Full Agenda

David Terry

Executive Director, National Association of State Energy Officials

David Terry is the Executive Director of the National Association of State Energy Officials and has worked with NASEO in a variety of capacities since 1996. Mr. Terry leads NASEO's policy actions and programs in support of the 56 governor-designated state and territory energy directors and their offices. NASEO communicates the states' views on virtually all national energy issues. Mr. Terry has participated in governor-led policy meetings, testified before U.S. Congressional Committees and presented at White House and international energy forums.  Mr. Terry has 25 years of experience working on a range of energy issues for such organizations as the Governors’ Wind and Solar Energy and Coalition and Energy Services Coalition. Prior to working in the energy area, Mr. Terry was researcher at the National Academy of Sciences and a statistical analyst for a consumer products market research firm. He received a BA degree from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, and he has completed graduate coursework in statistics and marketing at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia.

Kelley Smith Burk

Director, Office of Energy, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Chair, NASEO Board of Directors

Kelley Smith Burk has been with the Florida Office of Energy since 2008 and oversaw the development and administration of over $176 million of federal and state grants to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy.  Kelley serves as the director for the Office of Energy.  Kelley is responsible for leading the Office of Energy as it develops energy policy and implements programs as well as promotes the use of renewable energy, energy efficient technologies, and alternative transportation technologies for the state of Florida.

Prior to joining the department, Kelley worked with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Strategic Projects and Planning as a policy analyst for the Governor’s Action Team on Energy and Climate Change. Kelley has also served as the director of Scheduling in the Executive Office of the Governor. Kelley received her bachelor’s degree in history from Florida State University and her master’s degree in public policy from Pepperdine University.

Michael Pesin

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Advanced Grid Research and Development, U.S. Department of Energy

Michael Pesin is Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Advanced Grid Research and Development Division in the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Electricity. Mr. Pesin has 30 years of experience in the electric utility industry, much of it directing development and execution of advanced technology programs. His most recent assignment was with Seattle City Light (SCL) where he developed the technology strategy, managed research and development projects and directed strategic programs to management demonstration projects. His subordinate strategic programs included substation automation, distributed automation, advanced metering infrastructure, enterprise OT communication networks, energy storage, microgrids, transactive energy management and distributed management systems. 

Mr. Pesin has numerous professional affiliations, publications and patents. He holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg (Leningrad), Russia, is a Licensed Professional Electrical Engineer in the State of Washington, a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA).

James Campbell

Director, Innovation and Sustainability Policy, PacifiCorp/Berkshire Hathaway Energy

James Campbell is the Director of Innovation and Sustainability Policy at Rocky Mountain Power.  James joined Rocky Mountain Power in 2007 where he worked on crafting corporate environmental policy and strategy and designed and implemented the company’s GHG Cap and Trade program in California.  He has successfully led major pieces of legislation enabling innovative technologies including most recently the creation of a $50 million EV infrastructure program in Utah, He has led projects that have been awarded over $15 million from the U.S. Department of Energy. Prior to joining RMP, James was the staff lead for Utah Governor Jon Huntsman’s Renewable Energy Initiative and Blue Ribbon Advisory Council for Climate Change.   James earned a bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering, a Masters in Environmental Engineering, and a Masters in Business Administration all from the University of Utah.     

David Nemtzow

Director, Building Technologies Office, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy

David Nemtzow brings to the Building Technologies Office (BTO) of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) more than three decades of experience in energy, including in industry, government, utility, non-profit associations, and consulting. As Director of BTO, David is responsible for leading this $200 million per year office that helps develop innovative, cost-effective energy efficiency R&D and other solutions for U.S. building technologies, equipment, systems and whole buildings.  Previously, he was Director-General (CEO) of the Department of Energy, Utilities, and Sustainability for New South Wales?Australia’s most populous state?where he played a central role in the State’s electricity, greenhouse, energy, and water strategies and policies. He also served as President of the Alliance to Save Energy, a prominent Washington, D.C.-based association of industry, government, utility, consumer, and environmental executives that promotes invest¬ment in energy efficiency. In addition, he has been a member of the executive committee of a distributed energy storage startup company, an independent energy consultant, and a senior congressional energy staff member. David has served on numerous governmental advisory committees and the boards of energy associations and organizations. He has published and speaks regularly in the field. He earned a master’s degree from Harvard University in public policy and a bachelor’s from Brown University in environmental policy.

Dr. Sumesh Arora

Director, Energy and Natural Resources Division, Mississippi Development Authority

Dr. Sumesh Arora is the director of the Energy & Natural Resources Division of the Mississippi Development Authority which is the state energy office.  Since assuming this position in November 2016, Sumesh has reorganized this office to focus on four areas: energy efficiency programs, energy education and workforce development, energy projects and policy development, and energy data and security.

Previously, Sumesh served as vice president of Innovate Mississippi, director of the Strategic Biomass Solutions, and the Energy-Economy-Environment (E3) program manager for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Mississippi.  He has led programs in cleantech commercialization, combined heat and power, innovation strategy development, STEM education, and technology-based entrepreneurship.  Prior to that, he worked for 13 years as a researcher and product development engineer in the chemical fertilizer industry.

Sumesh is the co-inventor of a patented technology to convert poultry litter into bioenergy and testified before the United States Senate in 2014 to lend support for advanced biofuels technologies.  He has over 125 presentations and publications including two book chapters.  Sumesh received his PhD in international development from the University of Southern Mississippi and his BS and MS degrees in engineering from the University of Central Florida.

Jetta Wong

President, JLW Advising

Jetta Wong is President of JLW Advising and Senior Fellow in the Clean Energy Innovation Program at ITIF. In her consulting practice, she advises clients on how to bring new clean energy technologies to the market. Previously, she worked at the Department of Energy, joining in July of 2012. Before joining the Department of Energy Jetta worked for the United States House of Representatives' Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. She worked on a wide range of energy and environment policy issues related to civilian research, development and demonstration programs at the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency. Before working for Congress, Jetta worked for the Clean Energy Program of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) where she brought stakeholders together from southern states in support of clean energy policy. Prior to her work at UCS she served as the Senior Policy Associate on Sustainable Biomass for the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI). There she testified twice for Congress on bioenergy and worked with congressional staffers and stakeholders to develop policies that promote cutting edge sustainable renewable energy technologies. Jetta's career in energy started in Uzbekistan where she was a natural resources consultant on an anaerobic digestion development project.

Jetta holds a MPS in Legislative Affairs from George Washington University and B.S. in Natural Resources and the Environment from the University of Michigan.

Robin Yochum

Energy Program Manager, Nevada Governor’s Office of Energy

As an Energy Program Manager, Ms. Yochum works on advancing energy efficiency policies for the state of Nevada with the Governor’s Office of Energy (GOE). Ms. Yochum joined the GOE team in 2016 and her responsibilities include participating in the development and implementation of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) on a three-year cycle, the development and adoption of appliance standards including the most recent adoption of minimum efficiency standards for general service lamps, administration of a green building tax abatement program, and providing no cost energy efficient improvements for low income seniors. Ms. Yochum serves on the International Code Councils (ICC) Building Membership Council, Raise the Profile Subcommittee and Community Building Best Practices & Innovation Subcommittee. Ms. Yochum also serves on the ICCs Sustainability Membership Councils Zero Carbon Subcommittee as the Chair of the Implementation and Workforce development task group and represents Nevada on the US Climate Alliance Building and Appliance working groups. Ms. Yochum is a Nevada Certified Contracts Manager as well as LEED Green Associate and GPRO Certified for green building and sustainable practices. Ms. Yochum has over 20 years of experience in residential and commercial construction.

Ben Bolton

Energy Programs Administrator, Office of Energy Programs, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation

Mr. Bolton serves as the Primary Emergency Services Coordinator for Energy for the State of Tennessee.  In his role as helps administer the Tennessee Office of Energy Programs activities related to energy security/assurance, critical infrastructure, & energy policy. In 2018, Mr. Bolton was selected as co-chair of the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) Energy Security Committee & serves on the FEMA's Mitigation Framework Leadership Group. Originally from Mule Capital of the World – Columbia, Tennessee, he has a B.A. in English and B.S. in biology from Birmingham-Southern College. 

Megan Levy

Local Energy Programs Manager, Office of Energy Innovation, Wisconsin Public Service Commission

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison; Megan has spent more than a decade working with building energy efficiency both with the low-income weatherization program and with the Wisconsin State Energy Office (now known as the Wisconsin Office of Energy Innovation). Megan is currently the Energy Emergency Assurance Coordinator for the state and also oversees the Energy Independent Communities program which counts more than 147 communities as members. Megan designed and is the manager of the Municipal Energy Efficiency Technical Assistance Program (MEETAP) in which the Energy Office provides expertise to municipalities, tribes, and schools across the state to facilitate successful energy efficiency projects.  Megan served on the Board of Directors of the Midwest Renewable Energy Association in 2016-17 (www.midwestrenew.org).  In August of 2017, Megan was named Co-Chair of the National Association of State Energy Officials Energy Security Committee. A chanteuse for the last 20 years, Megan performs jazz, jump blues, and swing all over Wisconsin under the moniker Madison Red, with her four piece band.

Chris Yunker

Managing Director, Resiliency, Clean Transportation, and Analytics, Hawaii State Energy Office

Chris Yunker is the Managing Director for Resiliency, Clean Transportation, and Analytics for the Hawaii State Energy Office.  Mr. Yunker is an energy industry professional with a broad range of experience in a variety of functions and roles including start-ups, venture capital, and central station power plant development. Most recently Chris was the Rates and Analysis Manager for San Diego Gas & Electric where he oversaw rate design, forecasting and load analysis. Prior to that he held positions at SDG&E in Strategic Planning, Finance, RD&D, and Resource Planning. In these roles he oversaw the development of applications and served as an expert witness in proceedings before the California Public Utilities Commission covering topics ranging from rate policy, rate design, procurement and finance.  In addition Mr. Yunker has worked for Sempra Connections which installed micro-turbines in combined heat and power applications on the customer side of the meter as well as for GEA Power Cooling Systems, Inc. which developed condensing systems for steam turbines in utility scale central station power plants.  He has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from University of California – San Diego and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Southern California.  He is also a professional engineer (PE) in mechanical engineering and a certified energy manager (CEM) through the association of energy engineers.

Amy Royden-Bloom

State Energy Program Manager, Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs Office, U.S. Department of Energy

Amy Royden-Bloom is the manager of the State Energy Program in the Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs Office, which is housed in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the Department of Energy (DOE).  The State Energy Program (SEP) provides funding and technical assistance to states, territories, and the District of Columbia to enhance energy security, advance state-led energy initiatives, and maximize the benefits of increasing energy affordability.
Prior to joining DOE in 2013, Amy was a Senior Staff Associate for 12 years at the National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA), where she led the association’s efforts on global warming, enforcement, agricultural air pollution and training.  She previously worked as a special assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs and, before that, as a lawyer at DOE.

Amy holds a law degree from Harvard Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and Spanish from the University of Virginia.

Heather Goggin

Planning and Economic Development Specialist, Energy Division, Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs

Jenah Zweig

Supervisor of Partnerships and Technical Assistance, Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs Office, U.S. Department of Energy

Jenah Zweig is the Supervisor of Partnerships and Technical Assistance in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Jenah joined EERE after serving in DOE’s Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis (EPSA) as the Director of Energy Efficiency Analysis. Prior to DOE, Jenah served as Policy Director at the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA), and also worked at the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability for the City of Atlanta, Natural Justice in Cape Town, South Africa and the U.S. Department of Justice. Jenah earned a law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law, and she completed her bachelor’s degree with honors at the University of Southern California.

