Richard is the Director of Outreach at the Frontier Energy FSTC. Trained as an electrical engineer, Richard started his career in alternative energy, changing from energy-generation to energy-efficiency when he joined the FSTC research team over 34 years ago. He is a contributor to the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system and the EPA’s ENERGY STAR^® program. He currently focuses most of his efforts on translating Frontier Energy's 35 years of foodservice research into practical information. He has created and delivered over 1,000 presentations and classes on energy efficiency and authored numerous research reports and articles in magazines, newsletters, and web publications. Richard is also the creator and author of the online Foodservice Energy Efficiency Expert (Fe3) training and certification program.

Todd Bell is a Senior Program Manager with Frontier Energy’s FSTC and is responsible for Frontier Energy’s energy audit/site survey services, which examine the cooking equipment, HVAC, lighting, refrigeration, water heating and sanitation systems in commercial foodservice operations to identify utility saving opportunities. Essentially the “man in the trenches”, Todd visits commercial foodservice sites ranging in size from relatively modest full-service restaurants to very large production kitchens found in hotels and corporate campus dining facilities. Further duties include speaking engagements at a myriad of energy efficiency and sustainability workshops and seminars designed to help commercial foodservice operators reduce energy use and operating costs. Todd is a primary resource at the FSTC for restaurateurs and architects building new restaurants and commercial foodservice facilities.

Chef Mark Duesler oversees the FSTC’s "Try Before You Buy" program, serves as a Senior Program Advisor, and offers an operator’s perspective on energy and water efficiency in commercial foodservice. After more than 26 years in foodservice and 20 years in the kitchen, Chef Mark is eager to share his knowledge and expertise with the industry. He has worked in various full-service restaurants including small family-owned operations, multi-course fine-dining, and chef-driven farm-to-table concepts. Mark draws on this experience to identify each dining concept's unique equipment needs. Additionally, Chef Mark works with the FSTC's engineering team and participates in ASTM subcommittees related to commercial foodservice appliance testing to better understand how equipment performance evaluations translate to real-world applications. Sharing this knowledge allows operators and designers to make more informed decisions on equipment selection and process improvement in their establishments.

Michael Slater is a research engineer at Frontier Energy’s FSTC. He is currently focused on the energy and water economics and savings opportunities of large service water heating and chilling applications as well as ground- and air-sourced heat pumps. Michael has extensive background in many lab and field settings with an emphasis on electricity, gas, and water sub-metering technical studies. Michael has been instrumental in commercial-scale monitoring projects funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, the California Energy Commission, and the California utilities. He has served as the principal investigator on field retrofit studies using water and energy-saving technologies for Valley Water and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Michael has also led field monitoring projects for pumped rinse and exhaust heat recovery dishmachines, commercial cooking equipment, and wall furnaces for various utilities and government agencies.