IL-06: Sean Casten (D)

About the District

Campaign Website

About Sean: 

Sean has an undergraduate degree in molecular biology and biochemistry and masters’ degrees in engineering management and biochemical engineering, which helped inform his career in science and business. In 2007, Sean moved to Illinois to co-found Recycled Energy Development LLC, with a mission to profitably reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the recovery of otherwise wasted energy.

As a husband and father, Sean knows that nothing terrifies families more than the thought of their health care being jeopardized by the massive cuts supported by Donald Trump and Peter Roskam. Sean will fight to restore health care to the thousands of Illinoisans who now risk losing quality coverage or who may not be able to afford it. He has committed to help keep Medicare and Medicaid safe for future generations and fight any proposals that would reduce benefits for those who have contributed to securing their retirement.

Whether creating clean energy jobs, working with policymakers to find win-win solutions to our problems, or writing about the important work we must do to protect our planet, Sean Casten has never shied away from big challenges. We need him in Congress. Sean is on our side and will represent our values.

Their daughters, Gwen and Audrey, both attend public schools. The Castens understand the pivotal role of public education in preparing America’s children to compete in a global economy. Kara is a marketing professional and currently works for a global insurance company in Schaumburg.

Sean earned a B.A. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Middlebury College. He then worked for two years as a scientist at the Tufts School of Medicine in a laboratory investigating dietary impacts on colon and breast cancer.

In 1998, he earned a Masters of Engineering Management and a M.S. in Biochemical Engineering from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth. His M.S. thesis was focused on the development of technologies to produce fuel-grade ethanol from cellulosic feedstocks and the techno-economic evaluation of various alternative ethanol, heat, and power generation technologies.

From 1997 to 2000, Sean worked as a consultant in the energy practice of Arthur D. Little, where he worked for a broad range of public and private sector companies doing work to evaluate, design, and optimize a broad range of clean heat, power, and fuel technologies.

In 2000, Sean became the president and CEO of Turbosteam Corporation, a manufacturer of custom-built combined heat and power plants, all of which achieved at least double the fuel efficiency of the U.S. electric grid. Under Sean’s leadership, the company sold, installed, and commissioned over 70 distinct power plants throughout the Americas and Asia, with a primary focus on the U.S. industrial sector.

In 2007, Sean moved to Illinois to co-found Recycled Energy Development, LLC (“RED”), with a mission to profitably reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the recovery of otherwise wasted energy.

The biographical information above was sourced from the campaign website; see link above for more information.