Mike Rogers passed away on December 18, 2018, at home surrounded by his family, after a yearlong battle with an extremely rare and aggressive sinus cancer. His was the 40th case of this particular cancer ever recorded, and in some of his last moments he expressed hope that his experience might help researchers find more effective treatments for it. In the last year of his life, Mike proved that he would die as he had lived: in service of others, while also lighting up rooms with his one-of-a-kind storytelling, making time for long hikes with friends and family, and listening to John Prine songs all the way through. Born in 1964, Mike was the eldest son of Dan and Carol Miene Rogers, and he grew up with his brother and two sisters in Villa Park, Ill. In 1986 he graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a bachelor’s degree in computer science/engineering. Not one to stick to a beaten path — on hiking trips or in life — he went on to pursue an MBA at the University of Indiana, where he designed his own curriculum with a focus on environmental issues and nonprofits. After earning his master’s, Mike served in the Peace Corps as a math teacher in the Central African Republic. There he met his wife, Karen, who was volunteering in public health. After finishing their Peace Corps service, they both stayed in the country to work on a USAID project focused on decreasing the transmission of HIV. They returned together to the U.S. and moved to Washington, D.C., where their two daughters were born and Mike started his career as an environmental protection specialist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He was affiliated with the EPA for 11 years and was the lead developer of Home Performance with ENERGY STAR, a national program launched in 2002 that has helped hundreds of thousands of families across the U.S. to improve the comfort, safety, durability and energy efficiency of their homes. Soon after the family moved to Vermont in 1997, Mike completed one of the country’s first “deep energy retrofits” on their historic 1920s home in Burlington, with the help of his brother, Chris. Driven by his passion for and sense of duty to the planet, Mike worked in residential energy efficiency for more than 20 years and became a leader as well as a mentor…
Mike Rogers passed away on December 18, 2018, at home surrounded by his family, after a yearlong battle with an extremely rare and aggressive sinus cancer. His was the 40th case of this particular cancer ever recorded, and in some of his last moments he expressed hope that his experience might help researchers find more effective treatments for it. In the last year of his life, Mike proved that he would die as he had lived: in service of others, while also lighting up rooms with his one-of-a-kind storytelling, making time for long hikes with friends and family, and listening to John Prine songs all the way through. Born in 1964, Mike was the eldest son of Dan and Carol Miene Rogers, and he grew up with his brother and two sisters in Villa Park, Ill. In 1986 he graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a bachelor’s degree in computer science/engineering. Not one to stick to a beaten path — on hiking trips or in life — he went on to pursue an MBA at the University of Indiana, where he designed his own curriculum with a focus on environmental issues and nonprofits. After earning his master’s, Mike served in the Peace Corps as a math teacher in the Central African Republic. There he met his wife, Karen, who was volunteering in public health. After finishing their Peace Corps service, they both stayed in the country to work on a USAID project focused on decreasing the transmission of HIV. They returned together to the U.S. and moved to Washington, D.C., where their two daughters were born and Mike started his career as an environmental protection specialist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He was affiliated with the EPA for 11 years and was the lead developer of Home Performance with ENERGY STAR, a national program launched in 2002 that has helped hundreds of thousands of families across the U.S. to improve the comfort, safety, durability and energy efficiency of their homes. Soon after the family moved to Vermont in 1997, Mike completed one of the country’s first “deep energy retrofits” on their historic 1920s home in Burlington, with the help of his brother, Chris. Driven by his passion for and sense of duty to the planet, Mike worked in residential energy efficiency for more than 20 years and became a leader as well as a mentor…