Michael Kluz is a Rural Energy Program Manager, leading the technical assistance Wy’East provides under USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program in addition to overseeing Wy’East’s Climate Solutions program. To date Michael has worked with Oregon’s rural small business owners and producers to apply for over $2.6 million in federal dollars and 2.7 million kWh of renewable energy generation. Michael leverages previous experience in both the energy and climate sectors where he worked as a RARE (Resource Assistance for Rural Environments) AmeriCorps Fellow at Wy’East, and supported climate planning research undertaken with the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts in the Upper Midwest. Michael holds a B.S. in Natural Resource Management Planning and a minor in Sustainable Energy from the University Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He is happiest somewhere in the mountains. Outside of Wy’East you can find Michael running on a forgotten dirt trail, climbing a new summit, or snapping photos to remember his latest adventure.