Jenah is a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute’s Leadership in a Democratic Society Program, volunteers as a DOE Alternative Dispute Resolution mediator, and is a proud DOE Emerging Professionals Group Champion and EERE Mentor. She previously served as a board member for the Georgia Conservation Voters, Generation Green of the Georgia Conservancy, and as Vice President of the American Energy Service Professionals (AESP), Southeast Chapter. Jenah has also been honored with a President’s Volunteer Service Award, and was recognized as a University of Georgia “40 Under 40” Leader, a Georgia Nonprofit Leader, and one of Women In Numbers (WIN)’s “Women to Watch.”

Curt Rich

President and Chief Executive Officer, North American Insulation Manufacturers Association

As President and CEO of the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA), which represents the $8 billion U.S. fiber glass and mineral wool insulation industry, Curt oversees all activities relating to the promotion of fiber glass and mineral wool insulation to all key stakeholders including policymakers, code officials, building industry professionals and consumers. In addition, he champions policies and legislation that encourage the use of insulation to increase energy efficiency and sustainability.

Prior to joining NAIMA in July 2014, Curt was Vice President of Energy and Environmental Policy for United Technologies Corporation (UTC), responsible for directing government affairs objectives for UTC’s building and industrial systems businesses, which included Carrier and Otis Elevator.

Curt is a former partner at the Washington, D.C. based law and policy firm of Van Ness Feldman where he represented companies, trade associations and local governments on issues related to tax policy, energy, the environment and natural resources. He also previously served as legislative counsel to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and as legislative counsel to U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), where he advised the senator on a wide range of policy issues.

Curt holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Whitman College and a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Montana.

Dr. Asa Hopkins

Vice President, Synapse Energy Economics

Asa Hopkins, PhD, is an expert in the development and analysis of public policy and regulation regarding energy and greenhouse gas emissions, including cost-benefit analysis, stakeholder engagement, state energy strategy and planning, and utility planning. He has provided analysis and testimony supporting decision-makers in both legislative and regulatory contexts, including state utility regulation and state and federal rulemaking.

Since arriving at Synapse in 2017, Dr. Hopkins has focused on utility and demand-side issues, including demand response in Quebec, rate design in Massachusetts, and utility performance metrics in Puerto Rico, as well as multi-state analysis of strategic end-use electrification across the Northeast region.

As the Director of Energy Policy and Planning at the Vermont Department of Public Service from 2011-2016, Dr. Hopkins was responsible for development and analysis of state policy regarding renewable energy, ratepayer-funded energy efficiency, energy-related economic development, and innovative utility rates and programs. He was responsible for developing the state’s Comprehensive Energy Plan and for review of utility integrated resource plans. Dr. Hopkins also directed the actions of the Planning and Energy Resources Division, including the evaluation of utility energy efficiency programs, evaluation of utility power supply contracts and costs, economic analysis of proposed energy infrastructure projects, advancement of clean energy finance tools, funding to foster key energy industries, development of standards for the energy portions of regional and town plans, analysis and tracking of state energy data, and programs advancing the strategic electrification of transportation and heating. He also served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Energy Officials. During his tenure, Vermont rose in the rankings on national clean energy state scorecards: ACEEE State Energy Efficiency Scorecard from 5th to 3rd and U.S. Clean Tech Leadership Index from 10th to 3rd.

Prior to 2011, Dr. Hopkins was an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow in the Office of the Under Secretary for Science at the U.S. Department of Energy. In that role, he was the Assistant Project Director for the DOE’s first Quadrennial Technology Review, responsible for ensuring that the stakeholder engagement and report-drafting processes were completed successfully. He was also the primary author of the QTR’s section on building and industrial energy efficiency. Dr. Hopkins came to DOE from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where he worked on economic and market analysis of appliance energy efficiency standards and led LBNL’s support for the first rulemaking on small electric motors.

Dr. Hopkins holds a B.S. in Physics from Haverford College and a Masters and PhD in Physics from California Institute of Technology.

David Bobzien

Director, Nevada Governor’s Office of Energy

David Bobzien serves as the Director of the Nevada Governor’s Office of Energy for Governor Steve Sisolak. Mr. Bobzien holds a B.A. in Government and Politics from George Mason University, and a Masters of Public Administration with an emphasis in natural resources and public lands policy from Boise State University.

David Bobzien was appointed to the At-Large Council Member position in 2014 by the Reno City Council, to serve the remainder of Mayor Hillary Schieve’s vacated term. He was elected to a four-year term in 2016.

As a result of his leadership on the City Council, Reno was the first city in Nevada to join the C40 Compact of Mayors, convened the city’s Climate Action Initiative Group to build climate change resiliency and reduce the city’s carbon emissions, and launched “ReEnergize Reno,” an ambitious program to improve building efficiency 20% by 2025. As part of the program, Reno became the first city in Nevada to adopt an energy benchmarking ordinance, promoting transparency in building energy use to increase efficiency.

Prior to his service on the Reno City Council, Mr. Bobzien served four terms as an Assemblyman representing District 24 in the Nevada Legislature. During his legislative career, he worked on a wide variety of issues, most notably on conservation and clean energy policy including net metering, renewable incentives programs, energy efficiency, and the renewable portfolio standard. During the 2013 session, Mr. Bobzien chaired the Assembly Commerce and Labor committee and shepherded landmark legislation retiring Nevada-serving coal-fired power plants.

Alex Frazier

Virginia Management Fellow, Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy

Alex Frazier was named a Virginia Management Fellow in 2019. This prestigious fellowship is offered by the Commonwealth of Virginia in collaboration with the Office of the Governor and the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech.  Alex organized several youth programs that promoted environmental stewardship with the Department of Conservation and Recreation and is now assisting the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy with the Commercial Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.

Billy Gridley

Director, Investor Network, Ceres

Billy supports the Ceres Investor Network whose members are global asset owners and managers committed to addressing sustainability issues in their investment practices, corporate engagements and policy advocacy. He collaborates with other Ceres teams to identify sustainable investing opportunities and risks in both public and private capital markets. He works to develop real-world portfolio strategies and policy solutions in the quest to improve capital market systems.

Prior to joining Ceres, he founded investment arbitrage groups at Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns, and CSFB in New York and London. He was also the co-founder of two start-up clean energy companies: Brightbox, which addressed redundant consumer e-waste via a shared-economy solution for smartphone battery-charging; and Kilimanjaro Energy, which addressed carbon pollution with direct air capture technologies to enable carbon capture and use. He advised family office clients and perpetual nonprofits on portfolio management, with a focus on governance, the proper exercise of fiduciary duty and pursuit of intergenerational value.

He holds a Masters of Public Administration in Environmental Science & Policy from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Studies from Yale University. He is a CFA charter holder. He is passionate about the prospects for dimensional and effective sustainable investing, rapid global energy system transition, and widening opportunities for social justice and global change. He is a student of people, markets, economic systems, and world history.

Diane Turchetta

Transportation Specialist, Sustainable Transportation and Resilience, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation

Diane Turchetta is a Transportation Specialist in FHWA’s Office of Natural Environment (HEPN), and primarily works on transportation and sustainability issues.  Diane has been with FHWA for 20 years in various positions working on a variety of transportation-related air quality matters including energy use, alternative fuels and freight emissions.  She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration from the Pennsylvania State University and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.  Before joining the U.S. DOT, Diane worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on fuel-related issues.

Michael Berube

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Sustainable Transportation, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy

Michael Berube is the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. In this role, he oversees EERE’s Sustainable Transportation sector, which includes the Vehicle, Fuel Cell, and Bioenergy Technologies offices. This portfolio focuses on research and development to increase access to domestic, clean transportation fuels and improve the energy efficiency, convenience, and affordability of transporting people and goods to support U.S. energy security, economic productivity and competitiveness.

Previously, he led the Vehicle Technologies Office. In this post, he led an array of activities that help reduce America's dependence on foreign oil and secure a clean energy future. The Vehicle Technologies Office supports about $300 million in annual research funding for hybrid drivetrains, advanced batteries, lightweight materials, advanced combustion and fuels, vehicle systems integration, and Clean Cities deployment activities.

He brings more than 25 years of experience in the automotive industry to his new EERE post, specifically in the areas of environmental compliance, energy and safety policy, product development and marketing. He has worked on a broad range of electric vehicle, connected car and advanced powertrain initiatives. Michael also led multiple environmental and energy initiatives within the Chrysler Corporation.

Michael has a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from MIT. He later returned to MIT as both a graduate student and researcher where he received a master's degree in the Technology and Policy Program and a master's degree from the Sloan School of Management. He was recognized for his early work on corporate sustainability and led research for the MIT International Motor Vehicle Program.

Janine Benner

Director, Oregon Department of Energy

Janine Benner is the director of the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE). Janine joined ODOE in 2017 as assistant director for Planning and Innovation and was confirmed by the Senate as ODOEs director in February of 2018. Janine came to ODOE from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), where she was served as associate assistant secretary in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the largest government funder of clean energy research and development. Before that, she served as deputy assistant secretary in DOE’s Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs. Janine also spent 12 years working for Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), first as an energy and environmental policy advisor and then as deputy chief of staff. She grew up in Portland, OR and has a degree in history from Princeton University.

Robin Millican

Director, Advocacy and Government Relations, Breakthrough Energy

Robin Millican is Director of Advocacy and Government Relations at Breakthrough Energy – a network of entities and initiatives, including investment funds, nonprofit and philanthropic programs, and policy efforts linked by a common commitment to scale the technologies we need to achieve a path to net zero emissions by 2050. Prior to joining Breakthrough Energy, Ms. Millican was a senior public sector consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, working in the commerce and defense energy sectors. Ms. Millican has also held positions as the Director of Federal Affairs at the Institute for Energy Research, and as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator John Cornyn. She has a B.A. in International Studies from Southern Methodist University, and a Master of Public Policy degree from Duke University.

Jenny Heeter

Senior Energy Analyst, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Jenny Heeter is a senior energy analyst at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado.  She has spent more than 10 years at NREL researching state and local renewable energy policies, corporate purchases of renewable energy, and community solar deployment and cost. She has 5 years of experience managing solar technical assistance programs for local governments, higher education institutions, and community solar stakeholders. Before coming to NREL she was an analyst with the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Council focusing on energy efficiency and green power programs. She holds an M.P.A. in environmental policy from Indiana University-Bloomington’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs and a B.A. in environmental studies and political science from Macalester College.

Lenwood Coleman

Chief Program Officer, Groundswell

Lenwood Coleman,Chief Program Officer, contributes his skills in business management and development to the Groundswell operational activities. Bringing more than twenty years’ experience in project delivery, capital budgeting, quality control, and community outreach, Lenwood oversees several programs and initiatives reaching a national audience.  Before joining Groundswell, Lenwood worked in Federal Government services generating and implementing grants and contracts. Prior to that, he served in the U.S. Air Force for nine years, specializing in finance, audiovisual, information management, and safety.

Strongly committed to building wealth and hope through education, training, jobs, and entrepreneurship opportunities, Lenwood has dedicated more than fifteen years to community service in faith-based organizations within the D.C. area.  Providing opportunities for individuals in deprived communities throughout the country, he supports programs geared toward advocacy, personal and workforce development, housing and community outreach.                                                                                                   

Lenwood holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Wayland Baptist University, and a Master’s Degree in Forensic Psychology from Argosy University.

