2022 Speakers - Advanced Energy Conference

Aaron Berndt

Google
Head of Energy Industry Partnerships

Aaron Berndt is Head of Energy Industry Partnerships at Google, where he leads the team that works with utility partners to develop customer-focused energy programs that leverage Google Nest products. Prior to joining Google, Aaron was a leader in PG&E’s Customer Energy Solutions team, with responsibility for the delivery of key products and programs in PG&E’s portfolio.

Aaron holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from U.C. Berkeley Haas School of Business.

Adam Penque

BayoTech
Senior Vice President

Adam Penque is Senior Vice President and General Manager of BayoGaaS™ Hydrogen Hub development at BayoTech. Adam has over 17 years of experience working in the distributed energy sector with technologies ranging from biogas to energy storage. At BayoTech, Adam is responsible for BayoGaaS™ Hydrogen Hub development, hydrogen molecule sales, and hydrogen generator sales.

Prior to joining Bayotech, Adam held positions with GE, AES Power, Lockheed Martin, and Centrica, where he led domestic and international project development teams. Adam has a master’s degree in Earth Resource Engineering from Columbia University.

Alex Valentino

PSEG LI
Manager, Commercial Programs

Alex Valentino, EIT, CEM, is a Mechanical Engineer with eight years of engineering experience in both the construction and energy sectors. Mr. Valentino works for TRC Companies, which currently administers the PSEG Long Island Energy Efficiency programs. Mr. Valentino originally served an energy consultant for Small Businesses and K-12 Schools before taking on the role as the Associate Director implementing all of PSEG Long Island’s Commercial Efficiency Programs.

He is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and recently completed his master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at NYIT.

Alice Caponiti

Office of Nuclear Energy, Department of Energy
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Reactor Fleet and Advanced Reactor Deployment

Alice Caponiti serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Reactor Fleet and Advanced Reactor Deployment in the Office of Nuclear Energy. She leads a diverse portfolio of research, development and demonstration programs focused on the technical and economic sustainability of the existing U.S. fleet of commercial reactors and the development and deployment of innovative advanced reactors, including small modular reactors and microreactors.

Ms. Caponiti is managing a new cost-shared program with industry to demonstrate multiple advanced reactor designs that offer improved safety, functionality and affordability, leading to expanded market opportunities for clean energy. Her office also sustains the nuclear talent pipeline through competitive university R&D and infrastructure investment programs. Ms. Caponiti serves as Chair of the Generation IV International Forum Policy Group that advises on research and development needed to establish the feasibility and performance capabilities of the next generation nuclear energy systems.

Ms. Caponiti previously led efforts to design, build, test, and deliver safe and reliable nuclear power systems for space exploration and national security applications and conduct detailed safety analyses for each mission. She served as the technical advisor to the Department of State and a United Nations working group on space nuclear power sources, as well as a risk communications spokesperson for the New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Mars Science Laboratory mission that delivered the Curiosity rover to the surface of Mars. Prior to joining the Office of Nuclear Energy in 2001, Ms. Caponiti worked on a nonproliferation program to reduce stockpiles of excess Russian weapons plutonium.

Ms. Caponiti has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Maryland and master degrees in nuclear engineering and the Technology and Policy Program from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Andreas Würsig

Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology
Head of Business Unit “Battery Systems FAB-SH”

Andreas Würsig is currently head of the “Research Center for Applied Battery Technology” at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology (ISIT). For more than 20 years, he has been working on the development of advanced battery technologies, especially in the areas of cell manufacturing, system integration and characterization. Since 2006, he has been working at the ISIT on the development of custom lithium battery cells and their adaptation to a wide range of applications. With Leclanche, Liacon and Customcells, three companies were founded with production technologies developed at ISIT.

Mr. Würsig’s current research focuses on new high-power batteries, solvent-free manufacturing processes, new separator concepts, and new cell monitoring technologies. He holds two patents and has published more than 20 papers.

After completing his chemistry studies, he received his Ph.D. in 2005 from the PSI of ETH Zurich with a thesis on the characterization of electrodes for lithium-ion batteries.

Andrew Kessler

New York Green Bank
President

Andrew Kessler is the President of NY Green Bank, a Division of NYSERDA. Over a 28-year career, Mr. Kessler has developed extensive experience in corporate and project finance and advisory, as well as operational management, corporate development, and project development. Prior to joining NY Green Bank, Mr. Kessler founded and led the Biogas, Waste & Recycling Advisory group at the Danish Trade Council based in Washington, D.C., and served as Co-Head of the Danish Trade Council’s North America Energy & Environment Group.

In 2010, Mr. Kessler founded Turning Earth, an integrated organics recycling company focused on converting organic waste streams into biogas and other beneficial resources. Prior to launching Turning Earth, Mr. Kessler spent 15 years as an investment banker holding senior positions as a corporate finance and mergers & acquisitions professional at various firms including HSBC, Waller Capital, Morgan Stanley, and Duff & Phelps. He has executed equity, debt, and M&A transactions across a diverse set of sectors and markets and has served in numerous corporate governance leadership roles.

Mr. Kessler has written and lectured on renewable energy topics and regularly speaks at industry forums and conferences. Mr. Kessler earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Virginia and a Master of Business Administration at New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Andrew Trump

West Monroe
Senior Principal

Andrew Trump is a senior principal in West Monroe’s Energy & Utilities Practice. He leads and supports practice development, business development, and client delivery in wide range of electric and gas regulatory and strategy assessments and planning activities. These often require the comprehensive valuation of gas and electric utility infrastructure investments within specific, regional market settings.

Andrew has more than 35 years of experience working on behalf of private industry. This includes 12 years developing distribution grid technologies and wholesale generation assets, and 15 as a senior management consultant focused on grid modernization. Andrew has represented several clients as an expert witness before state regulatory agencies as part of cost recovery petitions.

At West Monroe, Andrew’s work has focused on the challenges of conducting rigorous cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness justifications for major electric and gas system investments. These challenges include how to integrate risk-centric costs and benefits into the traditional frame of grid impacts, which is heavily reliant on deterministic and scenario-specific perspectives and valuation techniques.

Andrew Wishnia

U.S. Department of Transportation
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Climate Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy

Andrew Wishnia serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Climate Policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy in the U.S. Department of Transportation. Mr. Wishnia previously served at the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, including as Senior Policy Advisor, and also served at the Federal Highway Administration as Special Assistant for Policy to the FHWA Administrator, and as a Senior Program Manager at the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Mr. Wishnia previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives as a legislative assistant to Congressman John Yarmuth, now Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on the Budget.

Andy Bowman

Jupiter Power
CEO

Andy Bowman has been a serial clean energy entrepreneur since the late 1990s. Prior to forming Jupiter, he was president of Pioneer Green Energy LLC, a company he founded in 2010 with six others and led through 2015. From 2001-2009 Andy led renewable energy project development first as President of Renewable Generation Inc., then Senior Vice President at Airtricity and finally as Chief Development Officer at E.On Climate & Renewables (now RWE).

Prior to 2001, Bowman helped develop some of the first privately financed wind farms in the U.S. Over his career, Andy has had executive responsibility for nearly 3,600 megawatts of wind and solar projects across the U.S.

Anne Blair

Electrification Coalition
Policy Director

Anne Blair serves as the Electrification Coalition’s Director of Policy with a focus on supporting policies and programs that will transform the transportation sector. Prior to joining EC, Anne was the Director of Energy Efficient Transportation at the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance, overseeing strategy, programming, and outreach for all of SEEA’s transportation initiatives. Before SEEA, Anne worked at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) as its clean fuels director, working on transportation and clean energy policy for fifteen years.

She serves on multiple boards, including the EV Club of the South and Mothers & Others for Clean Air. Anne holds a bachelor’s degree from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, and a master’s degree in Environmental Law and Policy from the Vermont Law School.

Ann Marie Augustus

Urban Electric Power
Co-Founder

Ann Marie Augustus is co-founder and Senior Vice President of Operations for Urban Electric Power (UEP). Ann Marie previously co-founded a solar investment startup, Park Place Renewable, and worked on technology transfer efforts for the CUNY Energy Institute, a research lab dedicated to energy innovation. Since 2017, Ann Marie has served as a member of the Board for Godrej Americas, a leading manufacturer of equipment for oil and gas, power and water sectors.

Ann Marie has 10 years of startup energy experience and focuses on strategy and finance. She holds a B.A. from William Paterson University and an M.S. in Technology Business Leadership from Brown University.

Anne Reynolds

Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACE NY)
Executive Director

Since 2014, Anne Reynolds has served as the Executive Director of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York. In that role, she has successfully advocated for New York’s 70% Clean Energy Standard and a NYSERDA procurement program to support that mandate, the development of an offshore wind program, reform of the permitting process, an improved interconnection process at the NYISO, and a renewed commitment to transmission planning.

Prior to ACE, Anne served as a Deputy Commissioner at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in the role of chief financial and operations officer, and as Assistant Commissioner for Policy and Planning, which included legislative affairs. Before DEC, she covered air and energy issues for EANY, worked at the Tellus Institute for Energy and Environmental Strategies in Boston, and at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region II in New York City.

Anne holds a Master of Environmental Studies from Yale University and a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Studies from Tufts University.

Arah Schuur

Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP)
Executive Director

Arah Schuur is the Executive Director of Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP), a nonprofit organization that advances energy efficiency and related solutions in buildings across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region. NEEP works in collaboration with state and local policymakers, utilities, program administrators, industry, and advocates to promote advanced energy efficiency, heating electrification, and grid integration.

Arah has had senior roles in energy efficiency and energy policy in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. She served as Director of the Energy Efficiency Division at the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, leading energy efficiency-related policy and programs. Arah served in the federal government in the Department of Energy and as Senior Energy Advisor at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Previously, Arah directed a global nonprofit program that advised governments on energy efficiency retrofits.

Arah lives in Somerville, Massachusetts, where she advocates for safe streets and equitable mobility and works on decarbonizing her own life.

Àrmann Kojic

Nanom
CEO

Nanom makes products smarter, more efficient and longer lasting. Nanom develops unique nanotechnology materials, designs and techniques that dramatically transform energy storage.

Previously, Àrmann Kojic was the VP of Marketing at DeCODE Genetics (Nasdaq:DCGN, acquired by Amgen for $415M). As an Account Executive at McCann Erickson, Àrmann developed and managed campaigns for Coca-Cola, Domino’s, and other major brands. Àrmann also took part in Stanford’s StartX Mentor Labs for outstanding entrepreneurs.

Ashish Tiwari

West Monroe
Director, Energy and Utilities Practice

Ashish Tiwari has a lifelong passion for solving problems pertaining to the utility industry — for example, using advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) data to create algorithms for improving outage management indicators. He applies his problem-solving skills to generate greater value for utility stakeholders. Working with leading East Coast utilities, he delivered productivity improvements and operations savings in excess of $5.5 million.

He has spearheaded many complex and large-scale digital transformation engagements for leading North American utilities. These range across a wide array of utility goals — from a smart meter deployment for a leading North American utility with 5 million customers, to advanced distribution management system implementations. He brings proven experience in grid modernization data analytics road map definition and IT/OT road map development for a utility planning to deploy 250,000+ smart lights and gunshot detectors across its service territory.

Ben Wilson

National Grid
Chief Strategy and External Affairs Officer

Prior to joining National Grid, Ben Wilson was the Chief Executive Officer of Australian Gas Infrastructure Group, one of the largest utility infrastructure businesses in Australia, active in every mainland state and throughout storage, midstream, transmission, distribution, and metering. Before AGIG, Ben was the Director of Strategy & Regulation and Chief Financial Officer of UK Power Networks, one of the largest electricity distribution businesses in the U.K. with 8 million customers. Before moving into industry, Ben spent 15 years as an energy and utilities investment banker, working mostly in Europe and Asia.

Ben has more than 25 years’ experience in the energy sector and has wide international experience. Ben’s focus areas include strategy, regulation, external affairs, stakeholder engagement, M&A, innovation, and sustainability. Ben has a particular interest in the energy transition and the role of hydrogen. He also has wide general management experience from his time as a CEO. Ben holds a degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University.

Bomee Jung

Cadence OneFive
Co-Founder

Bomee Jung is co-founder and Co-CEO of Cadence OneFive Inc., a public benefit corporation with a climate justice mission developing market-transforming software to enable city-scale decarbonization.

Since 2002, she has contributed to NYC’s climate leadership through policy and programmatic innovations. At NYCHA, the largest apartment owner in the U.S., she developed and led implementation of the strategic sustainability plan, including a $700 million program of energy performance contracts, a $300 million electrification program, a 25-megawatt community solar program, and the city’s first new pneumatic waste collection system in 47 years. Prior to NYCHA, she designed and led the NYC climate programs of Enterprise Community Partners, a national leader in affordable housing.

Bomee holds a Master in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and serves on the board of the Institute for Market Transformation (imt.org) and the loan committee of Capital For Change.

Brad Markell

AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council
Executive Director

Brad Markell is the Executive Director of the AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council (IUC), which is the manufacturing arm of the AFL-CIO, with 12 unions representing over 1 million members in manufacturing. He also leads the federation’s climate and energy policy work, including labor’s participation in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change process and the AFL-CIO’s Labor Energy Partnership.

Prior to joining the AFL-CIO, Brad was on the staff of the UAW, where he represented the union during negotiations with the Obama administration on fuel-economy regulations and led the UAW’s efforts to establish the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program administered by DOE. Brad is an experienced labor negotiator, and while at the UAW participated in several rounds of national bargaining in the automobile, aerospace, and heavy-truck industries.

Brad’s board and committee service on behalf of the labor movement includes the Biden-Harris transition team, the Labor and Employment Relations Association, the National Academy of Engineering, the Export-Import Bank Advisory Council, the International Labor Organization, and the International Energy Agency.

Brad has degrees from the University of Michigan and Wayne State University. He joined the UAW in 1976, when he hired into General Motors, and belongs UAW Local 14 in Toledo Ohio.

Brenda Enos

TRC Companies
Director, Energy Efficiency

Brenda Enos is a Director of Energy Efficiency at TRC Companies. During her 30+-year career, Brenda has been a thought leader on energy transformation including greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction initiatives, transportation electrification, and adoption of alternative fuels like low-carbon sustainable aviation fuel and hydrogen.

She specializes in achieving transportation electrification solutions for clients, by helping to transform the industry from a fossil fuel-based model to a resilient and net zero carbon future. Brenda works with utilities, businesses, government agencies, and transportation authorities to design and implement electric vehicle programs — ranging from passenger vehicles, commercial fleets, heavy-duty trucks, and non-road vehicles including airport ground support equipment, forklifts, watercraft, and aircraft. Brenda’s current work is focused closely on transportation electrification opportunities within the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and the current administration’s Justice 40 initiative.

Brenda is part of the Airports Council International World Environmental Steering Group Committee, where world airport leaders meet to discuss environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals, climate change, alternative fuels, and other environmental issues critical to airports.

Britt Reichborn-Kjennerud

Con Edison
Department Manager, Electric Vehicles

Britt Reichborn-Kjennerud is a Department Manager in the E-Mobility and Demonstrations department, where she leads the design, implementation, strategy, and operations for Con Edison’s electric vehicle infrastructure incentive programs. Previously in her work at Con Edison she focused on deploying energy storage and other distributed energy resources to meet grid needs and developing novel business models for leveraging storage to support utility operations and customers.

She also worked in the Research & Development department, where she designed and managed projects to introduce new technologies into the company infrastructure and operations. Prior to joining Con Edison in 2014, Britt completed her Ph.D. and a research fellowship in physics at Columbia University.

Bryan Stockton

Ørsted North America
Head of Regulatory Affairs

Bryan Stockton serves as Head of Regulatory Affairs at Ørsted. In this role, he helps shape the company’s regulatory agenda to positively impact the emerging offshore wind market in North America. He previously managed regional environmental and permitting strategy for Ørsted’s offshore wind projects in the mid-Atlantic.

Bryan has over 15 years of experience at the intersection of renewable energy and environmental law and policy. Prior to joining Ørsted, Bryan served as counsel at an international law firm in Washington, D.C., where he handled environmental regulatory, litigation, and transactional matters. He worked for a range of infrastructure, energy, and industrial clients, and was active in pro bono matters. At a prior firm, he managed federal regulatory affairs for several energy developers, including the first domestic offshore wind project built.

Bryan holds a bachelor’s and a law degree, both from Georgetown University. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.

Caitlin Smith

Jupiter Power
Senior Director, External Affairs & ESG

Caitlin Smith is an energy professional with over a decade of experience in regulatory policy. For the past nine years, she has focused on electricity market design and has worked both as an advocate for policies that have enhanced our electricity markets and as an advisor on the commercial and financial impacts of energy policy. Her broad experience in government and regulatory affairs, as well as in public affairs, have led Caitlin to becoming a well-versed speaker and author across topics ranging from clean energy to wholesale energy market design.

Caitlin is the Senior Director of Regulatory, External Affairs & ESG with Jupiter Power — a leading energy storage developer and operator. Caitlin’s work focuses on aligning market incentives, resiliency, and the energy transition. She recently founded Jupiter Power’s Women’s Professional Development Initiative. Caitlin has in-depth experience with the ERCOT market and was the first in-house counsel for the Independent Market Monitor to ERCOT and currently sits on ERCOT’s Technical Advisory Committee.

Caitlin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Texas, a Juris Doctor from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Laws in Environmental & Natural Resource Law and Policy from the University of Denver.

Carl Garofalo

Southern Company
Director, Sustainability Solutions

Carl Garofalo is the Director of Sustainability Solutions at Southern Company Gas. In this role, Carl supports the development of innovative end-use technologies and programs to empower customers and internal stakeholders to use energy more efficiently. Carl also collaborates with internal and external stakeholders on federal, state and local policy, outreach, and communications efforts on these sustainability and efficiency initiatives.

Carl has over 11 years of experience with Southern Company Gas, most recently serving as the Director of Growth and Retention. Carl has engineering experience in the gas appliance industry designing water heaters, boilers, and space heating systems as an applications engineer for Rinnai America Corporation. Additionally, Carl has been honorably discharged from the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

Carl is a graduate of Boston University’s mechanical engineering program and also earned a master’s degree in biology with a concentration in biomechanics.

Carolyn Kissane

NYU Center for Global Affairs
Assistant Dean, and Clinical Professor; Director of the SPS Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab.

Dr. Carolyn Kissane serves as the Assistant Dean of the graduate programs in Global Affairs and Global Security, Conflict and Cybercrime at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs and is a Clinical Professor, where she teaches graduate-level courses examining the geopolitics of energy, comparative energy politics, energy, environment and resource security, and climate change and security.

