Eric Lespin Email & Phone Number

Eric Lespin, until the pandemic a visiting lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ibadan, and recently under contract with GOPA Worldwide Consultants, has thirty years experience as a knowledge expert, educator, project advisor, mentor, and evaluator working in international settings on renewable energy and community water/sanitation/health issues, from human engagement, economic, and technical perspectives. He has provided multiple rounds of mentoring and training guidance for renewable energy in Nigeria and other countries, working under the auspices of the World Bank/IFC, German Cooperation (GIZ), and USAID/Winrock.Eric accumulated his technical foundation in renewables and energy efficiency working as the training coordinator and project advisor with a renewable energy non-profit in Latin America. During this period he led photovoltaic power trainings to technicians, engineers, and development personnel in Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. In the area of WASH he worked four years with the USAID Environmental Health Project, providing institutional coaching and staff development to the national rural water supply agency of the Dominican Republic. He spent four years as a training team leader and technical trainer in rural water supply and sanitation for Entrena S.A., providing capacity-building to Peace Corps engineers and rural extensionists. He has five years work experience in energy efficient residential construction including electrical, carpentry, plumbing, and masonry trades in Alaska. In addition to English, he is a fluent speaker of Spanish, conversant in Portuguese, and a reader of French and Swedish. He has been a legal/medical interpreter, including before the courts in the State of Alaska. He holds an MBA and a Master’s degree in public health with an additional graduate concentration in adult education.Originally from Alaska, he has spent much of the past five years in Africa, mostly Nigeria, and prior to his posting at UI, has worked with the Sokoto Energy Research Center at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, the Ibrahim Shehu Shema Centre for Renewable Energy Research at Umaru Musa Yar’Adua University in Katsina, and the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria.He is married with three children. The family has lived in Alaska but also Brazil and the Dominican Republic to enable the children to learn other languages. His wife Antonia, an English, Spanish, and primary health instructor, until Covid taught Spanish at Portland State University.