Jacob Peterson

Manager of State Engagement, National Propane Gas Association

Jacob Peterson serves as the Manager of State Engagement at the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA), where he is a propane industry advocate on key state-level legislative and regulatory issues. Prior to joining NPGA, he spent six years working in the U.S. House of Representatives. As a Legislative Assistant, Jacob oversaw policy matters pertaining to energy, environment and science.

Jon Huber

President, National Oilheat Research Alliance

John Huber is the President of the National Oilheat Research Alliance. From this position, John is actively involved in many key aspects of the industry including the development of new technology, ensuring new fuels will work safely and efficiently in our equipment, educating the men and women of the industry who help oilheat consumers, and communicating the benefits of oilheat to consumers.

Dr. Laura Nelson

Executive Director, Green Hydrogen Initiative

Dr. Nelson, an economist, has led a distinguished career in the energy industry and is a long-standing hydrogen champion. Under her leadership, Utah founded the first-of-its-kind Annual Utah Governor’s Energy Office Hydrogen Symposium. Prior to joining GHC, Dr. Nelson served as Energy Policy Adviser to the Governor Herbert of Utah, and from 2014-2020 was Executive Director of the Utah Office of Energy Development. As a leader in the energy community, Dr. Nelson has extensive board and committee experience including serving as the Chair of the Utah Energy Infrastructure board and Chair to the Western Interstate Energy Board. Dr. Nelson holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Utah.

Dr. Carolyn Snyder

Director, Climate Protection Partnerships Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Dr. Carolyn Snyder is currently the Director of U.S. EPA’s Climate Protection Partnerships Division.  The Division uses the power of voluntary partnerships to remove market barriers for energy efficiency and renewable energy and to reduce the emissions of harmful air pollutants, resulting in both economic and environmental benefits to American families and businesses.  The Division’s programs include the EPA’s flagship partnership program, ENERGY STAR, which offers energy efficiency solutions across the residential, commercial and industrial sectors.  Other programs include the Green Power Partnership, the Combined Heat and Power Partnership, the Center for Corporate Climate Leadership, and the State and Local Energy and Energy program.

Carolyn previously served as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, a White House Fellow in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and Director of Delaware's Division of Energy & Climate.  She earned a Ph.D. in Environment and Resources from Stanford University, Masters Degrees as a Marshall Scholar from Oxford and Cambridge, and a B.A. from Amherst College.  Her scientific research has been published in Nature, Paleoceanography, and Climatic Change.

Kate Marks

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, U.S. Department of Energy

Kate Marks oversees CESER’s efforts to secure critical energy infrastructure against manmade or physical hazards, reduce the impact of disruptive events, and respond to and facilitate recovery from energy disruptions. Marks began her federal service in 2014 as part of the DOE’s Energy Policy and Systems Analysis office, analyzing state and local government energy policy and managing stakeholder engagement. Prior to joining DOE, Marks served as Managing Director at the National Association of State Energy Officials in Arlington, Virginia, and as Director of the Energy Program at the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver.

Marks holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from James Madison University and a Master of Resource Law Studies in Energy Law and Policy from the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law. She has authored numerous publications and testified before state legislatures on energy and climate policy issues.

Janette Sandberg

Senior Protection Engineer, Portland General Electric

Janette Sandberg received her BS in Electrical Engineering from Boston University, her MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Georgia Tech and her MBA from Simmons College.  She is a licensed professional engineer in the states of North Carolina and Oregon and is currently a protection operations and planning engineer at Portland General Electric (PGE) in Oregon.  Prior to joining PGE, Janette worked at NSTAR Electric (now part of Eversource) and Duke Energy (Charlotte, North Carolina) in the areas of system protection and distribution engineering.  She is a senior IEEE member and currently the co-chair of IEEE 1547.3 Guide for Cybersecurity of Distributed Energy Resources Interconnected with Electric Power Systems.

Tony Markel

Senior Engineer, Energy Systems Cyber-Physical Security Research Group, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Tony Markel is a Senior Engineer in the Energy Systems Cyber-Physical Security Research Group at NREL supporting DOE’s research initiatives. He has over 20 years of research experience in vehicle technologies resulting in numerous publications.

He has been able to develop interconnections between buildings, electric vehicle, and renewables R&D efforts. Tony had the opportunity to share his grid modernization insights with Senate staff during a recent fellowship in Washington, D.C.

His current focus is on creating energy infrastructure solutions that enhance system security and resilience. Tony holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering.

Dr. Guohui Yuan

Program Manager, Systems Integration Program, Solar Energy Technologies Office, U.S. Department of Energy

Dr. Guohui Yuan is with the Department of Energy's Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) under Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office (EERE). Since 2016 he has been the program manager for the Systems Integration (SI) program, leading a team of technology managers and support staff to manage federal investments in research, development, and demonstration of technologies and solutions that enable the widespread deployment of solar energy on the nation's electricity grid.

Dr. Yuan joined SETO as a technical advisor in 2011 during the launch of the SunShot Initiative. Prior to DOE, he held key positions in industry-leading clean tech startup companies, including CURRENT Group, GridPoint, and WaveCrest Labs. Early in his career, he worked at COMSAT Labs as a systems scientist in satellite communications. He is a well-recognized domain expert, innovator, and thought leader. He has published dozens of journal and conference papers, and is a frequent speaker at industry meetings. He holds nine patents on electric vehicle propulsion systems.

Dr. Yuan holds a B.S. degree from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park, both in physics. He has taken leadership trainings at MIT Sloan and at Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania.

Lise Trudeau

Emerging Technology Policy Planning Director, State Energy Office, Division of Energy Resources, Minnesota Department of Commerce

Lise Trudeau is an Emerging Technology Planning Director at the State Energy Office within the Minnesota Department of Commerce, where she has worked since 2006.  She analyzes energy system trends and engages stakeholders to bridge technology and policy in the transition to a clean energy system.   Lise holds a Bachelor’s in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Minnesota

Max Joel

NY-Sun Team Lead, New York State Energy Research Development Authority

Max Joel is the Program Manager of the NY-Sun Initiative at the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA). NY-Sun is a statewide initiative to build 6 Gigawatts of distributed solar by 2025. NY-Sun includes the Solar Energy Equity Framework, which commits more than $200 million to projects benefitting low and moderate income households, affordable housing, disadvantaged communities and environmental justice communities. Previously, Max was the Director of Community Solar Initiatives at Solar One, a nonprofit organization in New York City, and the Capital Projects Coordinator at the Queens Botanical Garden.

Carolyn Elam

Energy Program Strategy Manger, City of Boulder, Colorado

Carolyn Elam is the Energy Program Strategy Manager for the City of Boulder.  Prior to joining the City in May 2018, Ms. Elam managed Xcel Energy’s Residential Energy Efficiency and Low-Income Programs for Colorado and New Mexico.  Previously Ms. Elam managed energy systems integration and hydrogen programs for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and solar and buildings programs for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).  Ms. Elam was a principal contributor to the President’s Hydrogen Fuel and Solar America Initiatives and served as Acting Program Manager during the launching of DOE’s Better Buildings Program.  Ms. Elam brings more than twenty-five years of experience in energy efficiency and renewable energy at both the national and international level.  Ms. Elam holds degrees in both Mathematics and Chemistry from Regis University.

Joe Britton

Executive Director, Zero Emission Transportation Association

Joe has spent the past fifteen years working in the U.S. Senate, most recently serving as Chief of
Staff for U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM). Prior to that he spent five years as Deputy Chief
of Staff and Legislative Director for Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) and six years with Senator Ben
Nelson (D-NE) serving as a Legislative Assistant. He also served as a Senior Advisor to USDA
Secretary Tom Vilsack, helping to oversee the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Farm
Service Agency, and the Forest Service. He helped launch the Zero Emission Transportation
Association alongside 35 member companies in November 2020.

He holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Economics and American Government from the University
of Virginia, and a Master of Arts in Government and a Master of Business Administration from
Johns Hopkins University.

Joan Glickman

Acting Director, Residential Buildings Integration, Building Technologies Office, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy

Joan Glickman serves as the Program Manager for the Residential Buildings Integration Program and lead of the Advanced Building Construction Initiative – a BTO-wide effort aimed at creating and scaling new technologies and approaches for deep energy retrofits and low carbon construction across the U.S. Joan joined the Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in 1997 and has held a variety of positions there including Deputy Director of the Federal Energy Management Program and Lead in the development of the Home Energy Score. Joan has a Master in Public Policy from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and a B.A. in History from Amherst College.

Kimberly Llewellyn

Performance Construction Technical Lead, Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US, LLC

Kimberly is the technical lead of Mitsubishi Electric’s Performance Construction Team which is committed to supporting builders, architects, engineers, contractors and developers nationwide in their efforts to provide high performance buildings.  Informed by a perspective that the choices we make pertaining to our built environment have a profound effect on the health of our global ecosystem, she specializes in the advancement of high performance building practices for low carbon impact projects including passive house, net zero energy, deep energy retrofits with a particular focus on multifamily buildings.  Kimberly began her work in the construction industry with 6 years of field work as a HERS rater and building failure consultant which shaped her holistic, field based view of buildings.  Motto: Balance theory and practice, keep your boots dirty, hold skilled trades in high regard and refuse to gloss over inconvenient field realities.

She holds a Master of Science degree in Environmental Engineering from Columbia University, is a voting member on ASHRAE Technical Standard Committees 62.2 (Residential Ventilation and Acceptable IAQ) and 227P(Passive Building Design) Committees and is a PHIUS certified CPHC.

Maleka Momand

Chief Executive Officer, Esper Regulatory Technologies

Maleka Momand is the CEO of Esper, a regulatory technology company she co-founded with Joe Lonsdale in 2018. Esper works with governments to provide industry-leading technology that promotes accountability, data, and oversight in the regulatory process. Maleka is the former President of Argive, a regulatory non-profit and serves as an advisor to the Cicero Institute. She calls Austin, Texas home.

Paul Spitsen

Technology and Policy Analyst, Strategic Analysis, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy

Paul Spitsen has been in Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Strategic Analysis team for five years. The majority of his work focuses on forward looking scenario analyses, technology costs declines, and grid integration. Paul is also leading the Policy & Valuation track of DOE’s Energy Storage Grand Challenge.

Jennifer DeCesaro

Director for Recovery and Resilience, Office of Electricity, U.S. Department of Energy

Jennifer DeCesaro serves as the Director for Recovery and Resilience in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity where she leads the Department's long-term energy sector recovery efforts in the U.S. including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Additionally, she oversees the Energy Transitions Initiative which is focused on advancing self-reliant island and remote communities through resilient energy systems. Previously, she served as a Senior Programme Officer in the International Renewable Energy Agency's (IRENA) Country Support and Partnerships Division. In this role, she worked with countries to support their transition to a sustainable energy future. With a strong focus on developing countries, Jennifer coordinated across a wide variety of stakeholders to implement IRENA's technical assistance and advisory support activities under country specific and regional projects and programmes for governments, regional energy organizations, among others to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy technologies.

Prior to joining IRENA, Jennifer served as the Director of the Technology-to-Market Program in the DOE's EERE. In this capacity, she worked across EERE to identify and address challenges of commercializing and deploying energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. Before taking on that role, Jennifer served as a Special Advisor for Renewable Energy and Transmission in the Secretary of Energy's office and worked as the Market Transformation lead for the DOE's SunShot Initiative. In this capacity, she directed a broad portfolio of activities at the local, state and utility levels to reduce PV system costs and eliminate barriers to solar market development.