She is Director of the SPS Energy, Climate Justice and Sustainability Lab, Coordinator of the Energy and Environment concentration at the Center, and is faculty adviser to the Energy Policy International Club. Dr. Kissane was awarded the esteemed NYU Excellence in Teaching Award in 2007, the SCPS Award for Teaching Excellence in 2009, and nominated for the NYU-wide Distinguished Teaching Award in 2008, 2009, 2016, and 2021. She is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the National Committee on US-China Relations and she serves on the boards of the New York Energy Forum, New York Energy Week, and the Clean Start Advisory Board.

She was named Breaking Energy’s Top Ten New York Women in Energy and Top Ten Energy Communicator. She hosts Fueling our Future, an energy series she moderates that bring in energy and environment experts for conversation and debate.

Dr. Kissane received her Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Carrie Cullen Hitt

Equinor
Co-Lead of Transmission Strategy for (US) Offshore Wind

Carrie Cullen Hitt recently joined Equinor the Co-Lead of Transmission Strategy for (US) Offshore Wind. Prior to joining Equinor she served as the Executive Director for the National Offshore Wind R&D Consortium – a not for profit focused on finding innovative solutions to help the US reach its 30GW by 2030 OSW deployment goal. Carrie was the President of New Hampshire Transmission, a NextEra Energy (NEER) and a Senior Project Director at NEER.Carrie worked as a leading advocate for the solar industry in leadership positions at the Solar Alliance and Solar Energy Industries Association. In the early 2000s she was involved in electricity market restructuring and advocacy in both the public and private sectors, including the Harvard Electricity Policy Group and Constellation NewEnergy. She is a graduate of Clark University (BA) and Johns Hopkins (MA, SAIS). She is an Artemis Circle Board Member of the Boston Boys and Girls Club.

Carrie Meek Gallagher

NYS Department of Public Service
Director, Long Island Office

As Director of the New York State Department of Public Service Long Island Office (LIO), Carrie Meek Gallagher and her regional staff will provide increased regulatory oversight of LIPA and PSEG Long Island and ensure fair and reasonable electric rates for ratepayers, while also safeguarding access to secure, resilient, reliable, and sustainable electric, gas, water, and telecommunications services in the region. Part of this increased oversight will include enhanced outreach to consumers, businesses, and stakeholders. Concurrently, the LIO will facilitate development of the clean energy infrastructure in the region that is needed to implement the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

Most recently, Carrie held the position of Acting Deputy Secretary to the Governor for Energy and Environment, serving as a member of the Executive Chamber under the direction of the Director of State Operations overseeing all phases of government operations and policy management within the Energy and Environment Portfolio.

Previously, Carrie served as the Regional Director for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), overseeing a staff of 188 personnel with responsibility for implementing environmental conservation programs throughout Long Island. She has also served as the Chief Sustainability Officer for the Suffolk County Water Authority; the Suffolk County Commissioner of the Department of Environment and Energy; Deputy Director of Planning for Suffolk County; the inaugural director of the Long Island Index; headed the Nassau County Economic Development Resource Center; and developed Sustainable Long Island’s Brownfields Redevelopment program.

She holds a B.A. in Sustainable Development and Latin American Studies from Amherst College, an M.S. in Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development from the University of Maryland at College Park, and an MBA from the Frank G. Zarb School of Business at Hofstra University. She has been recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council LI Chapter “Leader of the Year” (2021), Long Island Contractors Association Road Warriors “Natural Born Leader” (Spring 2021), City and State “Long Island Heroes” (November 2020), Town of Brookhaven Women’s Recognition in Government (2012), Networking “A Leading Long Island Environmentalist (August 2011), and Long Island Business “40 Under 40” (2003).

Carter Li

SWTCH Energy Inc.
CEO

Carter Li is the Chief Executive Officer at SWTCH, an electric vehicle charging and energy management company focused on addressing the unique challenges of deploying EV charging infrastructure in high-density urban environments. Prior to SWTCH, Carter was a management consultant at Deloitte in its Digital Strategy practice, where he led digital strategy and transformation projects for energy, financial services, and life science industries.

Carter is a founding board member of the Ontario Clean Technology Industry Association and a committee member of Electric Mobility Canada. Carter attended McGill University for his B.Sc. and Ph.D. and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business for his MBA.

Charlie Nobles

Ubicquia
Vice President, Utility Segment

Charlie Nobles leads Ubicquia’s utilities segment, bringing a deep track record of success from Progress Energy (now Duke Energy Progress), where he oversaw the complex evaluation and selection process of the utility’s electric AMI solution and from Sensus, where he brought solutions to a global utility market.

Charlie holds a B.S. and M.S. in Engineering from Duke University, and an MBA from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Chris Hopper

Aurora Solar
CEO and Co-Founder

Christopher Hopper is the co-founder and CEO of Aurora Solar. Aurora Solar is the leading software that powers the solar industry. Prior to Aurora Solar, he co-founded the humanitarian organization e.quinox, which developed sustainable technological solutions for rural communities and helped launch BBOXX, a startup that manufactures, distributes, and finances decentralized energy solutions for the developing world.

He holds an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and a master’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Imperial College London.

Christopher Raup

Con Edison
Vice President, Energy Policy and Regulatory Affairs

Christopher Raup is the Vice President of Energy Policy and Regulatory Affairs at Con Edison. Chris and the Energy Policy and Regulatory Affairs team manage state and federal regulatory engagement for the Con Edison and Orange & Rockland electric and gas utilities on topics including renewable energy, advanced metering infrastructure, electric vehicles, heat pumps and alternatives to natural gas.

Chris is a mechanical engineer by training and started working in the energy utility industry in 1996, joining Con Edison in 2006. He has worked on wholesale electric market issues, natural gas pipelines, electric demonstration projects, electric vehicle programs and the development of innovative energy efficiency, battery storage and rate design efforts. Most recently he has focused on developing Con Edison’s clean energy policy positions, leading the development of comments on New York State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act draft scoping plan and policy proposals coming from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on transmission planning and natural gas pipeline permitting.

Christina Lampe-Onnerud

Cadenza Innovation, Inc.
Founder & CEO

Dr. Christina Lampe-Onnerud is Founder and CEO of Cadenza Innovation, a growth-stage company providing safer, higher-performing, lower-cost lithium-ion batteries and energy storage solutions to the utility/grid, transportation and commercial and industrial sectors.

Earlier, Dr. Lampe-Onnerud was Founder, CEO and International Chairman of Boston-Power and held executive positions at Bridgewater Associates and Arthur D. Little, where she led one of the world’s largest independent testing laboratories.

Dr. Lampe-Onnerud serves as co-chair of Li-Bridge, a U.S. Department of Energy initiative committed to developing a robust, secure domestic supply chain for lithium-based batteries, and is a board member of the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology (NY-BEST) Consortium. A two-time World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, Dr. Lampe-Onnerud previously chaired WEF’s Global Future Council on Energy Technologies. She is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, holds a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Uppsala University, Sweden, and conducted post-doctoral work at MIT.

Christine Sloan

National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium
Senior Program Manager

Christine Sloan manages a portfolio of National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium (NOWRDC) R&D projects — including those developing a supply chain road map to reach the national goal of 30 GW of offshore wind deployed by 2030 and quantifying conflicting use mitigation measures in wind lease areas — and leads NOWRDC’s policy and congressional outreach.

Before joining NOWRDC, she was with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities’ offshore wind team and then completed the Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Christine received her Master’s of Marine Policy from the University of Delaware, where she studied perceptions of the Block Island Offshore Wind Farm during and after its installation, and her B.A. from the Macaulay Honors College at City University of New York Hunter College.

Christopher Cavanagh

National Grid
Consulting Engineer, Future of Heat Engineering

Christopher Cavanagh is a Consulting Engineer in Future of Heat team at National Grid and is responsible for developing hydrogen demonstration programs in support of National Grid’s Fossil-Free Clean Energy Vision. He has supported the development of a variety of efficiency and renewable gas technologies for customers to support National Grid’s goals and is a member of the board of directors of Utilization Technology Development, a national gas distribution industry research collaborative.

Mr. Cavanagh has 34 years’ experience in product development at National Grid and its predecessor companies. Mr. Cavanagh previously managed research programs in the areas of alternative fuel vehicles, advanced heating & cooling, and distributed generation, including fuel cells. Mr. Cavanagh was a senior engineer with the New York architect-engineering firm Gibbs & Hill on nuclear power and building HVAC projects. Mr. Cavanagh is a licensed professional engineer and a Member of the American Society of Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning Engineers and has been a mentor and judge in the CleanTech Open and Powerbridge NY programs.

Mr. Cavanagh is a member of the Advisory Board of the Clean Energy Business Incubator Program at Stony Brook University and also partnered with the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC) to create the new Institute of Gas Innovation and Technology at the AERTC. He helped develop a STEM program for NYC Middle School students considering Brooklyn Tech High School, is also the Chairman of the Bayshore Regional Sewerage Authority and was a regular judge at the NYC FIRST Robotics Competition.

He holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the Cooper Union, an MS from Polytechnic University (now NYU) and an MBA from Dowling College.

Clare Doyle Dowd

BlocPower
Director of Policy and Community

Clare Doyle Dowd is the Director of Policy and Community at BlocPower. An experienced leader in affordable housing with two decades of experience leading public-sector and nonprofit initiatives, Clare leverages this experience to execute BlocPower’s clean energy objectives. Clare leads BlocPower’s funding opportunities, policy engagements, and government relations.

A graduate of Harvard Kennedy School, Clare previously worked at Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the nation’s largest CDFI, as a Senior Program Officer investing in affordable housing development, resulting in the development of 1,200 housing units. As Associate Director of CEOs of Cities, she led government relations working with university presidents, mayors, and corporate executives. As Director of Downtown Housing for the City of Cleveland, Clare completed nine transactions on behalf of the city for transactions valued at $120M for the redevelopment of vacant warehouses.

Previously, Clare served as Special Assistant to HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros, leading a public housing broadband initiative with 25 PHAs, and also worked with key Congressional leaders to secure $360M of federal funding for disaster recovery.

Clement Drummond

Bronx Community College
Director of Automotive Technology

Clement Drummond is the director of the Automotive Technology Program at Bronx Community College (BCC) and has over 35 years of automotive experience. Under his leadership, the Automotive Program will be opening a new facility this fall that will expand the current curriculum to include electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, and electric vehicle performance. BCC’s Automotive Program is fully accredited by the Automotive Service Excellence Education Foundation. In addition, the program is part of the prestigious Nissan Technician Training Academy.

Mr. Drummond is well known in the alternative fuels arena for the development of the first two natural gas buses. He has been inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame and has received numerous industry awards such as a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Natural Vehicle Coalition.

Connor Dolan

Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy Association
Vice President of External Affairs

Connor Dolan is the Vice President of External Affairs for Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy Association. As Vice President of External Affairs, Connor oversees the Association’s outreach and advocacy activities, as well as association operations. Connor has worked for the association since 2010 building relationships and connections across the public and private sector to support the growth and development of the hydrogen and fuel cell industry. Connor has successfully advocated for establishment of clean hydrogen infrastructure programs, development of hydrogen and fuel cell tax policies, and expansion of hydrogen and fuel cell research and development funding within the Department of Energy.

Connor has previously worked for the Methanol Institute and the U.S. Fuel Cell Council. Connor has received a Master of Public Administration and Certificate in Nonprofit Management at Virginia Commonwealth University, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Christopher Newport University.

Corey Muirhead

Logan Bus Company
Executive Vice President

Corey Muirhead is the Executive Vice President of Logan Bus Company, the largest school bus provider in the city of New York, amassing over 4,000 employees and 2,500 routes. Astute business acumen, political savviness, and a penchant for customer service have established Mr. Muirhead as a sought-after captain of industry. Mr. Muirhead is responsible for negotiating the largest municipal-private contractor transportation extension agreement with the New York City Department of Education. He is also credited with putting the first electric school bus on NYC streets.

Mr. Muirhead has been named to the 2021 City & State Transportation Power 100 List, 2020 City & State Magazine’s “40 Under 40 Rising Stars” in NYC Politics and a 2019 Long Island Business News “30 Under 30” award for young professionals who contribute to the Long Island community through public service and who have made significant strides in business. He was awarded the 2020 Roger Weeks New York School Bus Contractor Association’s Contractor of The Year Award for work he did on behalf of the industry during the COVID pandemic.

Mr. Muirhead has been a guest on television shows and industry trade podcasts, and interviewed/quoted in multiple newspapers.

He serves as a trustee on the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 Pension and Welfare Funds and sits/advises on various Board of Directors such as the National School Transportation Association, Gate-Keeper Systems, Unique Electric Solutions, and Qudos Technologies. A lifelong New York resident, Mr. Muirhead graduated from Marist College.

Crystal Black-Davis

Head of Impact
ZK Ladder

Crystal Black-Davis is a food industry leader who has served in both executive and consulting roles for notable global brands and raw ingredient suppliers. Crystal is the former Executive Vice President (USA) for Italian-based confectioner Loacker, and advisor to numerous brands such as Katjes, Ivory Cashew, and Spero Foods, through her consultancy, Savvy Food. She is currently Head of Impact for Web3 venture studio ZK Ladder.

In her role with ZK Ladder, Crystal draws from her experience of intimately working with agricultural producers to identify and support actionable solutions that address major environmental challenges, particularly related to sustainable food. Awareness, advocacy, and action around sustainable progress are the core tenets of ZK Ladder’s Impact division.

Crystal has been featured in media outlets such as Fast Company, Food Navigator, ABC New York, and Candy Industry Magazine for her insights and expertise on topics related to the food industry. She has served as an editorial board member of Candy and Snack Today Magazine and an advisory board member for Rutgers University’s Center for Innovation Education. Crystal is an avid supporter of the UN World Food Programme, No Kid Hungry, and MOFAD (Museum of Food and Drink).

Dana Mecomber

NY/NJ Port Authority
Sustainability Program Manager

Dana Mecomber works in the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey’s Office of Sustainability, where she focuses on strategies and initiatives to reduce carbon emissions from the Agency’s many tenants, stakeholders, and customers. In this role her work spans the aviation, maritime, and on-road transportation sectors.

Currently with the Port Authority for six years, her entire career has focused on environmental protection in the New York and New Jersey region, having served in previous roles for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and City of New York.

Daniel P. Schrag

Harvard University
Director of the Center for the Environment

Daniel Schrag is Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology and professor of environmental science and engineering at Harvard University, where he serves as director of the Center for the Environment. A graduate of Yale University, he received a Ph.D. in geology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1993.

His research focuses on climate change over the broadest range of Earth’s history as well as on energy technology and energy policy. With John Marshall, Schrag co-founded the Potential Energy Coalition, a nonprofit organization that harnesses the best minds from marketing and advertising to communicate the risks of climate change to Americans. From 2009 to 2017, he served on President Obama’s Council of Advisors for Science and Technology (PCAST).

He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Daniel Nussbaum

Naval Postgraduate School
Chair, Energy Academic Group

Dr. Daniel Nussbaum is the Chair of the Energy Academic Group at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California. He teaches classes in energy, operations research, cost estimating and cost benefit analysis, and he does research and mentors students.

He has been a Principal with Booz Allen Hamilton; the Director of the Naval Center for Cost Analysis; and has held other management and analysis positions with the U.S. Army and Navy in the U.S. and in Europe.

He has a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Michigan State University. He has held post-doctoral positions in Econometrics and Operations Research, and in National Security Studies at Washington State University and Harvard University.

He is active in professional societies and is the Past President of the Society of Cost Estimating and Analysis, and he has served on the Board of the Military Operations Research Society. He publishes and speaks regularly before professional audiences, and he is currently writing a book on Operational Energy.

Dave Calone

Jove Equity Partners
CEO

David Calone is the CEO of Jove Equity Partners, LLC, an investment firm that helps start and build technology companies located throughout the United States. He has served on the boards of twelve privately-held companies in connection with his entrepreneurial and investing activities.

Mr. Calone served as founding National Board Chair for Patriot Boot Camp, a not for profit that helps veterans and active-duty service members start businesses and he now serves as Co-Chair of the DAV (Disabled American Veterans) National Veterans Entrepreneurship Council. He helped organize the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the U.S. House of Representatives, advocating for federal policies that promote job creation through the development of start-ups.

Mr. Calone is the founder of the Long Island Emerging Technologies Fund, which helped launch and provide seed funding for ten early-stage companies based on technology developed at the research institutions on Long Island. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Mr. Calone has an economics degree from Princeton University.

David Duncan

Pike Telecom and Renewables, LLC
Vice President of Renewables

David Duncan is the Vice President of Pike Renewables, which leverages Pike Corporation’s 75 years of grid experience to offer turnkey renewable services. David has 35+ years in the energy business. At Pike Renewables, he has developed an engineering, procurement, and construction team that has installed over 1.5 GWh of battery energy storage. Projects have included new construction, re-powers, augmentations, and decommissioning. His EPC team also performs at a high level for distributed generation and utility solar as well as Level 2 and 3 EV charging facilities.

His areas of qualification include business and finance execution, resource planning, construction execution, organizational leadership, and electrical focus. Prior to joining Pike, David held managerial roles for ABM Inc., PowerSecure Inc. and Georgia Power. His previous research and development roles included pilot projects for BESS, flywheel and other energy storage technologies.

David holds a Bachelor of Business degree from Mercer University, is a Certified Energy Manager and a licensed electrical contractor in multiple states.

David Gilford

Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners
Head of Policy and Strategic Partnerships

David leads policy for Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP), building public-private partnerships to deliver value to national, regional, and local governments and communities. Backed by Alphabet, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and StepStone, SIP applies innovative technology to urban infrastructure systems.

Over two decades at the intersection of the public and private sectors, David has built cross-sector programs to support innovation. As a Principal at HR&A Advisors and co-founder of the Broadband Equity Partnership, David designed digital and social infrastructure to close the digital divide. Previously, he co-founded the Connected Communities practice at Intersection, developing technology strategies for neighborhood-scale real estate developments.

David’s public sector experience includes serving as Vice President for Urban Innovation & Sustainability at the New York City Economic Development Corporation and leading the City’s energy economic development initiatives. David holds a BA in Economics from Williams College and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.

