Michael Brubaker is the Director of Energy and Utilities and Interim Director of Sustainability at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS).  Michael is an alumnus of UCCS and graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.  As the Director of Energy and Utilities Michael leads the strategic development of resource conservation, building performance, and reduction of campus GHGs.  He manages energy conservation reporting efforts and sustainability strategic communications on campus. 

Michael is a Colorado registered professional engineer and Certified Energy Manager with the Association of Energy Engineers.  He started his career in the consulting industry providing mechanical and plumbing engineering design in addition to commissioning and retro-commissioning services.  Michael focused on high performance building design that optimizes energy and environmental performance while balancing the reliability and maintainability of systems.  He supported many different types of projects and designed high performance systems that incorporated ground source heat pumps (GSHPs), variable refrigerant flow (VRF),  and energy recovery. 

In 2016, Michael joined Colorado College and became the Campus Operations and Plant Manager. In this role he was responsible for directing day to day operations and providing engineering and technical support for all HVAC, electrical, plumbing and central plant systems on campus.  Michael was also the energy and utility manager for Colorado College and provided leadership and strategic direction for the college’s energy and carbon commitments.  He co-chaired the campus sustainability organizational group and was a champion of sustainable and carbon neutral goals while managing energy and water conservation projects across campus (including campus wide LED upgrades, central plant water savings, ground source heat pumps systems, central heating and chilled water plant optimization).   In 2018 Michael was presented with Glenn Brooks Innovation and Courage Award for efforts to promote innovative approaches to sustainability and energy conservation in support of two capital construction projects. 

Michael has lived in Colorado Springs for over 20 years and enjoys spending time with his family outside camping, hiking and playing sports.