Before joining DOE, Jennifer was a senior analyst at Exeter Associates, where she worked on renewable energy grid integration issues and transmission policy. She also has worked as a Project Director for the Clean Energy Group, as a renewable energy and climate policy specialist for the National Conference of State Legislatures, and as an environmental consultant in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Biology from Colorado College and a Master's Degree in Environmental Law from the Vermont Law School.

Dan Burgess

Director, Maine Governor's Energy Office

Dan Burgess, was appointed as the Director of the Maine Governor’s Energy Office by Governor Janet Mills in March of 2019. Governor Mills has set an ambitious climate and clean energy agenda, including the recent signing of legislation that requires emissions reductions of 45% by 2030 and 80% by 2050 and increases Maine’s Renewable Portfolio Standards to 80% by 2030. Prior to his return to his home state of Maine, Burgess spent eight years working in leadership roles at the Massachusetts at the Department of Energy Resources and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Burgess has a business degree from the University of Maine Orono and a masters in Public Administration from Northeastern University.

Tom Vinson

Vice President of Policy and Regulatory Affairs, American Clean Power Association

Tom Vinson is Vice President, Policy and Regulatory Affairs, at the American Clean Power Association (ACP). In this role, Tom leads the ACP team focused on engaging with regulatory agencies on various issues, including wildlife, social license (i.e. non-wildlife siting issues), radar-airspace compatibility, offshore wind, public lands and tax policy, among others. Tom’s team at ACP also leads industry activities focused on project operations, worker health and safety, workforce development, and standards development. Tom is in his thirteenth year advocating on behalf of clean energy industries. Prior to representing clean energy industries, Tom spent more than 10 years working for members of congress in both the House and Senate.

The Honorable Richard Glick

Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Chairman Richard Glick was named by President Biden to be Chairman of the Federal Regulatory Commission on January 21, 2021 and is serving a Commission term that ends June 30, 2022.

Glick was nominated to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by President Donald J. Trump in August 2017 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 2, 2017.

Before joining the Commission, he was general counsel for the Democrats on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, serving as a senior policy advisor on numerous issues including electricity and renewable energy.

Prior to that, he was vice president of government affairs for Iberdrola’s renewable energy, electric and gas utility, and natural gas storage businesses in the United States. He ran the company’s Washington, DC, office and was responsible for developing and implementing the U.S. businesses’ federal legislative and regulatory policy advocacy strategies.

Glick previously served as a director of government affairs for PPM Energy and before that was director of government affairs for PacifiCorp. He served as a senior policy advisor to U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, and before that was legislative director and chief counsel to U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers of Arkansas. From 1988-1992 Commissioner Glick was an associate with the law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand.

He is a graduate of George Washington University and Georgetown Law. He and his wife Erin have a son.

Katy Hatcher

ENERGY STAR National Manager, Public Sector, Climate Protection Partnerships Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Caterina (Katy) Hatcher is the US EPA’s ENERGY STAR Public Sector National Manager.  She works with public sector organizations, such as government agencies and schools, to help improve energy performance through the use of ENERGY STAR tools and resources, including ENERGYSTAR Portfolio Manager. Katy has been working for EPA since 1996.  She holds a degree from the University of Virginia’s School of Architecture in City Planning. By the end 2016, more than 500,000 properties have been benchmarked in Portfolio Manager, representing 50 percent of the nation’s commercial building space. Portfolio Manager has become the standard national platform for benchmarking energy use in commercial buildings in the United States and Canada. It has been adopted for use by leading US commercial real estate, retail, healthcare, and educational organizations. Many local governments incorporate Portfolio Manager into state and local benchmarking requirements.

Brandi Martin

Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response, U.S. Department of Energy

Brandi Martin is a new addition to the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response (CESER) team, bringing experience working with State Energy Offices and a cybersecurity background. Within CESER, Brandi focuses on energy security planning and emergency preparedness with state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) governments. Brandi joined the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in 2016 as a Project Officer. In this role, she worked with State Energy Offices on innovative projects to achieve their energy goals. She also serves as the co-Director for a DOE Employee Resource Group, fostering connections for women at DOE and supporting professional growth opportunities for women in the workforce.

Prior to DOE, Brandi served as the Partner Engagement Director at the Smart Cities Council, where she managed industry-leading energy and technology partners, and engaged city government leaders. She also has 7 years of experience at Cisco Systems in engineering, sales and business development roles. Brandi received her B.S. in Information Systems Management from the University of California Santa Cruz and her M.S. in Energy Policy and Climate from Johns Hopkins University.

John Williams

Vice President, Policy and Regulatory Affairs, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority

As Vice President for Policy and Regulatory Affairs, Mr. Williams’ primary responsibility is to help guide state energy policy development. At NYSERDA, Mr. Williams oversees the Energy and Environmental Analysis unit, providing economic analysis and scientific research to best inform policy-makers in energy and environmental issues, as well as the Performance Management unit, which provides market characterization and evaluation, clean energy market insights and statistical analysis that all guide effective clean energy strategies. Mr. Williams serves as NYSERDA’s designee on the New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment.

Mr. Williams’ previous work experience includes serving as Energy Counsel for the New York State Assembly; Staff Attorney for The Energy Project of the Pace University School of Law; and Financial Analyst for the Public Service Company of New Mexico, a combined electric and natural gas utility serving the largest markets in the state of New Mexico. Mr. Williams earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Columbia University, a Juris Doctor degree from the St. John’s University School of Law, and a Master of Laws degree in Environmental Law from the Pace University School of Law. He is a licensed attorney in the states of New York and New Jersey.

The Honorable Andy Levin

Member, U.S. House of Representatives (D-MI)

A union organizer, human rights activist, workforce policy expert and green energy entrepreneur, Congressman Andy Levin has spent his career fighting for an equitable and inclusive future for all people. He’s bringing that fight to Congress as the proud representative for Michigan’s 9th District.

Andy has been advocating for working families since the 1980s, when he organized hundreds of health care workers for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). After working with Haitian immigrant workers, Andy co-founded an organization to assist immigrants with challenges posed by the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

Continuing his work to strengthen organized labor, Andy worked in Washington, D.C. as a staff attorney to the presidential Commission on the Future of Worker-Management Relations and also in the secretary’s office of the U.S. Department of Labor. Andy worked with unions and employers on legislation critical for workers’ rights including the National Labor Relations Act, the proposed TEAM Act, the Federal Transit’s Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

From 1995-2006, Andy served as Assistant Director of Organizing at the national AFL-CIO, where he created and ran Union Summer, helped many unions with collaborative organizing campaigns around the country, and created and led the Voice@Work Campaign, which organized the national movement to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.

Andy took his advocacy work to the Michigan state government, where he created and ran the state’s No Work Left Behind initiative that helped more than 160,000 unemployed and underemployed Michiganders go back to school during the Great Recession. On a mission to unite sustainability and workforce development, Andy also helped create Michigan’s Green Jobs Initiative in 2008 and the Green Jobs Report in 2009. Andy went on to create the Michigan Academy for Green Mobility Alliance (MAGMA), which trained hundreds of unemployed and incumbent engineers to electrify cars.

In 2011, Andy founded Levin Energy Partners LLC as an entrepreneurial force to help shape Michigan’s and America’s energy future. Andy created and ran a statewide market to finance clean energy building improvements called Lean & Green Michigan, which has become one of the most innovative Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs in the US.  In 2018, Andy’s program helped a wide variety of building owners initiate $17,900,000 in clean energy projects.

Andy has worked on human rights for decades, including doing legal work for asylum seekers in the US and investigating and reporting on human rights abuses in Haiti, China and Tibet.

Born in Detroit and raised in Berkley, MI, Andy is an honors graduate of Williams College and Harvard Law School and holds a Masters Degree from the University of Michigan in Asian Languages and Cultures, where he was a Mellon Fellow in the Humanities.

Andy has long been active in the spiritual and social justice life of the Jewish community.  Until his election to Congress, he served as president of a Reconstructionist Jewish synagogue, Congregation T’chiyah, and  as chair of the steering committee of Detroit Jews for Justice, an organization he helped create to fight for racial and economic justice in Detroit.

Andy married his high school sweetheart Mary Freeman in 1991.  They have four children — Koby, Saul, Ben, and Molly — and live in Bloomfield Township.

Andy learned and worked in Haitian Creole and Tibetan and also studied French, Sanskrit, and Hindi. He remains an avid ice hockey player and enjoys yoga, mountain biking, canoeing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and other wilderness adventures.

Robert Jackson

Director, Energy Office, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy

Robert Jackson is a chemical engineer with over 20 years of industrial energy efficiency and environmental engineering experience.  Mr. Jackson is currently the Director of the Michigan Energy Office.  He is directly responsible for the state of Michigan’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Revolving Loan Program, and the State Energy Program’s Clean Energy Advanced Manufacturing, Technology Demonstration and Deployment Programs, and Agricultural Energy Programs.

Joe Pater

Director, Office of Energy Innovation, Wisconsin Public Service Commission

Michael Li

Energy and Technology Policy Bureau Chief, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

Michael is the energy bureau chief for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The energy bureau leads the state’s work in energy efficiency, integrated resource planning, offshore wind procurement and building and transportation decarbonization, among other areas. In this role, he serves on the Energy Efficiency Board and the Low Income Energy Advisory Board.

Michael has a career dedicated to public service. Before joining DEEP, he served as a senior policy advisor in the Office Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Michael has also worked in the Office of Electricity and the Secretary’s Office at DOE. Prior to joining DOE, Michael worked at the British Embassy in Washington, DC on climate change negotiations in the run up to the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.  Prior to the Embassy, Michael was the chief of staff for the Maryland Energy Administration. He also worked in various other Maryland state agencies, including the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Governor’s Office of Smart Growth.

Michael has a bachelor’s degree in environmental policy from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in public policy from Johns Hopkins University, along with a master’s degree in global leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary.

Dr. Andrew McAllister

Commissioner, California Energy Commission

Andrew McAllister was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown in May 2012. He fills the Economist Member position on the five-member Commission where four of the five members by law are required to have professional training in specific areas - engineering or physical science, environmental protection, economics, and law.

Mr. McAllister has over 20 years of technical, programmatic and policy experience in the fields of energy management, efficiency and renewable generation. Before joining the Commission, he worked at the California Center for Sustainable Energy for six years, most recently as managing director and director of policy and strategy. Previously, he worked with NRECA International Ltd. in the electric sectors of countries in Central and South America, Southeast Asia and Africa on a variety of load management, generation and utility planning projects. He was a project manager at an energy consulting firm and worked as an energy efficiency analyst at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He has published on various energy topics in academic, trade, and popular journals.

Andrew studied both engineering sciences and art history at Dartmouth College and holds M.S. and PhD degrees from the Energy & Resources Group at UC Berkeley. He is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer.

Paula Glover

President, Alliance to Save Energy

Paula R. Glover started as President of the Alliance to Save Energy in January 2021. A dynamic leader with more than 25 years of experience in the energy industry, Ms. Glover is the seventh president in the Alliance’s 43-year history.

Ms. Glover previously served as President and CEO of the American Association of Blacks in Energy, a non-profit professional association whose focus is to ensure that African Americans and other minorities have input into the discussions and development of energy policy, regulations, and environmental issues. In this role, she was responsible for managing the national office, and providing strategic direction and leadership for the organization. Prior to this role, Ms. Glover served as AABE’s Vice President of Operations and as the organization’s Director of Communications.

Ms. Glover’s other experiences include 15 years in the energy industry for both electric and natural gas distribution companies. During that time, she built a stellar reputation working with state legislators and regulators in her roles as Manager of Government and Regulatory Affairs. Ms. Glover commands a clear understanding of the consumer and community sides of the business as well having held industry positions in Community Outreach and Economic Development.

