Energy, Water and Waste Management
Bob Gilleskie entered the Naval Academy on a Congressional Appointment from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From 1968 to 1975 he was in the surface fleet and served on river boats in Vietnam as Senior Advisor to River Assault Group 25, supporting combat operations in the Mekong Delta. After resigning his commission in 1975, he received an M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in 1979, and later an MBA from San Diego State University in 1988.
Bob joined San Diego Gas & Electric in June of 1979 and retired from the company in March of 2002, having held various engineering and supervisory positions in energy management and power quality. In 2003 he joined Tetra Tech EMI, Inc. as a Resource Efficiency Manager, and served as the Energy Manager for Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego until August of 2006. From September of 2006 to June of 2007 he was a Project Manager at DMJM Harris where he developed and managed large energy efficiency and sustainability projects. In October of 2007 he joined the California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) as the Director of Engineering.
At CCSE Bob set policy and directed management of programs in Energy Efficiency, Alternative Fueled Transportation, Marketing, Special Events, the Energy Resource Center, and the Cool Communities Shade Tree Program. He successfully directed the second annual StreetSmart event, and conceived and directed the region’s only Sustainability Fair, scheduled to be an annual event. Bob also initiated and managed the first Consulting Services program at CCSE in which the Center provides detailed engineering and economic assessments to institutions and businesses in California. He resigned as Director of Engineering in September of 2008.
In July of 2009 Bob accepted the position of Principal Resource Efficiency Manager, Marine Corps Installations West. A year later his position became Regional Energy Manager of that organization. As such, he advised staff and provided recommendations on energy matters at five Marine Corps installations in California and Arizona. In this position he was instrumental in planning a strategy to develop microgrids at all five Marine Corp bases, and eventually interconnect their operations for maximum energy savings and security. Bob retired from this positon on April 30, 2016.
Bob has authored numerous articles and papers on both power quality and energy technologies, and he has spoken at conferences and seminars in Europe and the United States on these subjects. Also, he has taught various lighting seminars and a course in Facility Power Management at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) (Extension) for which he has written a text of the same title. Bob was instrumental in developing a certificate program in Sustainable Business Practices at UCSD’s Extension School, and currently teaches courses in Environmental Economics and Renewable Energy, as well as the Practicum for the certificate, in which he advises students working as sustainability consultants at local businesses and other organizations.
Bob is a registered Professional Engineer (Electrical) in the state of California, a Certified Energy Manager, and a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Accredited Professional. He has also been a member of the local chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council and a recent member of Encinitas Toastmasters. Bob is a previous Chairman of the Torrey Pines Community Planning Board, an advisory group to the City of San Diego.
Bob has one daughter, Sarah, a 2008 graduate of Duke University, and now living with her husband and three children in Raleigh, North Carolina.