David Hamilton

Stony Brook University
Director of Programs for Economic Development

Mr. Hamilton is the Director of Programs for Economic Development. He oversees five major program areas within Economic Development, to include Center of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWIT), Center in Integrated Electric Energy Systems (CIEES), Strategic Partnership for Industrial Resurgence (SPIR), Manufacturing and Technology Resource Consortium (MTRC), and Advanced Energy Center (AEC). As the former Executive Director of the virtual Clean Energy Business Incubator Program (CEBIP), Mr. Hamilton brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the CEBIP Executive Advisory Board.

Mr. Hamilton started his professional career with the Long Island Lighting Company managing independent power producers. From there, he has been involved in the design, development and implementation of Sirius Satellite Radio’s terrestrial transmitters, developing sales and marketing plans for aerospace and IT companies, managing the sales and operation of hydrogen fuel cells for Plug Power, and most recently developing the commercial sales and marketing for EmPower Solar, a leading Long Island turnkey solar provider.

His education includes a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Clarkson University and a MBA in Marketing from Hofstra University. He brings a focus in clean energy technologies with experience in business development, commercialization of engineering technologies, marketing and sales, as well as an ability to communicate well with early-stage entrepreneurs in the clean energy arena.

David Goldstein

Hydronic Shell Technologies
Founder and CEO

David J. Goldstein is a mechanical engineer based in New York City with 15 years of experience designing HVAC systems in residential and commercial buildings. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in New York State as well as a LEED AP and WELL AP.

David’s work with owners of large multifamily buildings gave him a unique perspective on the challenges they face in the effort to modernize and electrify their buildings to reduce emissions. He realized that a new solution was needed that could be installed completely from the exterior to minimize tenant disruption, as well as the need for prefabricated and modular solutions to reduce costs and installation time.

The Hydronic Shell is the new solution David developed to meet those needs. It’s a modular central HVAC system integrated into prefabricated facade overclad panels. He founded Hydronic Shell Technologies in 2020 and is currently working on prototyping and testing.

David Manning

Brookhaven National Laboratory
Director, Stakeholder Relations Office

David Manning was named Director of Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Stakeholder Relations Office, Community and External Relations in January 2015. Mr. Manning’s responsibilities include developing, implementing, and assessing strategic internal and external communications plans and programs to advance the scientific mission and priority programs to help increase support for the Lab’s programs and priority projects; and overseeing science education and workforce development programs to fulfill the Lab’s and U.S. Department of Energy’s education and diversity goals.

Mr. Manning has worked in both government and the private sector, including serving as the Deputy Minister of Energy for Alberta, Canada, and Executive Vice President of Public and Corporate Affairs and Chief Environmental Officer for Keyspan/National Grid. Most recently, he served as the U.S. representative for the Premier of Alberta, deeply involved in energy issues.

Mr. Manning earned a B.A. and LL.B. in law from the University of Alberta and did post-graduate work in international law at the Australian National University.

David Murray

American Clean Power
Director of Solar Policy

As Director of Solar Policy, David Murray manages solar work streams related to wildlife, permitting, and legislative and regulatory affairs. He also works with American Clean Power industry partners to improve environmental impacts, health and safety, workforce development, and operations and management. Prior to joining ACP, David served as Executive Director of the Chesapeake Solar & Storage Association (formerly MDV-SEIA), representing the diverse solar and storage industry in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

David has a B.A. in Public Policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a master’s degree in Renewable Energy Development Studies from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, and is certified as a NABCEP entry-level photovoltaic installer.

David Waserstein

SOIL Funds
CEO

David Waserstein is the founder and CEO of SOIL Funds Management, an independent sponsor focused on sustainable opportunities and infrastructure. Areas of interest include renewable energy, resource efficiency, water, waste, and agtech.

Previously, he was a Partner at I2BF Global Ventures. During his tenure there, Mr. Waserstein led investments in Primus Power and GMZ Energy, as well as follow-on rounds and assistance with Epuramat, Nesscap Energy, and Primafuel. He was the Chairman at Solix Biosystems and held board seats at Prism Solar Technologies, Scifiniti, and Nordic Windpower.

Mr Waserstein began his investment career in energy and sustainability at Hudson Clean Energy Partners, a private-equity group with over $1B in its inaugural fund.

Mr. Waserstein graduated with an MBA from Columbia University and a B.A. from Tufts University. He is currently a member of the Investor Advisory Board at the National Renewable Energy Lab and a mentor in the Cleantech Open network.

Debra Coyle

NJ Work Environment Council
Executive Director

Debra Coyle is the executive director of the New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC). She began her career at WEC in 1997 and served as the assistant director of WEC for ten years prior to being appointed executive director in 2018. She has more than twenty years of experience working on state and federal public policy, including policy development, advocacy, and worker/community training on various initiatives, including chemical safety and security, sensible safeguards, climate change, healthy schools, workers’ rights, income inequality, and Right to Know.

Ms. Coyle serves as a co-coordinator of the Jersey Renews coalition, with a focus on labor-friendly climate policy. Ms. Coyle has given national presentations on topics such as the effects of climate change on worker health and safety and building effective coalitions. She has co-authored WEC reports Danger in the Dark, Failure to Act, and Access Denied in addition to contributing to national reports, most recently on COVID prevention and awareness in the workplace for the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health and Healthy Schools Network.

She is a graduate of the Rutgers University Union Leadership Academy program and holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from West Virginia University. In December 2020, she was appointed to the NJ Economic Development Authority’s NJ Wind Port for Diversity and Local Engagement Advisory Committee and in February 2021 she was appointed by Governor Phil Murphy to serve on the Council on the Green Economy. She previously served on the Boards of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health and the Philadelphia Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women.

Devinder Mahajan

Stony Brook University
Professor

Dr. Devinder Mahajan is Professor and Graduate Program Director of Chemical & Molecular Engineering and serves as Director of the Institute of Gas Innovation and Technology (I-GIT) at Stony Brook University. His research includes monitoring energy policies and development of low-carbon technologies to address sustainability and climate change issues. He has published over 300 papers, delivered over 120 lectures, edited 12 special journal volumes, and holds 15 patents. Dr. Mahajan’s awards include:

NEDO Fellow, Japan (1997);
Outstanding Mentor Award, Office of Science, United States Department of Energy (2008, 2010);
University Visiting Professor, Universitá di Roma “La Sapienza”, Roma, Italy (2008);
Visiting Researcher, Institute for Global Strategies (IGES), Hayama, Japan (2009);
Fulbright Specialist Scholar (Thailand, 2010; Kenya 2014);
Certificate of Recognition, Bureau of Energy Resources, U.S. Department of State (2012);
Marie Curie Senior Researcher (2013-16) funded by the European Commission;
Expert Group Meeting Science & Sustainable Goals Report to 30-Member Countries Open Working Group (Rio+20) of the General Assembly, United Nations (2013);
Innovation Achievement Award, Brookhaven National Laboratory, New York (2014);
Inducted to the National Academy of Inventors in 2018.

Diane Burman

NYS Public Service Commission
Commissioner

Diane X. Burman serves as a Commissioner of the New York State Public Service Commission. Her term runs through February 2024. Ms. Burman is a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), serving on numerous committees, and is Chair of the NARUC Department of Energy Natural Gas Partnership Initiative.

She was recently appointed by the NARUC President as Co-Vice Chair of the Select Committee on Regulatory and Industry Diversity and to the Taskforce on Emergency Preparedness, Recovery and Resiliency as well as the Task Force’s Special Subcommittee on Lessons Learned from COVID-19. Ms. Burman also serves as the Vice Chair of the U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee.

She obtained her B.A. from Molloy College, her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law, and was admitted to the bar in 1992.

Dietmar Rieg

German American Chamber of Commerce
CEO

Dietmar Rieg has served as President & CEO of the German American Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (GACC NY) in New York since July 2013. From July 2008 to June 2013, he was Senior EVP and General Manager of BayernLB’s New York Branch and its U.S. business. Prior to that, he held the position of Division Head Corporate Business in Munich.

Mr. Rieg joined BayernLB in 1991 and transferred to its New York Branch in 1993, first as a credit analyst, then was responsible for Team and Department Project Finance and Corporate Banking. He was instrumental in implementing the branch’s Latin American business, including the formation of various representative offices. He further expanded the branch’s business portfolio by creating a project finance team in 1997, focusing primarily on financing renewable energy projects. In 2006 he returned to the BayernLB’s head office in Munich before transferring to New York in 2008.

Mr. Rieg is active on the boards of various German-American institutions. He is an economist with a Diploma degree from the University of Tübingen, Germany, and holds an M.B.A. from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Donald Chahbazpour

National Grid
Director, Policy and Regulatory Strategy - Future of Heat

Donald Chahbazpour is currently the Director of Policy and Regulatory Strategy – Future of Heat at National Grid. Don is leading company’s efforts to implement gas decarbonization and reduce methane emissions through policy, strategy and technology. The group is also responsible for engaging stakeholders to raise awareness regarding the potential of renewable natural gas and hydrogen, and how the gas network can enable a low carbon future.

Before his current position, Don was the Director of Climate Change Compliance. His previous positions at National Grid include Corporate Strategy, M&A and Energy Procurement. Prior to National Grid, Don was working for a startup energy technology company focusing on emerging distributed generation technologies and related regulatory issues.

Don has a Master’s in Public Policy and Administration (MPA) from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and a Bachelor’s with honors in Mechanical Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Doreen Harris

NYSERDA
President & CEO

Doreen M. Harris is the president and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), a public benefit corporation that advances innovative energy solutions to improve New York State’s economy and environment.

Ms. Harris has held public- and private-sector leadership roles advancing clean energy projects and engineering companies for more than 20 years.

During her 10 years of public service, she has held executive, technical, and policy positions at NYSERDA. Most recently, as Vice President of Large-Scale Renewables, she oversaw the State’s nation-leading advancement of renewable resources under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, including the development of offshore wind. Before embarking on a career in public service, Ms. Harris spent more than a decade in the energy sector, serving in management and engineering roles.

Ms. Harris earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Rochester and a Master of Business Administration from the University at Albany.

Echo Cartwright

The Nature Conservancy
Director Climate Mitigation

Echo Cartwright is the Director of Climate Mitigation at The Nature Conservancy in New York, where she leads a cross-cutting team of professionals identifying pathways to mitigate the impacts of climate change on our environment. Ms. Cartwright has over 30 years’ experience in the public policy, environment, and energy and utilities sectors, grid operators and wholesale markets, and served as a Senior Energy Advisor for two New York governors.

Ms. Cartwright has served on several Peer Review panels for the National Academies of Sciences related to the energy industry and serves on numerous energy-related boards and committees. In addition, Echo is the Editor of the Wiley Climate and Energy Journal, an international journal that focuses on current trends and issues facing the energy industry.

Eduardo Palacio

IEEE-USA
President-Elect

Ed Palacio has over 40 years of experience in directing development and production of complex military electronic systems. He has held profit and loss responsibility at the business unit and sector levels, as well as functional lead positions in Program Management, Engineering and Operations. Currently he is President of P&L Technical Management Solutions, a small business focused on technology, program management, and business development for the military and civilian market.

Prior to this, he was VP of Program Management and Business Operations for ITT/Exelis Electronic Systems. Before joining ITT, Ed was VP of EDO Corporation’s Electronic Warfare Sector. He is/has been a member of multiple advisory boards in industry, academia, and professional organizations. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Werlatone Corporation, in various Executive Boards for the IEEE, and has served on Industry Advisory Boards for The Cooper Union School of Engineering, SUNY Stony Brook Engineering Department and the New York Institute of Technology College of Engineering and Computing Sciences Dean Executive Advisory Board. He currently teaches at Stony Brook University’s Department of Technology and Society.

Ed holds a BEE from the Cooper Union School of Engineering and Science and two MS degrees in Electrical Engineering and Technology Management from the Polytechnic Institute of New York. He is currently the IEEE USA President-Elect and will serve as President in 2023.

Elizabeth Doris

U.S. Department of Energy
Senior Advisor for Energy Justice, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Elizabeth Doris is on detail from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to the U.S. DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy as the Senior Advisor on Energy Justice. At EERE, she serves to better understand and integrate opportunities for expanding EERE’s research impact across the RDD&D portfolio through expansion to, and inclusion of, new stakeholders.

With NREL since 2005, she’s been the Laboratory Program Manager for State, Local, and Tribal Governments at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory from 2015. In this capacity, she is responsible for developing and directing all aspects of NREL’s relationship with these audiences and coordinating these activities across the laboratory. Liz has 20 years of program development and management experience in energy efficiency and renewable energy policy research and content expertise in energy policy, including over 50 publications on effective policies for clean energy development.

Her research interests include mixed-methods approaches to understanding how technology is adopted in energy markets that are evolving to have a broader set of stakeholders. She holds a B.S. degree in Environmental Science from Boston University, an M.A. in Environmental Policy from Johns Hopkins, and a Doctorate in Law and Policy from Northeastern University.

Elizabeth Zeitler

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine
Associate Board Director, Energy and Environmental Systems

Elizabeth (Beth) Zeitler, Associate Director, Board on Energy and Environmental Systems of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine

Beth is Associate Board Director of the Board on Energy and Environmental Systems at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Across the Academies, she leads consensus studies to inform government, private and public sector decision-makers on key areas of domestic and global energy policy, such as technologies for vehicle energy efficiency, the future of the electric system, and technical and policy needs for deep decarbonization. She has previously led and supported projects on vehicle technologies; carbon utilization; the future of electrochemistry; technology and policy needs for the electric grid; energy system decarbonization; data, modeling and simulation for urban sustainability; electric vehicle deployment; and energy resource potential on DOE lands. Beth received a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Princeton in 2014, and has previously served as a Christine Mirzayan Fellow at the Academies and as an AAAS STPF Fellow at the U.S. foreign assistance agency, the Millennium Challenge Corporation.

Emma Rebhorn

Climate Jobs National Resource Center
Deputy Executive Director

Emma Rebhorn is the Deputy Executive Director of the Climate Jobs National Resource Center, where she coordinates the organization’s offshore wind campaign. She was raised in a union family and has spent more than a decade in the labor movement, including as a member of the Communications Workers of America. Emma was General Counsel to Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE), a statewide federation of healthcare and allied workers in New Jersey, and began her career as Assistant General Counsel to the United Steelworkers International Union.

She is a graduate of Columbia University, Tulane University Law School, and the Harvard Trade Union Program.

Eric Bosworth

Eversource
Senior Program Manager, Clean Technology, Gas

Eric is a Senior Program Manager in the Clean Technologies business unit of Eversource Gas. He is responsible for the implementation of clean gas projects within the Eversource portfolio to achieve Eversource’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2030. These include geothermal, hydrogen, and renewable natural gas opportunities.

As part of his role, Eric oversees the planning, design, and construction of the networked geothermal pilot. He is responsible for managing the day-to-day progress as well as overall timeline and budget. He will also oversee the operation of the system once it has been completed.

Prior to this role, Eric worked in the Gas Engineering department with Eversource. Before joining Eversource, Eric worked in the upstream oilfield as an international field engineer with Schlumberger.

Eric holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Eric Chaves

Terrament
Founder

Eric Chaves is the founder of Terrament, a startup building long-duration energy storage using gravity batteries deployed deep underground. Terrament’s novel design combines existing technology from the mining and wind industries to maximize the two simple ingredients of gravity storage: height and weight.

Eric is an entrepreneur and technologist with a diverse background spanning architecture, industrial design, and software. With a passion for design and experimentation, this broad, evolving experience has always informed his multidisciplinary approach to entrepreneurship. Terrament is his third company. His former companies include a media-tech startup called Antenna, and a software and design studio called Syllable.

Eric Lilly

Buena Ola Capital
Founder and Managing Partner

Eric Lilly is Founder of Buena Ola, a quantitative, triple bottom line company. He is an entrepreneurial leader with expertise in building complex valuation models to rationalize financial statements and corporate structures. Prior to Buena Ola, Eric spent 13 years at the New York City-based ValueWorks, a long/short investment firm with a fundamental bottom-up, research-driven, value discipline. He was one of a two-person investment team managing $250 million in assets that generated meaningful returns for clients.

Eric received his B.A. and MBA from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.

Eric Williams

Rochester Institute of Technology
Professor

Eric Williams is Professor at the Golisano Institute for Sustainability at Rochester Institute of Technology. Originally trained in theoretical physics, Eric’s broad research interest is the evolution of technology, society and energy systems. Specific research topics include assessing and forecasting technological progress, technology diffusion modeling, electricity system model, and subsidy policies for energy technologies.

Organizations funding his research include the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy and Ford. Eric’s solar diffusion model has been used by NGOs and public utility commission. His research has been widely covered in the media in outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post and Scientific American.

Estelle Mangeney

West Monroe
Director, Energy & Utilities

Estelle Mangeney is a Director at West Monroe in the Energy & Utility Practice and works with C-level leaders to set their vision and plans to meet decarbonization goals. Estelle works on market, regulatory, business operation, and transformation issues at utility and private companies. She has extensive experience driving innovation leveraging new technology and data within the utility industry and vetting investment opportunities in cutting-edge technologies.

Prior to West Monroe, Estelle led distributed energy management systems as well as large-scale meter data management systems implementation and deployments in North America, the U.K., and Canada.

Estelle graduated from Ecole Polytechnique Féminine with an M.S. in Computer Science in Sceaux, France, and holds an MBA from Columbia University.

Esther Takeuchi

Stony Brook University

Dr. Esther Takeuchi is a State University of New York distinguished professor and the William and Jane Knapp Chair in Energy and the Environment at Stony Brook University. Dr. Takeuchi holds a joint appointment at Brookhaven National Laboratory as chair of the Interdisciplinary Science Department. She is a faculty member of Stony Brook’s Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering as well as the Department of Chemistry.

Dr. Takeuchi’s work includes design of electroactive materials and the concomitant engineering associated with battery design as well as mechanistic studies involving the complex interplay among redox processes, ion transport and electrode precipitation/dissolution.

She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and is a charter member of the National Academy of Innovation. Dr. Takeuchi received an E.V. Murphree Award from the American Chemical Society, an Astellas USA Foundation Award and a Battery Division Technology Award from the Electrochemical Society. She is a Fellow of the Electrochemical Society, the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Dr. Takeuchi is inventor with over 150 patents, and has received the European Inventor Award in the category of non-EPO countries in 2018 and the Walston Chubb Award for Innovation from Sigma Xi in 2019.

Fabio Mantovani

NYPA
Vice President, Ventures

Fabio Mantovani serves as Vice President of NYPA Ventures at the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and prior to his current role served as Vice President of e-Mobility. NYPA is the largest state electric utility in the United States. In addition to operating its generation and transmission assets, NYPA provides low-cost power and clean energy products and services to commercial and industrial customers, municipalities, electric cooperatives, and government agencies. In this role, Mantovani is responsible for four business areas within NYPA Ventures: Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, Solar and Storage, Energy Insights and Analytics and Demand Flexibility (Virtual Power Plants).

