Leadership | FirstService Energy

As president of FirstService Energy, the energy management and advisory affiliate of FirstService Residential, Kelly Dougherty oversees a national team of experts who help multifamily building owners and board members of condominiums and cooperatives reduce energy consumption, costs, and emissions. Kelly’s active involvement in the energy sector enables her to keep FirstService Residential’s property managers, clients and building staff informed on the latest technologies, regulatory requirements, and incentive programs that help maximize overall efficiency. Kelly’s passion for bridging the gap between capital planning strategies with decarbonization has energized her teams throughout the organization. 

As an industry thought leader, Kelly is frequently sought after and quoted by The New York Times, was named a 2020 Woman of Influence by GlobeSt. and has served as a keynote speaker for high-profile industry events hosted by Urban Green Council, REBNY, and The Council of New York Cooperatives & Condominiums (CNYC). She has also participated in the Building Energy Exchange’s Climate Mobilization Act Series with support from the New York Mayor’s Office of Climate & Sustainability. Kelly has participated in numerous boards and working groups in NYS including for Urban Green Council, NYSERDA, NYC DOB & Mayor’s Office, and NYS Public Service Commission. Kelly has been working with buildings on HVAC, energy efficiency, and decarbonization planning for over 18 years. Kelly holds a Bachelor of Science from Rutgers University and a Master of Science from Columbia University in Sustainability Management.  

Ben Kirschenbaum, an attorney with 30 years of experience in law, residential management and brokerage in New York City, directs all legal matters on behalf of FirstService Energy. He is a member of the Cooperative and Condominium Committee of the Association of the Bar of New York City. Kirschenbaum graduated from Duke University School of Law and received an A.B. from Brown University.

Edmond Ohin is responsible for designing integrated financial models to identify and evaluate various energy procurement scenarios that result in the most economical and cost-effective energy solutions for properties managed by FirstService Residential. He oversees the procurement of electric power, natural gas, and oil commodities.

Prior to joining FirstService Energy, Ohin served as a Sourcing Operations Associate at Summit Energy Services, where he provided consulting services to several firms in the industrial and commercial space. Edmond holds a B.S. in Economics from Centre College.

As vice president of energy management at FirstService Energy, Rob oversees our energy management division. Rob works with our clients to identify and develop a cost-effective strategy tailored to their unique needs and energy goals. Some of the projects Rob helps facilitate include LED lighting, controls, EV charging, and electricity price optimization.

Joining FirstService Energy, Rob brings 15 years of energy management experience working directly with multi-unit residential owners.  Rob is an engineer, holds a master’s in business, and is a Certified Energy Manager.

As director of energy management at FirstService Energy for the NYC Metro Area, including New York City, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, John works with our clients to help plan and develop a cost-effective strategy tailored to their unique needs and energy goals. Some of the projects John helps to manage include LED Lighting, Controls, Building Management Systems, and EV Charging.

Joining FirstService Energy, John brings over 30 years of experience working in energy efficiency at Con Edison, as well as experience as an attorney for their legal department.

Marilyn Zajac is the South region’s energy advisor at FirstService Energy, serving Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. She assists our properties with energy assessments, regulatory benchmarking compliance, utility bill analysis, electric vehicle charging, and reducing carbon emissions. Marilyn provides guidance and recommendations so that our clients can make informed decisions about their property.

Prior to joining FirstService Energy, Marilyn brings 7 years of experience working as a sustainable building consultant in the green building industry with Sustainable Building Partners and Buro Happold collaborating with clients and projects teams to deliver efficient, reliable, economic, and sustained energy performance strategies while promoting health, comfort, and cost savings for end-users and communities.

John O’Shea is responsible for finding solutions that best suit our clients’ energy needs and objectives. John’s main focus is on the Illinois market and portfolio, but also includes FirstService Residential East. He is eager to grow our energy team’s footprint across North America and has a passion for finding solutions to complex problems.

John was part of a variety of projects in multiple countries, stretching from water distribution and purification projects in the Andes to designing and building a new school in Nicaragua with sustainable agriculture, renewable energies, and other aspects. Prior to joining our team, John served as an Energy Consultant at Navigate Power and Choice Energy Management. His experience in the energy industry comes with a focus on energy procurement and sustainability. John holds a M.A. from Harvard Extension School in Sustainability and Environmental Management, where he focused on Corporate Sustainability & Innovation, and a B.A. from Prescott College in Energy and Sustainability.

Daniel Erickson, director of energy programs at FirstService Energy, leads and manages the development and implementation of client energy programs across all markets in the US and Canada, simplifying energy management and compliance. Daniel continuously improves our custom databases, creating user-friendly platforms for managers and clients. 

Daniel has over half a decade’s worth of experience in energy and utility bill management for residential buildings.

Rithu Manohar is a data enthusiast, skilled in eclectic data tools with a strong inclination towards Python. Formerly, a data analyst with IBM on process improvement projects, she has extensive experience in automation of data processing tasks and building visualizations for trend analysis in the non-profit sector.

Since joining FirstService Energy, Rithu oversees the data collection processes from ESCO and utility companies in addition to auditing the entire EnergyStar Portfolio for our buildings. She maintains Wisdom, and audits the reports on an on-going basis.

Rithu has a B.S. in Computer Science from India’s Visvesvaraya Technological University and a M.S. in Business Analytics from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.