KidWind's headquarters and staff are now based in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

 

Michael Arquin, director of the KidWind Project, founded KidWind in his basement 6 years ago and it took off from there. Mike teaches workshops, invents products, and is the creative mind behind KidWind projects. When not working at KidWind, Mike enjoys spending time with his two boys.

One of KidWind's first training partners, Richard Lawrence is a renewable energy education consultant and the Clean Energy Program Coordinator at Cape Cod Community College in Barnstable, MA. Since graduating from Lesley University with an MS in Environmental Education in 2002, Richard has dedicated his career to renewable energy education and advocacy. He was a founding director of Clean Power Now, a non-profit organization formed to promote renewable energy projects, particularly America's first offshore wind project, Cape Wind. He worked at Cape & Islands Self-Reliance Corporation as the Director of Special Projects and Education for six years. Richard is knowledgeable in all forms of renewable energy and he frequently presents at conferences and teaches workshops all across the country.

Joe Rand has a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Macalester College. He has been working with KidWind since the Fall of 2006, when he started as an intern. Now he develops and tests products, writes curricula, and teaches workshops. Joe has also spent time researching aesthetic impacts and community concerns of wind energy as a research assistant at Macalester College. Aside from renewable energy, Joe is also passionate about bicycling and playing drums in the Minneapolis band, "Best Friends Forever."

Rob Yedlin, another Macalester graduate, received his B.A. in Religious Studies. He found KidWind through Joe, and started as a temporary kit packer and shipper in September 2007. He has since managed shipping related duties, aided student and teacher workshops, and maintains the new website. In addition to picking strawberries with his grandma, Rob enjoys playing in an African Music Ensemble at Macalester College. Rob is from Princeton, New Jersey.

Chad W. Johnson graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007 with a self-designed degree in Business Communications. Chad has traveled abroad to Japan and Guam, and has taught English on a cruise ship in the Pacific. Chad supervises interns, manages product materials, works on marketing campaigns, and builds relationships with buyers and suppliers. Chad enjoys spending time staying healthy, worldwide adventures, mountain biking, networking, and living a local lifestyle that supports friends, neighbors, and co-workers.

Katie Altier is a QuickBooks expert and mother of three. Katie is the KidWind financial officer, manages inventory and works with vendors. She graduated from the College of St. Cathrine's in St. Paul. Katie is busy maintaining her family's crazy schedule

Kris Messing is the newest addition to the KidWind team. She will manage shipping and keep the warehouse organized. She is a mother of four, about to send her first son off to college.

Brian Antonich has been educating developers, teachers, students, policy makers, and landowners about wind energy for the past 5 years. He did much of this work through Windustry, a the Minneapolis based non-profit. At KidWind, Brian is developing wind energy educational tools for teachers. Brian prefers biking to driving  (he owns 6 bicycles). He is working on a Masters in Teaching at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He has a B.S. in Physics from Hamline and an M.A. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington in Seattle.

Andrew Grabow is a second-year Electrical Engineering student at the University of Minnesota. Like Alex, he is currently part-time staff at KidWind, researching wind energy science and technology, and helping with product development. In his free time, Andrew plays in a Latin band and works on his own electrical projects.

James Grimm is a mechanical engineering student at the University of Minnesota. He and his wife, Holly, are committed to living as waste-free as possible. James is a new intern at KidWind and hopes that this is the beginning of a life working in renewable energy.

Brandon Berger is an Envrionmental Science Student at the University of Minnesota. Originally interested in computer science, Brandon decided to persue a path in the environment after taking an environmental ethics course during his Freshman year of college. He hopes that his time at KidWind will help lead him to an exciting career path.

 

Past Interns

Alex Helling is an Environmental Science major at the University of Minnesota. Alex's internship at KidWind concerned with science and technology related research and product development. Outside KidWind, Alex enjoys playing tennis and building computers.