Mr. Mantovani holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and a master’s degree in materials engineering from the University of Trento, Italy.

Gabriel Cowles

Urban Electric Power
Vice President of Commercial Strategy and Finance

Gabriel Cowles is the VP of Commercial Strategy and Finance at Urban Electric Power (UEP), where he manages revenue generation, partnerships, and strategic initiatives. With over 15 years of experience in the clean energy industry, Gabriel has successfully developed large-scale projects in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy storage across a range of sectors.

Prior to UEP, Gabriel worked at the New York Power Authority, where he developed and implemented the BuildSmartNY initiative. He has served as a moderator and speaker at various international events and is a graduate of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Gene Martin

TDI US Holdings
President

Gene Martin’s career in general and executive management for six of the top NYSE-listed companies in the energy, engineering, and construction sectors spans almost 40 years. His professional background includes divisional CEO roles with EMCOR Group, KeySpan Energy, and UtiliCorp United, as well as various senior management roles for SCANA Corp. and AECOM, where he built category leaders in the full-service energy infrastructure and renewable markets serving some of the world’s largest commercial, industrial and institutional companies across their global operations.

In his current role as President for Transmission Developers, he has full operational responsibility for projects valued at nearly $6 billion, including the Champlain Hudson Power Express project.

Glenn Vickers

MRV Group (MWBE) Supplier Diversity + Development
Managing Director and Founder

Glenn Vickers is Managing Director and Founder of MRV Group, a national supplier diversity and development firm based in Brooklyn, N.Y. Under his leadership, MRV’s team works directly with public-private partners to provide equitable commercial, industrial, and community-based service and product solutions.

Applying MRV’s strategies in diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ), MRV specializes in development, infrastructure supply chain diversity, and community inclusion across various industries.

Hafiz Bello

NYSERDA
Assistant Director – Innovation/R&D

Hafiz Bello is a technical expert on clean energy, energy efficiency, and grid innovation. He is skilled in technological, regulatory, and program management on energy efficiency, power systems planning, demand flexibility, and program evaluation. He has over 10 years of experience including playing a leading role and engaging with regulatory and private-sector stakeholders with a proven track record of successful planning and execution.

Dr. Bello is currently leading the state’s innovation efforts toward future proofing the grid to fulfill Climate Change and Energy Policy (CLCPA) targets for the state of New York. He has a quantitative and qualitative research background with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) focused on Energy Policy and Technology from Imperial College London.

Hara Wang

RMI Ventures
Third Derivative Program/Principal RMI

Hara Wang is a globally-minded climate tech innovator and practitioner. She currently leads investments and fund partnerships at Third Derivative, a climate tech accelerator and corporate- and capital-aligned ecosystem for climate innovation. She was most recently an investor at Braemar Energy Ventures, where she invested and worked alongside entrepreneurs building and scaling next-generation energy, transport, and manufacturing solutions. Prior to that, she was a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Company, where she helped the world’s largest institutional investors and industrial companies navigate the energy transition.

Earlier in her career, she supported business development at Eos Energy Storage, investigated process innovation opportunities for Chinese solar PV manufacturers, and built microgrid solutions and agricultural tools in sub-Saharan Africa. Having advanced climate solutions across maturity stages, across verticals, and on four continents, she is now dedicated to accelerating the rate of climate innovation.

Hendrik Hamann

IBM Research
Distinguished Researcher

Dr. Hendrik Hamann is a Distinguished Research Staff Member and Chief Scientist for Climate and Sustainability in IBM Research at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Goettingen in Germany. He is the winner of 2016 award of Industrial Applications of Physics of the American Institute of Physics and a Fellow of American Physical Society. He is Member of the National Mapping Committee of the National Research Council.

Hendrik has authored more than 160 scientific papers and holds over 180 patents. He is also a Visiting Professor at Yamagata University.

Herbert Dwyer

EMPEQ
CEO

As the CEO of EMPEQ, Herbert Dwyer combines his passion for building high-performing teams with creating Artificial Intelligence technologies for the building and equipment audit industry. He has over two decades of successful experience in energy, finance, management, entrepreneurship, B2B sales, SaaS, intelligence, commercial construction, and real estate.

Herbert is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran with a B.S. from Rochester Institute of Technology and an MBA from Cornell University.

Hugues Girardin

Vice President, Development
Boralex

Hugues Girardin is the Vice President, Development of Boralex. First with Cascades Energy and then with Boralex, Mr. Girardin has over 25 years’ experience in renewable energy. He has actively contributed to Boralex’s success over the years by leading major projects such as The Seigneurie de Beaupré Wind Farms, which is currently one of Canada’s largest wind power projects, and the Niagara Region Wind Farm, among many others. He has also worked to build strong partnerships with several municipal districts.

More recently, Mr. Girardin has successfully led the completion of all of the economic interests of Invenergy Renewables LLC in five wind farms in Québec, totaling 201 MW of net installed capacity, for a total cash consideration of $215 million. Mr. Girardin has an extensive breadth of knowledge and experience in the North American renewable industry and a passion for the environment and the role that renewable energy can play in supporting the sustainability of our planet for future generations. Mr. Girardin’s creativity and dedication are complemented by his commitment to continued innovation.

Jacob Lucas

Eversource
Director of Transmission Planning

Jacob Lucas is the Director of Transmission System Planning at Eversource. Eversource is New England’s largest utility with over 4.4 million customers and proudly serves as a catalyst for clean energy, decarbonization, and grid modernization. In particular, the Transmission System Planning team is innovating with some of the region’s most cutting-edge projects as well as supporting the development of Eversource’s offshore wind projects.

In addition to his time at Eversource, Jacob worked at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington, D.C. He has a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a master’s degree in Power Systems from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

James F. Bennett

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)
Senior Advisor

Jim Bennett brings more than 42 years of Federal experience to the challenging issues of resource management on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Prior to his current position as Senior Advisor with BOEM, Jim served for over seven years as Program Manager for Federal Offshore Renewable Energy, focusing on activities in the promising waters of the Atlantic. During this time, Jim and his team have overseen the responsible development of offshore wind energy through conscientious planning, stakeholder engagement, comprehensive environmental analysis, and sound technical review.

BOEM’s renewable energy program now manages 27 active leases covering over two million acres on the OCS from Massachusetts to North Carolina. This includes steel-in-the-water for one project and construction and operation plan (COP) approvals for the first two commercial-scale wind farms in U.S. waters. A dozen or more projects will be built upon this foundation over the course of the decade. Further, these efforts have set the stage for additional offshore wind leasing in the Gulf of Maine, the Central Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific.

Previously, Jim led the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Division of Environmental Assessment, overseeing the Bureau’s compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other environmental laws focusing on Federal OCS programs, including oil and gas, sand and gravel, and renewable energy. His experience encompasses events such as the Exxon Valdez and the Deepwater Horizon oil spills, and the Cape Wind energy project.

Jim is a graduate of the Department’s Manager Development Program and has master’s degrees in Environmental Planning and in Computer Systems Management.

James Heath

Southern Company
Managing Director, New Ventures

James Heath is Managing Director of New Ventures at Southern Co., where he focuses on innovative technology commercialization and strategic business development. Mr. Heath oversees Southern’s investment in Energy Impact Partners (EIP) and works closely with Southern’s operating companies and unregulated subsidiaries to bring new products and services to market, curate delightful customer experiences, and advance internal and customer sustainability goals. He is a board member of Cloverly, the sustainability API start-up.

Prior to joining Southern, Mr. Heath was a part of Accenture Strategy, where he focused on the Utility of the Future advising a wide range of clients on growth opportunities and business model transformation. He was an associate at Constellation Technology Ventures (CTV), Exelon’s internal venture capital group, where he executed investments in energy efficiency, storage, electric vehicles, and more. Heath started his career in energy and environmental finance with EcoSecurities developing small-scale renewables and GHG emissions reductions projects globally. He has an MBA from Georgetown University, an MSc from the University of Oxford, where he wrote about the intersection of climate change and business decision-making, and a B.S. from Texas A&M University.

James Kong

Alp Technologies
CEO and Founder

James Long is the Founder and Executive Director of Alp Technologies. He is an experienced serial entrepreneur with project management experience in developing and delivering renewable energy systems to market. Alp Technologies has been collaborating with U.K. academia, including Imperial College London, King’s College London, Liverpool University and Queen University of Belfast, to develop artificial intelligence, machine learning, mathematical optimization, and material chemistry for battery energy storage systems and hybrid-combined heat and power systems.

He had worked as the Chief Financial Officer at Entrade Energiesysteme, a German clean-tech firm that provides energy solutions and financing to global clients. He also worked for BlackRock and Barclays banks previously. James holds a Master of Science in Engineering degree from Columbia University and Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Economics from Stony Brook University.

Jan Matthiesen

The Carbon Trust
Director, Offshore Wind, Programmes & Innovation

Jan Matthiesen is passionate about wind energy. He started in the onshore sector but has got his feet wet managing all offshore wind activities at the Carbon Trust, such as the Offshore Wind Accelerator, UK’s leading RD&D program for offshore wind. He combines a good awareness of management techniques and a high level of business comprehension with good understanding of engineering principles and the ability to grasp complex technical problems.

He joined the Carbon Trust in 2010 to work on the Offshore Wind Accelerator, a ground-breaking collaborative RD&D project between the Carbon Trust and nine leading offshore wind developers. Prior to joining the Carbon Trust, Jan was Head of Onshore at RenewableUK, the wind energy industry association and accountable for all issues affecting the deployment of onshore wind energy development.

Jane Shin

Con Edison
Department Manager

Jane Shin is currently a department manager in Con Edison’s distribution engineering organization. She is responsible for network transformers, network protectors, distribution structures, and tools. Jane is also a member of Con Edison’s Climate Risk and Resilience Group. She has been with Con Edison for over 20 years in various organizations, including electric distribution, energy management, and finance, as well as working on a large scale IT project.

Jane holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and an MBA in Quantitative Finance and Operations from New York University Stern School of Business.

Jason Blumberg

Energy Foundry
Co-Founder & Managing Director

Jason Blumberg is Co-Founder & Managing Director at Energy Foundry, a leading early-stage venture capital fund that builds groundbreaking cleantech and energy companies. Jason sets the firm’s vision, leads investments, and coaches entrepreneurs. Energy Foundry is ranked as one of the top firms in the U.S. and world in its focus areas and has backed some of the most transformative companies in the cleantech and energy space.

For the past decade Jason has been an Adjunct Professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, teaching how to turn science into high-growth businesses. He is Executive Director of ISEIF, the nation’s largest independent power education foundation. Jason also serves as a Board member of an array of high-growth companies and is on the Advisory Boards of several leading industry intuitions.

Jason frequently speaks on energy and cleantech growth and innovation and has been featured by numerous media outlets including NBC, New York Times. Entrepreneur, PBS, Forbes, Jerusalem Post, Chicago Tribune, INC and Bangkok Post. NBC named him one its top “Eco-preneurs” and WGN as their “Entrepreneur of the Week.”

He earned his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, receiving the Dean’s Award of Distinction, and a B.A. from Michigan State University.

Jeff Freedman

Atmospheric Sciences Research Center University at Albany
Research Professor

Dr. Jeffrey M. Freedman is currently Research Faculty at the University at Albany, State University of New York’s Atmospheric Sciences Research Center (ASRC). As part of the Boundary Layer and Renewable Energy groups at ASRC, his main research focus is on renewable energy and atmospheric boundary layer processes. This includes work on improving wind and solar power production forecasting, investigating the effects of climate change on the renewable energy resource, developing outage prediction models for utilities, and developing instrumentation for offshore wind resource assessment and forecasting. Prior to his joining the faculty at ASRC, he was Lead Research Scientist at AWS Truepower (now a part of UL Renewables), a renewable energy consulting firm.

Previously, Dr. Freedman was the lead Principal Investigator on the first Wind Forecasting Improvement Project (WFIP), a two-year Department of Energy/National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration-sponsored study to demonstrate the value of additional atmospheric observations and model enhancements on wind energy production forecasts and led the development of the Solar Wind Integrated Forecast Tool (SWIFT), a state-of-the-art forecasting service for Hawaii’s electric utilities.

Dr. Freedman earned his Ph.D. at UAlbany’s Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences and ASRC. Previously, Dr. Freedman was an Assistant Counsel with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection where he played a key role in development and enforcement of the City’s rules and regulations for the protection of its water supply.

Jeffrey Grybowski

US Wind, Inc.
CEO

Jeffrey Grybowski is the Chief Executive Officer of US Wind, Inc. and a leader in the offshore wind industry in the United States. He previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Deepwater Wind from 2012-18, where he led the company’s pathbreaking efforts to launch the offshore wind industry in the United States. He was intimately involved in the development of America’s first offshore wind farm, the Block Island Wind Farm. Under his leadership, the company developed a portfolio of 1,000 MW of awarded offshore wind revenue contracts, including the first offshore wind projects for the states of New York, Maryland, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. After the acquisition of Deepwater Wind by Ørsted, Mr. Grybowski served as Co-CEO of Ørsted US Offshore Wind until 2019.

He has served on the boards of a number of leading industry organizations, including the American Wind Energy Association and the National Ocean Industries Association. Mr. Grybowski currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Roger Williams University.

Mr. Grybowski previously served as Chief of Staff to the Governor of the State of Rhode Island and practiced corporate law at Hinckley, Allen & Snyder in Providence, Rhode Island ,and at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York.

Mr. Grybowski earned an A.B. with Honors in Public Policy from Brown University and a J.D. with High Honors from the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Jen Becker

Wind Institute Development at New Jersey Economic Development Authority
Managing Director

Jen Becker is the Managing Director of Wind Institute Development at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), where she leads New Jersey’s efforts on offshore wind workforce training, education, research, and innovation. She has 25 years of experience conducting research, developing public policy, and crafting programs to advance sustainable development, particularly around issues of green jobs, clean energy, ports, and manufacturing. Currently, she also teaches at Pratt Institute’s Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment and is the Co-Chair of the Women in Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy NJ Chapter.

Prior to joining the NJEDA, she led numerous consulting projects, including for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, Karp Strategies, and the Pratt Center for Community Development. Previously, Jen served as the Chief Sustainability Manager at the New York Power Authority and as Vice President of Clean Energy and Sustainability at the New York City Economic Development Corporation. Jen also has experience working at several non-profit organizations.

She holds a B.A from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a M.S. in City and Regional Planning from Pratt Institute.

Jessica Dealy

NYSERDA
Senior Policy Advisor

As a Senior Policy Advisor for Offshore Wind at NYSERDA, Jessica Dealy leads Stakeholder Outreach as well as Workforce Development Liaison efforts for New York State’s Offshore Wind Program. She has nearly 10 years of experience working in wind energy development.

Her prior experience includes working with onshore wind developers OwnEnergy and EDF Renewables. In 2018, Jessica entered the offshore wind industry when she joined Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind as its External Affairs Lead. She managed community partnerships, stakeholder engagement, public relations, and government relations for the developer and was a part of their successful 1.5-gigawatt New Jersey project award. Prior to her career in renewable energy, Ms. Dealy worked as an award-winning on-air meteorologist and news reporter.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Meteorology/Climatology and a master’s degree in Environmental Geoscience from Mississippi State University.

Jill Engel-Cox

NREL
Senior Research Advisor, Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis (JISEA)

Dr. Jill Engel-Cox is a senior Research Advisor at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and former Director of the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis (JISEA). Over her 30-year career, Dr. Engel-Cox has been an engineer, researcher, program manager, and strategic planner for a diverse suite of renewable energy, clean technology, and environmental programs in the United States, Asia, and Middle East.

Her first job was climbing smokestacks in Los Angeles, followed by leading industrial pollution prevention programs for businesses and R&D laboratories. She has led international research programs, strategic planning, and technology assessments for renewable energy and environmental sustainability research programs, including working extensively in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. She teaches a course in energy issues for the University of Colorado Denver Global Energy Management program and industrial processes and environmental communications courses at Johns Hopkins University Engineering for Professionals Program.

John Markowitz

NYPA
Head of eMobility

John is the Senior Director of e-Mobility at the New York Power Authority (NYPA), where he is developing the EVolve NY Program that will greatly expand the state’s DC fast charging network and the electrification of public sector fleets. In the past fifteen years John has managed advanced technology programs in electric transportation, energy storage, load control, solar, and wind power.

Before joining NYPA, John held engineering and marketing positions in transportation, telecommunications, and energy efficiency. He is a member of the Association of Energy Engineers and the Society of Automotive Engineers. He holds a Bachelor’s of Electrical Engineering from Manhattan College, and a Master of Business Administration from Pace University. He is a Licensed Professional Engineer and a Certified Energy Manager.

John Rathbun

Northeast Clean Heat & Power Initiative
Executive Director

John Rathbun is the Executive Director for the Northeast Clean Heat and Power Initiative (NECHPI) and has 38 years’ experience in the energy field. He is a CEM, Registered Commercial Gas Consultant and Certified Distributed Generation Consultant and was recognized by the US CHPA with a CHP Champion Award. John has recently retired from a 35-year career in the Utility Business with over 20 years’ experience in CHP, from gas sales and marketing to project development and management to most recently in the electrical interconnection process.

John has been involved with NECHPI for over 15 years and has served on the Board of Directors and as the Chair and now as the Executive Director. He lives full time in his RV and just begun travels with his dog Monty around the lower 48 and Canada. He holds a B.S. degree in Alternative Energy and a AAS in Architecture.

Jorge Camacho

MAXeta Energy, PLLC
CEO and Founder

Jorge Camacho is a registered professional engineer in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Florida. He has maintained the underground electrical distribution system in New Orleans, supported the U.S. government with deployment of fast-response mobile microgrid facilities, taught undergrad power and control engineering courses, kicked off the MEDSIS Initiative that seeks to modernize how energy is delivered in the District of Columbia, and assisted the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority during the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

He currently advises government entities and utilities in the areas of electric distribution planning, DER integration, and compliance with transmission planning reliability standards. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering and serves in the Main Committee of the 2017 National Electrical Safety Code ANSI C2 and the IEEE Std 1547 Conformity Assessment Steering Committee. He assisted the U.S. DOE in redacting its Modern Distribution Grid Report when he led the DCPSC Office of Infrastructure and System Planning.