Ms. Glover is a seasoned non-Profit professional. Prior to her time at AABE, Ms. Glover was the Community Awareness Director for the Regional YMCA of Western Connecticut where she was responsible for the organizations’ marketing, communications, community and government relations and public relations functions.

In March 2014 Ms. Glover was appointed to the National Petroleum Council by U.S. Secretary of Energy, Dr. Ernest Moniz.

Ms. Glover received her B.S. in Marketing Management from the University of Delaware. She is the recipient of the Bring It Home to Hartford Award; the Clarke Watson Chairman’s Cup; the Award of Distinction by the Videographer Awards and the Platinum Achievement Award from the Cooperative Developmental Energy Program at Fort Valley State University. She is a 2003 graduate of Leadership New Haven and has contributed to an article on work life balance in Take Pride magazine.

Stephen Cowell

President, E4TheFuture

Dedicated to achieving a strong and prosperous U.S. clean energy economy, Steve Cowell is a rare entrepreneur whose service ethic is woven into a core focus on the public good.

He founded and has directed numerous energy efficiency and renewable energy organizations, including Conservation Services Group (CSG) in 1984. He was the organization’s chairman and CEO until the 2015 sale of its assets. Under Cowell’s leadership, CSG designed and implemented conservation and renewable energy programs for utilities, state agencies, and other entities nationwide ultimately providing services to more than 3.2 million businesses and households. Cowell successfully advocated for energy efficiency as a least-cost power supply option. He helped to create and build the residential energy efficiency industry through sound public policy, legislation, and establishment of trade ally networks as well as delivery of cost-effective programs. Cowell is a graduate of Brown University and has been honored with major industry awards.

Marcela Escobari

Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development, Center for Sustainable Development, Brookings Institution

Marcela Escobari is a senior fellow in the Center for Sustainable Development, housed in the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution, where she leads the Workforce of the Future initiative. Prior to joining Brookings, she served as assistant administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean in President Obama’s administration. Escobari was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and led the bureau and its initiatives on poverty, inequality, citizen security, and governance.

For nearly a decade, Escobari served as executive director at the Center for International Development at Harvard University, a research center working to generate breakthrough ideas that bring stable, shared, and sustainable prosperity to developing countries. During her tenure, the Center achieved tremendous impact, tripling in size with projects in 17 countries across five continents. She also worked as head of the Americas region at the OTF Group (a spin-off of Monitor Group), where she advised governments on how to increase export competitiveness and harness the private sector to eradicate poverty. She began her career as a Mergers & Acquisitions banker at JP Morgan in New York.

The World Economic Forum named Escobari a Young Global Leader in 2013. She co-authored the book In the River They Swim: Essays from around the World on Enterprise Solutions to Poverty and holds a B.A. in economics from Swarthmore College and an M.A. in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Karen Harbert

Chief Executive Officer and President, American Gas Association

Karen Alderman Harbert is president and chief executive officer of the American Gas Association (AGA). Founded in 1918, AGA represents more than 200 local energy utility companies that deliver natural gas to 178 million Americans nationwide.

Prior to joining AGA, she was president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute (Energy Institute). Under Harbert’s leadership, the Energy Institute evolved into a premier national and international organization dedicated to advancing a constructive energy agenda with the business community, policymakers and consumers. Harbert led the Energy Institute’s development of its comprehensive Energy Works for US platform, which provides policy recommendations to secure our nation’s energy future and create millions of jobs, billions of dollars in revenue, and trillions of dollars of private investment. Under Harbert’s leadership, the Energy Institute established the groundbreaking Index of Energy Security Risk and the International Index of Energy Security Risk, the first tools to quantify America’s energy security on an annual basis. Harbert frequently testifies in front of Congress and provides analysis to the media, policymakers, and industry leaders.

She currently serves on a number of not-for-profit boards including: The United States Energy Association, Bryce Harlow Foundation and The Jefferson Islands Club. Harbert is a member of The Economic Club of Washington, D.C.

Harbert is the former assistant secretary for policy and international affairs at the U.S. Department  of Energy (DOE). She was the primary policy adviser to the secretary of energy and to the department on domestic and international energy issues. She negotiated and managed bilateral  and multilateral agreements with other countries and also served as vice chairman of the International Energy Agency, which advises its 28 member nations on energy policy issues and orchestrates international responses to energy supply disruptions.

Prior to joining the DOE, Harbert was deputy assistant administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). She had oversight of programs in 11 countries, totaling more than $800 million and 1,000 employees. In the private sector, Harbert worked for  over  a  decade  developing  international  infrastructure  and power projects valued at more than $9 billion in countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America.

Harbert gained experience on issues associated with economic reform and privatization through earlier positions at the USAID, the Organization of American States, and the International Republican Institute. She received a degree in international policy studies and political science from Rice University in Houston, Texas.

Harbert resides in Washington, D.C.

AnnaMaria Garcia

Director, Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs Office, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy

AnnaMaria Garcia is the Director of Department of Energy’s Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs Office. She provides leadership to maximize the benefits of energy efficiency and renewable energy through technology deployment, accessing new partnerships and resources, and communications and outreach activities.

Previously, Ms. Garcia served as Executive Director of the Ozone Transport Commission, the organization of 12 states and the District of Columbia created by Congress in 1990 to assess and coordinate the development of policies to reduce regional ground-level ozone or "smog" in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. Before joining the Commission, she was Director of Operations and State Programs for the Center for Energy and Climate Solutions, a non-profit that is a division of the Global Environment and Technology Foundation. She provided unique environmental and energy expertise through creating partnerships with and among state agencies to design multi-pollutant strategies that have both environmental and economic benefits.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Princeton University and an Executive Master of Business Administration from the George Washington University.

Dr. Venkat Srinivasan

Director, Argonne Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Science

Dr. Venkat Srinivasan is the director of the Argonne Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Science (ACCESS) and deputy director of the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, one of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Innovation Hubs. He is a former staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab whose research interest is in developing next-generation batteries for use in vehicle and grid applications, among other things. Srinivasan and his research group develop continuum-based models for battery materials and combine them with experimental characterization to help design new materials, electrodes, and devices.

In addition to his research, Srinivasan is interested in moving technologies to market and has been exploring ways to develop an ecosystem, focused on batteries, to accelerate technology commercialization. In this role, he conceived the idea of CalCharge, a one-of-a-kind public-private partnership in energy storage.

Srinivasan has previously served as the technical manager of the Batteries for Advanced Transportation Technologies (BATT) Program, as the acting director of the BATT program, as department head of the Energy Storage and Distributed Resources (ESDR) department at LBNL, and the interim director of the ESDR Division at LBNL. Srinivasan joined the scientific staff at LBNL in 2003 after postdoctoral studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and Pennsylvania State University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 2000.

Molly Cripps

Director, Office of Energy Programs, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation

Molly oversees the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s (TDEC) Office of Energy Programs (OEP), which is comprised of two sections: the Governor-designated State Energy Office (SEO) and the State Facility Utility Management Section (SFUM).  OEP’s efforts and activities include education, outreach, technical assistance, and/or funding and financing opportunities that focus on energy efficiency and conservation, renewable energy, utility data management, energy security planning and preparedness, sustainable transportation, and alternative fuels.

Molly is the Administrative Lead for Tennessee’s Volkswagen Diesel Settlement Environmental Mitigation Trust (VW Settlement EMT) allocation and a member of the Executive Committee for the Drive Electric TN Consortium.  She serves as Governor Lee’s designee to the State Energy Policy Council and represents TDEC on the Energy Efficient Schools Council and various TVA Information Exchanges.  She has served on the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) Board of Directors since 2014 and is currently serving as the Treasurer of the Executive Committee.

In addition to Molly’s energy-related work, she serves as the Department’s Compliance Coordinator for Internal Audit and the Director of Operations for the Bureau of Environment, including emergency response efforts.  Prior to joining the State in 2010, Molly spent several years practicing law in Tennessee, with a focus on compliance and municipal liability defense.  She holds a B.A. in History and Political Science from the University of Tennessee and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School.

Jason Lanclos

Director, Technology Assessment Division, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources

Jason Lanclos, P.E. (Jason) has worked at the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR) since August of 2018.  After serving as the Deputy Executive Director of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) for the Governor’s Office since 2014, Mr. Lanclos took the opportunity to return to working in the oil and gas and emerging energy technologies sector at LDNR after working in private industry for almost 13 years.  Mr. Lanclos currently serves as the director of the State Energy Office and Technology Assessment Division of LDNR.  Mr. Lanclos is currently serving as the coalition representative for the State and Midwest region on CCUS technologies and is a central board member for the National Association of State Energy Officials.  Mr. Lanclos has worked on and managed a variety of projects/programs in the oil and gas sector during his time in private industry and managed one of the largest ecosystem restoration efforts for the State of Louisiana while at CPRA.  He holds a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Louisiana State University and is a licensed Professional Engineer.

Alexa Voytek

Energy Programs Administrator, Office of Energy Programs, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation

Alexa serves as the Principal Investigator for the U.S. Department of Energy’s State Energy Program in Tennessee, oversees the TDEC Office of Energy Programs' energy in transportation programming, and assists with the implementation of the State's initial allocation under the Volkswagen Diesel Settlement Environmental Mitigation Trust. Alexa is also the Coordinator for the U.S. Department of Energy's Clean Cities Middle-West Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition, through which she acts as a technical resource for fleets and individuals evaluating alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies. Alexa serves on the leadership team for the National Association of State Energy Officials' Transportation Committee and is an Advisory Group member for the National Association of State Energy Officials' Energy Technology Innovation Project.

Dr. Mary Beth Tung

Director, Maryland Energy Administration

Mary Beth Tung, PhD, Esq., Director of the Maryland Energy Administration, works to ensure that Maryland’s energy portfolio benefits Maryland residents, businesses and local government organizations by improving the effective use of all of energy resources available in the state. Dr. Tung oversees nearly 30 energy related programs including grants that benefit low-to-moderate income families, commercial and industrial entities, and residential. These programs also promote expansion of renewable energy and promotion of energy efficiency for businesses and nonprofit organizations. Tung previously served as Deputy Secretary of Operations at the Maryland Department of the Environment where she developed innovative efficiency solutions and lead the Department in Emergency Preparedness and Radiation Health efforts.

Previously, Dr. Tung worked as an attorney practicing business, government contracts and intellectual property law. Tung earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Cincinnati, a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from Wright State University, was a Postdoctoral Associate in pharmacology and virology at the Yale University School of Medicine and received her J.D. from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.

Amy Jiron

Acting Commercial Buildings Integration Program Manager, Building Technologies Office, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy

Amy Jiron currently serves as the acting Commercial Buildings Integration program manager where she leads research and development on energy systems integration and optimization in commercial buildings.

Amy Jiron is passionate about reducing energy waste in buildings and has been with the Department of Energy for several years. At the Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs Office, she managed the implementation of renewable energy and energy-efficiency grants with state and local governments. In the Building Technologies Office, she is part of a team that actively collaborates with building industry leaders to identify, develop, and validate impactful building efficiency strategies that significantly reduce national energy consumption.

