Brandon Wolf spent 20 years working his way up from high school sweeper to Energy Team Lead in Canyons School District. Now he'll represent 3,000 education support professionals (ESPs) across Utah as the new executive director of the Utah School Employees Association.

Wolf's appointment, announced by the district on Wednesday, Aug. 5, puts a familiar face from Sandy-area schools at the helm of the statewide organization that advocates for custodians, bus drivers, paraeducators, food service workers, secretaries and maintenance staff.

As Energy Team Lead, Wolf oversaw energy conservation across more than 46 Canyons schools and facilities. CSD Facilities Director Matthew Wolford said Wolf saved the district tens of thousands of dollars by monitoring water and electrical usage.

"No one can go to Brandon and say, 'you don't know what it's like to be an ESP,' because he can say, 'yes, I do,'" Wolford said in the district's announcement.

Wolf started at Canyons as a sweeper whose crews were made up of student workers. He said that connection to kids kept him in the district.

"I stuck around because I enjoyed the people I was working with. I enjoyed working with the kids when I was in the school," Wolf said. "All of my sweepers were students and getting to be part of their lives made it a good place to work."

Before his selection as executive director, Wolf served as USEA vice president. The organization traces its roots to 1929, when custodial and maintenance supervisors first organized statewide; it adopted the USEA name in 1938 and affiliated with the National Education Association in 2004.

The USEA website had not yet been updated to reflect Wolf's new role as of Thursday, Aug. 6, and no formal start date has been announced. The district has not said how or when it will fill the Energy Team Lead position Wolf is leaving behind.