Michael Kluz is a Rural Energy Project Manager, leading the technical assistance Wy’East provides under USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) in addition to helping to establish Wy’East’s Rural Resilience programs. To date Michael has supported Oregon’s rural small business owners and producers in applying for over $2.6 million in federal dollars yielding 2,700 MWh of renewable energy generation through the USDA REAP program. Michael leverages previous experience in both the energy and community resilience sectors where he worked as a RARE (Resource Assistance for Rural Environments) AmeriCorps Fellow at Wy’East. Michael holds a B.S. in Natural Resource Management Planning and a minor in Sustainable Energy from the University Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He is currently pursuing a Master in Environmental Management (MEM) at Western Colorado University. His thesis is centered on Virtual Power Plant (VPP) program implementation in rural communities. Outside of Wy’East you can find Michael running on a forgotten dirt trail, traversing a mountain range, or snapping photos to remember his latest adventure.