Jorge González-Cruz

Atmospheric Sciences Research Center University at Albany
Empire Innovation Professor

Professor Jorge González-Cruz is the lead scientist of the Coastal-Urban Environmental Research Group (CUERG), was recently appointed the SUNY Empire Professor at the University at Albany, and is the Presidential Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the City College of New York (CCNY).

He teaches and conducts research in urban energy sustainability, urban weather and climate, urban remote sensing, and regional climate modeling and analysis. Prof. González holds several patents in solar energy equipment, aerosol detection, and energy forecasting for buildings, and was recognized as a prominent young researcher by the National Science Foundation with a prestigious CAREER Award. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, has delivered hundreds of conference presentations, and his research has attracted more than $50M in external funding. He is a Fellow Member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) and Former Vice-Chairman of the American Meteorological Society Board on the Urban Environment.

He was appointed in 2015 by the mayor as Member of the Climate Change Panel for the City of New York, and more recently as Senior Visiting Scientist of the Beijing Institute of Urban Meteorology, Senior Scientists of Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Member of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science Scientific Advisory Committee. He is the co-editor of the ASME Handbook of Integrated and Sustainable Buildings Equipment and Systems, and was named in 2019 as the Founding Editor of the newest ASME Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Buildings and Cities.

Prof. González earned his Doctorate (1994) and Bachelor (1988) degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, respectively.

Joseph (Joe) Ambrosio

Unique Electric Solutions
CEO and President

Joe Ambrosio has been involved in the electric and hybrid electric vehicle industry for 26 years and has worked closely with electric utilities, vehicle manufacturers, and technology development organizations. He has been awarded 11 U.S. patents in this subject area.

Currently, Joe is the CEO and President of Unique Electric Solutions (UES), a New York-based manufacturer of electric vehicle propulsion and energy storage systems. Joe and his team at UES are currently focused on developing national and New York State-based fleet programs such as all-electric delivery trucks with United Parcel Service (UPS), All-Electric buses with the Department of Buses of NYC MTA, and most major school buses fleets in New York City’s five boroughs. Joe is an active tenant of the AEC and a CEBIP member.

He is a graduate of New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

Josh Robin

Cornice Technology
Co-Founder

Josh Robin is an awarded Top 100 Leader and keynote speaker in the Automotive and Transportation sector. Starting his career as an automotive technician, he progressed from diagnosing and servicing hybrid electric vehicles to managing multiple service departments.

Having a strong desire for education, Josh has published several featured articles in Fixed Ops Magazine, the largest publication for dealership personnel on subjects ranging from staff fulfillment, management systems, EV charging, and infrastructure models.

In 2021, Josh co-founded Cornice Technology, a company that specializes in EV business strategy, infrastructure, and planning. In addition, Cornice Technology is a premier entity for EV infrastructure safety.

With a passion for education and community engagement, Josh sits as Chair of the EV and Autonomous program at Hudson Valley Community College, helping guide the college’s investment plans and program development. With his help, the college was awarded at $350,000 National Science Foundation grant for new educational programs and curriculum directives.

Joy Sinderbrand

NYCHA
Senior Vice President for Capital Programs

Joy Sinderbrand is the Senior Vice President for Capital Programs at the New York City Housing Authority overseeing the project management teams carrying out a $4.5 billion capital program incorporating innovative procurement methods, building materials, construction methods, and technology. Joy initially joined NYCHA in 2016 to implement the largest single grant in FEMA history and the largest federal investment in public housing since its inception. Over $2.5 billion of the $3.2 billion of disaster recovery funding has been invested to protect over 200 multifamily buildings from flooding and power outages.

Last fall, her department released NYCHA’s first Climate Adaptation Plan, outlining a path forward for a 2,500+-building portfolio housing some of New York’s most vulnerable residents. Prior to NYCHA, Joy worked on a variety of large-scale capital projects, including the expansion of Penn Station and the reconstruction of the World Trade Center.

Julian Jacobson

Fundamental Interactions & ZK Ladder
President

Julian Jacobson is Co-Founder of ZK Ladder, Web3 Venture Studio and DAO Incubator. In 2011, Julian co-founded Fundamental Interactions, a leading trading infrastructure provider widely deployed by leading cryptocurrency exchanges, securities exchanges, ATS systems, and market makers worldwide. It is an early pioneer of digital assets integration into regulated trading infrastructure for both retail and institutional uses.

Justina Nixon-Saintil

IBM
Vice President and Global Head, Corporate Social Responsibility and ESG

As IBM Vice President and head of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts, Justina Nixon-Saintil drives strategic, socially responsible programmatic investments that enable IBM’s technology and talent to address some of society’s biggest challenges worldwide.

The CSR programs Justina manages enable IBM and its employees to transform their altruism into reality. Some of these resources, such as IBM Service Corps, rely on skilled employee volunteerism to foster community success and well-being; they demonstrate the power of technology when combined with humanity. Other initiatives she leads, such as P-TECH, SkillsBuild, Academic Initiatives, and Skills Academy use multi-sector partnerships to help create more inclusive and innovative schools and workforces. She also leads the IBM Sustainability Accelerator, which leverages IBM technologies and expertise to mitigate the effects of climate change in vulnerable communities.

As IBM’s Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) focal point, she spearheads corporate practices that underpin the company’s tradition of uncompromising ethics and transparency in its operations and environmental footprint. Justina communicates these ideals by spearheading the company’s annual ESG report as well as articulating the company’s “Good Tech” narrative to stakeholders, including investors.

Previously, as director of CSR at Verizon, Justina created and led programs to make education more inclusive. She brokered partnerships with community organizations to help bring innovative resources and experiences to under-resourced students in hundreds of schools. Justina was also the liaison to President Obama’s White House Office of Science and Technology, and U.S. Departments of the Interior and Education, in support of Verizon’s ConnectEd commitment. Earlier in her career, she was an Engineer for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Justina, who is an Aspen Institute First Mover Fellow, earned her Master of Business Administration from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business and her bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Justin Driscoll

NYPA
CEO

Justin E. Driscoll is the Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of the nation’s largest state-owned electric utility, the New York Power Authority. NYPA is also the owner and operator of the New York State Canal System. Mr. Driscoll is responsible for developing and implementing the statewide utility’s strategic vision and mission and for supervising its operations, legal and financial matters, and relationships with external stakeholders.

Justin previously served as EVP and General Counsel of the Authority. He also supervised the activities of the Hydropower Licensing Group, the Regulatory/Energy Markets functions, Legislative and Community Affairs Group, Environmental Justice, the Corporate Secretary, and the Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer. He also served on the Enterprise Risk Management Committee and was management’s liaison to the Cyber and Physical Security Committee and Audit Committee to the Board of Trustees.

Before joining NYPA, Justin was engaged in the private practice of law and represented clients that included Fortune 500 companies, governmental entities, and energy companies in complex commercial litigation and regulatory matters.

Justin serves on several boards including The Alliance to Save Energy, New York City’s Urban Green Council, the Large Public Power Council, World Resources Institute’s Global Energy Advisory Group in Washington, D.C., and New York State Energy Research and Development Corporation.

Justin is a graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., with a bachelor’s degree from the School of Public Affairs. He received his law degree from New York Law School and attended the New York University School of Law L.L.M. Program in trade regulation, He is a member of the New York City Bar Association and the Energy Bar Association.

Justin Gundlach

Building Decarbonization Coalition
New York Senior Regulatory Policy Manager

Justin Gundlach joined the Building Decarbonization Coalition’s New York team in September 2022. He leads that team’s utility policy and regulatory efforts in New York. He is the author of numerous publications on how energy and environmental law and policy interact with the impacts of energy use on the climate and of climate change on infrastructure and public health.

Before joining Building Decarbonization, Justin worked at the New York University School of Law’s Institute for Policy Integrity, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School. He received a J.D. cum laude from NYU School of Law, an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics, and a B.A. magna cum laude from Wesleyan University.

Kate Frucher

The Clean Fight NY
Managing Director

Kate Frucher is Co-Founder and Managing Director of The Clean Fight, a NYSERDA, DOE, and New Energy Nexus-supported business accelerator that identifies the best growth-stage clean energy companies from around the world and helps them scale in New York. Previously, Kate spent many years as an entrepreneur and operator, helping to launch and scale multiple companies and social enterprises.

Highlights include launching the AmeriCorps National Service Program from the White House, driving reform at the New York City Fire Department after the attacks of 9/11, helping to build companies Axiom Law and ideeli from startup to $100m+, and co-founding Imprint, a digital tool to spark acts of kindness and pioneer a many-to-one communication platform.

She’s a graduate of Harvard College and Stanford Law School, and is a Henry Crown Fellow with the Aspen Institute.

Kathleen Araújo

CAES Energy Policy Institute Boise State University
Director & Associate Professor Sustainable Energy Systems, Innovation and Policy

Dr. Kathleen Araújo is the Director for the CAES Energy Policy Institute & Associate Professor of Sustainable Energy Systems, Innovation, & Policy at Boise State University. She is responsible for executive oversight of research and advising for the policy arm of a consortium of public universities and the Idaho National Laboratory.

Dr. Araújo specializes in energy transitions, resilience, and industrial hubs, writing about strategies for integrating resilience planning with net zero aims. Her book, Low Carbon Energy Transitions: Turning Points in National Policy and Innovation (Oxford University Press), examines social acceptance, industrial hubs, and infrastructure in countries following the 1973 oil crisis. Her forthcoming book, Routledge Handbook of Energy Transitions, provides an overview of the state of knowledge in the field of energy transitions.

Dr. Araújo has studied the emergence of offshore wind. Currently, she is also evaluating regional diversification, carbon-industrial policies, mineral security, and regulatory change in emerging markets. She consults for inter-governmental organizations, utilities, etc.

Kathy Hochul

New York State
Governor

Kathy Hochul is the 57th and first female Governor of New York State. Governor Hochul began her career in public service on her local Town Board before serving as Erie County Clerk, and then as a member of Congress for New York’s 26th Congressional District. She more recently served in statewide office as Lieutenant Governor.

From 2011 to 2013, Governor Hochul served in the U.S. House representing New York’s 26th Congressional District. She served on the House Armed Services and Homeland Security Committees, traveling to Afghanistan to confer with military leaders and meet with active duty men and women. Her focus in Congress was job creation and bridging the skills gap by bringing together business and academia, and creating opportunities for returning veterans.

As Lieutenant Governor from 2015 to 2021, she successfully spearheaded numerous initiatives and lead the administration’s economic development and job creation efforts across the state, advocating  for policies that help all New Yorkers make ends meet. She also helped New York State manage the COVID-19 pandemic response and chaired the statewide Regional Economic Development Councils tasked with transforming the state’s economy by building on regional strengths through long-term strategic plans.

Governor Hochul holds a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and a law degree from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. She began her legal career working at a large firm in Washington and later served as legal counsel and legislative assistant to Congressman John LaFalce and Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

Keith Dennis

Beneficial Electrification League
President

Keith Dennis is President of the Beneficial Electrification League, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase understanding of the benefits of electrification by promoting the market acceptance of beneficial electrification. He is also the CEO of Electrification Strategies LLC. Keith has an interdisciplinary background in engineering, business, and law. He worked for nearly a decade at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), where he was Vice President of consumer member engagement and coined the term “environmentally beneficial electrification,” which led to an industry movement around beneficial electrification.

Keith joined NRECA directly from the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), where he led a Policy and Guidance Team for a $3.2 billion energy efficiency and conservation grant (EECBG) program. He also served at The White House Council on Environmental Quality, where he supported several large energy efficiency and renewable energy programs.

Ken Visser

Ducted Wind Turbines, Inc.
CTO

Ken Visser is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Clarkson University. Professional experiences include NASA Langley and Boeing. He was involved in development and design aspects of two aircraft: the High Speed Civil Transport and the 767-400ER. Additional past activities involved helping to design the keel for the America’s Cup Team 2000 and working with Fairchild Dornier Aircraft. In 2006, Ken had the opportunity to spend a year at the German research institute DLR in Braunschweig, Germany.

Present responsibilities include teaching aircraft design and performance courses at Clarkson and being the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics faculty student advisor. His research interests are primarily experimental, focusing on applied aerodynamics and renewable energy concepts. Current projects include wind turbine design optimization, passive reduction of drag on ground vehicles, and design methodologies for aircraft wing tips. Details can be found at https://people.clarkson.edu/~kvisser/

Kevin Knobloch

National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium
Acting Executive Director

Kevin Knobloch is Acting Executive Director of the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium, beginning in that role in June 2022. He is also President of Knobloch Energy, an independent advisory and consulting firm providing strategic and tactical guidance to mission-driven companies, agencies, and nonprofit organizations in the clean energy and clean technology sectors.

Previously, Mr. Knobloch was President of New York OceanGrid LLC, where he led Anbaric’s efforts to develop offshore wind transmission in New York from 2018 to 2020. Prior to joining Anbaric, Mr. Knobloch was a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP) at the Tuft University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, where he co-authored, with Professor Bobbi Kates-Garnick, the report Clean Energy Policy and Expanding Markets: Insights from Corporate, Labor and Investor Leaders.

Mr. Knobloch was Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of Energy in President Obama’s second term, working with Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz in that role from June 2013 through January 2017. He was President of the Union of Concerned Scientists for ten years. Earlier in his career, he served as Legislative Director for U.S. Senator Timothy Wirth of Colorado, Legislative Assistant for U.S. Representative Ted Weiss of New York and Director of Conservation Programs at the Appalachian Mountain Club.

He is a Distinguished Associate at the Energy Futures Initiative and a member of the National Commission on Grid Resilience. He also serves on the Northeast Clean Energy Council Board of Directors and on the Advisory Board of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center at Stony Brook University. He holds a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Kiran Kumaraswamy

Fluence
Vice President, Growth

Kiran Kumaraswamy is VP of Growth at Fluence. In this role, he manages a team of professionals that helps identify new commercial models, new geographies, and new customer segments to enable strong growth for Fluence in the near term. As part of his responsibilities, he also oversees product strategy and market development, providing a key interface between regional sales teams and global product, and technology organizations. He owns and delivers Fluence’s go-to-market strategies for key markets. His work involves implementing regulatory and policy solutions that create access to key markets.

Kiran is a frequent speaker at industry conferences on policy issues that impact energy storage development and has testified multiple times at the U.S. Congress and FERC on a range of subjects including wholesale market reforms and multiple use cases for energy storage. Kiran works closely with electricity industry stakeholders, NGOs, trade associations, and state regulators to develop policy priorities and market action plans. Kiran serves on the Board of Directors of the American Clean Power Association (ACP) and has served as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the U.S. Energy Storage Association (ESA).

Prior to joining Fluence, he worked as a Senior Manager in ICF International advising private-sector clients on wholesale power market and transmission issues. He holds an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Madras, India.

Kristian Bodek

National Grid Partners
Director, Corporate Venture Capital

Kristian Bodek is a Director at National Grid Partners investing in energy and climate-related startups. He is also responsible for the NGP fund portfolio, which includes adding financial and strategic value via co-investments and portfolio company engagements with National Grid business units. Kristian has 15+ years’ experience working at the interface of energy technology, markets, and innovation.

Previously, Kristian was a senior member of the power practice at IHS Markit (now a part of S&P Global), a research and advisory firm. He led techno-economic, market fundamentals, and policy analyses on a range of topics spanning generating technology cost and performance to electricity demand forecasting. While at IHS Markit he also developed and chaired the CERAWeek Energy Innovation Pioneers program, a platform for introducing established companies to innovative startup companies working across the energy value chain.

Kristian holds a B.S. in Physics from Bates College, M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Technology & Policy from MIT, and currently serves as a Kauffman Fellow.

Lane Nelson

Switched Source
CFO and Founder

In his role as CFO at Switched Source over the past five years, Lane Nelson has overseen financial operations, fundraising and investor management, government contract management, human resources, and information systems. He also supports supply chain management through supplier negotiations and materials resource planning. As Co-Founder of Switched Source, Lane was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2018 (Energy).

Lane has more than a decade of experience in private and institutional financial consulting, specializing in capital structuring and asset management, financial modeling and risk-mitigation, previously at Merrill Lynch. Lane has served as a business and financial strategy mentor for two early-stage technology companies, and Industry Mentor as part of the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps Program.

Lane holds his bachelor’s degree (2010) in Economic Management from Gustavus Adolphus College, and MBA (2017) from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, with concentrations in Accounting, Finance, and Entrepreneurship.

Lauren Ray

Cornell University PRO-DAIRY
Agricultural Sustainability and Energy Engineer

Lauren Ray is the Agricultural Sustainability and Energy Engineer with the Cornell University PRO-DAIRY Program. Cornell PRO-DAIRY provides education and applied research to advance the New York State dairy industry toward sustainability. Lauren’s expertise includes energy system economic analysis and greenhouse gas quantification of dairy manure management systems, including those that produce energy from anaerobic digestion. Her past professional experience focused on distributed energy generation project application and implementation, primarily within New York State.

Lauren has a B.S. from Cornell University and a M.S. from Georgia Tech, both in Mechanical Engineering. She is a Faculty Fellow with the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability and a Certified Energy Manager.

Laurie Schoeman

Enterprise
Director, Climate and Sustainability, Capital Division

Laurie Schoeman is the Director of Climate and Sustainable for Enterprise Community Partners Capital Division and sits in the Office of the President. Enterprise is the only national nonprofit that does it all — solutions, capital, and community development — under one roof. She directs the efforts in the Capital Division around ESG strategy development, finance, development, and management of climate risks for affordable housing across the nation.

Ms. Schoeman is a deeply committed multi-sector climate risk reduction leader with 20 years of experience working in affordable housing, climate finance, community and economic development, equity and environmental justice, and federal and local policy to build the resilience of communities across the nation. Ms. Schoeman is a nationally known practitioner and intermediary recognized for her keen ability to drive complex problems into tangible outputs to accelerate climate-safe and adaptive communities. She has led leading-edge local, state, and federal efforts to promote climate risk reduction, including the passage of the nation’s first utility-sponsored environmental justice policy in San Francisco; the construction of the nation’s first off-grid environmental justice learning center in California; and the publication of a series on Climate Resilient Housing, which has led to close to $250M of investment into housing resilience.

Ms. Schoeman is the co-chair of the New York State Climate assessment buildings chapter and co-facilitates Resilience21, a network of practitioners across the U.S. advancing climate risk reduction and adaptation. Ms. Schoeman has a Master of Urban Planning from Hunter College and a B.A. from Smith College.

Lillian Federico

S&P Global Commodity Insights
Research Director

Lillian Federico has followed the U.S. power and gas utility sector for more than 35 years, specializing in state regulatory policy

She joined Regulatory Research Associates immediately upon graduation from Drew University in 1987. She was awarded an MBA in Financial Management from Pace University in 1992.

