Joel Baetens
- Campus Energy & Resource Manager
Education
- BS, electrical engineering and computer engineering, Oakland University
- MS, renewable and clean energy, University of Dayton
Biography
Joel Baetens is the new energy and resource senior manager in Oberlin’s Office of Environmental Sustainability, having begun his duties in January 2020.
He is a licensed PE and has more than 10 years experience as an energy engineer.
He began his professional career as a project manager for a small non-profit in Ann Arbor, Michigan. At Clean Energy Coalition, he performed commercial energy assessments and helped businesses deploy biofuel infrastructure and renewable energy systems. Joel took the experiences he learned and pivoted his career to focus on higher education. He transitioned to Eastern Michigan University, were he managed the energy and utility systems.
Before coming to Oberlin, Joel was at Ohio University, where he worked on transitioning the heating plant from coal to natural gas and initiated procurement of renewable energy.
Joel lives in Oberlin with his wife, Jessica Minor-Baetens, who previously worked at the college and is well-versed in energy efficiency and sustainability, and their two children.