The Alumni Angle: Green Engineering for Future Generations
"Life is not about 'either-or', it's about 'and-both."Judy Dorsey, CSU alumnus and founder of the Brendle group, epitomizes this ardent attitude in all aspects of her life, according to Julie Sieving, Brendle Group senior engineer.
After graduating from Colorado State University, Dorsey formed The Brendle Group, an engineering consulting firm specializing in e nergy efficiency, pollution prevention, water conservation and sustainable design , in memory of her mother, Eileen Brendle Dorsey. Through her entrepreneurial success, Dorsey daily exemplifies her philosophy by helping companies both augment profits and adopt sustainable business practices. As a recipient of the Denver Business Journal's Forty under 40 award, recognizing emerging leaders in Northern Colorado, and as an involved mother of two, Dorsey has maintained a flourishing business and a successful family.
Located in Fort Collins, The Brendle Group and its staff of engineers has conducted over 100 energy efficiency and pollution prevention assessments. Some of their projects include work with various Colorado school districts, the State of Colorado Capital Complex facilities, and the Northeast Metro Pollution Prevention Alliance which is focused on installing and measuring energy-efficient projects in small businesses. The Brendle Group earned the 2005 Governor's Pollution Prevention Award for the company's sustainable management system, and is the first Colorado company to be climate neutral, with a goal of being "zero waste" by 2010.
"Judy is a leader in the application of sustainable management, joining energy and environmental opportunities based on sound business practices," says Wade Troxell, associate dean in the College of Engineering.
Personally, Dorsey continues to give back to the University that sparked her interest in sustainable design and pollution prevention, an interest inspired by mechanical engineering Professor Harry Edwards. She serves as an adjunct faculty member in the department and is on the Advisory Board for Colorado State's Institute for the Built Environment. Recently, The Brendle Group worked with CSU's NetEnergy design team, Vail Resorts and the National Ski Areas Association to develop renewable resources and energy storage for ski resorts.
With so many professional accomplishments at this stage in her career, Dorsey's colleague Sieving affirms that Dorsey "has shown that entrepreneurship is a vehicle for both business success and living one's value system."