The firm was acquired by SNL Financial in 2005 and she took over as RRA President in 2011. Following the 2015 acquisition of SNL by McGraw Hill Financial, now S&P Global, she became a Research Director in the Energy Research team of S&P Global Market Intelligence, which was moved to S&P Global Commodity Insights upon the 2022 merger with IHS Markit.

Ms. Federico spearheads the team’s analyses of various emerging trends in energy regulation and oversees the team’s regulatory risk assessment activities in addition to covering select specific regulatory jurisdictions.

Lotte Schlegel

Institute for Market Transformation
Executive Director

Lotte Schlegel is the Executive Director of the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT), a national nonprofit organization with a mission to catalyze widespread and sustained demand for high-performing buildings. IMT leverages its expertise in the intersection of real estate and public policy to make buildings more productive, affordable, valuable, and resilient. IMT co-designs policies, programs, and business practices by deploying actionable resources, market analysis, and hands-on technical assistance.

Lotte has experience running water, energy efficiency, and clean energy programs as well as a background in energy policy and regulation. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and holds an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.

Luis Aguirre-Torres

City of Ithaca, NY
Director of Sustainability

Dr. Luis Aguirre-Torres is the Director of Sustainability for the City of Ithaca, where he leads the design and implementation of the city’s decarbonization and climate justice strategies. He is also co-Chair of the New York State Climate Impact Assessment, Society and Economy technical working group. Prior to joining the City of Ithaca, he was the CEO of GreenMomentum, a think tank organization specialized in climate change and renewable energy in Latin America.

He holds a first degree in computer engineering, a master’s in computer science and a Ph.D. in electronic and electrical engineering from University College London. He holds certificates in Financing and Deploying Clean Energy from Yale University and in Systems Thinking from Cornell University.

Mandy Mahoney

The Regulatory Assistance Project
U.S. Program Director and Principal

Mandy Mahoney provides vision and strategic leadership while managing The Regulatory Assistance Project’s U.S. team and its work.

Before joining RAP, Ms. Mahoney served for a decade as the president of the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA), applying her regional leadership in climate change, clean energy, affordable housing, and environmental justice policy across the 11-state Southeast. In 2021, she followed a life dream to run for the Atlanta City Council. Although she lost in a runoff, she learned and grew tremendously. Prior to SEEA, she served as the city of Atlanta’s inaugural sustainability director across two administrations.

Ms. Mahoney is a board member for Emory University Law School’s Turner Environmental Law Clinic and for the Mississippi Early Learning Alliance. Her previous board service includes the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Southeast Wind Coalition, the Southeast Climate and Energy Network, and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network.

She holds a master’s degree in environmental management from Duke University and a law degree and bachelor’s degree in biology and environmental studies from Emory University.

Maria Vargas

US Department of Energy
Senior Program Advisor

Maria T. Vargas is a Senior Program Advisor at the Department of Energy and the Director of DOE’s Better Buildings Initiative, including the newly launched Better Climate Challenge. Through this leadership platform, DOE works with hundreds of chief executive officers, state and local leaders, and university presidents who have committed to ambitious energy and greenhouse gas reduction goals and sharing their strategies as models for others to follow.

Ms. Vargas also spearheads DOE’s leadership of the C3E Initiative. Through C3E (Clean Energy, Education and Empowerment), DOE works to advance women’s leadership in clean energy.

Prior to her work at DOE, Ms. Vargas was the Brand Manager for the ENERGY STAR program for almost 20 years while at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She has been involved in policy work on the issues of ozone depletion, global climate change, and related environmental and energy issues since 1985. Ms. Vargas received a bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, PA) in Political Science and Economics and a master’s degree from the University of Oregon (Eugene, Oregon) and was inducted in the Energy Efficiency Hall of Fame in 2014.

Marisa Uchin

Franklin Energy
Chief Strategy and Growth Officer

With exceptional expertise in growth strategy and market development, Marisa Uchin leads Franklin Energy by driving new business opportunities and ensuring effective retention and fulfillment of existing business. Leveraging more than 23 years of experience within the energy, consumer high-tech, and automotive industries at companies ranging from global Fortune 50 to startups, she excels in leading teams, managing regulatory and legislative affairs, and fostering strategic communications, programs, and partnerships.

Marisa holds a B.A. in Government from Wesleyan University and obtained her MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. She serves on the Board of Directors of Groundswell, an organization that makes community solar accessible to low-income residents.

Mark Austin

Viridian Impact
Managing Director

As Managing Director of Viridian Impact, Mark Austin is a strategic advisor to funds, family offices, CEOs, and institutions seeking to accelerate and impact the energy transition and low-carbon economy. He serves on the Board of Directors of both Alion Energy, a solar PV bifacial tracker company with deployments in North and South America, Asia and MENA, and CTC Global, a developer and manufacturer of high-efficiency power line overhead conductors certified to reduce greenhouse gasses, with projects in 60 countries for 250 utilities.

During the past decade, he has been a venture partner with an international venture capital fund focused on investments in clean and alternative energy, energy and resource efficiency, advanced materials and energy storage. For the past ten years, he has been a member of the Investor Advisory Board for National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL – US DOE National Lab), and an Entrepreneur-in-Residence for NYSERDA.

Mark Lauby

North American Electric Reliability Corporation
Senior Vice President and Chief Engineer

Mark G. Lauby is senior vice president and chief engineer at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). Mr. Lauby joined NERC in January 2007 and has held a number of positions, including vice president and director of Standards and vice president and director of Reliability Assessments and Performance Analysis.

In 2012, Mr. Lauby was elected to the North American Energy Standards Board and was appointed to the Department of Energy’s Electric Advisory Committee by the Secretary of Energy from 2013-2017. He has been recognized for his achievements including the 1992 IEEE Walter Fee Young Engineer of the Year Award. He was named a Fellow by IEEE in November 2011 for “leadership in the development and application of techniques for bulk power system reliability,” and in 2014, Mr. Lauby was awarded the IEEE Power and Energy Society’s Roy Billinton Power System Reliability Award. In 2020, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) elected Mr. Lauby as a member.

Prior to joining NERC, Mr. Lauby worked for the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) for 20 years. Mr. Lauby began his electric industry career in 1979 at the Mid-Continent Area Power Pool in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mr. Lauby is the author of more than 100 technical papers. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota. In addition, Mr. Lauby attended the London Business School Accelerated Development Program, as well as the Executive Leadership Program at Harvard Business School.

Mark Peters

Battelle
Executive Vice President, National Laboratory Management & Operations

Mark Peters is the Executive Vice President for National Laboratory Management & Operations at Battelle with responsibilities for oversight of U.S. Department of Energy and Department of Homeland Security national laboratories. Previously, he was director of Idaho National Laboratory and president of Battelle Energy Alliance, whose mission focuses on nuclear energy, national and homeland security, and energy and environmental science and technology. He managed this national laboratory in multiple nuclear and nonnuclear experimental facilities, with an annual budget of over $1.4 billion.

He served as chairman of the National Laboratory Directors’ Council. He also served as the associate laboratory director for Energy and Global Security at Argonne National Laboratory. He is a senior adviser to the DOE on nuclear energy technologies, research and development programs, and nuclear waste policy. He is called upon to advise in formulation of policies for nuclear fuel cycles, nonproliferation, and nuclear waste disposal.

Martha Symko-Davies

NREL
Energy Systems Integration (ESI) Laboratory Program Manager

Dr. Martha Symko-Davies is currently a Laboratory Program Director for the Energy Systems Integration at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado. In this role she manages the accelerating clean energy@scale effort (ACES) focused on community-driven, customized, and holistic modeling that turns ambitions into actions through illustrative plans. ACES provides data-driven, technically sound, actionable insights through the Department of Energy and key partnerships of over $40M annually. Overall, this effort impacts diverse and wide-range energy goals and transitions — in small communities to regional collaboratives — building momentum toward a national equitable, clean energy economy.

Her past experience was the Laboratory Program Director for the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) where in this role she managed the facility and Infrastructure of $37.5M for the Department of Energy EERE. ESIF is the nation’s first research facility able to conduct integrated megawatt-scale research, development, and testing of the components and strategies needed to safely integrate clean energy technologies seamlessly.

Additionally, she has received 4 R&D awards with industry as well as many publications and awards in the area of Energy Systems Integration.

Marty Sprinzen

Vantiq Corporation
Co-Founder and CEO

Marty Sprinzen is a visionary leader and successful software entrepreneur. The organizations he created and led have introduced some of the most innovative software solutions in the areas of systems management, relational databases, internet application development and, currently, real-time, event-driven applications.

Mr. Sprinzen founded and became CEO of Vantiq Corporation. Prior to Vantiq, he was CEO and co-founder of Forte Software, which was acquired for over $1B. He also served as VP of International Operations and VP of Engineering at Ingres and VP of Development at Candle Corporation. He holds a BSEE from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.

Matteo Bellucci

GE Renewable Energy
Advanced Manufacturing Technology Leader

Matteo Bellucci is the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Leader of GE Renewable Energy. He leads technical efforts around Additive, Automation, and Advanced Design Tools, to develop differentiated products and services across the broadest renewable energy portfolio in the industry, which combines onshore and offshore wind, blades, hydro, storage, utility-scale solar, and grid solutions as well as hybrid renewables and digital services offerings.

Matteo joined GE in 2007 with the Oil and Gas Business, as New Product Introduction Program Manager and then covered roles of increasing responsibility across GE Research and GE Additive. Prior to joining GE, Matteo was a Test Engineer for the world’s largest icing wind tunnel at the Italian Aerospace Research Center, where he worked with Lockheed Martin and Airbus on their respective F35, A380 and A400M qualification icing test campaigns.

Matteo holds a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from Federico II University in Naples, Italy, and worked at the Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (Belgium) and Yale University.

Matthew Isaacs

Radiator Labs
Vice President of Business Development and Sales

Matthew Isaacs is a commercial real estate and property technology executive. Matthew has currently serves as the Vice President of Business Development and Sales at Radiator Labs, where he dedicates his work to decarbonizing the world’s legacy buildings. At Radiator Labs, Matthew has established several key partnerships, developed a shared savings service model, and built a $100M+ sales and project pipeline.

He previously led a sales team at Eastern Consolidated that completed over $150M in mid-market investment sales and development site transactions. Prior to joining Eastern Consolidated, Matthew spearheaded the redevelopment of a 75,000-square-foot factory in Brooklyn into a modern office building now occupied by WeWork. Matthew has also rehabilitated and redeveloped several multifamily properties in New York City.

Maurie McInnis

Stony Brook University
President

Maurie McInnis has served as the sixth president of Stony Brook University — one of America’s leading public universities, an internationally recognized research institution, and a member of the Association of American Universities — since July 1, 2020. As chief executive for Stony Brook, McInnis also oversees Stony Brook Medicine, Long Island’s premier academic health center, which encompasses five health sciences schools, four hospitals, and 200 community-based healthcare settings.

Under her leadership, Stony Brook has been designated a State University of New York (SUNY) flagship institution; substantial new funding has been targeted to foster diversity in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields; and the University has been named a finalist in its bid to become the anchor institution for the Governors Island Center for Climate Solutions in New York City.

President McInnis is also a key player in furthering economic development on Long Island and in Stony Brook’s role as part of the management team of nearby Brookhaven National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy facility.

Max McCafferty

Build Edison
Chief Operating Officer

Max McCafferty joined Build Edison in 2018 with a background in clean energy innovation, commercializing energy technologies, and quantitative financial analysis. Serving as Chief Operating Officer, he provides Build Edison’s clients with strategies to develop energy innovation programs, scale cleantech solutions, and analyze potential investment opportunities.

Mr. McCafferty focuses on multiple sides of energy solutions and innovation, developing innovation programs and strategies as well as enabling energy startups to scale. He has worked with clients of all sizes, spanning early-stage cleantechs, corporations, utilities, investors, and governments.

Melissa Free

New Ventures, Southern Company
Director

Melissa Free is Director of New Ventures at Southern Company, where she focuses on innovative technology commercialization and strategic business development. Melissa provides direction for Southern’s investment in Energy Impact Partners (EIP) and works to deliver strategic tech solutions to Southern’s operating companies and subsidiaries. She is an operations board member for Engage, a corporate venture platform in the Southeast, and serves as a mentor to various other venture funds across Southern’s footprint.

Prior to this role, Melissa led the Results Delivery Organization for Georgia Power Company, where she focused on delivering business transformation results, deploying Agile ways of working to engage employees in achieving financial targets and igniting an innovative culture. Melissa has held various roles at Southern including HR Manager, Chief of Staff to CHRO, and project lead for multiple re-organizations and M&A activities, including nuclear and gas. Melissa started her career at International Paper in Human Resources, where she led various global project teams and M&A integration efforts, and supported international labor negotiations.

Melissa holds a B.S. degree in Psychology and Business Administration from Berry College in Rome, Georgia.

Miguel Modestino

NYU
Director of Sustainable Engineering Initiative, Tandon School of Engineering

Miguel Modestino is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Director of the Sustainable Engineering Initiative at New York University. He is the winner of the Global Change Award from the H&M Foundation (2016), the MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 Award in Latin America (2017) and Globally (2020), the ACS Petroleum Research Fund Doctoral New Investigator Award (2018), the National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2019), the Inaugural NYU Tandon Junior Faculty Research Award (2020), and TED Idea Search (2021).

His research group at NYU focuses on the development of electrochemical technologies for the incorporation of renewable energy into chemical manufacturing. He is also co-founder of Sunthetics Inc., a startup developing machine-learning solutions for chemical process optimization.

Miguel obtained his B.S. (2007) and M.S. in Chemical Engineering (2008) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley (2013).

Michael Shimazu

NYSERDA
Senior Advisor for Business Growth and Innovation

Michael Shimazu is the Senior Advisor for Business Growth and Innovation at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), where he has led investment programs in climate technology startups, as well as programs in business model innovation, venture attraction and acceleration, and clean energy exploratory research. Michael has been a founder and corporate officer of a venture-backed company, and has made a career of bringing technologies to market at the intersection of startup companies, universities, and government.

He holds an S.B. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and M.S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Mike Richter

Brightcore Energy
President

Following a 15-year career with the New York Rangers, where he was a three-time National Hockey League all-star, Stanley Cup champion and Olympic medalist, Mike Richter is currently the President of Brightcore Energy, a key spokesperson for environmental issues, and a leader in the arena of sustainability.

Brightcore Energy is a provider of end-to-end clean energy solutions to the commercial and institutional market, including commercial and community solar, high-efficiency renewable heating and cooling (geothermal), LED lighting and controls, electric vehicle (EV) charging, battery storage, smart building solutions, and other emerging technologies. Brightcore Energy accelerates the deployment of a wide range of energy-efficiency and renewable energy technologies through its innovative Efficiency-as-a-Service (EaaS) model that requires no capital investment and provides for immediate operating cost savings, making it affordable and seamless for buildings to quickly and easily transition their legacy energy platforms to significantly more efficient and sustainable ones.

Mike holds a B.A. in Ethics, Politics, and Economics, with a focus on Environmental Policy, from Yale University.

Musa Collidge-Asad

Inclusive Prosperity Capital
Chief Investment Officer

As Chief Investment Officer, Musa Collidge-Asad is a core member of Inclusive Prosperity Capital’s leadership team, oversees execution of all investment transactions, and plays a critical role in determining the strategic direction of the organization. Previously, Musa was a Senior Officer with the World Bank and Global Environment Facility and held several executive roles for U.S.-based clean energy ventures and environmental finance organizations.

Apart from his professional career interests, Musa is an avid reader and traveler, former NCAA athlete (having been involved with competitive athletics through college and beyond), and proponent of human rights causes (including in the context of international human rights and religious freedom advocacy groups). The proud father of four children, he and his wife Humma (a dedicated professional teacher) share a lifelong commitment to education, knowledge, and making a contribution towards the betterment of society.

Nate McKenzie

DOE
Technology Manager for Offshore Wind R&D

Nate McKenzie is the Technology Manager for Offshore Wind R&D within the U.S. Department of Energy, Wind Energy Technology Office. In this role, he is responsible for developing and executing R&D plans to advance offshore wind deployments. He is the federal lead for the offshore demonstration projects, the offshore R&D consortium, and projects related to developing and validating design tools, test methods, and conceptual designs for offshore turbines and foundations.

Nate has been working for 24 years in the maritime industry in offshore wind, ship research and development, design, and construction. Nate is a Naval Architect & Marine Engineer from Webb Institute with a Master of Business Administration degree from George Washington University.

Natalie Edwards

National Grid
Chief Diversity Officer

Natalie Edwards is the Chief Diversity Officer at National Grid, the multinational electricity and gas utility company headquartered in London, England, focused on transforming electricity and natural gas networks with smarter, cleaner, and more resilient energy solutions to meet the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Before joining National Grid in 2021, Edwards served as Global Executive Director of Inclusion & Diversity for The Estee Lauder Companies, where she led inclusion strategy and operations for the Companies’ 45,000 employees and 25+ prestige cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, and haircare brands in the 150 countries their products are sold.

A recognized thought leader in inclusive workforce strategy, Ms. Edwards holds a dual-concentration MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where she made a Global Top MBA list for her work pioneering the diversification of higher business education, and is a proud alumna of Howard University, where holds a bachelor’s in finance and graduated as Female Graduate of the Year.

Nse Esema

NYC Economic Development Corporation
Vice President, Smart & Sustainable Cities

Nse Esema (she/her/hers) is currently the Vice President, Smart & Sustainable Cities, at the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC). She designs and implements programmatic and strategic efforts to catalyze emerging sectors, develop inclusive industry ecosystems, and advance equitable economic development. Currently, her work is heavily focused on the Offshore Wind industry. She is committed to designing and implementing strategies that support NYC in growing into a leading position in the burgeoning OSW landscape in the U.S. in a manner that ensures women, low-income populations, and people of color equitably share in the benefits of the industry.

Prior to NYCEDC, Nse worked with city governments in Africa and North America in developing and implementing multi-stakeholder resilience-building strategies. Nse earned a Master of City Planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She lives in the Bronx, N.Y., with her husband and two kids.

Olivia Burke

The Carbon Trust
Senior Manager, Offshore Wind, Programmes & Innovation

Olivia is a program manager in the Programmes and Innovations team, leading the Steering Committee as part of the flagship >£100m R&D Offshore Wind Accelerator initiative. As the lead on U.S. offshore wind activities, she supports programs such as the National Offshore Wind R&D Consortium and leads on the delivery of projects focused particularly on emerging markets.

