Energy/Utilities Program Supervisor
San Diego Unified School District
Chris Palis is the Energy / Utilities Program Supervisor at San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD). SDUSD is the second largest K-12 public school district in California. The District is comprised of 188 charter, atypical, elementary, middle, and high school campuses that are supported by eight central office administrative sites. The operations department manages 16 million square feet of building space across 2,230 acres of total property. There are approximately 99,000 enrolled students and 13,000 full time employees for classroom instruction and support services.
Chris leads a diverse team of technical professionals at SDUSD whose responsibilities include: energy initiatives, utilities analysis, building systems management, indoor air quality, irrigation control, and waste removal. Their primary task is to manage the District’s utility expenses while decreasing the total cost of ownership. Additionally, Chris and the team operate cross-departmentally to provide input and expertise in a variety of forums spanning maintenance, custodial, landscape, facilities, information technology, construction, real estate, finance, legal, communications, transportation, and food services. Additionally, the team supports grant programs with battery energy storage, electric vehicle (EV), and charging infrastructure grant being a large portion of this effort.
Prior to SDUSD, Chris was a cofounder of Internat Energy Solutions Canada recently acquired by Dillon Consulting. Prior to this, he spent 4 years working for RWDI AIR and HGC Engineering. Chris is a licensed engineer and LEED AP. He graduated from Queen’s University with a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering in 2003. In 2010, he graduated from York University with Master’s in Environmental Studies.
He is a proud father of three loving children and husband to a wonderful wife. Residing in sunny San Diego, Chris enjoys staying active, volunteering at his children’s school, and coaching youth sports. He is currently training for his first marathon, taking place in Carlsbad, CA in early 2024.