Laura Schauer

Executive Vice President

Ink
Fun


Laura Schauer is an industry leader with more than 20 years of experience working with utilities, public service commissions, and other private organizations to provide exceptional research, evaluation, and management consulting services. She has led dozens of evaluations and research projects ranging from focused market research studies to multi-million, multi-year, portfolio-level evaluations. Laura has particular expertise in process and market evaluation and market research and is also versed in impact and attribution studies. Laura is adept at working with clients to identify and prioritize critical research issues within the context of clients’ policy and business landscapes. Never satisfied with the status quo, Laura draws on her strengths in strategic thinking and process improvement to help the ILLUME team continually improve our services for clients and meet their unique needs through high-quality research. Laura continually gives back to the industry through volunteerism and mentorship, serving on the board of the Association of Energy Services Professionals (AESP), as Chair of AESP’s Market Research, Evaluation, and Greenhouse Gas topic committee, and as an active member of the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, American Evaluation Association, and SEE Action EM&V Working Group. When Laura is not deftly guiding our team through research design, you can find her enjoying the outdoors with her family.

laura@illumeadvising.com

Laura is located in Madison, WI.

Related Resources

Research Considerations in the Time of COVID-19

We navigate how the energy industry responds and adapts to COVID-19 in a preview of our webinar, “Research Considerations in the Time of COVID-19.”
Click on the title to listen to the podcast.

Research Considerations in the Time of COVID-19

Laura Schauer and Dr. Liz Kelley discuss if and how to move research efforts forward as COVID-19 shifts American modes of interacting, working, and moving about.
Click on the title to watch the webinar.

Response to COVID-19: Program Design Innovations

ILLUME proposes ideas for program design innovation as the energy industry asks “what now?” when it comes to communications, programs, and research activities in this moment of social distancing.
Click on the title to read the report.

Understanding our Underserved Majority

What happens when we reject monolithic thinking, and listen to customers’ lived experiences to find out what matters most to them? Read more in our case study of nonparticipation in Massachusetts.
Click on the title to read the case study.

The Energy Equity Playbook

Join ILLUME’s team of researchers as we break down a) ways to understand the challenge, b) considerations for defining equity, c) ways to bring communities to the table, and d) how to effectively determine and measure who benefits from clean energy investments.
Click on the title to watch the webinar.

Accelerating EV Adoption

In this webinar we discuss EV adoption with emerging technology experts and members of the ILLUME team as we ask important questions around communicating the benefits of EVs, laying the groundwork for EV charging, and finding ways to partner with cities and stakeholders to meet aggressive climate goals.
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Adding Value to the Customer Experience

In this podcast ILLUME Vice President, Laura Schauer talks with ILLUME Founder and Co-Owner, Anne Dougherty about the importance of seeing beyond utility satisfaction metrics as we take a broader look at populations and dig deeper into customers’ individual and unique situations.
Click on the title to listen to the podcast.

Beyond Awareness: An In-Depth Look at Participation Barriers for the Hardest-to-Reach

Engaging nonparticipants can be challenging, and in some cases can seem nearly impossible. Yet doing so is increasingly important as we view energy efficiency programming from the lens of equity, working to ensure funds and services are distributed across all populations. This whitepaper will describe participation barriers uncovered across the following groups: renters, owners, property managers, and income-qualified customers and how the work is being integrated in to future planning.
Click on the title to read the whitepaper.

ComEd Disadvantaged Communities (DACs) Study Report

In response to the goals outlined in Illinois’ Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), ComEd is developing initiatives for workforce development, electrification, resiliency, and the renewable energy transition – and seeks to do so in a way that equitably addresses and works to correct historic environmental injustice. ComEd enlisted ILLUME to perform a study to inform both its implementation strategy of CEJA’s goals. This report summarizes the analysis, findings, and recommendations from this study.
Click on the title to read the report.

Growing to Meet the Change – Episode 2

In Episode 2 of Growing to Meet the Change, Anne speaks with each member of the Executive Team about their new roles, and what it means for the future of ILLUME and our clients.
Click on the title to listen to the podcast.

Future of EM&V

Laura Schauer explores the future of EM&V in her presentation at the 2015 Midwest Energy Solutions Conference.
Click on the title to view the presentation.

The Carrot and the Evaluator: How financial incentives have affected EM&V practices

Laura Schauer presented on financial incentives and their impact on evaluation practices in the 2013 ACEEE Summer Study.
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A Hand to Hold: A Holistic Approach to Addressing Barriers in the Home Retrofit Market

In this white paper, Sara Conzemius and Laura Schauer describe a pilot that overcame barriers to comprehensive residential retrofits using incentives, a turnkey offering, and an energy advocate.
Click on the title to read the white paper.

Low-Income Programs: Final Results of the Longitudinal Study

Laura Schauer co-authored this white paper summarizing the results of a longitudinal study of Wisconsin’s low income programs.
Click on the title to read the white paper.