Leadership

President and CEO: Kelly Shelton, CEM, LEED AP

A native of Chicago, Illinois, Kelly Shelton attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and Kenwood Academy High School before receiving her Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois and her Master of Engineering Management from the Robert McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Kelly has worked in the energy & sustainability arena for over twenty-five years. She has held various positions of increasing responsibility including Systems Engineer, Sales Manager and Marketing Analyst for a local energy distribution company. Kelly has also served as Director of Energy Management for a large local government where she was responsible for building retrofits, LEED projects, energy procurement and co-wrote an early edition of the city’s Energy Plan.

As a Certified Energy Manager named Energy Manager of the Year by the Association of Energy Engineers, Kelly is a Charter Member of the Energy Managers Society, a Senior Member of the Association of Energy Engineers and a member in good standing of the Council on Women in Energy and Environmental Leadership.

Kelly’s successful career in energy and environmental management led her to launch Shelton Solutions, Inc. in 2004 and to acquire Quercus Consulting in 2020. Her companies have grown from reviewing the utility bills for one small neighborhood hospital to providing energy & sustainability management services to the nation’s 2nd largest public transportation system – Chicago Transit Authority, 2nd most populous county – Cook County (IL), 3rd largest city – City of Chicago and 4th largest public school district – Chicago Public Schools.

Kelly has been engaged in many aspects of the field of energy & sustainability. This deep and ever-growing experience allows her to maximize the implementation of new projects and usher clients to an enhanced carbon footprint by developing policies and programs to capitalize on their environmental assets.