Prior to her work with DOE, Amy oversaw the day-to-day operations of the U.S. Green Building Council Colorado Chapter, where she served as the executive director. She has also advocated for smart development and water policies and evaluated, commissioned, and verified building energy-efficiency strategies as a building energy engineer. Amy received her Juris Doctor from the American University-Washington College of Law and earned a bachelor of science degree in architectural engineering from the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Jennifer Kallay

Senior Associate, Synapse Energy Economics

Jennifer Kallay researches and analyzes ways to improve utility, regulator, and community coordination and collaboration in key energy planning areas such as grid resilience, distributed energy resources, greenhouse gas emission reductions, equity, and energy justice. Ms. Kallay leads Synapse Energy Economics’ work on behalf of Sandia National Laboratories to research the integration of community and electric grid resilience investment planning. This entails developing of a series of reports to explore the challenges and opportunities in several key areas including performance metrics, benefit-cost analysis, resilient public-purpose microgrids, and regulatory mechanisms.

Most recently, Ms. Kallay is researching and analyzing strategies, policies, and practices that cities and towns can use to reduce emissions, utility/community engagement on energy- and resiliency-related issues, and policy, technological developments, and transformation in the transportation sector. In 2017, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources engaged Synapse to review Green Community Annual Reports, verify whether municipalities have reached their 20 percent energy reduction goal, and develop a Progress Report for the program highlighting achievements to date. Ms. Kallay manages the Synapse project team responsible for identifying strategies that are effective across towns, providing support to towns to meet their energy reduction goals, making recommendations to continue to advance and improve the program, and developing an annual progress report. In 2018, Burlington Electric Department retained Synapse to develop a net zero energy roadmap for the City of Burlington. Ms. Kallay manages the Synapse project team responsible for this project.

Roger Ballentine

President, Green Strategies Inc.

Roger Ballentine is the President of Green Strategies Inc., where he provides management consulting services to corporate and financial sector clients on sustainability strategy; investment and transaction evaluation; clean energy procurement strategies; and the integration of energy and environmental policy considerations into business strategy. He is also a Venture Partner with Arborview Capital LLC, a private equity firm making growth capital investments in the clean energy and energy efficiency sectors. Previously, Roger was a senior member of the White House staff, serving President Bill Clinton as Chairman of the White House Climate Change Task Force and Deputy Assistant to the President for Environmental Initiatives. Prior to being named Deputy Assistant, Roger was Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs where he focused on energy and environmental issues. Before joining the White House, Roger was a partner at Patton Boggs LLP.

Over the years, Roger has helped some of the world’s leading companies increase competitiveness and manage market and regulatory risk through cutting edge energy and sustainability strategies. Using his expertise and deep relationships, Roger has helped clients develop better business strategies, make better investment decisions, negotiate new business partnerships, build critical alliances with stakeholders, and develop and implement clean energy and other sustainability measures that achieve corporate buy-in and yield bottom-line value.

Roger serves on the Board of NetPower LLC, and the Advisory Boards of the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Clean Capital LLC, 8 Rivers Capital, Uptake Technologies, and the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), where he was a founding Board member in 2001. He is a member of Ingersoll Rand’s Advisory Council on Sustainability. Roger also serves as the Co-Chair of the Aspen Institute’s Clean Energy Innovation Forum and is a Trustee of The Nature Conservancy’s MD-DC Chapter

In addition to being a frequent speaker, media commentator and writer, he has been a Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School teaching in the area of energy and climate law and a Senior Fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute in Washington D.C.

Roger is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of Connecticut and a Cum Laude graduate of the Harvard Law School. He is a member of the Connecticut, District of Columbia, and the United States Supreme Court bars.

Dr. Will Toor

Executive Director, Colorado Energy Office

In January 2019, Will Toor joined the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) as its Executive Director appointed by Governor Jared Polis. Will’s background spans transportation electrification, sustainable transportation, smart growth, electric vehicle policy, clean energy finance, green building policy, local government policy and regional planning. Prior to CEO, Will was Transportation Program Director at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP). Before SWEEP, Will served as Boulder County Commissioner for eight years where he led the effort to create and adopt a countywide Sustainable Energy Plan, the BuildSmart green building code, the EnergySmart program, and the ClimateSmart Loan Program. Prior to being elected Boulder County Commissioner, Will served as Mayor of Boulder for six years where he developed Boulder's community transit network, EcoPass unlimited access transit pass programs, and policies for denser, mixed-use urban infill development as an alternative to sprawl. Will previously served on and chaired the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG). He was appointed by Governor Ritter to the state Transportation Funding and Implementation blue ribbon panel, the Governor's Climate Action Panel, and the Regional Air Quality Council. He was appointed by Governor Hickenlooper to the Air Quality Control Commission and the state oil and gas taskforce. Will spent 12 years as Director of the University of Colorado Environmental Center, where he developed campus sustainability programs in the areas of solid waste, building energy use, and transportation planning. Will holds a BS in Physics from Carnegie Mellon University and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Chicago.

Neil Weisenfeld

Senior Energy Resilience Expert, ICF

Neil Weisenfeld has worked in the energy industry since 1984. Prior to joining ICF in 2019, he spent a career with Con Edison of New York, where he was most recently director of strategic planning.
Neil’s industry experience includes corporate strategy and long-range planning, energy resilience, grid modernization, asset management, and regulatory and policy engagements. He holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Manhattan College, a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from the City College of New York, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of New York.

In his current role as a senior energy resilience expert, Neil focuses on assessing vulnerabilities and managing risks from a changing climate and extreme weather to energy infrastructure in the U.S. and abroad. This includes translating climate science into practical information for decision making, conducting risk assessments for assets and operations, analyzing costs and benefits of resilience actions, and supporting long-term planning for climate adaptation and resilience.

Representative

State Energy Office

Dr. Caroline Golin

Senior Regulatory Policy Lead, Global Energy Policy and Market Development, Google

Duane Desiderio

Senior Vice President and Counsel, The Real Estate Roundtable

Duane J. Desiderio has advocated on behalf of the real estate industry for nearly 20 years, seeking policy solutions that balance responsible economic development while conserving energy and environmental resources. He is currently Senior Vice President and Counsel with The Real Estate Roundtable (www.rer.org) in Washington, D.C. The Roundtable represents the leadership of the nation’s top 100 privately-owned and publicly-held real estate ownership, development, lending and management firms, as well as the elected leaders of the 16 major national real estate industry trade associations.

Mr. Desiderio’s legislative and regulatory portfolio emphasizes energy, environmental, immigration, infrastructure, and land use policy. He manages The Roundtable’s advocacy on these issues with The White House, Congress, and executive branch departments. Mr. Desiderio staffs The Roundtable’s Sustainability Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC), and builds coalitions to unify diverse real estate, business, and environmental stakeholders toward shared policy goals. He has testified to the U.S. Senate and has prepared witnesses for numerous congressional hearings on energy efficiency, wetlands, endangered species, land development, and property rights matters as they affect the built environment.

Prior to joining The Real Estate Roundtable, Mr. Desiderio was a vice president at the National Association of Home Builders where he developed and managed its nationwide litigation program. His tenure resulted in over 50 reported opinions in federal and state courts, including a winning decision in NAHB v. Defenders of Wildlife, 551 U.S. 664 (2007). He is formerly associated with the law firms of Rogers and Wells (now Clifford Chance) in its New York City and Washington, D.C. offices, and with the boutique land-use law firm Linowes and Blocher, LLP in Bethesda, Maryland.

Mr. Desiderio is on the Advisory Board of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficient Buildings Hub at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and the Sustainability Board of Advisors for National Real Estate Investor. He has a B.A. from Syracuse University (Phi Beta Kappa), a J.D. from Hofstra University (law review articles editor), and an LL.M. from the George Washington University (with honors). He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts, and is a member of the bars of New York, the District of Columbia, and Maryland.

Jeff Eckel

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Hannon Armstrong

Jeffrey “Jeff” W. Eckel is chairman and chief executive officer of Hannon Armstrong (NYSE: HASI), a leading investor in climate solutions. Under his leadership, the firm has become globally recognized for its pioneering approach to sustainable investing, serving as a trusted capital provider to leading companies in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and other sustainable infrastructure markets. As CEO, he focuses on growing Hannon Armstrong’s climate-positive operating platform to drive programmatic client investments and deliver superior risk-adjusted returns.

Mr. Eckel has served as chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors since 2013 and has more than 35 years of experience in financing, owning, and operating infrastructure and energy assets. Before taking the firm public, Mr. Eckel was president and chief executive officer with the predecessor of the company from 2000 to 2013 and, from 1985 to 1989, was senior vice president and responsible for leading Hannon Armstrong’s first energy project finance group.

Before returning to Hannon Armstrong in 2000 to focus on the enormous sustainable business opportunity to finance decarbonization, Mr. Eckel was chief financial officer of Wärtsilä Diesel North America, president of Wärtsilä Power Development, and chief executive officer of EnergyWorks, a joint venture of Bechtel Enterprises.

Mr. Eckel has held several industry positions, including chairman of the board of the Maryland Clean Energy Center, member of the board of the Alliance to Save Energy, member of the President’s Council of Ceres, and member of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) Task Force on Federal Energy Management. Currently, he serves on the Board of Trustees of The Nature Conservancy of Maryland and DC. CR Magazine named Mr. Eckel Responsible CEO of the Year, and the Maryland Clean Energy Center recognized Mr. Eckel as the Clean Energy Champion of the Year.

Mr. Eckel received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University and a Master of Public Administration degree from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He holds Series 24, 63, and 79 securities licenses.

Tyler Petersen

Director, U.S. Transportation Programs, Center for Sustainable Energy

Tyler Petersen, Director, U.S. Transportation Programs, oversees more than $400 million in clean transportation programs for state agency, utility, CCA, and federal agency clients across six states. He previously managed CSE’s statewide dealership outreach efforts, the Public Fleet Project for the California Vehicle Rebate Project, and various EV infrastructure projects. Before CSE, Tyler worked for a San Diego smart grid startup and served as a U.S. State Department fellow on solar and energy efficiency projects. He holds an M.A. in International Economics and Environmental Policy from the University of California, San Diego, and a B.A. from Colorado Mesa University.

Bethany Reinholtz

CEM/CWEP, Project Manager, GDS Associates, Inc.

David Althoff Jr.

Director, Energy Programs Office, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

David has worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for over 27years.   David’s office, the Energy Programs Office, is involved in supporting, designing and implementing energy focused programs to encourage the development and deployment of energy efficiency and alternative energy projects in Pennsylvania.  The Energy Program’s Office’s mission is to support energy activities which result in environmental improvements including  mitigating the effects of and adapting to climate change.

During his career with DEP, David has led the development and implementation of several significant energy incentive programs including deployment of $125 Million of American Recovery and Reinvestment Stimulus funds, the $100 million Pennsylvania Sunshine Program, a $20 million Program focusing on encouraging natural gas use in on-road heavy duty vehicle fleets and a $15 million Green Energy Revolving Loan Fund.

David and his staff lead the very popular Pennsylvania Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant Programs distributing nearly $5 Million annually to support alternative fuel use in the transportation sector in Pennsylvania.  In addition, Dave and a few key staff persons have spent the last two years developing Pennsylvania’s Electric Vehicle Roadmap and creating an EV focused stakeholder group, the Drive Electric Pennsylvania Coalition.  David is also the acting Executive Director for the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority and is currently working on behalf of PEDA to develop a Pennsylvania Green Bank Partnership.

Dave is a life-long Pennsylvanian, a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and lives in Hummelstown, PA.

Eddy Trevino

Director, State Energy Conservation Office, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

Eddy Trevino is the Director of the Texas State Energy Conservation Office (SECO).  In addition to his daily management and oversight activities, he oversees the State Energy Program activities, the LoanSTAR revolving loan program, and the Clean Energy Incubator initiative. 

Under Mr. Trevino’s management of the LoanSTAR revolving loan program, fund value has increased to $230 million with over 310 loans.  There have been no loan defaults over the life of the loan program.