Olivia is involved in advisory and policy research for U.K. and international clients across the wider clean technology landscape including energy efficiency and onshore wind. Olivia graduated from the University of Cambridge in Geography, focusing on environmental sustainability.

Page Crahan

Google X
Energy and Innovation

Page Crahan leads the commercial and go-to-market for Tapestry, X’s moonshot for the electric grid. Formerly known as Google X, the ‘moonshot’ factory’s mission is to invent and launch breakthrough technologies that solve the world’s biggest problems. Tapestry is focused on modeling and simulating the electrical grid to forecast how it will behave in the future, from nanoseconds to decades ahead. Tapestry is also creating tools for governments, utilities, energy developers and major energy users that leverage these models to help the industry build, manage, and use grids dominated by renewable and other clean energy technologies.

Page is an experienced business leader and startup veteran who has created go-to-market plans for early/growth-stage companies. Before X, Page combined her energy and entrepreneurial experience as co-CEO and founder of Clarus Power, a venture-backed residential solar customer acquisition platform with over 1,500 national consultants. She is an expert in business model innovation, customer acquisition, product design, and scaling hyper-growth teams.

Previously, Page was among the first 20 employees at Sunrun, the largest residential solar provider in the U.S., where she led the Retail organization. She is a co-inventor of several U.S. Patents and recognized as one of the top 50 Climate Tech Operators in the 2021 Climate Draft.

She is an advisor and angel investor with her firm Persistent Ventures and she is an expert with Powerhouse Ventures. Her pro-bono work includes building classes for Stanford Graduate School of Business’ Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies. Page holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Santa Clara University and has earned a certificate from the Stanford GSB Summer Institute for General Management.

Pamela Venzke

Ørsted
Chief Corporate Affairs Officer

Pamela Venzke is the Chief Corporate Affairs Office of Ørsted North America. In this role, Pamela oversees a variety of activities across Ørsted’s onshore and offshore technologies across the U.S. Since taking her role in 2020, Pamela has helped Ørsted become one of the top names in renewable energy in the U.S., promoting and maintaining Ørsted’s brand and reputation among a wide array of stakeholders, including the two federal administrations, state governments, NGOs, rate payers, environmental advocates, and much more.

Most notably, Pamela helped spearhead Ørsted’s National Offshore Wind Agreement: a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) with the North America’s Building Trades Unions to construct the company’s U.S. offshore wind farms with an American union workforce. With this PLA, Pamela has helped further secure a future for the American worker in the country’s green energy transition, allowing the economy to fully tap into the economic potential that offshore wind brings. With the PLA agreed upon, Pamela continues to champion the green energy transition across the country, bringing stakeholders on both sides of the aisle to the realization that transitioning to renewables is a win for the environment, the economy, and everyone in our country.

Paul A. DeCotis

West Monroe
Senior Partner, East Coast Energy & Utilities Lead

Paul A. DeCotis is a recognized industry thought leader, consultant, and former government official and utility executive. At West Monroe, Paul leads some of the most innovative and comprehensive grid modernization projects in the country, helping some of the largest utilities in North America digitize operations and use advanced analytics to drive enterprise and customer value. Paul supports private equity firms in conducting commercial diligences when considering acquisitions, offering innovative energy technologies and professional services.

Paul joined West Monroe from Long Island Power Authority, where he was vice president of power markets and managing director for utility service provider contract oversight. Paul oversaw human resources during the Power Authority’s reorganization and restructuring. Paul negotiated over $10 billion in power purchase agreements, and over $400 million in union labor contracts. Paul has a bachelor’s degree in international business management, a master’s degree in economics, and an MBA in finance.

Paul Haering

New York Transco LLC
Vice President Capital Investment

Paul Haering is currently the Vice President of Capital Investment for New York Transco LLC, which was formed in 2014 and is comprised of affiliates of New York State’s investor-owned utilities. Transco’s purpose is to plan, develop, and own new high-voltage electric transmission facilities that will enhance the current capabilities of the bulk electric power system across New York State and to help the State meet its carbon emission requirements.

Prior to his current role he worked for Central Hudson Gas & Electric for over 33 years and retired as the Senior Vice President of Engineering and System Operations. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Manhattan College; earned a master’s degree, also in Electrical Engineering, from Polytechnic University; is a graduate of the GE Power System Engineering Program; and earned an Executive MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Paul Phifer

Attentive Energy
Permitting and Development Director

As the Permitting & Development Director at Attentive Energy, Dr. Paul Phifer leads the environmental permitting and external affairs strategies to ensure delivery of key project milestones for one of the recently awarded New York Bight lease areas. Prior to joining Attentive Energy, Dr. Phifer served as the Permitting Manager for Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind. During this time, Dr. Phifer was responsible for all the federal, state, and local permits required for three offshore wind lease areas.

Dr. Phifer spent 20 years working for the U.S. federal government, at both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Department of State. At the Fish and Wildlife Service, Dr. Phifer managed a large team working across 13 states and the District of Columbia on environmental permitting, including issues associated with endangered species and ecological restoration. With the Department of State, Dr. Phifer negotiated environmental treaties at the United Nations on genetically modified organisms and invasive species.

Dr. Phifer has a Ph.D. in Conservation Biology from the University of Minnesota.

Paul Schwartz

Pine Creative
President and CEO

Paul Schwartz has extensive experience securing early-stage funding for technology startups and building technology teams capable of developing and commercializing new products. Serving as ThermoLift’s CEO from its 2012 founding to 2019, the company secured Angel series A and series B financings in addition to grants from the U.S. Department of Energy, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and the Wells Fargo IN2 Incubator program through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Paul is a member of the board of directors of ThermoLift and continues to lead the company’s commercialization, utility collaboration, and strategic partnerships. He has previously worked with early-stage tech firms including Advanced Propulsion Technologies and EcoMotors, where he helped land investments from Bill Gates and Vinod Khosla.

Peter Nulsen

Generate Capital
Principal, Investments

Peter Nulsen is a Principal at Generate Capital and responsible for the company’s microgrid investments. Peter joined Generate in 2015 and has led investments in microgrids, stationary energy storage, fuel cells, and clean transportation assets. At Generate, he has transacted over $750 million of sustainable infrastructure assets across North America.

Prior to Generate, Peter worked in General Electric’s (GE’s) Energy business holding commercial finance roles in the U.S. and U.K., as well as in GE’s Energy Finance Services group, where he invested in solar and energy storage assets. Prior to GE, Peter supported project finance and the solar panel procurement strategy for a solar energy developer in both the U.S. and China.

Peter has a B.A. in political economy from Georgetown University, where he was recognized as a Baker Scholar.

Philip B. Jones

The Alliance for Transportation Electrification
Executive Director

Philip Jones is currently President of Phil Jones Consulting LLC, based in Seattle, Washington, which provides expert advice and consulting services for organizations in the fields of energy and utility regulation, communications regulation, and cybersecurity compliance and regulation.

Mr. Jones currently serves as Executive Director of the Alliance for Transportation Electrification (ATE), an industry-funded non-profit association that seeks to promote the acceleration of transportation electrification deployments, a robust utility role, and interoperability and open standards.

Mr. Jones served as a Commissioner on the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) for 12 years from 2005 to 2017. He served in many leadership positions in NARUC (National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners). He served as President of NARUC in 2012-13. He serves on the EPRI Advisory Council. Mr. Jones is a native of Spokane, Washington, and a graduate with a B.A. from Harvard College.

Phil Vos

Energy Vision
Program Director

Phil Vos is Program Director for Energy Vision, a national 501(c)(3) environmental organization. Energy Vision works to advance commercial, cost-effective energy and fuel solutions for a low-carbon economy, with a particular focus on renewable natural gas made from organic waste. Phil has taken the lead on much of the organization’s recent research, including projects for public entities like the U.S. Department of Energy, NYSERDA, the City of New York and the State of Colorado, as well as for private companies.

Phil joined EV in 2017 after nearly seven years working on building energy efficiency and renewable energy in the private sector, where he initiated and led sales efforts to help building owners comply with New York City’s groundbreaking energy benchmarking and energy auditing laws. He is a native of New York City who earned his B.A. at Columbia University, and his MSc from the London School of Economics.

Pradheep Kileti

National Grid
Director, Future of Heat Engineering and R&D Program Management

Pradheep Kileti is the Director of Future of Heat Asset Engineering and R&D Program Management for National Grid’s gas business in the U.S. His primary areas of focus are renewable natural gas, hydrogen blending, district heating systems, and investing in strategic R&D priorities pertaining to underground assets.

Pradheep is actively leading various projects involving decarbonizing one of the hardest sectors, building heating. Apart from Hydrogen Blending project, he is also working in biomethane/renewable natural gas. He is actively involved in research applications of decarbonized gas and envisions an economic pathway to reduce emissions and is personally committed to negate climate change in one of the core needs, energy utilities that people rely on for their everyday needs. His work will result in meeting our nation’s ambitious climate goals through prudent commercialization of low-carbon energy delivery technologies.

Pradheep has a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering and holds a Master of Business Administration from Hofstra University and a corporate innovation certification from Stanford University. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Connecticut.

Rachel Pachter

Vineyard Offshore
Chief Development Officer

Rachel Pachter has twenty years of experience in U.S. offshore wind development. Rachel leads the Vineyard Offshore’s team conducting early-stage activities including technical development, permitting, environmental activities, workforce development, and community engagement. Rachel led and finalized the approval of two offshore wind farms in federal waters of the United States, including Vineyard Wind 1.

Rachel has a degree in Geology from the University of Alaska.

Rachel Rosen

WexEnergy
CEO and Co-Founder

Rachel Rosen is a recovering landlord who understands the challenges real property owners face today. With her 27 years of experience in commercial and multifamily real estate, Rachel has walked many miles wearing the shoes of realtor, developer, and property manager.

Prior to joining WexEnergy, Rachel was President of Norry Management Corp. (Rochester, NY). At Norry, she managed millions of square feet of commercial office, multifamily residential and industrial properties across five states, with energy efficiency as a core tenet of increasing asset value and profitability.

Rachel joined the WexEnergy team in 2017 because she understood that WindowSkin® would be a game changer. Today, Rachel is the driving force behind Wex’s Go-to-Market strategy. She stands ready to help property owners and managers better understand how investing in energy efficient windows increase property values.

Ricardo da Silva

NYPA
Vice President, Strategic Operations

Ricardo da Silva is the VP – Strategic Operations at the New York Power Authority (NYPA). NYPA is investing in a road map aimed at transforming the state’s energy infrastructure to a clean, reliable, resilient, and affordable system over the next decade. Central to these objectives is deployment of intelligent infrastructure and a robust Asset Management System.

Strategic Operations focuses on areas that are front and center regarding the Asset Management philosophy and the entire process and lifecycle via deployment of sensors, advanced analytics, and new digital ways of working while leveraging key guiding principles including consistent portfolio review and asset performance.

Mr. da Silva has spent the last nineteen years at NYPA developing and managing major programs relating to generation as well as transmission assets. Prior to his current role, Mr. da Silva served as Project Manager, where he managed life extension & modernization programs at hydro and transmission facilities across New York State and the interconnection of renewable generation into NYPA’s system.

Mr. da Silva holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and a M.S. in Computer Engineering from Manhattan College in addition to holding a Project Management Professional (PMP) and Institute of Asset Management Diploma.

Richard Bourgeois

NYSERDA
Program Manager, Innovation Market Engagement

Richard Bourgeois is Program Manager for Innovation Market Engagement at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), working to strengthen and coordinate innovation ecosystems in New York State. He previously served as Operations Manager for Innovation and as Principal Investigator for NYSERDA’s project with the U.S. Department of Energy to establish the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium.

Prior to joining NYSERDA, Richard held a number of roles over many years at General Electric, earning twenty U.S. patents for his work on solid oxide fuel cells, hydrogen electrolysis and grid-scale energy storage. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in New York State with a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an undergraduate degree in engineering from Boston University.

Richard Reeder

SUNY Research Foundation
Vice President, Research/Operations Manager

Dr. Richard Reeder is the vice president for research and the operations manager for the State University of New York Research Foundation. Dr. Reeder also serves as associate vice president for Brookhaven National Laboratory Affairs, acting as Stony Brook University’s liaison to the nearby laboratory co-managed by Stony Brook and Battelle Memorial Institute.

Prior to these roles, Dr. Reeder participated in the Stony Brook-Battelle team that successfully re-competed the management contract for Brookhaven National Laboratory. He is currently a member of the Brookhaven Science Associates Board of Directors.

He retains the position of professor of geochemistry in the Department of Geosciences, where he served as chair for 2008-2013. Dr. Reeder’s research interests span several areas in geochemistry, including the structure and properties of disordered and amorphous solids, chemical behavior of heavy metals in the environment, and bioavailability of contaminants in environmental and remediation settings. He has focused particularly on applications of X-ray scattering and spectroscopy to natural and engineered materials of environmental relevance, making extensive use of synchrotron X-ray facilities at Brookhaven and other national laboratories.

Dr. Reeder served as director of the Center for Environmental Molecular Sciences, supported by the National Science Foundation. Dr. Reeder is author of more than 120 peer-reviewed articles. He has been a member of the Stony Brook faculty since 1980.

Rick Shansky

Long Island Power Authority
Senior Vice President of Power Supply and Wholesale Markets

Rick Shansky is the Senior Vice President of Power Supply and Wholesale Markets for Long Island Power Authority. In this role, Mr. Shansky is responsible for LIPA’s power supply planning, procurement, and portfolio management, as carried out by PSEG Long Island. Mr. Shansky also manages LIPA’s participation in wholesale power markets and the day-to-day procurement of power and fuel to serve the energy needs of LIPA’s customers. Mr. Shansky has 40 years of electric utility experience and has held several management positions since joining LIPA in 2008.

Previously, Mr. Shansky held positions at Consolidated Edison Company of New York and the Long Island Lighting Company in energy management, resource planning, fuel and purchased power, and generation planning.

Mr. Shansky received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Master of Science in Energy Management from the New York Institute of Technology. He is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of New York.

Robert Catell

Advanced Energy Center (AERTC)
Chairman

Robert Catell was formerly the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of KeySpan Corporation and KeySpan Energy Delivery, the former Brooklyn Union Gas. His career with Brooklyn Union Gas started in 1958. Following National Grid’s acquisition of KeySpan Corporation, Mr. Catell became Chairman of National Grid, U.S. and Deputy Chairman of National Grid plc.

He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC) at Stony Brook University, the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium, and the Cristo Rey Brooklyn High School.

Mr. Catell serves on the Board of the following not-for-profit organizations: Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership, Department of Education-Diocese of Rockville Centre, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Futures in Education Endowment Fund, and St. Francis Hospital Foundation. He also serves on the Board of the following business organizations: A+Technology & Security Solutions Inc., Alternative Packaging Solutions (APS), Applied DNA Sciences Inc., Long Island Angel Network (LIAN), Long Island Association (LIA), National Petroleum Council, ThermoLift Inc., and Utility Technology Solutions (UTS).

He Chairs the STEM Advisory Board at St. Thomas Aquinas College, and serves on the Advisory Board for Our Energy Policy Foundation and the President’s Advisory Council at Adelphi University.

Mr. Catell is an Executive in Residence at Hofstra University and was named the first “John J. Phelan, Jr. Fellow” of the Robert B. Willumstad School of Business at Adelphi University. Mr. Catell is a former Chairman of Alberta Northeast Gas Ltd., the American Gas Association, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of NYS, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, Futures in Education Endowment Fund, KEYERA Energy Management Ltd., Long Island Association, New York State Smart Grid Consortium, Partnership for New York City Inc., U.S. Energy Association (USEA), the Advisory Board of the City College of New York’s School of Engineering, and Winthrop Hospital Board of Regents.

Mr. Catell is a former board member of the Brooklyn Public Library Foundation, City College of New York 21st Century Foundation, Edison Electric Institute (EEI), Energy Association of NYS, Long Island Foreign Affairs Forum, National Grid Foundation, New York Academy of Sciences, New York City Police Foundation, New York State Economic Development Power Allocation Board (EDPAB), New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), and Tomorrow’s Hope Foundation, as well as a former advisory board member of Advanced Power North America (APNA), Brooklyn Law School (Member Emeritus), the Center for Urban Sciences & Progress (CUSP), and HeartShare for Human Services.

Mr. Catell is a member of the Association of Energy Engineers, CUNY Business Leadership Council, National Society of Professional Engineers, NYS Society of Professional Engineers, and the Society of Gas Lighting.

Mr. Catell received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the City College of New York and is a registered Professional Engineer. He has attended Columbia University’s Executive Development Program, and the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.

Rohit T. Aggarwala

NYC
Commissioner & Chief Climate Officer, NYC Environmental Protection

Rohit T. “Rit” Aggarwala is a widely recognized expert on urban sustainability, technology, and mobility. He led the creation of the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, founded the environmental grant-making program at Bloomberg Philanthropies, and served as president of the Board of Directors of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group.

He was part of the founding team at Sidewalk Labs — Google’s urban technology startup — and more recently was a senior urban tech fellow at the Jacobs Cornell-Technion Institute. He has provided advice and assistance to a number of foundations and impact investment funds and chaired the Regional Plan Association’s Fourth Regional Plan for the New York region. Dr. Aggarwala holds a Ph.D., MBA, and B.A. from Columbia University and an M.A. from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

Ross Gould

Business Network for Offshore Wind
VP for Supply Chain and Development

Ross Gould joined the Business Network for Offshore Wind in 2020 as its Vice President of Supply Chain Development. He oversees the growth and evolution of the offshore wind supply chain as well as the industry’s workforce development. He is also responsible for designing, developing, and coordinating the Network’s Northeast Corridor strategy, including planning, policy and regulatory engagement, programs, and research.

Ross has a J.D. from the Maurice A. Deane Law School at Hofstra University and a B.A. in psychology from Emory University. He is seen as an energy thought leader, authoring and co-authoring reports and papers, including New York State and the Jobs of Offshore Wind Energy, and most recently, The Demand for a Domestic Offshore Wind Energy Supply Chain.

Ryan Brown

Salient Energy
CEO

Ryan Brown is the co-founder and CEO of Salient Energy. Salient’s mission is to build the world’s best batteries for daily energy storage using a new type of zinc battery. This unique design uses zinc, water, and manganese to build a battery that offers the same power, service life, and compact design as lithium-ion. By pairing strong performance with safe, abundant, and easy-to-source materials, Salient Energy is solving the critical supply chain and safety issues challenging the energy storage industry.

