Released: July 16, 2025
Cichowski is a nationally recognized leader in weatherization and energy efficiency instruction
Ben Cichowski, Director of Energy Smart Academy
Santa Fe Community College has selected Ben Cichowski as the new Director of the Energy Smart Academy (ESA). ESA trains students in weatherization, clean energy programs, water conservation, and offers pre-apprenticeships to become Home Energy Auditors. Cichowski began his role on July 14, 2025.
“SFCC is excited to work with Ben Cichowski in his role as director,” said SFCC President Becky Rowley, Ph.D. “Ben has a national track record of workforce development in federal and residential energy programs. He has created innovative programs for industry professionals to further the adoption and understanding of building efficiency and renewables within low-income programs.”
SFCC Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs Margaret Peters added, “Ben Cichowski is a dedicated building science and efficiency professional, with more than 15 years of experience in instructional development and delivery, weatherization and safety training delivery, federal clean energy policy interpretation, and workforce development.”
Cichowski has been in the world of building science and home energy efficiency for more than 15 years. In that time, he pioneered teaching techniques that have moved the industry forward by placing the important people doing this work directly in the public eye. His online series WxTV brought the world of weatherization to the masses and his four-part series Home Energy Pro highlighted the integration of solar technologies into low-income housing, serving as a model for other programs to do the same.
Cichowski was the Director of the Montana Weatherization Training Center through the 2010s and has most recently served as a Senior Technical Consultant with Simonson Management Services, working within the technical administration of the Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). He’s a seasoned instructor, teaching topics ranging from building science, to biology, to engineering, and environmental health and safety.
He holds a master’s degree in civil/environmental engineering from Texas A&M University, College Station and undergraduate degrees in biological aspects of conservation and zoology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
When he’s not at work, Ben can be found working on the family home, tinkering on cars and motorcycles, or tromping through the natural world in and around Bozeman, Montana with his wife and three girls, skiing/snowboarding, biking, hiking with their dogs, hunting, fishing, climbing, and riding motorcycles. He’s an avid ultrarunner, so once or twice a year, you’re also likely to see him struggling through a 100-mile race somewhere mountainous.
For more information about the Energy Smart Academy visit https://www.sfcc.edu/offices/new-mexico-energy-smart-academy/, email ESADirector@sfcc.edu or call 505- 428-1676.
For more than 40 years Santa Fe Community College has been the pathway to success for individuals and the community. SFCC provides affordable, high-quality programs that serve the academic, cultural, and economic needs of the community. The college welcomes over 10,000 students per year in credit, noncredit, workforce training, personal enrichment, and adult programs.
A “Best for Vets” and a “Military Friendly” school.
Visit sfcc.edu or call 505-428-1000.
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