Immediately prior to joining 5 Lakes Energy, Douglas served as senior energy policy advisor in the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth. In that capacity, he applied scientific, engineering, and economic principles to the formation and adoption of energy policies for the State of Michigan.

Douglas attended New Mexico State University, Virginia Tech, the University of British Columbia, and Michigan State University. His major fields of study included mathematics, biology, statistics, industrial engineering, animal resource ecology, and economics.

His first professional work was development of a real-time control system for a linear accelerator at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Early in his career, Douglas served in various capacities at the Michigan Departments of Natural Resources including development of ecosystem simulation models of the Great Lakes, Great Lakes fisheries management, hydropower and steam electric plant regulation, strategic planning, and chief information and technology officer. He also testified on behalf of the State of Michigan before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in hydropower licensing proceedings. During a two-year sabbatical from DNR, Douglas also served as managing editor of the North American Journal of Fisheries Management for the American Fisheries Society.

While at the DNR he conceived and led the efforts to develop Michigan’s first-in-the-world automated system to issue hunting and fishing licenses, for which he was recognized as an innovator by the Smithsonian Museum in 1994. After his work at the State of Michigan, Douglas was recruited to be director of Application Solutions for MCI, Chief Technology Officer and Member of the Board of Automated License Systems, Inc,. He also served as a multi-year consultant to the Chief Technology Officer of Verizon where he developed the company’s Smart Grid product architecture, design and implementation plans.

He and his wife, Colleen, reside in East Lansing, Michigan, where he active in the community and formerly served as Mayor.