Since co-founding the company in 2017, Ryan has helped grow the company into a leader in the alternative battery space. In 2021, he was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 in recognition of this work.

Sammy Chu

Edgewise Energy
CEO

Sammy Chu is CEO of Edgewise Energy, a New York-based clean energy startup, and President of Caltech Electric, an IBEW signatory electrical contracting firm. A proven leader in promoting market adoption of energy efficiency and renewables, he was the founding director of the Town of Babylon’s Long Island Green Homes Program, the first operationalized property assessed clean energy program (PACE) in the nation.

Mr. Chu previously served in the administration of Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone as Chief of Staff and as commissioner of the county’s Department of Labor, Licensing & Consumer Affairs. He was the lead county official in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, tasked with coordinating response and recovery. A staunch advocate of inclusive, sustainable economic development, Mr. Chu was instrumental in creating workforce opportunities for traditionally underserved individuals during the planning and development of the transformative Wyandanch Rising project.

Mr. Chu serves as a board member for several nonprofit agencies, including the Long Island chapter of the American Red Cross, the EAC Network, and the Long Island chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. Mr. Chu also serves as a trustee of Molloy University and was recently appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul to serve on the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Sandhya Murali

Solstice
Founder/COO

Sandhya Murali is Co-Founder and COO of Solstice, an award-winning social enterprise dedicated to expanding access to clean energy to all Americans. Sandhya spent her early career working at Barclays investment bank, advising on and executing public-equity transactions for companies across the Consumer/Retail, Industrial, and Tech/Media/Telecom sectors.

She spent two years in London, following Barclays’ acquisition of Lehman Brothers, helping to build out the equity capital markets team and launch the new business in Europe. Sandhya was also deeply involved in Barclays’ philanthropy work, managing volunteer programs with Endeavor Global, Women’s World Banking, and the nascent Barclays’ Social Innovation Fund. Sandhya was recently selected as an Unreasonable Impact Americas Fellow, which supports growth-stage ventures to rapidly scale up, while providing for job creation and mitigating key environmental issues.

She holds a BBA from the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she received the Sustainability Certificate.

Sarah Orban Salati

NYPA
Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer

Sarah Orban Salati serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for the New York Power Authority (NYPA), managing the wholesale and retail commercial operations for $2 billion in annual revenues from NYPA’s power generating assets including more than 5 GW of hydro-electric power. Sarah has led NYPA’s grid-scale business development focused on bulk transmission and storage projects to support renewable integration and grid modernization.

Sarah also leads NYPA’s integrated customer solutions comprised of distributed energy resources, turnkey energy efficiency projects, digital building energy management services, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure implementation, amongst others. Her focus has included bringing digital technologies to bear on the customer experience and new customer products and services.

Sarah is Executive Sponsor of the “Women in Power” Employee Resource Group. She seeks to advance NYPA’s vision of “A thriving, resilient New York State powered by clean energy” driving strong commercial, operational, and technologically agile perspectives building on her prior roles at the AES Corporation in the U.S., London, England and Budapest, Hungary, leading operations and commercial initiatives across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

Scott Lundin

Equinor Wind
Head of US Permitting & Environmental Affairs

Scott Lundin has been involved with the U.S. offshore wind industry since 2007. He specializes in siting, permitting, and environmental assessment for offshore wind facilities and submarine transmission systems. Scott began his career as a geological oceanographer conducting marine geophysics and seafloor mapping. He followed the data into environmental assessments and permitting for complex offshore infrastructure projects including offshore wind and submarine transmission systems.

Scott provides strategic leadership for Equinor’s portfolio of U.S. offshore wind assets for permitting and environmental affairs. He is native of southern New England and earned a Bachelor of Science in geology from Northeastern University, a master’s in geological oceanography from the University of Rhode Island, and an MBA from Bryant University.

Serge Abergel

Hydro-Québec Energy Services
COO, HQ Energy Services

Serge Abergel took office as Chief Operating Officer of Hydro-Québec Energy Services in December 2021. This subsidiary is responsible for hydropower export initiatives to the New York and New England markets.

Since joining Hydro-Québec in 2014, Mr. Abergel has held various positions in media and stakeholder relations and government affairs. He has also led information campaigns on the company’s export initiatives and is a frequent public speaker on Hydro-Québec’s clean energy generating fleet and transmission system. Prior to his most recent appointment, he served as Director – Communications.

Mr. Abergel has considerable previous experience working as a public affairs officer in the Canadian Armed Forces and the federal correctional system.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in operations management from HEC Montréal.

Seonghoon Woo

Amogy
CEO

Seonghoon Woo is the founding CEO of Amogy and the Chairperson of the Board. Seonghoon received his Ph.D. from MIT in 2015, where his dissertation focused on semiconductor physics, with a minor in Finance. He then built an academic and industrial career, including his recent work at IBM TJ Watson Research Center as a Staff Scientist prior to Amogy.

He was selected as a Forbes 30 under 30 Asia in 2018, and was also the recipient of a Presidential Young Scientist Award in South Korea in 2018.

Stafford Sheehan

Air Company
Co-Founder and CTO

Dr. Stafford Sheehan is a scientist, inventor, and award-winning electrochemist and carbon dioxide conversion specialist with more than 37 academic publications, 10 patents, and a number of technical awards. He is the CTO of Air Company, where he has created a proprietary and patented technology system that converts captured carbon dioxide into high-purity alcohols and fuels. As CTO, Dr. Sheehan is responsible for overseeing all technological operations while working to continue to push the boundaries and scale of Air Company’s technology.

He received his Ph.D. in chemistry from Yale in 2016, where he won the university’s highest achievement award for a chemistry thesis and founded two successful companies in software and chemistry. His achievements landed him on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Energy in 2016.

Stephen Welby

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer

Stephen Welby is the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. IEEE and its members inspire a global community to innovate for a better tomorrow with more than 400,000 members in over 160 countries, and through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities. IEEE is the trusted “voice” for engineering, computing, and technology information around the globe.

Prior to joining IEEE, in 2015 Stephen was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. In this role, he served as the chief technology officer for the U.S. Department of Defense, leading one of the largest and most complex research, development, and engineering organizations in the world. He oversaw a $12.5B annual investment portfolio, managed internal and collaborative research and engineering efforts, drove a culture that valued innovation, and supported the department’s global technical engagement.

Stephen has more than three decades of government and industrial experience in technology and product development, including senior leadership positions at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). His technical experience includes development of leading-edge aeronautical and space systems, robotics, machine learning, high-performance software, and sensor systems.

Stephen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, a master’s degree in business administration from the Texas A&M University, and master’s degrees in computer science and applied mathematics from The Johns Hopkins University. He is a fellow of the IEEE.

Stuart Nachmias

Con Edison Transmission, Inc.
President and CEO

Stuart Nachmias leads Con Edison’s wholesale transmission business, bringing clean energy from production to where it is needed to meet customers’ energy needs. He also serves as Chair of the Board of Managers for New York Transco, a transmission company comprised of New York’s four investor-owned utilities.

Before becoming president and CEO of Con Edison Transmission in 2020, Mr. Nachmias was Vice President of Energy Policy and Regulatory Affairs for Con Edison, responsible for developing regulatory strategy and company positions on federal and state electric and gas policy issues. He also managed company relations with federal and state energy regulators, and system operators including the New York Independent System Operator and PJM Interconnection.

He holds an MBA in finance from Baruch College and a bachelor’s degree in both economics and psychology from Binghamton University. He has an advanced certificate in energy management and completed the distribution system engineering program through Power Technologies, Inc. Mr. Nachmias is an active board member of the Tenement Museum and the Queens County Farm Museum.

Swapnil Gore

PSEG LI
Engineering Manager

Swapnil Gore is an experienced energy professional skilled in distributed generation and energy efficiency. He has over 11 years of experience working in the energy sector and, since 2016, has worked on and managed engineering projects in commercial, industrial, and residential segments for PSEG Long Island.

Mr. Gore has a strong engineering background complemented by a double master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and Energy Analytics. Along with managing the engineering group, he is also involved in program planning, forecasting, and benefit-cost screening for commercial and residential portfolios. Mr. Gore is a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) and holds CEM and DGCP certifications from AEE.

Tara McDermoth

EmPower Solar
Director of Customer Experience and Stakeholder Relations

Tara McDermoth represents EmPower Solar as the Chair of the Long Island Solar & Storage Alliance, where she is the government liaison for policy issues related to solar and energy storage.

Prior to joining the EmPower Solar team, Tara was the Long Island Program Coordinator for Citizens Campaign for the Environment, where she organized educational and advocacy campaigns on various environmental issues on Long Island. She also spent three years as a “Young Island” blogger for the Long Island Business News. She has been active in various professional and environmental organizations, including the C3E Women in Energy group on Long Island and serves on the Advisory Board for the Renewable Energy and Sustainability Center at Farmingdale State College. Tara also co-founded two nonprofit organizations focused on smart growth and keeping young professionals on Long Island.

In 2018, Tara was named one of the Top 50 Women in Business by the Long Island Business News. She was also inducted into the Social Justice Distinguished Scholar Academy for her work in environmental justice issues in collaboration with Farmingdale State College.

Tara earned her B.A. in Sociology at SUNY Stony Brook and her Master of Public Administration at CUNY Baruch, both with a focus on environmental studies. She is also a “Semester at Sea” alumni, where she completed part of her degree while traveling at sea through several different global ports. In 2011, she was one of four U.S. Climate Change Professional Fellows for the Australia cohort, where she worked with Australian researchers, industries, and advocates dealing with energy and climate issues.

Taylor Rowe

The Clean Fight
Director of Customer and Capital Partnerships

Taylor Rowe is the Director of Customer and Capital Partnerships at The Clean Fight. The Clean Fight is a NYSERDA- and DOE-funded accelerator that helps growth-stage climate tech startups from around the world scale in New York to speed a just energy transition. In her role, she helps the market demonstrate, purchase, finance, and invest in innovation that supports ambitious decarbonization goals.

Taylor previously launched the first VC-backed credit card as a Product Manager at Mission Lane (formerly a division of LendUp). She began her career as the co-founder of Unreasonable at Sea, an around-the-world accelerator that supported startups profitably solving pressing global problems. She’s currently a Venture Partner for Republic.

Taylor received an M.Sc. in Behavioral Science from the London School of Economics and a B.S. in Finance and Economics from the University of Denver. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, who is an artist.

Thomas Bourgeois

Pace Energy and Climate Center
Deputy Director

Thomas Bourgeois is the Deputy Director of the Pace Energy and Climate Center and Director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s New York/New Jersey Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Technical Assistance Partnership. Tom has authored and co-authored dozens of reports on Energy Efficiency, Combined Heat & Power, market analyses for Distributed Energy Systems, CHP and Hourly Pricing, and Optimizing Incentive Systems for Clean Energy technologies.

His recent work includes traditional and hybrid microgrids, community (district) geothermal heat pump systems, and controlled environment agriculture (CEA). Clients he’s worked with include government (U.S. DOE, Oak Ridge and Argonne National Labs, NYSERDA, NASEO, City of Boston and New York), private business (Booz Allen, Hitachi Microgrids, Cogen Power Technologies, Fuel Cell Energy, Green Energy Corp), NGOs (Natural Resources Defense Council and Environmental Defense Fund) and numerous foundations.

Tom was recipient of the U.S Clean Heat & Power Association’s 2008 CHP Champion Award and the Northeast CHP Initiatives 2014 NECHPI Award.

Tobias Whitney

Fortress Information Security
Vice President, Strategy and Policy

Tobias Whitney is a recognized leader in control systems security solutions with over 20 years of critical infrastructure security experience. For six years, Whitney led the compliance and standards for NERC’s Critical Infrastructure Protection program.

Most recently, Whitney spend two years as Technical Executive at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), evaluating risks in supply chain cybersecurity for utilities, developing solutions to address security architecture for utility cloud-based solutions, as well as researching emerging technologies, such as electric vehicles charging and supply chain security.

Tom Cunningham

Equinor
Senior Public Affairs Manager

Tom Cunningham is a Senior Public Affairs Manager at Equinor Renewables US, responsible for leading stakeholder engagement for the Beacon Wind project in the U.S. Northeast and for supporting strategic engagement across the U.S. Previously, he was a senior director for government affairs for Equinor in Washington, responsible for international affairs and trade issues. Prior to joining Equinor in 2017, he was Deputy Director of the Global Energy Center at the Atlantic Council. From 2003 to 2016, he was at the U.S. Department of State, culminating as Energy Diplomacy Team Lead for Europe.

He has taught a graduate course on European energy at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and served as a fellow in the U.S. Senate in 2009, working on climate and energy legislation. He holds an M.A. in German and European Studies from Georgetown University and a B.A. in English/Creative Writing and French from Colorado College. He is based in Washington, where he lives with his wife and two young children.

Thomas Falcone

Long Island Power Authority
CEO

Thomas Falcone is the Chief Executive Officer of the Long Island Power Authority, the third-largest publicly owned electric utility in the United States. Mr. Falcone joined LIPA in 2014 as Chief Financial Officer and became CEO in 2015.

Since 2014, LIPA has reduced power outages by 35 percent, signed agreements for over 1,000 megawatts of clean and distributed energy, reformed and strengthened its management-services contract with PSEG Long Island, obtained four credit-rating upgrades, and invested over $4.9 billion in Long Island’s electric grid, while keeping electric rate adjustments below the rate of inflation.

Mr. Falcone serves on New York’s Climate Action Council, the 22-member board that adopts the plans to achieve the state’s greenhouse gas reduction targets, including a zero-carbon power sector by 2040 and an 85 percent reduction in statewide emissions by 2050.

Mr. Falcone is Vice Chair of the board of the Large Public Power Council and a member of the executive committee of the board of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center at Stony Brook University. Mr. Falcone also participates in the Energeia Partnership, a think-tank organization focused on challenges facing Long Island.

Prior to joining LIPA, Mr. Falcone was an investment banker and advisor to publicly owned utilities and state and local governments. In that role, Mr. Falcone raised more than $25 billion for infrastructure investments across the country. Mr. Falcone received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Vlada Kenniff

NYC Housing Authority Capital and Asset Management Division
Senior Vice President for Sustainability

Vlada Kenniff is the Senior Vice President for Sustainability in NYCHA’s Capital and Asset Management Division. In this role, she is responsible for leading NYCHA’s comprehensive Sustainability Agenda for the nation’s largest public housing authority toward a decarbonized future and healthier homes, while leveraging ongoing and future capital work of over $1 billion to afford training and hiring opportunities for NYCHA residents.

In the last two years, Vlada has focused on transformative waste management programs such as procuring the first as a retrofit to an existing building, mechanical waste collection, and waste yards redesigns. In the clean energy space, Vlada has been leading the work on transforming heating and cooling through the Clean Heat for All Challenge and an ACCESSolar Program that is focused on training and hiring NYCHA residents.

Prior to joining NYCHA, Vlada spent over a decade working at NYC Department of Environmental Protection working on a range of water conservation, demand management, green infrastructure, and climate resiliency projects. Vlada earned a M.S. in city and regional planning from Pratt Institute and a B.A. in environmental studies from Pace University. She is a Ph.D. candidate in information studies at Long Island University Post.

Wesley Holmes

Essense Partners
Chief Innovation Officer

Wesley Holmes is the Chief Innovation Officer at Essense Partners, a strategic marketing and communications firm working exclusively in the energy and utilities sector. Wesley has more than a decade of experience in clean energy policy, program design, and industry development.

Working at the intersection of technology, policy, and culture, Wesley is focused on the role of communications, marketing, and user experience design to usher in the clean energy economy and support scaled adoption of grid interactive technology and clean transportation systems.

William P. Acker

New York Battery and Energy Storage Consortium (NY-BEST)
Executive Director

Dr. William Acker is a well-known and highly regarded scientist, business leader, and entrepreneur in the field of energy. He currently serves as the first Executive Director of NY-BEST, the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium.

Under his leadership, NY-BEST has grown its membership to more than 175 companies, created the BEST Test and Commercialization Center and new battery prototyping capabilities, and has performed pioneering work in advancing markets, policy, technology, and product development.

William Haugland Jr.

Haugland Group LLC
President

Established on Long Island in 1999, Haugland Group LLC and its subsidiaries provide a comprehensive range of energy and civil infrastructure services along the eastern seaboard from Maine to the U.S. Virgin Islands. From power restoration and infrastructure support amid intensifying storms — to our growing involvement in renewable and sustainable energy starting with New York’s first off shore wind farm along the South Fork — Haugland Group plays a significant role in improving the quality of daily life for residents across Long Island and the greater New York metropolitan area.

Haugland Group is headquartered in Melville, employing over 1,000 Long Islanders and is firmly committed to New York’s socio-economic development. Offering broad employment opportunities across a multitude of disciplines, the majority of our workforce is comprised of unionized labor throughout building trades and IBEW locals.

Exploring his passion for transportation infrastructure from a young age, Mr. Haugland took a role within his family-owned construction business, working in the field with project management teams. In his current role, Mr. Haugland oversees the management of Haugland Group’s portfolio, including Grace Industries LLC and Haugland Energy LLC.

Embodying Haugland Group’s commitment to the energy and civil infrastructure communities, Billy Haugland II holds multiple boards seats including the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), the Long Island Contractors’ Association (LICA), and the Long Island Association (LIA). Most recently, Mr. Haugland has been appointed to the Board of Advisors Executive Committee for the Energeia Partnership of Molloy University and is a member of the Class of 2021.

William Dailey

Standard Hydrogen
Co-Founder & VP

Bill Dailey is a Founder and Vice President of The Standard Hydrogen Corporation (SHC). Mr. Dailey is involved in all aspects of SHC’s operations, including product and strategic development. Drawing on his previous 20 years as an attorney, Mr. Dailey manages the legal affairs of SHC, including contracts, fundraising, intellectual property development, and all other aspects of the SHC’s legal affairs. Mr. Dailey previously served as Corporate Counsel and Director of Intellectual Property for MTI MicroFuel Cells, Inc.

Bill is a named inventor on three issued U.S. patents. Mr. Dailey earned his J.D. from Albany Law School, an MBA from B.A. in economics from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, an MBA from The Lally School at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Technology, and holds a B.A. in Economics from Trinity College.

William E. Liss

GTI Energy
Vice President, Energy Delivery & Utilization

Bill Liss has a 35-year career at GTI Energy, a leading national independent R&D organization. He leads a broad-based group of energy professionals focused on technology development and market adoption of new energy solutions for natural gas pipeline delivery and end-use applications — residential, commercial, industrial, onsite power, and transportation.

He has a Chemical Engineering degree and a Master of Business Administration.