Between September 1, 2018 and July 31, 2019, the Clean Energy Incubator program activities resulted in an economic impact of $28,435,933 to the state of Texas and supported 499 new jobs.

Mr. Trevino’s professional designations include a registered Professional Engineer and a Certified Energy Manager. He has 29 years of engineering and management experience. 

While attending the University of Texas at Austin, Mr. Trevino earned the following degrees: Bachelor in Architectural Engineering (1980), an MBA (1986), and a Master in Technology Commercialization (2001).

Brian Selinger

Team Leader, Energy Office, Iowa Economic Development Authority

Brian Selinger manages the Iowa Energy Office, a division of the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA). The Energy Office manages a diverse mix of state, federal and utility-funded programs and initiatives that provide energy-economic benefits for Iowa’s citizens, businesses, and organizations. Brian led the daily activities in the development of the state’s most comprehensive, strategic energy roadmap, the Iowa Energy Plan.

Selinger joined IEDA in 2015 after serving as the Deputy Director of Policy and Research for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. His professional experience includes work with Lockheed Martin as part of an Energy Efficiency partnership with a St. Louis utility.

Tucker Perkins

President and Chief Executive Officer, Propane Education and Research Council

Tucker is the president and chief executive officer of the Propane Education & Research Council. He has worked in the propane industry for 26 years, having served as the director of business development for Inergy, chief executive officer of Premier Propane, and the chief operating officer of Columbia Propane, a unit of the Columbia Energy Group. Tucker is also the former chairman of a PERC advisory committee on engine fuel matters and is active with the National Propane Gas Association and the Virginia Propane Gas Association.

Kerry Campbell

Environmental Program Manager, Energy Programs Office, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

Kerry Campbell is an Environmental Program Manager in the Energy Programs Office of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).  He oversees the Pennsylvania Climate Change Program, the State Energy Program, and develops and implements programs to meet Pennsylvania's energy efficiency and renewable energy, energy security, and climate goals.  He has previously worked in the Air Quality and Waste Management Programs for DEP.  Kerry received an M.S. in Agronomy, a B.S. in Biology, and a B.S. in Environmental Resource Management, all from Penn State University.

Kenya Stump

Executive Director, Office of Energy Policy, Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet

Michael Furze

Assistant Director, Energy Division, Washington State Department of Commerce

Michael joined the Department of Commerce in 2014 and is assistant director for the Energy Division, which includes policy, initiatives, energy emergency management and the weatherization program. Michael joined the weatherization network in 2009, drawn by the convergence of social justice and environmental sustainability.

After working for five years in New Mexico Energy$mart Program, he transitioned to Washington’s weatherization program in 2014 and has been actively involved in the weatherization network’s Weatherization Advisory Committee. Michael earned his master’s degree in community and regional planning from the University of New Mexico.

Sushma Masemore

Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Environment and State Energy Director, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality

Sushma Masemore serves as DEQ’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment and the State Energy Director.  She has 29 years of public and private sector experience related to environment, energy, and climate.

As a consultant, Sushma designed pollution control equipment and led demonstration projects with industries, technology developers, and energy companies.  In state government, Sushma managed a team of engineers and scientists to develop air quality rules and Clean Air Act mandated state implementation plans.

In her current role, Sushma is leading implementation of Governor Cooper’s Executive Order on climate and energy through impact assessments, clean energy planning, and resiliency measures.  As the State Energy Director, Sushma oversees programs related to low-income weatherization assistance, energy planning, and energy efficiency.

Sushma has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Maryland Baltimore County, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in NC.

Dan Lloyd

Bureau Chief, Energy Office, Montana Department of Environmental Quality

Dan Lloyd has led the Montana Energy Office (MEO) at the Department of Environmental Quality since August of 2020. Prior to this, Dan was employed by an energy development company working on transmission and storage projects and has served the state of Montana state for nearly a decade including positions with the Montana Governor’s Office of Economic Development and the Department of Commerce. Dan has a business degree from the University of Notre Dame and served as an AmeriCorps VISTA member focused on improving access to energy efficiency. He lives with his wife and two dogs in Helena, Montana.

Kimberly Dean

Senior Advisor, Bipartisan Policy Center Action

Kimberly Dean serves as senior advisor for the BPC Action. Prior to joining BPC Action in April 2011, she worked on the staff of former Senator Jim Bunning for 10 years. Dean served the legislative office in several capacities, including legislative assistant, legislative director, and counsel and chief of staff. In these roles, she oversaw Bunning’s efforts on a wide range of legislative issues, supporting the Senator’s work on the Senate Finance Committee, Banking Committee, Energy Committee, and Budget Committee. Dean also developed and coordinated political and senate floor strategy, and was responsible for supervising the senator’s D.C.-based legislative and press staff. She also advised the senator and helped lead legislative efforts on energy and environmental issues.

A native of Louisville, KY, Dean received a B.A. in chemistry from Hanover College in Hanover, IN, and holds a J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in the State of Maryland. Before attending law school, she worked as an environmental chemist

Jeffrey Genzer

General Counsel, National Association of State Energy Officials

Jeff Genzer has been Counsel to NASEO since the organization began in 1986.  He represents the organization before Congress and the Administration, working closely with David Terry and the NASEO staff.  He has also practiced energy and environmental law since 1985 at the law firm of Duncan, Weinberg, Genzer and Pembroke, PC.  Mr. Genzer serves as President of the law firm.  Prior to going into private law practice, he served as counsel and energy lobbyist for the Energy and Environment Committee of the National Governors Association.  Mr. Genzer also worked on low income energy issues for the National Consumer Law Center.  He began his energy career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Micronesia 41 years ago.

Bill White

Director of Business Development, Northeast United States, CTC Global Corporation

Scott Glenn

Chief Energy Officer, Hawaii State Energy Office

Scott Glenn serves as the Chief Energy Officer for the State of Hawaii, leading the Hawaii State Energy Office (HSEO) in its mission to promote energy efficiency, renewable energy, and clean transportation to help achieve a resilient, clean energy, decarbonized economy. Scott specializes in innovative, consensus-oriented problem solving for difficult challenges. He is especially focused on climate change, energy, environment, and sustainability that improves decision making and enhances public engagement.

Gov. David Ige designated Scott to be the co-chair of the Sustainable Hawaii Initiative and liaison to the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of state governors working to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. In these roles Scott works with state, county, and federal agencies, as well as communities across the state, and stakeholders nationally and internationally to coordinate state policy development on energy, climate change, and key sustainability initiatives.

Prior to joining the HSEO, Scott served as the Director of the Office of Environmental Quality Control, where he led the modernization of the state environmental review process. Scott also worked in the private sector as a professional environmental planning consultant on environmental and energy projects and volunteered on numerous boards.

Scott received his master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Hawaii in 2009 and his bachelor’s degree in philosophy and archaeology from the University of Evansville (IN) in 2000.

The Honorable James Griffin

Chairman, Hawaii Public Utilities Commission

James P. Griffin was appointed to the Public Utilities Commission by Governor Ige in May 2017 for a term to expire June 30, 2022.

Commissioner Griffin was previously a faculty member at the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI), an independent research institute within the University of Hawaii that conducts clean energy research and development activities. At HNEI, Dr. Griffin worked on research and demonstration projects related to grid integration of renewable energy sources, energy storage, and emerging distributed energy resource technologies. From 2012 to 2016, he served as the Commission’s Chief of Policy and Research. Commissioner Griffin has also worked as a policy analyst at the RAND Corporation and legislative analyst in the Hawaii State Legislature.

Commissioner Griffin holds a Ph.D. in policy analysis from the Pardee RAND Graduate School, M.A. in economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara, joint master’s degree from Duke University in Environmental Management and Public Policy, and B.A. in Political Economy from Williams College.

He recently participated as a core advisory team member for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) DSPx Initiative, and previously served on peer review panels for DOE smart grid and microgrid programs. He was also a member of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative Electricity Working Group and mentor for the Hawaii Renewable Energy Venture Energy Excelerator program.

Jessie Stolark

Public Policy and Member Relations Manager, Carbon Capture Coalition

Jessie Stolark joined the Coalition in November 2019 from Third Way, where she has been a Policy Advisor managing the Climate and Energy Program’s carbon capture and industrial decarbonization portfolio. In that role, she provided advice and counsel on carbon capture policy and served as that organization’s principal liaison to the Carbon Capture Coalition.

Previously, Jessie served as a Policy Associate at the Environmental and Energy Study Institute. She holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Geosciences from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology and Environmental Science from Bryn Mawr College. She currently serves on the board of the Women’s Council for Energy and Environment.

Ari Gerstman

Associate Director for Policy and Compliance, Energy Administration,, District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment

Ari Gerstman is the Associate Director for Policy and Compliance in the District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment’s Energy Administration.  Gerstman manages DC’s Special Purpose Revenue Fund dedicated to renewable energy and generated through our Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard.  In addition, Gerstman oversees DC’s Low- and Moderate-Income solar energy assistance program (Solar for All), DC’s comprehensive energy plan (Clean Energy DC), DC’s Energy Assurance Plan, and DC government’s positions and formal input into utility regulation proceedings before the Public Service Commission.  Previously, Gerstman was the Director for Washington Operations for the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, where he worked with partners across the private, public, and academic sectors in the international, national, and local community, to encourage and facilitate the use of climate science in decision making.  Gerstman holds a MBA in Finance from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where he was a Palmer Scholar, and a BA in Classics from Brown University.

Bracken Hendricks

Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Urban Ingenuity

As CEO and founder of Urban Ingenuity, Bracken oversees one of the nation’s leading commercial PACE financing programs, and finances and develops solar energy and microgrid projects with a special focus on affordable housing and reaching underserved communities. He is also a co-founder and senior policy advisor of Evergreen Action, and a fellow with the Roosevelt Institute, and was a principal co-author of climate policy for Governor Jay Inslee’s 2020 Presidential Campaign running as a climate candidate. Together with Governor Inslee, Bracken is co-author of the 2007 book, “Apollo’s Fire: Igniting America’s Clean Energy Economy”. He has served as a long-time advisor to former President Bill Clinton and the Clinton Global Initiative on infrastructure, jobs, and climate resilience. Before launching Urban Ingenuity, he was a senior fellow with the Center for American Progress, where he helped launch their energy practice and shaped clean energy portions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as well as establishing the US Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge. Early in his career, he was founding Executive Director of the Apollo Alliance, a pioneering labor and environmental partnership to advance good jobs and energy independence. Bracken holds a Master’s degree in public policy and urban planning from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and lives in Washington DC.

Patrick Woodcock

Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources

Patrick Woodcock was named DOER Commissioner in February 2020. Formerly, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ Undersecretary of Energy, Commissioner Woodcock was named Acting Commissioner in December 2019 and served in this role until his current appointment.    

Woodcock joined the Baker-Polito Administration in 2017 and served as the Undersecretary of Energy in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs for over two years. In that position, Woodcock oversaw the Department of Energy Resources and the Department of Public Utilities. Woodcock serves on the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Board and Investment Committee, represents Massachusetts on the Boards of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Inc. and National Association of State Energy Officials, and is a member of the Energy Facilities Siting Board.

Prior to his time in the administration, Woodcock was Director of the Maine State Energy Office, a position he held from 2013 through 2016. Previously, Woodcock worked for United States Senator Olympia Snowe in her Washington, D.C. office. Woodcock graduated from Bowdoin College and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government.

