Our Story
Essex Consulting Group
Essex was founded in 1998 by Ken Green, who was passionate about building technology, occupant comfort, and client satisfaction. During its initial years, the company's primary emphasis was on improving indoor air quality and conducting energy audits. In 2010, Essex expanded its services to encompass meter assessments and retrofits, and the company had soon established a reputation for the advanced building automation and data analytics that we prioritize today.
We are committed to our mission of leading clients toward a cutting-edge portfolio through building technology, master systems integration, energy analytics, and dedicated support. The company has adapted to changing market conditions over time utilizing our team of highly-skilled engineers, who continue to innovate and closely monitor changing industry trends.
The company is headquartered in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area but has recently grown to include global representation, having personnel operating as far as Germany and a west coast office in Seattle. Essex is expanding its reach and continues to strengthen its foothold in many building sectors of the global market.
With a proven track record of excellence and a steadfast commitment to innovation, Essex is well-positioned as a leading provider of building technology services. Driven by a commitment to client satisfaction, the company delivers high-quality solutions to its clients, ensuring that they receive the utmost satisfaction in all their dealings with the company.
Our Team
Anne Boudreau,
President
Since joining Essex in 2022, Anne has focused her energy on rebranding the company and positioning it as a leader in the Sustainability and Energy Conservation niche. To be a good steward of the environment is no longer a choice. It is an absolute necessity, one which requires change in thought and change in behavior. Understanding the gravity of the climate issues we face is an important first step, however, creating innovative technology and implementing multifarious programs to effectuate concrete, actionable, and sustainable energy reduction with real, measurable results is quintessential. For Essex, this tenet is the heart and soul of our business model and our intrinsic vision and mission. As Executive Vice President, Anne oversees and works closely with the Essex engineering team as we expand the breadth of who we serve within the commercial, educational, healthcare, industrial, and manufacturing industry sectors. An area in which she is deeply immersed is working with current and new clients to ensure they receive prompt and effective responsiveness as well as unwavering service excellence. Anne has written a nonfiction book named, A Human Mosaic: Heal, Renew & Develop Self-Worth which is based on neuroplasticity and the ability to transform the way one feels about their inner worth. This was a labor of love for her that was a six year-long endeavor. Prior to this, Anne spent thirty years as a management and marketing executive with global corporations and has traveled extensively. Anne attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Honors Writing and English. She also attended The University of Bonn, and earned a degree in German language and culture. Anne is fluent in Spanish and conversant in German and was born and lived in Santiago, Chile, grew up in Europe, and resided in Germany and Belgium. She has been on the board of several nonprofits and is an art enthusiast, a lover of music, plants, and exercise, and she and her husband have three children and a few wonderful pets.
James Graber,
Director of Technology
Jim is inspired by the imminent need for energy saving advancements in the built environment. Now more than ever, innovation is needed to change our energy usage and consumption habits. Jim currently holds the role of Director of Technology at Essex, and is excited to contribute to energy conservation efforts in facilities across the country. He earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech. While at Georgia Tech, Jim was a member of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Marching Band, where he played the snare drum. Jim holds certifications in Niagara, SkySpark, and FIN Stack and is currently pursuing his PE after recently passing the FE Exam. When not at work, he can be found playing his drum set, walking along The BeltLine in Atlanta, or combing racks of second-hand clothing for vintage Levi’s.
Garrett Harvey,
Director of Research & Innovation, Energy Technology Engineer
Since joining Essex in 2021, Garrett has worked on several projects ranging in scope from multi-campus submeter retrofits to reprogramming legacy controls software. He has a passion for solving problems and believes that some of today’s most potent problems lie in the built environment. Like Essex, Garrett plans to attack those issues with the effective combination of innovative technology and real-world data. Garret has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree with a concentration in Thermal, Fluid, and Energy Systems from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Garrett has experience with HVAC&R systems, renewable energy systems, programming, air sampling, and manufacturing. Always looking for a challenge, Garrett loves to apply engineering tools and principles to solve meaningful, everyday issues. When he’s not in the office, Garrett enjoys playing saxophone and traveling with his wife.
Joe Buschman,
Energy Technology Engineer
Joe started with Essex in 2019 as an intern and has since joined the team as a full-time employee. He graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology with Highest Honors and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering. Joe has a strong passion for learning new technologies that drive long term sustainability and is grateful Essex has provided him a place to explore that interest. Joe enjoys problem solving and providing clients with optimal solutions to improve efficiency. Since beginning at Essex, he integrated tens of thousands of data points (and counting!) from different legacy software platforms into a single, enterprise building automation system to provide real-time monitoring, analytics, and control. Also, throughout his time, he has conducted and developed indoor air quality reports, connected meter data, and optimized facility performance to reduce long term costs. In less technical experience, Joe has served as a summer intern at Roswell United Methodist Church and a manager at High Country Paddle Shack which helped form his people/client-first mindset. He was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but has spent the majority of his life in Atlanta. While Joe still holds on to his love of the Colts and Peyton Manning, he passionately cheers on the Hawks and the Falcons. Joe has a big love of Jeeps and enjoys taking his out for drives in the beautiful Southern weather!
Jodi Dowis,
Sustainable Solutions Engineer
Jodi has a Science Degree of High Honor in Mechanical Engineering with Minors in German Language and Global Development from Georgia Institute of Technology. She especially enjoyed her time abroad in Germany, where she studied German business, technology, and sustainability. At Georgia Tech, Jodi accumulated many years of experience with problem-solving and consulting on sustainability and global development-related issues. One of her most notable projects was improving factory quality and efficiency for a client in Bangladesh. Shortly after, Jodi started with Essex as a Sustainable Solutions Engineer where she utilizes various technologies to improve building visualization and sustainability for a range of clients. She is grateful for the opportunity to grow and develop her skills in such an exciting and rapidly changing industry. Jodi grew up in Ball Ground, GA but finds herself exploring new cities often. She tries to spend as much time as she can adventuring outdoors with her dog. They love to go hiking, kayaking, and rock climbing. Jodi tries to give back to her community while pursuing her passion for nature. She often volunteers to plant trees in local neighborhoods or lead outdoor adventure trips for her peers.