affirmative action and plant/distribution system construction and maintenance. Over the years Lowe served on numerous civic, state and organizational committees and boards, including 12 years as a member of the Saint Paul Board of Education.
Barbara Lukermann, Secretary/Treasurer
 Barbara Lukermann is a Senior Fellow Emerita at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and a current senior researcher at the University's Center for Urban and Regional Affairs. Her teaching and research focuses on urban land use planning and housing markets and she has more than 40 years of planning experience in the Twin Cities area. Lukermann's initial appointment was to the District Energy St. Paul board by Mayor Latimer in 1982 when Latimer wanted the board to explore broader opportunities for energy conservation and future expansion of district heating into the neighborhoods. She was elected to the Ever-Green Energy board in 2000. Lukermann has served as a citizen member of the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board, as chair of the former Metropolitan Waste Control Commission and as the chair of the national American Institute of Certified Planners. In addition to her research, she also consults with local school districts to prepare demographic and enrollment projections as a tool for facility planning. Lukermann has degrees in geography from Cambridge University, England, and from the University of Minnesota.
Donna Avery, Assistant Secretary
 As a journalism major at the University of Minnesota, Donna Avery honed an interest in publications and advertising while working all four years at the Minnesota Daily. She helped found the award-winning Metropolis, one of the first alternative newspapers in the Midwest. In 1976, Minnesota Public Radio hired her to develop their membership publication Minnesota Monthly into a more broadly appealing regional magazine. While there, in 1980, she proposed and launched a mail-order catalog based initially on the popularity of the radio show, A Prairie Home Companion. The catalog's rapid growth ultimately led in 1987 to formation of Rivertown Trading Company as a for-profit subsidiary. Avery was named president and led RTC's successful diversification and growth to more than $190 million in sales. For several years after the company was acquired by Target Corporation in 1998, she remained president and served as a corporate officer of Target. Today, Avery sits on the boards of a number of private companies, including Western Bank, Coolibar and David Heide Design. She is president of Star Development, a commercial real estate investment company.
George Fremder, Assistant Secretary
 George Fremder retired from Securian Financial Group in 2007 after serving 37 years as an executive in administrative, human resources and property management areas. He served as president of two subsidiaries of Securian: Lafayette Litho, a commercial printing company, and Robert Street Property Management. Fremder chaired Securian's architectural design and construction team during the construction of the 401 Building in downtown Saint Paul. He is a past board member and chair of several nonprofit organizations: Greater Saint Paul Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), BestPrep, Minnesota Business Academy and Burnsville Soccer Club. Fremder was publicly appointed to the District Energy St. Paul board in 1999, and he is currently serving as board chair. He was elected to the Ever-Green Energy board in 2005. Fremder has a strong interest in the promotion and development of environmentally friendly green energy solutions to help reduce global warming.
Thomas Wilkolak, Assistant Secretary
 Thomas Wilkolak began his career with the Colgate Palmolive Company and Consolidated Food Corporation where he gained his first management experience. He spent 12 years at The Pillsbury Company in a variety of sales and marketing positions, leaving as Vice President Sales of the Frozen Foods Division. Wilkolak joined Carlson Marketing Group and served as Executive Vice President General Manager of the North American Motivation Company with responsibility for Carlson Canada, Carlson Promotional Marketing Company, Carlson Research Company, Carlson Incentive Travel Company and the Carlson Motivation Company. Following his Carlson experience, Wilkolak went on to co-found four companies where he provided strategic sales and marketing direction to those ventures. He spent five years at both Gage Marketing Group and Insignia Systems POPS Division where he served as Executive Vice President and General Manager. He also served as President and CEO of Grocery Shopping Network, Inc., an Internet advertising company specializing in the grocery retailing vertical market. In the past, Wilkolak served on the boards of Growing Healthy Incorporated, Paradise Kitchens and Hunt Technologies. Wilkolak earned BS and MBA degrees from the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minn.
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