Gina McCarthy

White House National Climate Advisor, Executive Office of the President

Gina McCarthy was appointed by President Biden as the first White National Climate Advisor. In 2020, she served as president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). President Obama appointed Gina McCarthy as the 13th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) where she served from 2013 to 2017. Her leadership at EPA led to significant federal, state, and local actions on critical issues related to the environment, economy, energy, and transportation. At the state level, she served as commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, deputy secretary of the Massachusetts Office of Commonwealth Development, and undersecretary of policy for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. In Connecticut, she was instrumental in developing the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multi-state effort to reduce emissions contributing to global warming, which has spurred economic growth, improved public health, decreased energy demand, and helped mitigate electricity price increases across the region. In Massachusetts, McCarthy advised five governors on environmental affairs, worked at the state and local levels on critical environmental issues, and coordinated policies on economic growth, energy, transportation, and the environment.  Gina. McCarthy holds a master's degree in environmental health engineering and planning and policy from Tufts University and a bachelor's in social anthropology from University of Massachusetts at Boston.

Amanda LeMaster

Energy Assurance Coordinator, Kentucky Office of Energy Policy

Amanda LeMaster is the Energy Assurance and Resiliency Coordinator with the Kentucky Office of Energy Policy housed within the Energy and Environment Cabinet. Amanda has extensive experience in hazard mitigation grant writing, project management and community outreach. Amanda serves as the state ESF 12 lead and is responsible for the State’s Energy Assurance Plan update.

The Honorable Angus King

Member, U.S. Senate (I-ME)

In January 2013, Angus King was sworn in as Maine’s first Independent United States Senator, filling the same seat once held by storied Maine leaders Edmund Muskie, George Mitchell, and Olympia Snowe.

A strong believer in the need for greater bipartisan dialogue and relationship building, Senator King is proud to join the long line of thoughtful, independent leaders from the State of Maine, and he works hard every day to bring Republicans and Democrats together to find common-sense solutions for Maine and America. He is a proven consensus-builder who “calls ‘em like he sees ‘em”, putting civility and respect ahead of political ideology.

Senator King is a member of the Armed Services Committee, the Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and the Committee on Rules and Administration. He has made it a priority not to miss Committee hearings, earning him praise from his colleagues and the reputation as a workhorse in the Senate. The late Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), who served as Armed Services Chairman, once called Senator King “one of the most serious and hard-working members” of the Committee.

In his time in the Senate, Senator King has worked to strengthen America’s national security, conducted critical oversight of the nation’s Intelligence Community, supported common-sense budget priorities that promote prosperity and reduce the national debt, fought the national opioid and heroin epidemic, coordinated efforts to revitalize Maine’s forest economy, advocated for policies that contribute to cleaner, cheaper energy and mitigate climate change, railed against the corrosive effect of unchecked money in politics, fought to improve access to health care, worked to strengthen the government’s support of veterans, and promoted increased access to critical community resources like rural broadband.

Senator King has achieved significant legislative victories since taking office. He led efforts to draft and pass the Student Loan Certainty Act of 2013, which averted drastic increases in student loan interest rates, saved students across the country more than $50 billion in interest payments, and set the program on a path to long-term financial stability. In 2018, Senator King successfully included a number of provisions in the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, legislation focused on improving the federal government’s response to the opioid epidemic. The legislation, which passed overwhelmingly, included language backed by Senator King to make medication-assisted treatment more readily available and adjust federal restrictions to allow residential treatment facilities to increase treatment capacity. Earlier this year, in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, he introduced the Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act to improve the Paycheck Protection Program and provide additional flexibility for business owners who’ve received PPP loans; the legislation was signed into law in June.

A leading voice on the importance of improving America’s cybersecurity, Senator King was selected by Congressional leadership to co-chair the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, a bipartisan effort established by Congress to review the threats facing America in cyberspace and develop a forward looking plan on how to defend ourselves against cyber threats. The commission, which consisted of bipartisan members of Congress, top Executive Branch officials, and nonpartisan industry leaders, laid out more than 75 recommendations to improve the cybersecurity of U.S. critical infrastructure and prepare the nation for future challenges in an increasingly digital world.

In fact, it is in small working groups like this that Senator King has focused much of his work. Senator King is committed to working across the aisle in small, bipartisan working groups that bridge partisan divides to address the challenges that face the nation. He co-founded the Former Governors Caucus, which brings together the Senate’s former Governors to chart pragmatic approaches to solutions, as well as the Senate Arctic Caucus, which hones in on Maine and America’s growing interest in the Arctic. Senator King also tries to informally bridge the partisan divide in Washington by frequently bringing his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to his home for barbeque dinners, where political talk is banned and the focus is getting to know one another. The bonds that are formed through these relationships often lay the foundation for successful legislation.

Prior to taking office, Senator King served as the 72nd Governor of Maine. During his two terms in the Blaine House, he focused on economic development and job creation.  Then-Governor King also achieved significant reforms in education, mental health services, land conservation, environmental protection, and the delivery of state services. He was re-elected in 1998 by one of the largest margins in Maine’s history.

Senator King is married to Mary Herman and has four sons, Angus III, Duncan, James, and Ben, one daughter, Molly, and six grandchildren. He attended Dartmouth College and the University of Virginia Law School. In his free time, he enjoys exploring the Maine outdoors, either on his Harley or with his family in their camper.

Katie Pegan

Deputy Administrator, Idaho Governor's Office of Energy and Mineral Resources

Katie has worked for the Idaho Office of Energy and Mineral Resources for 3 1/2 years. The Idaho Office of Energy and Mineral Resources (OEMR) serves as a resource and first-point of contact for the State on energy and mineral matters. OEMR is responsible for coordinating efforts with federal and state agencies, and local governments on issues such as: developing energy and mineral resource plans; addressing energy requirements, supply, transmission and efficiency efforts; and collaborating on mineral supply, management, and acquisition.  OEMR works to find energy and mineral solutions that are efficient, effective and responsibly enhance the state’s economy and sustain the quality of life in Idaho.

During her three and a half years with OEMR, Katie has managed the office’s energy efficiency and alternative fuel programs; including Idaho’s Government Leading by Example Program and the Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment program under the VW Settlement. As the Deputy Administrator for OEMR, Katie oversees the office’s work on all energy-related tasks including energy resource development in the state, energy assurance management planning, and efforts to increase energy code compliance.

Katie was born and raised in Idaho. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Washington State University in Pullman, Washington and a master’s degree from Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas.

Jeff Ross

Senior Managing Director, Generate Capital

Jeff Ross is a Senior Managing Director at Generate Capital. Previously, he served as a Managing Director at an investment platform investing in renewable energy assets; and as Senior Vice President at NRG, leading the distributed generation and retail energy businesses. Mr. Ross served as a Partner at Arborview Capital, investing in mid-market companies in the energy and sustainability sectors; as Executive Vice President at GridPoint, a private-equity backed energy management company; and in senior management roles at several private equity-backed services and technology companies. Mr. Ross is a frequent speaker on energy and sustainability issues, and has appeared on television, radio and in print in venues such as CNBC and the Wall Street Journal. He has testified before Congress, the Federal Communications Commission, and several state public utility commissions. Mr. Ross graduated magna cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis and has a law degree from the University of Virginia.

Daniel Gatti

Director of Clean Transportation Policy, Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

The Honorable Lisa Blunt Rochester

Member, U.S. House of Representatives (D-DE)

Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester represents Delaware in the U.S. House of Representatives and serves as an Assistant Whip for House Leadership. Lisa sits on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The committee has broad jurisdiction over health care, the environment, commerce and trade, energy policy, telecommunications, manufacturing, and consumer protection.

As the Energy and Commerce Committee’s only former statewide health official, Lisa understands health care from a number of different perspectives – as an implementer at the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, negotiator while serving as State Personnel Director, and advocate as CEO of the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League. Lisa is focused on reducing the cost of health care and prescription drugs for middle-class families, addressing the disparity in outcomes for communities of color, and tackling our nation’s opioid and addiction epidemic. She serves as a Member of the Bipartisan Heroin Task Force, comprised of more than 100 members united with the common goal of tackling opioid addiction.

Lisa is a leading voice in Congress on economic and future of work-related issues. As former Secretary of Labor and State Personnel Director, Lisa leverages her professional experience to advocate for legislation that boosts start-up business growth, removes barriers for citizens re-entering society, and addresses college affordability and ballooning student debt. She is a Co-Chair of the New Democrat Coalition’s Future of Work Task Force and serves as the sole Member of Congress on the Aspen Institute’s National Advisory Council for the Future of Work Initiative. She is also the founder of the Congressional Future of Work Caucus.

In the 115th Congress, Lisa was a member of the House Committee on Agriculture – the first Delawarean to serve on the committee in over 120 years. In this role, she helped craft the 2018 Farm Bill, which is a five-year re-authorization that extends U.S. Department of Agriculture programs related to the farm safety net; nutrition programs that feed children, seniors, people with disabilities, and families who rely on the social support programs; land-grant and 1890 universities; and agriculture research.

As a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a strong proponent of reforming our criminal justice system, Lisa introduced first-in-the-nation legislation, the Clean Slate Act, sealing the federal records of former nonviolent offenders that remain crime-free and have earned a second chance. This bill would provide new opportunities for Americans to earn a good-paying job, pursue education and training, and rent or own a home. According to estimates by the Center for American Progress, the passage of the Clean Slate Act could boost the U.S. economy by as much as $87 billion per year.

Traveling up and down the state, Lisa is an advocate for the needs of every community, which informs her work in Washington. Having met with homeowners in the South Shore Marina development in North Bethany Beach, she learned of an error in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s coastal mapping unit for the town – preventing homeowners from taking advantage of the National Flood Insurance Program and FEMA aid in the event of a disaster. Turning their concerns into action, Lisa reached across the aisle to work with Democrats and Republicans across the country with similarly affected mapping units and introduced the Strengthening Coastal Communities Act. She worked with allies in Delaware and Washington to help usher this critical piece of legislation into law – aiding homeowners and setting aside hundreds of acres for environmental protection.

With deep roots in the First State, Lisa grew up in Wilmington, graduated from Padua Academy, and worked her first job at the McDonald’s on Market Street. She graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a degree in International Relations and put herself through graduate school as a working mom – earning a master’s degree in Urban Affairs and Public Policy from the University of Delaware.

Lisa began her distinguished career in public service as an intern and later Caseworker in a congressional office where she helped Delawareans with their Social Security benefits, disability insurance claims, IRS disputes, and housing needs. Lisa would go on to serve in the cabinets of two Delaware governors and as CEO of the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League – an action-oriented, public policy research think-tank.

Lisa also served as the Senior Executive Leadership and Systems Manager for the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston where she advocated for people with disabilities in their struggle for equal opportunity and civil rights. During this time, Lisa helped expand the Institute’s global footprint and advised state agencies and employers. In part due to Lisa’s work, she helped build the Institute into a fully-fledged college at the university, the School for Global Inclusion and Social Development — focused on the inclusion of all people.

Lisa currently resides in Wilmington, Delaware near her adult-aged children, Alex and Alyssa, as well as her daughter-in-law, Ebony.

Robert Underwood

Energy Programs Section Administrator, Division of Climate, Coastal, and Energy, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control

Chani Vines

Senior Technical Advisor, Solar Energy Technologies Office, U.S. Department of Energy

Chani Vines supports the Strategic Analysis and Institutional Support team in the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) at the U.S. Department of Energy.  She manages projects that are developing and testing innovative approaches, program designs, business models and alternative financing models to expand and scale solar access to underserved communities. She also leads efforts under the National Community Solar Partnership.  She received her MBA from Georgetown University.