E4 Carolinas opens Charleston office on Clemson campus

E4 Carolinas, the trade association for Carolina energy companies and organizations, is opening its Charleston office with the assistance of Clemson University. The E4 Carolinas Charleston office will be located in the Zucker Family Graduate Education Center (ZFGEC) located at the Clemson University Restoration Institute in North Charleston. The ZFGEC is open to industry representatives looking to engage with faculty, students and researchers. CURI is a Clemson innovation campus working with industry partners such as General Electric, Savannah River National Laboratory and Johnson Controls.  David Doctor, E4 Carolinas President & CEO observed that, “the organization maintains offices in the UNC Charlotte Energy Production and Infrastructure Center and that arrangement has produced benefits for both E4 Carolinas and that Center.” He further noted, “Charleston has a sufficient energy economy that we believe E4 Carolinas will stimulate energy commerce and help make Charleston’s energy economy more visible globally.

Monica Blasi, an E4 Carolinas Program Manager, will head the Charleston office. She noted, “E4 Carolinas now operates programs in Charleston and Columbia, but activity will increase, particularly in collaboration with Clemson.” She added, “E4 Carolinas offers programs and services in the areas of economic development, leadership, human resource, workforce development and innovation; all of which should be of interest to energy companies and organizations in Lowcountry.”

Johan Enslin, executive director of the Energy Systems Program at ZFGEC, said, “Having E4 Carolinas with their industry partners on-site is such a huge advantage, not only to Clemson’s faculty and researchers, but the students as well.”  “It’s a truly collaborative environment,” added Randy Collins, Clemson University’s Associate Vice President for Charleston. “Allowing our students access to working professionals is what makes the Charleston-based academic experience different. And giving industry access to the next generation of talent gives them a leg up on the competition. It really is a win-win.”  E4 Carolinas (www.e4carolinas.org) is the trade association for the Carolinas energy economy and provides a platform whereby members become more valuable and successful through collaboration in the areas of Workforce Development, Economic Development, Innovation & Capital, Communications & Networking and Policy.

Clemson University’s Zucker Family Graduate Education Center fosters collaboration and innovation in a place where students, university faculty and staff, and private industry interact on a daily basis. The center’s graduate programs support the growing technical workforce in the area and enable working professionals to get career-advancing degrees without leaving the Lowcountry. The approximately 70,000-square-foot center opened in 2016.